1,327 ingested motions from United Kingdom introduced in 2000. Year filters use the introduced date shown on each card. Walk years back as far as this source still publishes.
That this House congratulates the Council Leader, members and staff of the London Borough of Newham for their spectacular successes in the Local Government Chronicle Annual Awards; notes Newham was voted Council of the Year, together with the award of Housing Team of the Year, Public Relations Team of the Year and Finance Team of the Year; further notes the borough was also highly commended in the Legal, Managerial and Information Technology categories at the awards ceremony in London on 14th March; believes these awards are a fitting acknowledgement of the advances made in the delivery of quality services in one of the most deprived local authority areas in the country; calls upon Newham Council to continue with the good work; and asks the Government to acknowledge with further resources and policy initiatives the regeneration being achieved in one of Labour's oldest, traditional heartlands.
That this House congratulates Barry Thompson, Store Manager, Helen Pattison, PR Manager and all members of staff at the Asda's store, Peterlee, in the constituency of the honourable Member for Easington, for their community involvement in promoting The Big Read, The Big Sum, Millennium Making a Difference Day and other activities with children and senior citizens; congratulates all in the store in reaching the final of the Golden Bear Award; and wishes the staff every success with the Michael Row Appeal, a further example of good community relations, along with the initiatives of promoting breast cancer awareness, fund raising for McMillan nurses and developing relationships with community groups.
That this House notes that Cardiff Council leader, Russell Goodway, receives ú58,000 per annum and is Britain's highest paid council leader; deplores the news that eight Labour councillors are to be suspended from the Labour group for refusing to vote in favour of the huge increase in Russell Goodway's salary; further notes that Cardiff council tax payers will be receiving a 10.2 per cent increase in their council tax; believes that Conservative councillors, along with the eight Labour rebels and other opposition councillors, were right in calling for Russell Goodway's salary radically to be scaled back; and calls on the Prime Minister to intervene to protect the council tax payers of Cardiff against the greed of its Labour leader.
That this House notes with concern the fact that both Rugby League Silk Cut Challenge Cup semi-finals played on the 25th and 26th March are to be staged in Yorkshire, leaving the North West without a semi-final for the flagship event in the Rugby League calendar; believes that in the case of the Warrington Wolves versus Bradford Bulls match, to be held at Leeds Rugby League Football ground, this clearly puts Warrington supporters at a disadvantage being forced to travel beyond Bradford to Leeds; and calls on the Rugby Football League to ensure that venues are found which are convenient to both sets of supporters, and that the North West is not left without a Challenge Cup semi-final.
That this House recognises that the EU is India's biggest trade partner; notes that political dialogue has lagged behind trade talks; welcomes the opportunity for political talks to reach beyond economic concerns to address human rights issues at the first ever EU-India summit in Lisbon on 28th June; and calls upon the Government to raise the concerns about increasing religious persecution in India through the Common Foreign and Security Policy Forum, in order that these issues are raised at the summit.
That this House calls for urgent action to be taken to halt the serious problem of bootlegging of alcohol and tobacco, which is putting many independent retailers out of business, with average losses of around 16 per cent. a year; notes that bootlegging has serious health and social costs which arise from minors having unregulated access to alcohol and tobacco; and calls on all members of the European Union to take urgent steps to halt this illegal and harmful trade.
That this House is deeply concerned at the impact of landmines on innocent civilians in Pakistan, where many such weapons are laid indiscriminately as a result of conflict in the region; notes with dismay a recent attempt by Pakistan ordnance factories to sell anti-personnel mines in the United Kingdom; believes that it is of the greatest importance for all states in the region to acceded to the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines; and urges Her Majesty's Government to enter into discussions with Pakistan to encourage accession to the Convention without further delay; and to consider what aid might be made available to assist with demining and assistance for landmine victims.
