2,535 ingested motions from United Kingdom. Year filters use the introduced date shown on each card. Walk years back as far as this source still publishes.
That this House believes that strong international controls on trade in ivory are necessary to protect endangered elephants; acknowledges that the European Union's abstention on a vote to relax the ban on international ivory trade at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1997 allowed a limited resumption in ivory trade between three southern African countries and Japan; is concerned that many African and Asian elephant range states have reported an increase in elephant poaching as a result of the lifting of the ivory ban and that there have been a number of large seizures of illegal ivory in recent months; notes Labour's manifesto pledge to 'support protection for the African elephant, and oppose any resumption of the trade in ivory and elephant skins'; and therefore strongly urges the Government to fully support the restoration of a ban on international trade in ivory at the next CITES Conference of the Parties in April 2000.
That this House notes the continued discrepancy between rates of VAT charged on energy conservation (17.5 per cent.) and on energy consumption (5 per cent.); believes that the Government's limited reduction on VAT on energy-saving materials purchased under certain promotional schemes, while welcome, does not address this wider distortion; notes that in September 1999 the French Government cut VAT on energy-saving materials from 20.6 per cent. to 5.5 per cent. and has not been challenged by other EU member states or by the European Commission; notes a similar reduction has been made in Italy from January 2000, again without challenge; believes that this demonstrates that the UK could extend the current limited VAT reduction to all installations of energy saving materials carried out by contractors and remain in line with EU law; and therefore urges the UK Government to do this at the earliest possible opportunity.
That this House, mindful that human rights in China and Tibet have continued to deteriorate and aware that the bilateral dialogue on human rights has failed to prevent this deterioration, supports the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 20th January and the recommendations of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of 10th December 1998; and calls on the Government and its European Union partners, with the United States, to co-sponsor a resolution on China at the forthcoming 56th Commission for Human Rights.
That this House welcomes the resolute and public position of the European Union, the United States and Israel with respect to the inclusion of the Freedom Party in the Austrian Government coalition as a clear indication that there can be no room in Europe's democratic family for Hitler's political heirs.
That this House welcomes the Government's plans to modernise the Probation Service under the Crime and Public Protection Bill, but calls upon the Home Secretary to reconsider his proposal to change its name to the Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Service.
That this House welcomes the agreement reached in Montreal in January in respect of the Biosafety Protocol; congratulates the Minister for the Environment on his role in securing the support of European and non-aligned nations for the protocol; and recognises the overriding importance of the precautionary principle and environmental sustainability in all discussions relating to international trade and development.
That this House notes that there is no specific detailed legislation to protect the hundreds of millions of broiler chickens reared every year in the UK; is dismayed that millions of these birds are reared in severely cramped conditions, 30-40,000 at a time in windowless sheds; is further dismayed that such conditions, together with the use of growth-promoting antibiotics and rich diets, can cause severe and crippling health problems and injuries for millions of chickens; is concerned that intensive farming and the cramming together of broiler chickens can create the conditons in which infections flourish; notes that recent reports and surveys suggest that a significant number of broiler chickens are infected with salmonella or campylobacter, the main sources of food poisoning in humans; is alarmed about the potential threat this poses to human health; calls upon Her Majesty's Government to do all it can to end the pain and suffering of broiler chickens and to safeguard human health; and, believes that, by doing so, Her Majesty's Government will both maintain consumer confidence in poultry products and ensure the economic future of the poultry industry.
That this House is appalled by the sword attack at the offices of Cheltenham Liberal Democrats on Friday 28 January; mourns the death of Councillor Andy Pennington who served the people of Gloucestershire with distinction, and sends condolences to his family; thanks the Gloucestershire Police and East Gloucestershire Health Trust for their excellent response to the tragic incident; and sends best wishes to the honourable Member for Cheltenham and his family and looks forward to his speedy return to Westminster.
That this House notes the Prime Minister's call at the World Economic Forum in Davos for economic modernisation; and calls on him to reverse the increase in taxation, bureaucracy and regulations which his Government has imposed at home in order that British companies may be better able to compete and prosper.
That this House congratulates the Government on its commitment to improving services for young people leaving care; supports the view of the Health Committee that the duty of local authorities should extend to young people up to and including the age of 21; and urges the Government to heed the recent statement of Sir William Utting that 'deferring this to an unforseen future would be a further injustice to a generation of young people who have been failed in the past'.
