Early Day Motions

THE PUBLICAN'S PROUD OF PUBS WEEK

That this House supports the first Proud of Pubs Week, organised by The Publican magazine, and recognises the importance of local pubs to communities throughout the United Kingdom; encourages publicans to show their pride in their businesses by reaching out to their communities and taking part in di

ACCESSIBILITY OF HARRY POTTER TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN

That this House welcomes the simultaneous publication of Braille, large print and audio versions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for children with visual impairments and dyslexia; notes that this is the first time that all accessible format versions of a book have been published at the same

HIGHER INTEREST RATES AND THE MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE

That this House regrets the decision of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise interest rates yet again, to a level higher than short-term bank rates in Europe, Japan and the US and at a time when the main inflationary pressures come not from wages and salaries but from food, f

ROMANIAN ZOOS

That this House notes with concern the treatment of elephants in zoos in Romania; highlights the recent case where Europe's oldest elephant died after Romanian police set their dogs on it when it refused to enter its winter quarters; recognises that EU rules on minimum cage sizes are designed to imp

DRIVER AND VEHICLE LICENSING AGENCY BUSINESS RATE NUMBER

That this House notes that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) uses a business rate number which charges higher rates to callers; is aware of Ofcom's guidance that public bodies should not solely use these numbers; is concerned that people needing to contact the DVLA include those on low

AWARD OF CORPORATE CHARTER MARK FOR WEST LOTHIAN COUNCIL

That this House congratulates West Lothian Council for being the first council in Scotland and the only unitary local authority within the UK to be awarded a Corporate Charter Mark; notes this is one of the highest awards for excellence in public services; further congratulates West Lothian Council

SMALL LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS

That this House congratulates Iain R Smith of Original Arbroath Smokies on winning the Fresh Produce category in the Waitrose Small Producers Awards, and also congratulates other local producers in the competition; believes that small local producers are an essential part of the rural community; and

EVALUATING ACADEMIES

That this House is concerned at the enormous potential expenditure in taking the academy programme to 400 schools with its heavy subsidies to miscellaneous private sponsors provided on the basis of unproven, possibly unjustified, assumptions about resulting improvements to education in disadvantaged

SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY

That this House recognises the substantial damage done to the Severn Valley Railway by the recent floods; calls on the Government to ensure that all relevant public agencies provide their full support; and urges the Government to provide emergency financial assistance to Severn Valley Railway to all

BT BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY COMPANY OF THE YEAR WINNERS

That this House commends BT for winning the Business in the Community Company of the Year Award in recognition of its outstanding achievements in responsible business practice, including its work with ChildLine and the Disasters Emergency Committee, its Environmental Report, the integration of socia

COMMUNITY DAY BANK HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN

That this House welcomes the call by the Trades Union Congress, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Community Service Volunteers, Volunteering England and the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action for a new Community Day bank holiday to celebrate and encourage communi

SMITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

That this House believes that all efforts need to be made to reduce the consumption of energy used in road transport; warmly congratulates Smith Electric Vehicles of Washington, the main producer of milkfloats since the Second World War, on its innovative and fast-growing production of energy-effici

BURMA AND INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS

That this House believes that Burma's military rulers are undermining the country's sovereignty, stability and peace, not the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as alleged by the Myanmar Women's Federation; is deeply concerned about the ICRC's findings, made public last week, that the m

MARINE BILL (No. 2)

That this House welcomes the ongoing campaign by Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of environmental organisations, including the Marine Conservation Society, the RSPB, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, the Wildlife Trusts and WWF, for a comprehensive Marine Bill; notes the continu

WIMBLEDON FC AND MILTON KEYNES DONS

That this House welcomes the announcement from the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) that a binding agreement has been negotiated to allow the patrimony of Wimbledon FC to be transferred to the London Borough of Merton; notes that this enables the trophies to be put on public display for the fir

HEALTH WORKERS IN AFRICA

That this House notes the impact of the continuing health worker crisis in Africa; further notes that diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria cannot be tackled unless immediate action is taken to build the numbers and capacity of health workers; welcomes the UK Government's recognition of the shor

ANTI-AGEISM POLICIES IN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

That this House notes with concern the case of Richard Kirkwood, lecturer in social sciences at London Metropolitan University, who despite wishing to continue in post as a teacher beyond the age of 65 years has had his request turned down; urges Brian Roper, Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan U

SMOKING CESSATION SERVICES

That this House welcomes the formation of the British Association for Stop Smoking Practitioners; recognises the important role that Stop Smoking Practitioners play in helping people give up smoking; looks forward to hearing from the Association in all matters regarding smoking policy in the future;

PROMOTION OF LOCAL FOOTBALL

That this House recognises the continuing work by many people across the United Kingdom in the promotion and development of local football as, in contrast with the billions being poured into Premiership football, lower divisions in England and Scotland along with league clubs in Northern Ireland and

TYNWALD DAY

That this House salutes the people of the Isle of Man as they celebrate their Tynwald Day on Thursday 5th July 2007, upholding centuries of proud tradition; notes that the Manx annual Tynwald Ceremony dates back over 1,000 years; recognises that the Tynwald is the oldest continuous Parliament in the

CAYMAN ISLANDS DAY (CONSTITUTION DAY)

That this House joins the people of the Cayman Islands in celebrating their national day, better known as Constitution Day, on Monday 2nd July 2007; commends the role of the Cayman Islands as an admirable regional representative in marine and coral conservation; recognises the shared heritage and sp

RELEASE OF ALAN JOHNSTON

That this House welcomes the release unharmed of Alan Johnston from captivity in Gaza; pays tribute to his integrity and courage, to the dignity shown by his parents throughout their ordeal, to Alan's friends and colleagues at the BBC for pursuing every avenue they could to secure Alan's release, to

NHS

That this House pays tribute to Nye Bevan and the radical, reforming Labour governments of 1945 to 1951 for establishing the National Health Service (NHS) on 5th July 1948, thereby removing the fear of ill health from hardworking families; and pays tribute to NHS staff throughout the United Kingdom,

DISABILITY AND THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

That this House is concerned to learn of the present circumstances of a thirty-five year old bank manager employed by the Royal Bank of Scotland since August 2000 with a track record of exemplary competence who sustained a serious injury to his spinal cord in May 2005 necessitating absence from his

GLASGOW AIRPORT INCIDENT

That this House commends baggage handler John Smeaton and passengers Michael Kerr and Stephen Clarkson for their heroic and unflinching determination in assisting brave police officers in their restraint and detention of the suspects in the thwarted Glasgow Airport terrorism incident; wishes Mr Kerr