That this House regrets the Government's decision to award the ú200 million Diamond Synchrotron project to Oxfordshire and not to the existing synchrotron facility at Daresbury in Cheshire; notes that the long-term cost to the North West economy will be ú550 million; notes that it will damage the science base of the North West risking the loss of over 200 high-skilled jobs, likely to go overseas; further notes that the Science and Technology Select Committee found no scientific case to favour Oxfordshire over Cheshire as a site for the new investment; and believes that this decision taken personally by the Prime Minister, shows that he has not given sufficient weight to the importance of regional policy or to the need to promote science and encourage investment in the North West.
at end add 'but recognises that the majority of consultants, including surgeons, work in excess of their contracted NHS hours,and also recognises that by far the most significant determining factor in long NHS waiting time is the level of human and financial resources made available by the Government.'.
That this House congratulates the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for its recent Manufacturing Excellence: Competitiveness in Manufacturing debate, which found that the way for the UK engineering firms to compete with their international counterparts is to share knowledge and best practice within the sector;recognises the significant contribution made by mechanical engineers to the quality of people's lives and to the economy; looks forward to seeing the best in innovative ideas from UK manufacturers recognised in the Institution's MX2000 Awards; and welcomes the publication of the Government's policy document, Manufacturing in the Knowledge Driven Economy, which recognises the vital role which manufacturing plays in the economic well being of UK plc.
That this House deplores the decision of Lloyds Bank TSB to close its branch in Wireliscombe, and to do so with notification but not consultation with the local community or its representatives; and notes that this closure will cause considerable inconvenience to local people, especially those who have no access to private transport and restricted access to the public transport.
That this House supports the universal abolition of the death penalty; welcomes the support given by Her Majesty's Government to a strongly-worded resolution on the question of the death penalty at the 1999 UN Commission on Human Rights; believes that a similar resolution should be tabled this year urging all states to abolish the death penalty and fully comply with international law pending abolition; recognises the importance of the Commission as the key UN body on human rights; and calls on the Government to support a strongly-worded resolution, oppose any attempts to weaken the resolution and actively lobby other governments at this year's Commission to do the same.
That this House welcomes the lobby of Parliament by the Football Supporters Association on Thursday 2nd March when representatives from over 50 football supporters clubs nationwide met honourable Members to demand that Parliament should impose a regulator on the industry, as proposed in the fans' evidence to the Task Force inquiry, with powers to examine and protect the interests of those committed fans who are forced to pay high admission prices because no other body in the game will act on behalf of the lower division clubs.
That this House notes that the Premier League and Nationwide League are commencing negotiations for a renewed television deal with all television companies which is likely to bring in more than one billion pounds over five years and that this deal will mean an over 20 per cent. increase in income; notes that the Premier League currently has over 100 players who earn more than one million pounds a year each; notes that the last television increases went straight into players' wages while admission prices continued to soar; notes the devasting effect this wage inflation had on smaller clubs in lower leagues; and calls for the introduction of a regulator for the industry so that this increase in television money is used to reduce admission prices and provide help for smaller clubs in genuine need.
That this House notes that a recent decision of an employment tribunal suggested that employee representatives should be consulted in collective redundancy situations only after the management has made a firm decision as to who should be made redundant; notes that this is contrary to Article 2 of the Collective Redundancies Directive which states 'Where an employer is contemplating collective redundancies, he shall begin consultation with the workers' representative in good time with a view to reaching agreement'; notes that the trade union MSF has complained to the European Commission about the implementation in the UK of the Collective Redundancies Directive; and therefore asks Her Majesty's Government to set up discussions between the relevant parties on how best to ensure that the full meaning and original intent of the Collective Redundancies Directive is implemented and upheld.
That this House is extremely concerned by the contents of the three reports by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on management practices and safety at Sellafield; notes that the NII states that safety at Sellafield is only just tolerable; also notes that, following the falsification of data relating to MOX fuel supplied to Japan, the Japanese Government has blocked any further imports of MOX fuel from Britain; further notes that the German Government's policy on phasing out nuclear power will result in no new reprocessing contracts with Britain; recognises the uncertainty facing the long-term future of BNFL; and therefore calls on the Government to clarify the situation by stating unequivocally that the future of BNFL lies in becoming a world leader in nuclear clean-up, decommissioning, waste management and plutonium immobilisation technologies, and that the current contracts for reprocessing spent fuel should be renegotiated into contracts for dry storage.
