Early Day Motions

RETAINED FIREFIGHTERS IN ENGLAND AND THE WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE

That this House notes with regret the vote by the European Parliament on 17 December 2008 in favour of removing the UK's Working Time Directive opt-out; recognises the detrimental effect that the removal of the opt-out will have on retained firefighters; recognises that the 14,166 retained firefight

BUSH FIRES IN AUSTRALIA (No. 3)

That this House expresses deep sympathy for the people of Victoria, Australia, in the light of the terrific wildfires that have swept the state; notes that these fires have caused the loss of 170 lives, destroyed more than 750 homes, left 5,000 people homeless and burned 1,100 square miles of land;

RAPELAY VIDEO GAME

That this House is appalled that a video game that simulates rape has been readily available for sale on the internet; warmly welcomes Amazon's decision to withdraw the web page for the Japanese video game Rapelay; firmly believes that video games featuring high levels of violence can be detrimental

HON. MEMBERS' OFFICE AND PAY ARRANGEMENTS

That this House notes that public trust in political parties and in Parliament remains at an historically low level notwithstanding recent changes to make hon. Member's expenses more transparent; believes these changes fall short of the root and branch modernisation of the way hon. Members are remun

ENERGY PRICE DIFFERENTIALS

That this House believes that Ofgem's proposals to deal with the discriminatory charging practices imposed on pre-payment meter customers do not go far enough; notes that energy suppliers could be allowed to charge pre-payment meter customers for maintaining those meters, even where the customer is

VEHICLE NUMBER PLATE FLAGS

That this House welcomes the Government's intention to legalise the display of national flags on number plates; notes that it is expected that the revised regulations will come into force around the end of April 2009; and calls on the Government to bring the new regulations into force on St George's

STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION FOR PEOPLE WITH RELAPSING REMITTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

That this House welcomes research from a recent clinical study which has shown that the transplantation of bone marrow stem cells may stop the progression of disability for people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and even reverse the damage that has already been done; further welcome

EQUITABLE LIFE COMPENSATION (No. 2)

That this House notes with concern that the Government has declined to accept the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendation on a tribunal to ensure that fair compensation is paid to Equitable Life members who suffered losses, but is instead using the Chadwick Process which fails to command the confid

TAX CREDIT FRAUD AND ERROR

That this House notes with concern that in 2006-07 up to £1.5 billion was lost to error or fraud in tax credit payments; further notes that people under 25 years old with no children are ineligible to claim tax credits; recognises that the inclusion of this age group would cost approximately £285 mi

RECOGNITION OF BANGLA AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED NATIONS

That this House welcomes the campaign initiated by Bangladeshis in the United Kingdom to get Bangla, which is the fifth most spoken language in the world, recognised as an official language of the United Nations; and calls on the Government to give its support to this proposal.

STEPS RESEARCH INTO DEVELOPMENT DYSPLASIA OF THE HIP

That this House warmly welcomes Baby Hip Health Awareness Week from 23 to 28 February 2009, organised by the STEPS charity, which provides support and information for lower limb conditions in children and young adults; notes that the aim of the national screening policy is to identify and treat infa

THAMES GATEWAY FUNDING FOR CASTLE POINT

That this House is concerned that Thames Gateway, which has distributed £593.7 million in capital sums over the last five years has, during that period, distributed only £1.291 million, representing only 0.2 per cent. of the total to Canvey Island, and nothing at all to the greater part of the const

ASSISTANCE FOR PENSIONERS

That this House recognises the Financial Assistance Scheme to be woefully inadequate for the purpose of helping those whose pensions have been wound up; further recognises that faith in the pension system must be restored and can only be so restored through Government action; and proposes that the q

LONDON DECLARATION ON COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM

That this House notes the inaugural conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition on Combating Anti-Semitism, the attendance of 125 parliamentarians from 40 different countries and the resulting London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism; believes that anti-Semitism is on the rise, and at the h

NORTHERN ROCK LENDING

That this House welcomes the reversal of the winding down of Northern Rock's mortgage book, which will allow for a more managed approach to deleveraging the UK mortgage market.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

That this House welcomes the historic first use of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the trial of the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, for human rights violations including torture, rape and the forced conscription of child soldiers; encourages the ICC's continued investigations in the ce

STRIKE ACTION AT THE YORKSHIRE POST

That this House supports the journalists who are taking strike action in defence of jobs and quality journalism at the Yorkshire Post after the owners, Johnston Press, announced three compulsory redundancies and called for 15 more volunteers to leave the company; notes that Johnston Press's profit m

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN HONDURAS

That this House condemns the reports by the Worker Right Consortium of death threats and blacklists regarding union activities by the management of a factory in Honduras owned by the Fruit of the Loom, a subsidiary of the Russell Corporation; notes the recent closure of the factory which 1,800 worke

WORKFORCE MODERNISATION IN THE PRISON SERVICE

That this House notes prison officers' overwhelming rejection of the Government's workforce modernisation proposals for the Prison Service, with around 84 per cent. voting against the measures; further notes that the proposed re-structuring includes measures that could threaten to de-skill the workf

JOB REDUCTIONS AT THE INDEPENDENT

That this House notes with concern that in November 2008 the Independent and the Independent on Sunday proposed that 90 jobs, around 60 of them editorial, should be cut and that as a result up to 35 journalists working for the papers face compulsory redundancy; regrets the widespread demoralisation

HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION

That this House notes that local residents are not consulted when a licence for multiple occupation is given under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 unless planning permission is requested; and proposes that the Government bring forward proposals for legislative changes to require planning permission t

ABERDEEN HELICOPTER INCIDENT

That this House praises all those involved in last week's helicopter ditch in the North Sea; and notes that the professionalism and skilfulness of the pilots and rescue crew especially averted what could have been a terrible tragedy.

ANDY MURRAY

That this House congratulates Andy Murray following his victory in the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam; notes that this win is the 10th title of his career and that he is now the world number four; recognises Andy Murray to be a superb ambassador for his sport and his nation; and applauds him f

REAL HELP NOW WEBSITE

That this House welcomes the launch of the Real Help Now website which highlights the action being taken to help the economy come through the recession sooner; notes that this UK Government website holds up the key Scottish Government policies of freezing the council tax and providing flexible busin

APPRENTICESHIPS IN GLASGOW

That this House welcomes the £6 million of Scottish Government funding to create additional apprenticeship places; recognises that it will be used to fund 1,000 modern apprenticeships in Glasgow in 2009-10; notes that it follows the confirmation of a £16 million funding boost to encourage more new s