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 Magistrates' Association on the 80th anniversary of its creation in October 1920; pays tribute to the selfless dedication and commitment of the 30,000 volunteer justices of the peace from all walks of life who generously give their time to the lay magistracy; notes that the lay magistracy, with nearly 50 per cent. women and 6 per cent. ethnic minority members, is broadly representative of the society it serves and is by far the most representative component of the criminal justice system; applauds the valuable contribution lay magistrates make to delivering local justice in local communities; and looks forward to the continued success of this valuable role.
That this House reminds the Mayor of London that pigeons in Trafalgar Square are part of the London scene enjoyed by citizens and visitors alike; further reminds him that the Square's feral pigeons are intelligent and sociable creatures who have become accustomed to a food source provided by human beings and to cut off the supply abruptly would be cruel and lacking in compassion; and calls upon the Mayor to consult the relevant animal welfare organisations on acceptable methods of pigeon control and in the meantime to desist from campaigns that vilify the gentle London pigeon.
leave out from second 'that' to end and insert 'Portcullis House has been completed on time and within budget, as explained by the honourable Member for Chipping Barnet in his article in the House Magazine of 23rd October 2000.'.
after 'others', insert 'recognises that similar examples of extreme weather conditions are becoming increasingly frequent and that the international scientific consensus is that such phenomena are directly attributable to the burning of fossil fuels.'.
at end add 'and to ensure that the forthcoming Climate Change Strategy emphasises the importance of fiscal policy in achieving the Kyoto targets and alleviating the more dangerous consequences of climate change'.
That this House believes that it is no longer acceptable, under the existing council tax system, to spend ú168 million of taxpayers' money a year subsidising the wealthy to have second homes when there are many thousands of people who live in areas of high second home ownerships who do not even have a decent first home; and calls on the Government to bring forward proposals to deal with this anomaly in the forthcoming rural areas White Paper.
That this House congratulates the honourable Member for Luton South for presenting a Ten Minute Rule Bill to crack down on rogue traders; acknowledges that thousands of people are victims of unfair trading practices such as oppressive selling tactics, unjustifiably high prices and shoddy workmanship; welcomes the Public Accounts Committee's excellent report, 'The Office of Fair Trading: protecting the consumer from unfair trading practices', highlighting the failure of the current legislation; congratulates bodies such as the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and the National Consumer Council on their campaign to reform the law; and urges the Government either to support the Rogue Traders Bill or include a Consumer Bill in the next Queen's Speech.
That this House notes that October 2000 saw the celebration of the sixth anniversary of World Mental Health Day, which has involved over 5000 local and national agencies with a wide range of events and activities across all sectors; congratulates the organisers of the campaign on its very considerable success in gaining positive local and national media coverage; and welcomes the Art and Craft Exhibition on display in the Palace of Westminster in the week commencing 30th October, which has been produced and co-ordinated by Leicestershire Social Services Communities Resource team (Adult Mental Health).
That this House notes the victory of Laurent Gbagbo from the Ivorian Popular Front in the presidential elections of 22nd October in the Ivory Coast; notes also that these elections were carried out in accordance with the constitution adopted after the referendum in July 2000; condemns the actions of outgoing President General Robert Guei in refusing to accept the legitimate will of the Ivorian people by declaring himself elected as president; deplores the human rights violations of his military regime, including the extra-judicial killings and terror which have taken place since his coup d'etat of 24th December 1999; calls on Her Majesty's Government to press for an independent judicial inquiry so that those responsible for these violations are brought to justice; and urges Her Majesty's Government to ensure stability in the region by strengthening the new administration of Laurent Gbagbo with financial assistance and co-operation to restore confidence in the Ivorian economy.
