Early Day Motions

RURAL BANKING SERVICES

That this House condemns the proposals by Lloyds TSB Bank to close its rural branch in Pontesbury near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, which has approximately 400 customers served by two members of staff; notes that Lloyds TSB proposes to close another six branches in the West Midlands this year; deplores t

ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

That this House believes that it is a scandal that at the beginning of the 21st century over 125 million primary-aged children around the world are not in school and that the ranks of the 880 million illiterate adults continue to grow; acknowledges that education is a human right and a vital pre-req

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TIME TO HONOURABLE MEMBERS CORRESPONDENCE

That this House notes with regret that an honourable Member's letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on behalf of a constituent, dated 16th August 1999, only received a reply dated 31st January 2000; notes that the record of Labour Ministers in taking so long to reply to letters h

GOVERNMENT AMENDMENT TO OPPOSTION MOTION ON ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION

That this House deplores the incompetence of the Home Office in failing to table the correct amendment to the Opposition Motion on Asylum and Immigration debates on 2nd February; notes that this resulted in a Prime Minister's amendment failing to be selected for the first time in the history of this

PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE ATOMIC WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT AT ALDERMASTON AND BURGHFIELD

That this House notes the Environment Agency's recent prosecution of AWE Aldermaston for unauthorised discharges of radioactive substances; believes that a full independent public inquiry is the only way to allay local fears about possible risks to public health and the environment, to assess the wa

CHILD SOLDIERS

That this House welcomes the drafting of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on child soldiers which establishes 18 as the new minimum age for direct participation in hostilities; and calls on the United Kingdom Government to sign and ratify this new international stand

CYPRUS KARPASIA

That this House expresses the highest respect and admiration for those enclaved residents of the Karpasia Penninsula who have suffered in order to remain in their homes during 25 years of occupation of northern Cyprus; and hopes that when a solution is achieved it will include a guarantee of full fr

AUGUSTO PINOCHET

That this House notes that on 30th January, the respected Spanish newspaper El Pais published the text of letters exchanged between the Home Office and Augusto Pinochet's lawyers from November 1999 onwards, and that these letters confirm that, despite being under no legal obligation to make such an

EMPLOYMENT AMONG OLDER WORKERS

That this House observes with regret the lower earnings of workers over the age of 50 and the smaller proportion of workers over the age of 50 who are in employment, both in comparison with other age groups and historically; notes that the proportion of employees aged over 50 is lowest amongst large

BAN ON IVORY TRADE

That this House believes that strong international controls on trade in ivory are necessary to protect endangered elephants; acknowledges that the European Union's abstention on a vote to relax the ban on international ivory trade at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES

VAT ON ENERGY SAVING MATERIALS

That this House notes the continued discrepancy between rates of VAT charged on energy conservation (17.5 per cent.) and on energy consumption (5 per cent.); believes that the Government's limited reduction on VAT on energy-saving materials purchased under certain promotional schemes, while welcome,

HUMAN RIGHTS IN TIBET AND CHINA

That this House, mindful that human rights in China and Tibet have continued to deteriorate and aware that the bilateral dialogue on human rights has failed to prevent this deterioration, supports the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 20th January and the recommendations of the Foreig

AUSTRIAN FREEDOM PARTY

That this House welcomes the resolute and public position of the European Union, the United States and Israel with respect to the inclusion of the Freedom Party in the Austrian Government coalition as a clear indication that there can be no room in Europe's democratic family for Hitler's political h

PROBATION SERVICE

That this House welcomes the Government's plans to modernise the Probation Service under the Crime and Public Protection Bill, but calls upon the Home Secretary to reconsider his proposal to change its name to the Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Service.

BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL (No. 2)

That this House welcomes the agreement reached in Montreal in January in respect of the Biosafety Protocol; congratulates the Minister for the Environment on his role in securing the support of European and non-aligned nations for the protocol; and recognises the overriding importance of the precaut

BROILER CHICKENS AND HUMAN HEALTH

That this House notes that there is no specific detailed legislation to protect the hundreds of millions of broiler chickens reared every year in the UK; is dismayed that millions of these birds are reared in severely cramped conditions, 30-40,000 at a time in windowless sheds; is further dismayed t

CHELTENHAM SWORD ATTACK

That this House is appalled by the sword attack at the offices of Cheltenham Liberal Democrats on Friday 28 January; mourns the death of Councillor Andy Pennington who served the people of Gloucestershire with distinction, and sends condolences to his family; thanks the Gloucestershire Police and Ea

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

That this House notes the Prime Minister's call at the World Economic Forum in Davos for economic modernisation; and calls on him to reverse the increase in taxation, bureaucracy and regulations which his Government has imposed at home in order that British companies may be better able to compete an

ASSISTANCE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO CARE LEAVERS UP TO THE AGE OF 21

That this House congratulates the Government on its commitment to improving services for young people leaving care; supports the view of the Health Committee that the duty of local authorities should extend to young people up to and including the age of 21; and urges the Government to heed the recen

STRATEGY FOR THE NHS

That this House deplores the fact that the Prime Minister has said that there is no alternative to the Government's existing strategy on the NHS; believes that the expansion of the independent sector is essential to increase the United Kingdom's total healthcare capacity; and calls on the Government

ASDA AND LANCASHIRE FARMERS

That this House deplores the decision of ASDA effectively to dump the Lancashire area as a supplier of vegetables, removing at a stroke 50 to 70 per cent. of many Lancashire farmers' revenue; equally deplores the nature of the decision, made without warning or discussion with the farmers; and expres

TESTICULAR CANCER

That this House congratulates scientists working for the Institute of Cancer Research, Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund on their success in locating a gene which increases a man's risk of testicular cancer by up to 50 times following a 10-year fight to discover the secr

REGENERATION OF FORMER COALFIELD AREAS

That this House recognises the commitment of the Government towards former coalfield areas in granting planning permission for the retail and leisure development on Dalton Flats and in the constituency of the honourable Member for Easington and that the ú36 million cost of the development will be me

STALL AND TETHER-PRODUCED PIGMEAT

leave out from 'legislation' to end and add 'to ban the importation of meat produced by methods which would be illegal in the UK.'.

URBAN POST OFFICES

at end add 'and calls on the new lottery operator to allow all sub post-offices both urban and rural to be able to act as a lottery host.'.