That this House believes that liquid petroleum gas has environmental advantages as a road fuel over the conventional fuels of petrol and diesel because of its overall emission profile; notes that LPG has environmental advantages over kerosene and gas oil as a commercial fuel for similar reasons; further believes that as a result of the Climate Change Levy LPG should not be made relatively more expensive than kerosene and gas oil in line with Lord Marshall's view that existing differentials should be maintained; and considers that, should LPG be disadvantaged by the application of the Levy, the resulting increased use of kerosene and gas oil would produce the perverse result of significantly increasing emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
That this House welcomes the lobby of Parliament by the Football Supporters Association on Thursday 2nd March when representatives from over 50 football supporters clubs nationwide met honourable Members to demand that Parliament should impose a regulator on the industry as proposed in the fans evidence to the Task Force inquiry, with powers to examine and protect the interests of those committed fans who are forced to pay high admission prices because no other body in the game will act on behalf of the lower division clubs.
That this House notes that the Premier League and Nationwide League are commencing negotiations for a renewed television deal with all television companies which is likely to bring in more than one billion pounds over the five years; further notes that this deal will mean over 20 per cent. increase in income; further notes that the Premier League currently has over 100 players who earn more than one million pounds a year each; further notes that the last television increases went straight into players' wages while admission prices continued to soar; further notes the devastating effect this wage inflation had on smaller clubs in lower leagues; and calls on this House to introduce a regulator for the industry so that this increase in television money is used to reduce admission prices and provide help for smaller clubs in genuine need.
That this House notes that M.D. Foods have reported a 91 per cent. rise in pre-tax profits for the year to September 1999; understands that this was in part achieved by reduced procurement costs at a time when falling prices are driving many hard working decent people out of dairy farming altogether; and calls upon M.D. Foods and all milk buyers to support British farmers by paying a fair price for a quality British product.
That this House expresses concern at the reaction of the regional electricity companies to the Distribution Price Review of the Electricity Regulator, who called for price cuts of around ú15 a year in electricity charges; believes that the actions taken by the electricity companies in response to the price cut proposals are bad for the industry and bad for consumers; notes that many companies have made large-scale redundancies, indicating a short-term strategy detrimental to consumers' long-term interests; deplores the fact that thousands of redundancies have been announced over the last three months, in an industry which has already lost half its workforce since privatisation, decimating a highly skilled workforce committed to maintaining high standards of service and safety; regrets that investment in the system may be cut, compromising the health and safety of employees and the general public; anticipates that sustained power cuts will be more likely in those parts of the United Kingdom which are particularly vulnerable to storm damage; recognises that the companies have acknowledged that their actions will result in the deterioration of the UK electricity network and the possible compromise of consumers' services; urges the Government to make a public commitment to safeguarding safety, service standards and jobs in the industry; and calls upon the electricity companies to cut their profits not jobs.
That this House congratulates the Tidy Britain Group on its National Spring Clean Campaign to clear the United Kingdom of litter; notes with dismay the annual national cost to council taxpayers of ú320 million per year to remove litter from streets; further notes with dismay the annual cost to the council taxpayers of the Borough of Macclesfield totalling ú698,000; calls on the Government to increase education, practical litter prevention measures and penalties to reduce this unnecessary expenditure; and congratulates all those volunteering in support of the Tidy Britain Group's National Spring Clean to improve the environment of towns, cities and countryside.
That this House notes that the 1986 Social Security Act introduced a halving of widows' SERPS entitlements in respect of deaths occurring after April 2000; notes that DSS leaflets and correspondence failed to reflect that change for at least a decade after the Act reached the statute book, leading to an investigation by the Parliamentary Ombudsman; notes that many more pensioners who were not actively misled by these leaflets nonetheless knew nothing about the change until they were too old to make realistic alternative provision; and therefore calls on the Government not only to compensate those future pensioners who were misled but also to exempt from the proposed cut any person who has already reached state pension age.
That this House regrets that one year since the murder of Northern Ireland human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson, her murderers have not been brought to justice; and joins Amnesty International and other human rights organisations in calling for an independent judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding her murder.