That this House notes the findings of the report of the Chief Medical Officer, Donaldson Report, into the ethics and practice of embryonic stem cell research, so-called therapeutic cloning; supports its recommendation that the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 be extended to allow the use of embryonic cells up to 14 days old for research into treatments for degenerative diseases, cancer, spinal injury and mitochondrial diseases in addition to the existing proposals already allowed; further supports its recommendation of a new law banning human reproductive cloning which is already not permitted by the 1990 Act; welcomes the Department of Health's support for these recommendations; notes that Parliament will soon be given a change to decide on the statutory instrument on a free vote; further welcomes the support of the Parkinson's Disease Society, the Medical Research Council, the Association of Medical Research Charities, the British Heart Foundation, the Genetic Interest Group, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the British Medical Association for these proposals; and calls on honourable Members to support the forthcoming regulation to extend the provision of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
That this House notes that 27th October marks the 53rd anniversary of the Indian occupation of large areas of the state of Jammu and Kashmir; notes that a peaceful solution to one of the world's longest-running disputes appears no closer; further notes that Kashmir continues to be one of the most highly militarized areas of the world; expresses regret that the reports of human rights violations, particularly cases of extra-judicial torture and death, continue unabated; commends both the US and United Kingdom governments for their continuing efforts to develop constructive dialogue and reduce tensions in the area; supports any initiatives taken by the governments of India or Pakistan to engage in meaningful dialogue; and urges Her Majesty's Government to continue to support vigorously the United Nations resolutions of 1948, 1949 and 1957 which upheld the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination, whilst promoting a solution which incorporates the full involvement of the Kashmiri people.
That this House endorses the Seventeenth Report of the Standards and Privileges Committee, published on 25th October, which upholds the complaint against the Right honourable Member for Ashton-under-Lyme, that he failed to declare relevant business interests during various debates in the House on economic matters between 1993 and 1999; notes that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' judgement that, 'given the nature of Mr Sheldon's business interests, it would have been advisable for him to make a declaration in all of the 12 debates cited by Mr Bruce in his complaint. But this was particularly so in the case of the eight debates listed in paragraph 50 (of the Report) given Mr Sheldon's remarks in those debates'; and calls upon the Right honourable Member to resign forthwith, as his position is untenable as Chairman of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, where he is called upon to exercise judgement on similar allegations made against other Members of this House.
That this House notes that the BAe Systems Govan shipyard is in the running for major defence orders; welcomes the recent decision of BAe management to share work for the Scotstoun sister yard with Govan until Spring; praises the yard's strong reputation for Clyde-built quality as the major employer at the heart of Govan; acknowledges that work is vital to secure the yard's future for its skilled and dedicated workforce; appreciates the efforts of MSPs, Scottish honourable Members and trade unions working together in campaigning for the Govan yard; encourages the Government to respond positively to the strong case for the Govan; and expresses total support for the Govan shipyard in bidding for current orders and future work.
That this House notes that the number of secondary school students who walk to school has declined from 61 per cent. in 1975 to 53 per cent. today; further notes that the morning school run causes 20 per cent. of rush hour traffic; believes that there are greener and healthier ways of travelling to school than driving; welcomes the Government's 'THINK!' campaign to promote road safety and its commitment to cutting child deaths and serious injuries by 50 per cent.; and encourages all secondary schools to join the 1000 who are already taking part in the RAC's Grass Routes Challenge which seeks to encourage pupils to development their own safer, greener and healthier school travel plans.
That this House congratulates all United Kingdom participants at the Sydney Olympics, in particular those who won medals; notes with admiration that gold medals were won in 11 events, the best United Kingdom achievement for 80 years, with a total of 22 individuals receiving gold medals; proudly salutes Olympian champions Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and Shirley Robertson (sailing), Louis Attrill, James Cracknell, Simon Dennis, Rowley Douglas, Tim Foster, Luka Grubor, Ben Hunt-Davis, Andrew Lindsay, Matthew Pinsent, Steve Redgrave, Fred Scarlett, Steven Trapmore and Kieran West (rowing), Stephanie Cook (modern pentathlon), Jonathan Edwards and Denise Lewis (athletics), Richard Faulds (shooting), Audley Harrison (boxing), and Jason Queally (cycling); pays special tribute to Steve Redgrave for making Olympic history by winning a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games; welcomes the advances made in recent years which enabled the United Kingdom to improve its medal success at the Olympics; but, in recognising that more needs to be done to continue this trend, calls on central and local government to provide greater investment in sporting facilities for all interests and age groups, together with the necessary qualified coaching staff; and urges that individual and team sports in schools are encouraged with pupils required to have a minimum two hours physical education every week.
That this House condemns the decision by BBC1 to move its flagship current affairs programme Panorama from Monday to Sunday and reduce the number of editions; expresses its concerns that there is now no serious current affairs programming on BBC1 in weekday peak time; further notes the concentration on soaps, drama and quiz shows in the new BBC1 schedule to the exclusion of serious public service programming; and calls on the BBC's Board of Governors to reverse this decision and return Panorama to weekday peak time on BBC1.
