Early Day Motions

ARTS FUNDING DECISIONS

That this House welcomes the McMaster Review on supporting excellence in the arts; is pleased that the report identifies the need for professional judgement and increased involvement of artists and practitioners in decision-making; supports the rejection of top-down targets and crude box-ticking in

DEFENCE TRAINING REVIEW

That this House welcomes the announcement by the Ministry of Defence of the halt to Package Two of the Defence Training Review which sought to privatise the staff who train the armed forces in driving armoured vehicles as well as in foreign languages; further welcomes that training will therefore re

CRASH LANDING OF BA FLIGHT 38 AT HEATHROW

That this House wishes to place on record its tribute to the professionalism and dedication of the crew of BA flight 38 which crash landed at Heathrow airport on 17th January and of the emergency services, all of whom ensured that a major disaster and loss of life were avoided; and calls upon the Go

MR PATRICK LAURANCE AND THE FAMILY HOLIDAY ASSOCIATION

That this House acknowledges with gratitude the life and work of Patrick Laurance, co-founder with his wife Joan, of the Family Holiday Association, which from humble beginnings in 1975 has grown to provide today over 1,600 disadvantaged families with short breaks to seaside towns in Britain every y

RHIANNA HARDIE AND SAFE WATER TANKS

That this House notes the verdict of the inquest into the death of 18 month old Rhianna Hardie, who was killed in her Taunton council home by boiling water seeping through the ceiling from a faulty water tank system in 2006; condemns the decision of the Health and Safety Executive not to issue safet

BBC LOCAL RADIO

That this House recognises the valuable work of BBC Radio Gloucestershire and other BBC local radio stations in providing high quality, informative and entertaining broadcasting for people in their local areas; particularly praises BBC Radio Gloucestershire for its role during last July's flooding i

SCHOOLS AND THE SINGLE STATUS AGREEMENT

That this House notes the financial implications of pay and grading reviews in English local authorities; further notes that these are a legal requirement following the single status agreement and are required in accordance with equalities legislation; recognises that schools face particular difficu

DISABLED PARKING AT SUPERMARKETS

That this House recognises that parents of young children and disabled people gain tremendous benefit from more generously sized parking bays; disapproves of the selfish use of these special parking bays by people who do not need them; congratulates ASDA on its plans to charge drivers parking at its

COAL INDUSTRY PENSION SCHEMES

That this House urges the Government to begin discussions with the trustees of the coal industry pension schemes to consider how best to implement the joint statement of 17th January 2002 issued by the Government and the coal industry pension trustees declaring that `both the Government and the trus

FARM ANIMAL WELFARE AND PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

That this House believes that public sector bodies should, when procuring food and meals, help deliver good standards of farm animal welfare; congratulates Wirral Council on its decision to use only free range eggs; regrets that the Government's Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative has achieved

EXTENSION OF THE FREEDOM PASS

That this House notes that currently the Freedom Pass in London cannot be used before 9 am, even for vital trips such as medical appointments; further notes that all the key older people's groups in London support removing time restrictions on the Freedom Pass; believes that unhindered mobility on p

GCSE AND A LEVEL RESULTS IN TRAFFORD

That this House congratulates Trafford schools on their outstanding results at GCSE and A-level in 2007; notes that 74 per cent. of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at A* to C, a better performance than in any other local authority on the English mainland; that 61 per cent. of pupils achieved five

BRITISH COUNCIL IN RUSSIA (No. 2)

That this House is dismayed at the forced closure of British Council Offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg; deplores the intimidation of British Council employees; welcomes the decision of the Government not to retaliate in similar fashion against Russian cultural representatives in the UK; re

RETALIATORY EVICTION BY PRIVATE SECTOR LANDLORDS

That this House notes the contents of The Tenant's Dilemma, a Citizens Advice Bureau report on the issue of retaliatory eviction in the private rented sector; expresses concern that some landlords are using the provisions of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to avoid meeting their responsibility to

STATE AID REGULATIONS AND SHETLAND FISHERMEN

That this House notes with concern the ruling by the European Commission, under state aid regulations, that Shetland Islands Council must recover monies invested in the local fishing industry using funds paid to Shetland Islands Council by the oil industry as compensation for the disruption caused b

WINDSOR FIRE STATION

That this House notes with grave concern that the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority is choosing, through lack of current resources, to close Windsor Fire Station during the critical night period; praises the campaign to resist this closure by the Windsor Observer and Windsor Express newspapers, council

COSTS OF PARLIAMENT

That this House believes the cost of Parliament should not increase; further believes that cost increases in the Lords should be balanced by cost reductions in the Commons and that the Boundary Commission should aim to reduce the number of constituencies and hon. Members by making the number of elig

MEASURING QUALITY OF LIFE

That this House notes the undertaking of a study by the French government to establish how quality of life indicators can contribute to new methods of economic calculation; further notes the participation in the study of eminent scholars Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen; commends the French governmen

HEPATITIS B AND THE RISING CURVE REPORT

That this House is alarmed by the figures exposed in the Rising Curve report published by the Hepatitis B Foundation UK, revealing that chronic hepatitis B in the UK has doubled since 2002, rising from 180,000 people to 325,000; calls on the Department of Health to revise figures on chronic hepatiti

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IN INDIA

That this House notes with concern the report by the All India Catholic Union that highlighted 190 attacks on Christians in 2007; recognises that these attacks took the form of homicides, armed assaults, sexual harassment and lynchings; further notes that many of these attacks took place while peopl

SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE

That this House regrets the recent reordering of succession to the throne on the basis of sex; condemns the practice of male-preference primogeniture as discriminatory; and urges this custom to be outlawed.

EUROPEAN CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION WEEK

That this House calls on the Government to support the European Cervical Cancer Association and Jo's Trust Pearl of Wisdom campaign to raise awareness of cervical cancer prevention and advocate the implementation of prevention programmes across Europe; commends the STOP cervical cancer petition at w

WOODLAND TRUST CHRISTMAS CARD RECYCLING SCHEME

That this House supports the Woodland Trust Christmas Card Recycling Scheme run in conjunction with Recycle Now throughout January 2008, which aims to reach a target of 100 million Christmas cards recycled; urges the public to help exceed last year's record of 93 million cards recycled and 22,000 tr

INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND RURAL SCIENCES

That this House notes that agricultural and land-based environmental research in Ceredigion has a long and proud history, which can be traced back to the formation of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station (WPBS) in 1919; notes that the WPBS first received government funding in 1956, and that ever since r

INCOME SHIFTING

That this House notes with concern the proposals for a new tax on income shifting; is aware of the disquiet expressed at the proposals by small businesses, the self-employed, freelancers, accountants and other affected parties; is concerned that the new tax will make it impossible for jointly-owned