That this House deplores the fact that the Prime Minister has said that there is no alternative to the Government's existing strategy on the NHS; believes that the expansion of the independent sector is essential to increase the United Kingdom's total healthcare capacity; and calls on the Government to 'think the unthinkable' and review its position on the role of private health insurance.
That this House deplores the decision of ASDA effectively to dump the Lancashire area as a supplier of vegetables, removing at a stroke 50 to 70 per cent. of many Lancashire farmers' revenue; equally deplores the nature of the decision, made without warning or discussion with the farmers; and expresses its deep concern that this episode might well presage a more brutal and exploitative approach towards British farmers and growers introduced into the United Kingdom from the USA by Walmart.
That this House congratulates scientists working for the Institute of Cancer Research, Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund on their success in locating a gene which increases a man's risk of testicular cancer by up to 50 times following a 10-year fight to discover the secrets of a form of cancer that is the most common in men aged 15 to 40 years, affecting 1,400 men in the United Kingdom every year and that has seen an 80 per cent. increase in the disease between the early 1970s and early 1990s; and urges men from families with an incidence of more than one case of testicular cancer to volunteer to take part in research to locate other inherited testicular cancer genes.
That this House recognises the commitment of the Government towards former coalfield areas in granting planning permission for the retail and leisure development on Dalton Flats and in the constituency of the honourable Member for Easington and that the ú36 million cost of the development will be met totally from the private sector and that 1,000 much-needed jobs will be created which will inspire a new confidence in an area which has been recognised as fourth worst in a national league of deprivation; congratulates councillors, officers and staff at Easington District Council, town and parish councils, the Dalton Flats Action Group and the thousands of Easington residents who worked so hard in preparing and supporting the planning application; looks forward to the beginning of a new era in an area so worthy of regeneration; and extends its congratulations to the Deputy Prime Minister for making such a bold and imaginative decision in granting the planning consent.
leave out from 'recommended;' to end and add 'and calls on the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government to follow this example and to abolish all tuition fees.'.
That this House deplores the refusal of North West Water, a privatised water utility company, acting on behalf of the public as the prosecuting authority, to reveal why it dropped pollution charges relating to a pollution incident in the River Calder in 1995 by the chemical company NIPA Laboratories at their Oswaldtwistle site when the case came before Blackburn Magistrates' Court on Friday 28th January; demands an explanation, as a matter of urgency, of allegations made that an agreement was made between the two companies' lawyers before the arranged court hearing which involved a six figure payment by NIPA to North West Water as 'costs' and, on the understanding that details of the settlement would not be made public; notes that the same company on Monday 31 January appeared in Burnley Crown Court for a serious air pollution incident and was fined ú20,000 and ordered to pay ú54,000 costs; and asks the Environment Agency to carry out a full investigation into the company's actions.
That this House notes with dismay that the number of lambs and sheep exported for slaughter abroad has increased significantly; is concerned that many of these animals are sent on appallingly long journeys to Italy, Greece and Spain, where often they are killed in abattoirs using cruel and illegal slaughter methods; notes that by the time the animals reach southern Europe many are suffering greatly due to overcrowding, the lack of water and proper ventilation on many vehicles, the extreme heat in summer and the sheer length of the journey; notes that the great majority of sheep exports from the UK are in meat form and believes that, with vigorous marketing on the continent, the whole of UK exports could be converted into a meat trade; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to do all it can to help bring the cruel live animal export trade to an end, and to take the lead in persuading European Union partners to adopt a major change of policy whereby, throughout the EU, the long distance transport of live farm animals is replaced by a trade in meat and carcases.
leave out from 'Hydrocephalus' and insert 'on its work to promote the advantages of increased consumption of folic acid in pregnancy but believes that it would be wrong in principle to require the fortification of all flour because people must be free to choose what they eat, and whether it contains supplements or additivies.'.
leave out from 'relatives' to end and add 'believes that the implementation of the Patten Report at this time presents a most serious challenge to the peace process and recognises that the only worthwhile tribute that this country can pay to the men and women who paid with their lives trying to protect their fellow citizens from terrorism will come when General de Chastelain is able to give satisfactory assurances on the decommissioning of all terrorist weapons.'.