That this House welcomes the Government's commitment to reform the tax system to increase incentives to reduce environmental damage; recognises the important role that fuel duty has played in meeting this commitment; welcomes the reduction in traffic growth to below the rate of economic growth, with rail passengers up by 17 per cent. since May 1997 and cycling up by five per cent. since 1998; recognises that some motorists are finding it hard to cope with the increased cost of fuel; and urges the Government to reform the fiscal system in order to encourage fuel efficiency and promote the use of alternative cleaner fuels by means, for example, of reducing vehicle excise duty for the most efficient cars, increasing financial incentives for motorists and hauliers to convert or buy vehicles powered by liquid petroleum gas, encouraging fuel suppliers to rapidly increase the 500 fuel stations where LPG is currently available and increasing research and development grants into fuel cell technology.
That this House recalls that Early Day Motion 476 warmly welcomed the First Report of the Liaison Committee, Session 1999-2000, (HC 300), published on 2nd March, which observed that the membership of select committees is effectively under the control of the whips and that honourable Members have been kept off select committees because of their views and that this is wrong in principle; recognises that the Early Day Motion has been supported by 244 honourable Members and that the Leader of the House confirmed on 13th July that there would be a separate debate on the Liaison Committee's report; further notes that on the same day the Prime Minister told the Leader of the Opposition that there would be a free vote on the Report's recommendations, as there would be on the Conservative side; and, in the light of the statements made on 23rd October by candidates seeking election to the Speakership and by other honourable Members expressing concerns at the way in which Parliament had allowed itself to be side-lined, calls upon the Leader of the House to make Government time available to debate and vote on the Liaison Committee report.
That this House, informed by Railtrack that it was aware of the potentially dangerous state of their track at Hatfield and elsewhere, considers that the company's decision to continue operating high speed rail services over that track notwithstanding those dangers renders the board of directors and the executives responsible liable to prosecution for corporate manslaughter; and calls upon the Home Secretary and the Director of Public Prosecutions to give urgent consideration to such charges.
That this House notes that a four year consultation process was carried out by the Statistical Directorate of the National Assembly for Wales (formerly the Welsh Office) between 1995 and 1999 before production of the 2001 census forms for Wales; further notes that regular liaison meetings were held during that period between the Statistical Directorate and the Welsh Language Board to discuss census issues in Wales and that the Chairman of the Welsh Language Board during that period was Lord Elis Thomas of Nant Conwy who is now Welsh Assembly Member for Merionnydd Nant Conwy and the Presiding Officer of the NAW; furthermore, deplores this failure by the Welsh Language Board Chairman to recognise the genuine wishes of the people of Wales to express their ethnicity in the 2001 census form; and calls upon the Government to provide a supplementary means to allow the people of Wales to indicate their ethnicity as well as their place of birth.
That this House notes the success of the European Car Free Day on 22nd September in which over 800 European towns and cities participated from 23 countries; sends its congratulations to the nine British local authorities which participated, and to the British national co-ordinating partner Environmental Transport Association; notes that European Car Free Day is an ideal opportunity for citizens to experience the benefits of traffic reduction for themselves; welcomes the efforts of the Environmental Transport Association to promote widespread participation by British towns and cities in the next European Car Free Day on Saturday 22nd September 2001; regrets that the British Government was the only member of the European Union not to offer formal support to the European Car Free Day 2000; suggests that formal government support in Britain would greatly facilitate and encourage wider participation from British towns and cities in 2001; and calls upon the British Government to reconsider its position and declare its formal support for the day by signing the European Charter which has now been signed by government ministers from all member states of the European Union except Britain.
That this House urges the Secretary of State for Social Security to lay before the House as soon as he receives it the report on the cost of restoring the link between the basic pension and average earnings, prepared by the Government Actuary under section 36 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, so that it can be taken into account by honourable Members in considering the Government's proposals for increasing the pension in 2001.