That this House deplores the decision of Barclays and Lloyds banks to close several of their branches around Devon and Cornwall, including branches in Polperro, Mullion, St Just, Porthleven, Portscatho and Torquay, and to do so without any consultation with the local community; notes that these closures will cause considerable inconvenience to both individuals and businesses in the areas affected, especially given that in many areas these are the only remaining banks; regrets that Barclays has given only until 7th April for alternative arrangements to be made; and calls on Barclays and Lloyds to postpone these closures for a period of six months to reassess the economic viability of the branches, and to arrange for alternative provision to be made for their customers, either within the existing bank buildings or through the local post offices.
That this House believes that if the Index of Local Deprivation is to be used as the key determinant of the allocation of billions of pounds of public money it is essential that it can be demonstrated to be a robust, accurate and transparent method of calculation of the levels of deprivation which exist in local authorities in England; further believe that in order for those organisations serving the best interests of local authorities, such as the Association of London Government and the Special Interest Group of Metropolitan Authorities, to commission studies by peer academics of those at Oxford University responsible for the current proposals it is essential that all the underlying data used to prepare the proposals is released by the Government; and therefore calls upon the Government to release immediately all the information used to compile the new index so such studies can be commissioned now to test the robustness and accuracy of the new proposals.
That this House congratulates Headway, the brain injury association, on its 21st anniversary; notes that each year around one million people attend hospital as a result of having a head injury, and that currently around 135,000 are suffering permanent brain damage of varying severity, with 1,000 new cases occurring each month as a result of accidents; recognises that the charity Headway plays an important role in helping those with serious head injuries and their families cope with the consequences of permanent impairment; pays tribute to all connected with Headway for what has been achieved to date; wishes members and the more than 100 branches throughout the country further success in the years ahead; and applauds the organisers of National Brain Injury Week, from 13th to 19th March, for raising the profile of the survivors of brain injuries and emphasising the need for greater safety measures throughout society to prevent more people being injured.
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Competition Act 1998 (Director's Rules) Order 2000 (S.I., 2000, No. 293), dated 9th February 2000, a copy of which was laid before the House on 9th February, be annulled.
That this House notes with concern that lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women; understands that women who smoke are twice as likely as male smokers to develop lung cancer; is concerned that smoking remains prevalent among young women; supports the Government's anti-smoking campaign; recognises that early detection of lung cancer is key to long-term survival; and calls on ministers to support trials of lung cancer screening techniques that could identify lung tumours while they are small and surgically curable.
That this House condemns the outdoor ritual slaughter at the Eid-el-Kabir festival in France of thousands of sheep, many of them exports from the United Kingdom; notes that the sheep are not stunned before slaughter but have their throats cut while they are fully conscious and are then left to bleed to death; is dismayed that many of those doing the killing are untrained and thus perform the slaughter ineptly which leads to some sheep taking several minutes to die; notes that outdoor ritual slaughter is prohibited by both European Union and French law, which require ritual slaughter to be carried out in an abattoir; further notes that the European Commission and the French Government have regularly failed to enforce the law; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to prohibit the export of sheep for slaughter at future Eid-el-Kabir festivals and to press the European Commission and the French Government to enforce the law which prohibits outdoor ritual slaughter.
That this House notes with concern that in the United Kingdom 250,000 people have asphasia, the loss of the use of language as a result of stroke of head injury; calls for much greater recognition of the condition; urges the Government to call for more information on asphasia, particularly the financial implications of the lack of recognition and therefore a lack of treatment and support; and urges the Government fully to investigate methods by which this can be redressed.
That this House views the growing involvement of agents for professional footballers, particularly for those in the lower leagues, as being detrimental to the long-term interests of the game; notes that the parasitic actions of agents are sucking money from clubs and thus threaten their future; congratulates some clubs, notably in the lower divisions, on the lead being taken in seeking to resist the demands made by agents; and calls on the Government to urge the football authorities to institute a code of practice to limit the activities of agents to the non-footballing interests of their clients and thus end the loss of money from the game which such parasites cause.