That this House notes with surprise the claimed support of the honourable Member for North Cornwall for Agreed Programme Motions (Official Report, 25th January, column 555), particularly because he agreed a Programme Motion for the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Bill on 2nd September 1998, then reneged on the agreement in mid-debate and ended up failing to vote at all in the consequent division; and further recalls and notes his comments at the time (Official Report, 2nd September 1998, column 728): 'I am sincerely sorry if I have in any way led the Right honourable Lady (the Member for Derby South) to expect my full support for the whole motion ... I shall withdraw my name from the motion.'; and expresses the hope that if the honourable Member agrees Programme Motions in future, he will abide by them.
That this House re-affirms its support for the Government's determination to combat all forms of social and financial exclusion while promoting social inclusion; notes that many people are still excluded from mainstream financial services and are unable to enjoy the benefits of tax-efficient savings schemes; recognises the importance of ensuring that low-income households benefit from such programmes; welcomes the attempts of some financial service providers to attract previously excluded families to the benefits of these schemes; welcomes, in particular, the success of the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) in attracting over 200,000 customers into the new Individual Savings Accounts (ISA); notes that 70,000 of these accounts belong to customers who previously did not enjoy regular tax-efficient savings; and calls on the Government to build upon the achievements of the ISA in broadening the net for tax-free savings when designing its proposals for stakeholder pensions.
That this House expresses its strong concern at the arrest of London resident, Mr. Balbir Singh Bains by the Indian authorities, his subsequent detention for five days without the Police notifying his family, his continuing detention for 7 months without charge, the allegations of physical abuse in custody, and the numerous delays by the Indian Police in presenting evidence in court to justify his detention; and calls upon the British Government to make representations to the Indian Government on behalf of his distressed wife and children who are British citizens.
That this House records with respect the death of Ion Ratiu, a great Romanian patriot, who campaigned from London to restore freedom and democracy to his native land for more than 50 years: pays tribute to his courage and determination which played a significant part in rescuing many democrats from the dictatorial regime in Romania as well as turning the tide against totalitarianism through his writings, broadcasts and political campaigning; remembers with affection a charming, cultured and urbane friend; and expresses deepest sympathy to his widow and sons.
after 'research' insert 'reminds the government of the recommendation of the science and technology select committee that only a combination of a gene and a known utility which is novel and not obvious should be patentable in the context of that utility and a combination of the same gene and a further novel utility should also be patentable.'.
That this House believes that there are no valid grounds for distinguishing between Public and Private Bills insofar as the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 is concerned; considers the City of London (Ward Elections) Bill to be profoundly anti-democratic in that it gives votes to owners of buildings and breaches the Human Rights Act 1998; and calls on the Leader of the House to rectify this anomaly and bring forward proposals from the Modernisation Committee to put both classes of Bill on the same footing.
That this House notes the enormous support from honourable Members of all parties for the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation (15 Year Programme) Bill introduced in the last session, when 351 honourable Members signed a motion calling for it to become law; notes that the Bill required the Secretary of State to draw up a programme of action to ensure that energy conservation measures were taken on 500,000 homes per year over a period of 15 years with the aim of ending fuel poverty in the United Kingdom; recognises that such a programme would improve public health, benefit the environment and create jobs; welcomes the announcement of 11th November 1999 of an Inter-Ministerial Group to examine the way ahead on fuel poverty with a remit to set a target date for eliminating the problem; and hopes that there will be time this session to discuss and pass a Bill that will lead to an end to the problem of fuel poverty.
That this House congratulates the Scottish Executive on its proposals to abolish tuition fees for all Scottish full-time higher and further education students in Scotland from autumn 2000, a year earlier than the Cubie Committee recommended; notes that this is as a result of the Liberal Democrat insistence that tuition fees should be abolished; and urges the United Kingdom Government to abolish tuition fees for all United Kingdom full-time higher and further education students.
That this House congratulates the five British women for managing to enter the record books by becoming the first all-female expedition to reach both North and South Poles; pays tribute to the five women involved for their effort and determination; hopes that this contributes to their efforts to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics UK, Britain's biggest sports charity; and hopes to see future British expeditions achieve similar success.
That this House welcomes Cancer BACUP's report, Living with Cancer in the 21st Century; records its concern that cancer survival rates in the UK remain below the EU average; welcomes the Government's commitment to reducing cancer deaths and inequalities in treatment; believes that new anti-cancer treatments should be made available on the NHS as soon as their effectiveness has been proved; and calls on ministers to make additional resources available for medicines recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, so that other aspects of cancer care do not suffer as a consequence of NICE's recommendations.