That this House finds it to be totally unacceptable that the French-based multi-national company Saint-Gobain should have acquired the shares of Biwater (Clay Cross) Ltd for the immediate purposes of closing the plant; is deeply concerned that this will lead to the loss of 700 jobs and the devastation of the local community; is aware that Saint-Gobain's objectives in moving to close the plant are (a) to destroy the pipe manufacturing capacity of a key rival, especially in international markets, (b) to capture Biwater's extensive and growing order book, essentially for transfer to overseas companies and (c) to transfer and asset strip the plant's machinery; and calls upon the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to prevent the closure by making full and effective use of powers available to him under the Fair Trading Act 1973, which includes the possibility of setting up an immediate inquiry into the take-over by the Competition Commission and halting all moves to close the plant while the Commission undertakes an in-depth investigation which it is believed will lead to the saving of the plant and the condemnation of Saint-Gobain's actions.
That this House notes that October 2000 is the 50th Anniversary of China's military invasion of Tibet; recognises that human rights in Tibet have deteriorated since Britain and the European Union failed to sponsor a resolution expressing concern over China's human rights record at the Annual meeting of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights; and calls on Her Majesty's Government urgently to re-evaluate this policy, and to explore additional measures to persuade China to end the occupation of Tibet as a matter of priority.
That this House expresses concern at the behaviour of the Right Honourable Member for Wokingham who issued a press release entitled Conservative News in which he states 'The news that Nissan will not invest in the new Micra in Sunderland is another body blow for the British motor industry'; notes that the decision where to build the new Micra has not been made, and that his inaccurate statement has caused unnecessary anxiety amongst thousands of North East workers and their families; and calls on the Right honourable Member for Wokingham to issue a statement giving a full apology to the company and the people of the North East and pledge his support to the winning of the new contract.
After 'Government', insert "notes that approval can be given immediately regardless of the status or outcome of the UK-US talks as Singapore Airlines is not party to any agreement between the two countries; notes".
after "House" insert "recognises that the Government has inherited a ú19 billion backlog of repair and modernisation work in council housing and has increased public investment in council housing by releasing capital receipts, but".
leave out from "October" to end and add "welcomes the free and fair elections held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and acknowledges President Rauf Denktas as the elected representative of the people of Northern Cyprus; recognises that in all countries there are lawful limits to press and political freedom and that in Northern Cyprus there is an independent judiciary well able to resolve disputes between the State and the citizen as to the extent of those limits; notes that the courts have ordered the release of all persons recently arrested; further recognises that the presence of Turkish troops in Northern Cyprus is for the time being essential to prevent any repetition of the attempted genocide to which the Turkish Cypriots were subjected in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1974; and looks forward to a confederal Cyprus in which Turkish and Greek Cypriots can live side by side in mutual respect, prosperity, and security.".
That this House congratulates the National Theatre on the success of Watch This Space its summer festival of international outdoor theatre and music which has been enjoyed by tens of thousands of people and has contributed to the animation of London's South Bank, providing access to high quality entertainment for the widest possible audience.
That this House applauds the significant partnerships established in North London between education and the private and public sectors; recognises that such partnerships ensure the high quality provision of a comprehensive, effective service, thus enabling the successful delivery of programmes which raise achievement and enhance the employability skills of young people; and welcomes the exceptional contribution of companies including Nortel Networks, New Southgate and MacDonald's Restaurant (HQ Finchley) who continue to support the Government's agenda of strengthening links between business and education to the mutual benefit of both sectors.
That this House congratulates all the partners involved in the Blackbrook Community Safety Initiative, especially the local residents' association, members of Cheshire Fire Brigade and the young people of Blackbrook; notes that by working with young people to check smoke alarms, provide batteries and fit new alarms Cheshire Fire Brigade has raised awareness of fire safety and brought about a significant reduction in both the number of fires and the number of hoax calls in the area; believes that this initiative demonstrates the contribution the fire brigade can make towards reducing crime and anti-social behaviour; and calls upon the Home Office to encourage the development of similar schemes in other areas.
That this House notes with concern that, while pensioners over the age of 60 years can claim a winter fuel payment of ú150 a year, there are one million severely disabled people under the age of 60 who are not eligible for the payment, many of whom feel the cold intensely and cannot afford to heat their homes adequately; and therefore calls on the Government to extend the winter fuel payment to disabled people who receive the middle or the higher rate of the disability living allowance care component or the higher rate of the mobility component.