That this House, noting that it is a breach of international law and a defiance of mandatory United Nations sanctions to supply arms, fuel, equipment and goods to, or to purchase diamonds from, Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebel force in Angola, calls for the public identification and, where possible, prosecution of all individuals, private companies and public officials involved; in particular calls upon the Governments of the Ukraine and Belarus to stop arms and munitions exports to UNITA, on Ukrainian pilots to stop flying weapons and diesel to UNITA, on the Government of Zambia to stop convoys of lorries and plans from crossing the border into UNITA-controlled areas with the occasional paid assistance of Zambian Ministers and public officials, on the Government of Uganda to sack senior officials implicated, including President Museveni's half brother, General Salim Saleh, on the Government of Cote d'Ivoir, Togo and Burkina Faso to act immediately to halt their longstanding supplies to UNITA, on the Government of Rwanda to stop their almost daily supply flights from Kigali and other airports to UNITA, on the Government of South Africa to crack down on the dozens of individual business people and arms suppliers who continue to supply UNITA, on the Government of Israel to act against those of its citizens involved in supply operations and those buying diamonds for sale via the Tel Aviv trading centre, on the Government of the United Arab Emirates to prevent arms being transited from eastern Europe via Dubai to UNITA, on the Government of Switzerland and banking authorities across the world to track down the millions of pounds of Savimbi's assets, secured through illegal sales of diamonds, and without which he cannot pay for the arms and fuel he needs to continue the dreadfully destructive war which has gone on for decades and which is now engulfing the whole region; supports the efforts of De Beers and the Governments of Belgium and the United Kingdom to block illegal sale of UNITA diamonds through Antwerp; welcomes the work of Canada's Ambassador Fowler in leading United Nations efforts to identify and block UNITA sanctions busters; and calls on the entire international community to act decisively to end the war by rigorously imposing sanctions on UNITA and preventing the making of money and private profit out of the misery of the Angolan people.
That this House welcomes the Third Report of the Social Security Select Committee into the Uprating of State Retirement Pensions Payable to People Resident Abroad (HC 143 of Session 1996-97); expresses its grave concern at the discrimination practised by successive British Governments against 450,000 British state pensioners living in certain countries abroad; believes that the denial of pension increases to persons who have paid national insurance contributions is indefensible particularly as it affects less than 4 per cent. of the total number of British pensioners at home and abroad and also because the National Insurance Fund is now showing a surplus exceeding 5.9 billion pounds; and calls on the Government to agree to the principal recommendation of the Select Committee by providing a day for a debate in Government time on the report.
That this House welcomes the strengthened guidance given to health and local authorities last July (HSC 1999/162: LAC (99)28) confirming the rights of people with a mental handicap and their families to make informed choices about residential and other placements, but is concerned that evidence presented to an NHS conference on 28th January indicated that by a ratio of over two to one families claimed they were not being allowed the choice to which this Government is committed; and therefore urges the Government to adopt effective measures quickly to ensure that family choices, including the choice of village-type residential communities, preferred by many families are properly respected by local health and social service authorities and that more serious consideration is given to the evolution of such village communities, as argued for in, Made to Care, by the noble Baroness, Baroness Cox, and the noble Lord, Lord Pearson of Rannoch.
That this House congratulates the Government on providing the ú530 million aid package for the Airbus A3XX Super-Jumbo aircraft; notes that the development of the aircraft will create an estimated 22,000 new jobs at BAe Systems and safeguard more than 60,000 jobs, coupled with jobs created within the supply chain; welcomes the vote of confidence the United Kingdom Government has placed in the United Kingdom aerospace industry as the United Kingdom will now maintain its lead in the civilian aero industry; and hope to see Airbus continue to challenge Boeing in the civil aviation market.
That this House condemns the decision by Barclays Bank plc to close its Abercynon branch in South Wales on 7th April; notes with concern that Barclays Bank customers will now have to undertake a two hour round trip to reach the nearest Barclays branch; recognises that most Abercynon residents do not have access to Internet banking and cannot afford to travel to branches outside the area; notes that Abercynon has no cash point facilities; deplores the fact that Barclays is to carry out this closure without consulting its Abercynon customers and without undertaking an assessment of the impact on the local economy or the local community; notes that Barclays Bank plc's 1999 post tax profits were ú2.5 billion and that it has announced a nation-wide branch closure programme to increase profits by ú1 billion and to double returns for shareholders by 2003; calls upon Barclays to recognise their social responsibility to their customers and to withdraw the threat of closure; believes that Barclays branch closures are leading to financial exclusion for thousands which, in turn, exacerbates social exclusion; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to undertake urgent discussions with Barclays and the other major high street banks in an effort to persuade them to end their ill-conceived, socially divisive and economically damaging programmes of branch closures.