That this House notes the proposals published by the Home Secretary to extend casino opening hours which are currently limited to the hours of 1400 p.m. through to the following 0400 a.m. and that the new proposal will extend the week-day opening until 0600 a.m.; further notes that the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment states that the majority of the 11,700 staff effected would prefer the change; believes this is the view of the employer and not the staff; notes that the British Casino Association does not recognise trade unions and is concerned that there has been little if any meaningful consultation about the consequences of the extended licence; further notes that the vast majority of staff are completely opposed to the new hours because of issues arising from health and safety that are specific to people working in the industry; and therefore calls upon the Home Secretary to ensure full consultation is undertaken before giving further consideration to the proposed changes.
That this House expresses sympathy to travellers of Connex South Eastern who have to endure one of the most infrequent and unreliable commuter services in London; is appalled that Connex has slashed some services by half during non-peak periods on the north Kent line, London to Dartford via Greenwich service, providing passengers with only two trains per hour, as well as withdrawing some peak hour services, resulting in a worse service than before Connex was awarded the franchise; notes that the four trains per hour service had only been maintained through the goodwill of drivers who were prepared to work on their rest days; calls upon Connex South Eastern to recruit and train additional drivers to restore services that have been cut; and calls on the Secretary of State and the Regulator to conduct an urgent investigation into the poor quality service in South East London and take steps to remedy the situation.
That this House notes the difficulties caused by the falsification of data by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd in respect of recent consignments of MOX fuel; further notes the doubts cast by these events on the future of MOX fuel, as evidenced by the lack of contracts secured by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd for MOX; believes that BNFL should be exploring alternative plutonium immobilisation techniques other than MOX which would safeguard much needed jobs at Sellafield; and therefore urges Her Majesty's Government to initiate a fully comprehensive study into methods of plutonium immobilisation as a prerequisite to a full and open public consultation on the preferred method of plutonium immobilisation which Britain will implement and globally promote.
That this House notes the statement on BBC Radio by Mr Nick Bourne, Leader of the Welsh Assembly Conservative Group, that he would consider reaching an agreement with the Nationalist Group in the Assembly and that he 'would not possibly vote them down' once such an agreement was reached; further notes that the Leader of the Opposition has refused to intervene in these matters, telling the BBC on 25th January that 'I leave the choice to Nick Bourne'; and calls on the Leader of the Opposition to tell the House whether he feels it is right for the Conservative Party in Wales to consider supporting an administration in the National Assembly that would be led by those determined to secure the break up of the United Kingdom.
That this House regrets that Prime Minister's Question Time did not take place on 26th January 2000, the Prime Minister's 1000th day in office, that as a result the Prime Minister did not have to explain to the House why crime has risen and police numbers fallen, class sizes for the over- 8s have gone up and teacher recruitment has gone down and why the number of people waiting for outpatient appointments has doubled to 512,000 and the number of nurses has fallen by 2,500; and notes that through bungling incompetence or skilful avoidance the Prime Minister was let off the hook and honourable Members were denied the opportunity to hold him to account.
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Local Authorities (Funds) (England) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 1999 (S.I., 1999, No. 3459), dated 29th December 1999, a copy of which was laid before this House on 30th December, be annulled.
That this House is concerned that the WTO rules pose an increasing threat to attempts to secure improved standards of animal welfare; is dismayed that fears of WTO challenges have led to the EU severely diluting two of its key animal protection measures, the ban on the import of furs from countries using the leghold trap and the prohibition on the marketing of cosmetics tested on animals; believes that the WTO rules unduly constrain the EU's ability to introduce good new animal welfare measures and in particular to prohibit cruel rearing systems and the import of products derived from animals reared in such systems; believes that the WTO rules must be reformed to allow other legitimate considerations such as animal welfare to take an equal place alongside trade liberalisation; welcomes the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers' statement stressing that international acknowledgement of animal welfare rules must be one of the EU's key objectives for the next WTO round; and urges Her Majesty's Government to take the lead in persuading its EU partners to press vigorously for the adverse impact of the WTO rules on animal welfare to be brought to an end.
That this House regrets that it took 23 years for Her Majesty's Government to ask the Indonesian Government to look into the deaths of British newsmen Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters at Balibo, East Timor, on 16th October 1975; notes, therefore, that it was not until October 1998 that Indonesia's President undertook to do so; notes, too, that the Indonesian Government failed to carry out that undertaking; notes, with dismay, that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated in October 1999 that it has no plans to ask Indonesia's new government to carry out such an investigation; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to institute without delay, a full judicial inquiry into the deaths of newsmen Rennie and Peters.
