Early Day Motions

SOLICITORS AND THE FAMILY COURT PROCESSES

That this House notes the comments of a senior social worker that meetings have been held during which solicitors acting for parents have discussed how to undermine the cases of their clients; further notes that there are many odd cases in which solicitors fail to oppose care proceedings or accept t

FAMILY COURTS

That this House regrets the Government's proposals to retain secrecy within the family courts; believes that this secrecy permeates bad practice throughout the whole system of children services; feels that it is possible to protect the identity of the child while allowing parents to talk and seek ad

INQUIRY INTO RESEARCH BY DR SOUTHALL

That this House notes that in an email dated 24th October 2000, John Radford, Doncaster's then Director of Public Health, described the issue of research on babies by Dr David Southall at Doncaster Hospital in the late 1980s as `potentially a hot potato as to my recall the intervention resulted in i

PUBLIC FAMILY LAW AND SOLICITORS

That this House notes that it is common practice for a firm of solicitors to perform outsourced work for a local authority and also to represent parents when parties in cases against the same local authority; notes and is surprised that this conflict of interest is acceptable under the professional

CAPACITY FOR LITIGATION AND THE OFFICIAL SOLICITOR

That this House notes that from time to time the advice given by an expert appointed by one party to a court case is used to permit the exclusion of capacity of a further party to that case and then the Official Solicitor is brought in to act on behalf of the latter party; believes that this is an u

PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE NOTE 3 AND BROWNFIELD SITES

That this House notes that Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3) requires local authorities to consider gardens as brownfield sites; further notes that this means a gradual and uncontrollable loss of green space within urban areas; and calls for the Government to amend PPG3 to give local authoritie

PROTECTION OF BINGO CLUBS

That this House notes with concern the high number of bingo clubs that have closed and that a further 200 clubs are under threat across the UK; recognises the distress and harm caused to communities and players, especially those living alone and the elderly, by the loss of this important local socia

RE-REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

That this House notes that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will not agree to the re-registration of vehicles of which number plates have been stolen until such time as a number of crimes have occurred; believes that this is an unnecessarily relaxed approach to the problem of car cloni

GRAFFITI AND TAGGING

That this House notes the problems caused by graffiti and tagging; believes that this is a good example of a crime that warrants a community punishment; further believes that an appropriate community punishment would be to clear up the mess created; fails to comprehend why the Crown Prosecution Serv

HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTION

That this House recognises the trauma caused to patients and families by hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and C difficile; believes that there are examples the United Kingdom can learn from in other countries such as the Netherlands; recognises that this involves having sufficient beds to k

BRITISH AIRWAYS' BAN ON SURFBOARDS, WINDSURFERS AND CANOES

That this House supports the role which surfing, windsurfing and canoeing plays in encouraging active, healthy lifestyles and in creating jobs in seaside areas and beyond; recognises that those who participate in these sports often need to travel abroad in order to improve their standard; further re

ABTA AND REDUCE MY FOOTPRINT CAMPAIGN

That this House supports the Reduce My Footprint Campaign created by ABTA to allow consumers to monitor their carbon footprint; notes that the campaign will allow consumers to mitigate the effects of their travel on climate change; further notes that Reduce My Footprint will help consumers to reduce

FUNDING FOR NATIONAL AND REGIONAL FILM ARCHIVES

That this House welcomes the £25 million awarded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the UK Film Council to safeguard the future of the UK's national and regional film archives on the back of the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement; celebrates the work of the Council and in partic

SEVERN BRIDGES TOLL

That this House believes that the payment system on the two Severn bridges is out of date as it requires drivers to pay in cash only at toll booths on both bridges; notes that the London congestion charge can be paid by cash, by credit card, by telephone and on the internet; and urges the Government

CAMPAIGN TO FUND RESEARCH INTO MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

That this House recognises the devastating impact of muscular dystrophy; acknowledges that this is a disease that recognises no boundaries and results in loss of muscle strength, progressive muscle wasting and nerve deterioration; accepts that, while the Department of Health has worked closely with

PERSECUTION OF IRANIAN TRADE UNIONISTS

That this House condemns the attempted assassination on 18th October 2007 of Iranian trade union activist Majid Hamidi by three masked gunmen; notes that Iranian labour activists are convinced that armed attacks of this type are done with the knowledge of the Iranian government; shares their concern

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR CARDIAC REHABILITATION

That this House welcomes the National Campaign for Cardiac Rehabilitation launched by the British Heart Foundation, the British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation and patient groups to push for quality rehabilitation to be made available to all heart patients who need it; notes that cardiac reha

HINDU HUMAN RIGHTS IN KAZAKHSTAN

That this House is deeply concerned about the harassment and human rights abuses taking place in Kazakhstan against the minority Hindu communities; further notes that the local Kazakhstan government has demolished housing belonging to 100 Hindus without following any procedure, protocol or observanc

SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK

That this House welcomes the report `Bringing Justice to the Boardroom' commissioned by the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians, which shows the failure of the voluntary guidance approach to encourage companies to nominate a director at board level for health and safety; is alarmed t

ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION FOR A MARINE BILL

That this House welcomes the inclusion of a draft Marine Bill in the legislative programme; applauds the work of the Marine Conservation Society, the RSPB, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, The Wildlife Trusts and WWF who came together through the Wildlife and Countryside Link coalition to

PACKAGING AND THE FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION

That this House welcomes the announcement by the Food and Drink Federation that it aims to reduce food packaging by 340,000 tonnes by 2010 and adopt other targets including cutting carbon emissions, reducing water wastage and food miles; urges further such cuts if the challenge of climate change is

SECOND HOME OWNERSHIP

That this House notes the distortions caused to rural housing markets by high levels of second home ownership, which can exclude local people from buying a home in their own community; further notes that disproportionate second home ownership can lead to critical reductions in demand for local servi

FOOD MILES

That this House notes with concern that carbon dioxide emissions from food transport for UK consumption increased by five per cent. last year; further notes that imports by air increased by 31 per cent. in 2006, equivalent to 65,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide; believes that the British farming industr

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT OF FOOD

That this House believes that the £2 billion public sector food budget could make a significant contribution to reducing food miles and boosting the rural economy; is astonished that only three per cent. of lamb fed to our armed forces is from British farms; notes the evidence in the Quality of Life

ACUTE ADMISSIONS SERVICES AT WESTMORLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL

That this House supports the retention of the coronary care unit and other acute admissions services at Westmorland General Hospital; and calls upon the board of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust to pay attention to the overwhelming opposition to closure from the local community and th