That this House recognises the work of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in drawing attention to the difficulties faced by guide dog owners when taxi and minicab drivers refuse to carry a guide dog; welcomes the proposals for implementing section 37 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which will place a duty on licensed taxi drivers to carry guide dogs without charge; notes that this will still leave guide dog owners who have to rely on minicabs open to discrimination; and urges the Government to encourage local authorities when licensing minicabs in their areas to include within their licensing laws a requirement that guide dogs should be carried free of charge unless the driver has a proven medical condition which would preclude such action, and in London to include such a requirement when implementing the Private Hire Vehicle (London) Act 1998.
That this House congratulates the United Nations on the success of its recent world food day, which has once again highlighted the problem of world hunger that at the beginning of the third millennium more than 800 million men, women and children are chronically hungry; recognises that hunger not only cost lives, it also damages the peace and prosperity of nations; and calls upon the Government to continue to do everything within its power to attempt to eradicate world hunger and work towards a millennium free from hunger.
That this House sees no good reason why honourable Members should not be permitted to have standard four drawer filing cabinets in their offices in Portcullis House.
That this House notes the findings of the recent Competition Commission inquiry that some major supermarkets 'distorted competition in the supply of groceries' with the effect of helping to kill competition from smaller shops; welcomes the conclusion that this 'operates against the public interest', but deplores the perverse decision that no action should be taken in this regard; and therefore calls upon the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to ask the Director General of Fair Trading to advise on steps to be taken to protect the owners of small businesses from unfair competition aimed at destroying their livelihoods.
That this House welcomes the announcement of an independent review of pay to gardeners tending British war graves abroad; believes that it is unacceptable to reduce the income of gardeners employed to care for British war graves; and urges the Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to reconsider the decision to cut salaries which angered loyal employees and offended relatives of the heroes who gave their lives fighting for freedom.
That this House extends its deep sympathy to the people of Lewes in the wake of the recent severe flooding to hit the town; notes that 400 homes had to be evacuated and that many businesses and farmers have been severely hit; expresses its profound thanks to, and admiration for, the superb work done by the emergency services, Lewes District Council, the RNLI, the Red Cross and others; and calls on the Government to treat sympathetically requests for assistance to help put Lewes back on its feet.
That this House recognises the importance of accurate and full responses to the 2001 census; welcomes the fact that United Kingdom citizens can choose from a wide range of nationalities and ethnic origins, including Scottish in Scotland and Irish throughout the United Kingdom; and therefore deplores strongly the refusal of the Office for National Statistics to accede to the opinion of people in Wales and include a Welsh tick box on the forms to be used in Wales.
That this House congratulates Jason Queally, the first British athlete at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games to win a gold medal, setting a personal best time in the 1km time trial cycling event, then moving on to gain a silver medal in the team race, and Jeanette Brakewell for winning a silver medal in the equestrian team event; notes that both athletes are from Chorley and that the medals won set in train the excellent performance in the Sydney 2000 Games, in which Britain achieved its best medal tally since the 1920 Olympics; and pays tribute to the British athletes in the Paralympics.
That this House notes the recent series of accidental shootings with air rifles; welcomes the publication of the Home Affairs Select Committee report on Controls over Firearms; notes, particularly, the Committee's recommendations in respect of air weapons; and calls on the Government, in its forthcoming response to the report, specifically to review the appropriateness of the existing minimum age limits for the purchase and use of lethal and non-lethal air weapons.
at end add 'bearing in mind that the sculptures are more than a work of art in the minds of the Greek people and that to many they represent the spirit of Greece.'.
That this House notes that despite original estimates of ú165 million, the cost to the taxpayer of building and equipping Portcullis House is now likely to exceed ú235 million, equivalent to a cost of more than one million pounds per honourable Member based there; further notes that the building's bronze cladding alone has cost ú30 million and the hiring of 12 fig trees for five years has cost ú150,000; and calls on the National Audit Office to carry out a full investigation into this expenditure.
That this House rejects the Greenaway Report commissioned by the Russell Group of universities and its arguments for differential university fees; believes that such an approach would create an unfair two-tier system of higher education, penalise some students for taking the course of their choice and deter access from students from less well off backgrounds; notes the recent Warwick University study which showed that going to university provides greater risks for students from less privileged backgrounds, particularly as they are less likely to enjoy the same higher career earnings as graduates from more privileged backgrounds with the same degree results; further believes that this latest research fundamentally undermines the Greenaway Report and calls on the Government to reaffirm its opposition to top-up or differential fees.