That this House notes and supports the request of Taiwan ROC to be granted observer status to the World Health Organisation; and further notes that while Taiwan already has excellent health services within its country, fully understands the aspiration of its people and all who work in the medical profession to be fully involved in the medical developments that are taking place world-wide; further notes that to grant observer status in the World Health Organisation would allow exchanges of medical developments and progress to be fully discussed; and requests that at the next meeting of the World Health Organisation in Geneva the World Health Organisation give serious consideration to this request for observer status.
That this House notes that in a recent ballot of 37,080 members, pensioners and deferred pensioners of British Airways APS pension scheme, 78.5 per cent. voted on a turnout of 65.3 per cent. to reject the trustees' advice to merge with a new, NAPS, pensions scheme which would considerably reduce their pension entitlements; notes that pension fund merger is being actively promoted by BA to save it ú90 million initially, ú281 million at the next valuation and a share of the surplus thereafter; notes that the trustees, a majority of whom represent BA interests, are proposing to disregard the ballot subject to High Court Approval; notes that a BA spokesperson has expressed on television the opinion that the views of the members are irrelevant; and condemns the behaviour of British Airways management as unacceptable for a leading UK plc.
That this House calls on the Government to support the vital role that urban sub-post offices play in city life; notes that in Portsmouth South 15 out of 22 of them derive more than 40 per cent. of their income from Benefits Agency work, without which they will be under serious threat of closure; believes that this is not an uncommon situation and is shared by urban sub-post offices across the UK; and therefore requests the Government to look very carefully at the changes in the way benefits are paid.
That this House notes that international currency speculation currently stands at about $1.5 trillion a day and that the vast majority of this is unrelated to trade in real goods and services; further notes that such enormous speculative flows substantially undermine the powers of national governments and regional blocs; believes that a small levy on such speculation, known as the Tobin Tax after the name of the Nobel Laureate who originated the concept, could both help to dampen down the scale and scope of speculation and raise substantial revenues, raising as much as $250 billion each year for good causes such as development and environmental protection; recognises that such levy would have to be universal or as near to that as possible and contain safeguards to minimise and eliminate tax evasion; notes that the Tobin Tax has the backing of the Canadian Parliament, the Finnish Government and campaign groups such as War on Want; and urges the Government to discuss the concept with its partners in international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, the IMF, G8 and the European Union with a view to drawing up an internationally co-ordinated and feasible tax regime for currency speculation.
That this House demands that there be no special concessions made by any of the relevant authorities for any professional footballers found to have committed racial assault.
That this House notes with dismay the Answer of the Secretary of State for Wales of 20th January, Official Report, column 590W, confirming that no additional cash will be made available to the National Assembly of Wales out of Objective One money granted by the EU to Wales for 2000-01, and that consequently all such expenditure in Wales - by way of the European component and the matchfunding component - will have to come out of the Welsh block which was first determined prior to Wales being granted Objective One status, regrets that this will take up finance which would otherwise be available for health, education and local services; and notes with contempt that the Treasury's interpretation of 'Looking after Wales' is to pocket all EU money itself for the year 2000-01 and to deny Wales even a brass farthing of EU resources.
That this House deplores the persistent and studied insults to the Irish people which were an objectionable feature of the contributions of the honourable Members for Penrith and the Border, Bromley and Chislehurst, and Spelthorne to the debate on the Representation of the People Bill on 19th January; notes in particular the reference of the Right honourable Member for Bromley and Chislehurst to aliens coming from a strange foreign country, such as the Republic of Ireland; believes that there is no place for such inflammatory prejudice in the House's debates and that their behaviour discredits both the Members concerned and the Conservative Party; calls on them to apologise for the gratuitous offence which they have caused; and reaffirms its respect and friendship for a community which has contributed so much to the UK's cultural and economic life and which continues to do so.
leave out from 'increases' to end and add 'believes that further increases in the proportion of recycled newsprint used in the UK would lead to expansion of the UK newsprint manufacturing sector,creating jobs and improving the UK's balance of trade figures; believes that this shift to recycled fibre would also alleviate the pressure to source virgin fibre from wildlife-rich forests overseas; and therefore hopes there will be a time for the Newspaper and Magazine Recycling Bill proposed by the honourable Member for Bristol North West to be debated and passed in this session.'.