That this House notes with concern the removal without trial of Wenjian Liang (32) to a forced labour camp in Guangzhou province for two years; notes that her detention and deportation was based entirely on her being a practitioner of Falun Gong meditation and that she now joins some 3,000 other Falun Gong practitioners currently incarcerated in Chinese labour camps and over 35,000 who have been subject to arbitrary arrest; and urges the Government to support a resolution to the United Nation's Human Rights Commission in Geneva this March and April which calls on China to end this indefensible persecution of its own citizens.
That this House wishes to reverse the 'arms race' of national campaign spending between the major parties, which spent roughly ú26 and ú28 million in the 1997 election campaign; notes the comment of the former General Secretary of the Labour Party Lord Sawyer, that in order to raise that kind of money he 'had to seek donations of up to ú1 million'; fears the limit of ú20 million proposed by the Neill Committee will be too high to end the parties' dependence on millionaire funding; and prefers the limit of ú15 million proposed by Lord Sawyer on behalf of the Labour Party.
That this House congratulates Age Concern and the UK Breast Cancer Coalition on their campaign to alert women aged 65 years and over of their entitlement to breast screening; is concerned that women aged 65 years and over, who are in the highest risk age group for breast cancer, are not automatically invited for screening; welcomes the Government's commitment to extend automatic screening for 65 to 69 year olds provided the current pilot studies show it would be beneficial to women's health, and is greatly encouraged by the interim results of the East Sussex pilot study indicating that over 70 per cent. of those women who have previously attended screening will continue to do so if invited after the age of 64 years; and calls on the Government to ensure that the NHS Breast Screening Programme is sufficiently resourced to extend the automatic screening for older women as soon as possible after the final pilots report and, as an interim measure, ensure all older women are actively informed of their right to self-refer.
delete all after Eritrean and insert 'and Ethiopian governments have accepted the Organisation of African Unity's peace plan for the resolution of the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict; notes that negotiations concerning the technical arrangements are at a delicate stage; believes that it is unhelpful, at this critical point in the discussions, for third parties to take sides in the conflict; welcomes the current efforts of the envoys of the OAU, European Union and United States to resolve the inconsistencies between the technical arrangements and the Framework Agreement; recognises that ultimately the international border between Ethiopia and Eritrea will need to be recognised and endorsed by the United Nations but believes that in the meantime, Eritrean forces should withdraw from the territories which they have occupied since their invasion of Ethiopia on 6 May 1998.'.
leave out from beginning to end of line 7 and add ', whilst recognising the diversity of family structures, must emphasize the importance of a loving marriage as the best stable environment for the upbringing of children.'.
That this House condemns the decision of Barclays Bank plc to close its branch in Kippax; notes with grave concern the large number of other closures announced by Barclays; notes that Barclays have failed to carry out meaningful consultations with local customers and traders; urges Barclays to reconsider their decision for the benefit of the community; and calls on the Government to actively promote alternative banking arrangements for those towns and villages like Kippax which may be left without a bank.
That this House deplores the closures of Barclays Bank, Cleadon Village, and East Boldon without any consultation with users; community leaders and other sectors within these communities; expresses dismay at the lack of responsibility for the elderly, disabled and those without transport; and calls upon the Government to institute a formal consultation procedure which would examine the consequences of such closures and ensure that adequate banking services are available to meet the needs of customers within their own community.
That this House calls on the Government to support the vital role that the urban sub-post offices play in North Eastern community life; notes the importance of their income from Benefits Agency work, without which they will be under serious threat of closure; and, in view of the closure of community banking facilities, calls upon the Government to accelerate its programmes of computerisation of the Post Office so that local post offices can fill this void.