Early Day Motions

Disqualification of the President of Catalonia

That this House notes its great concern at the decision of the Spanish Supreme Court to remove the President of Catalonia, Quim Torra, from office by banning him from holding public posts; notes that that decision was taken because banners calling for support of the rights of Catalan political priso

Government funding for zoos and aquariums

That this House is concerned that not a single zoo has yet benefited from the Government’s Zoo Animals Fund and that very few are likely to stand to benefit from that funding; notes that, including the previous Zoo Support Fund, only 2 per cent of the Government’s support funds for that sector have

Local Legends award for Billington's Deli in Lenzie

That this House congratulates Billington’s Deli in Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire on being chosen as the Scottish winner of Convenience Store UK’s Local Legends competition; recognises that that award is due to the resilience shown by Billington’s during the covid-19 lockdown and their tremendous effor

Removal of requirement to publicise Planning Notices in local newspapers

This House recognises that local and regional newspapers, in print and digital form, reach 40.6 million people each week across the UK; notes that they perform vital democratic functions by nurturing debate, investigating local issues and running powerful campaigns that foster community identity and

Giro d'Italia, S4C, Tinopolis and Geraint Thomas

That this House congratulates S4C and Carmarthenshire based media production company Tinopolis for securing sole UK terrestrial media rights for the 2020 Giro d'Italia; notes that the Giro d'Italia is one of cycling's biggest events, consisting of 21 stages beginning in Sicily and finishing in Milan

Abertay University, UK university of the year for teaching quality

That this House congratulates Abertay University and all of its staff for its award of UK University of the Year for Teaching Quality in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide; further congratulates the institution for placing top in Scotland in the Guide for Social Inclusion; recognis

Pride of Scotland Awards

That this House congratulates Loanhead Post Office in Midlothian for being nominated for a Pride of Scotland award to recognise their outstanding community efforts during the covid-19 outbreak; welcomes the Pride of Scotland awards as an opportunity to shine a light on the extraordinary achievements

Beer Duty 2020

That this House commends the Government for freezing Beer Duty at previous Budgets; acknowledges that again the UK has the highest total Beer Duty bill in Europe at £3.4 billion and a Beer Duty rate at three times the EU average, as well as 11 times that of Germany or Spain; notes that over 40 per c

National Day of Prayer

That this House notes the unprecedented position that the covid-19 pandemic has brought the nation to; further notes that in this time of economic and societal uncertainty the country should follow the lead of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and recognise the importance of prayer when Her Majesty sai

Celebrating Communities Award for Supporting Our Community Hillhouse

That this House notes that the annual Scottish Charity Awards ceremony took place virtually on 25 September 2020; understands that Supporting Our Community in Hillhouse won the Celebrating Communities Award at the Scottish Charity Awards; further understands that the Celebrating Communities Award wa

Challenge Poverty Week: 5 to 11 October 2020

That this House celebrates the important work being undertaken by the Poverty Alliance during their Challenge Poverty Week; supports the various events taking place across Scotland to end the stigma around poverty and build awareness for solutions to poverty; and commits to advocating for those affe

Online harassment and stalking of content creators

That this House condemns the harassment and stalking of online content creators on platforms such as Twitch; notes these cases of online abuse need to be taken as seriously as offline abuse; recognises that more must be done to understanding how stalkers operate online, including knowledge of method

A covid-19 recovery mental health strategy for children

That this House notes that a survey by the mental health charity Re-Think found that one third of children feel more anxious, sad and stressed now than before lockdown; further notes that the charity Action for Children has asked the Government to prioritise children’s mental health in covid-19 reco

County lines and child criminal exploitation

That this House is alarmed at the expansion of county lines networks, recently exacerbated by covid-19; calls for clarification of laws to ensure that all young people who are groomed, coerced and controlled into committing crime are recognised as victims of trafficking and exploitation; advocates t

Mandatory reporting on plastic packaging

That this House notes that UK supermarkets use some 114 billion pieces of throwaway plastic packaging each year; recognises that this equates to 653,000 tonnes of plastic waste, the equivalent of almost 3,000 747 jumbo jets; further recognises that almost all of this waste will end up polluting the

Humanitarian and human rights situation in Zimbabwe

That this House is deeply concerned about the on-going humanitarian and human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, despite the fresh start promised by President Mnangagwa when he took office over two years ago after the end of former President Mugabe’s rule; notes with alarm that over half the population is d

Death penalty sentences against protestors in Iran

That this House is shocked by the execution of champion wrestler, Navid Afkari and the alarming frequency of death penalty sentences being handed down to those involved in anti-Government protests in 2018 and 2019 in Iran; notes with alarm that the execution of Mr. Afkari is the second recent execut

Shortage of learning disability nurses

That this house expresses concern that there will potentially be a repeat of the 134 per cent increase in deaths of people with learning disabilities that happened between 10 April and 15 of May 2020 with the recent rise of covid-19 cases without more learning disability (LD) nurses; notes that the

Freedom to worship

That this House notes recent court cases in the US where Churches that undertook reasonable restrictions while holding indoor worship services to help safeguard against the threat of covid-19 have been faced with more stringent demands, some being fined repeatedly as they remain open; and expresses

Maira Shahbaz and child abduction, forced conversion and marriage in Pakistan

That this House notes with grave concern reports from Pakistan on Maira Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Christian girl who was abducted at gunpoint from the streets of Madina Town in Faisalabad by three men, forced to convert to Islam and then marry one of her abductors, Mr. Nakash; is further concerned that

Relocation of aslyum seekers and refugees from Aegean Islands

That this House recognises the deteriorating conditions faced by asylum seekers and refugees on the Aegean Islands and notes the recent fire at the Moria camp in Lesvos which has left 13,000 people without shelter; welcomes the fact that Germany, France and Norway have agreed to take some of those v

The Nourish charity

That this House recognises the tremendous support offered to parents of children with additional support needs by Nourish, a charity set up by parents in Kirkcaldy to bring together families affected by disability, supplying information and links with other organisations as well as preventing isolat

Plastic-free Dalgety Bay

That this House congratulates Dalgety Bay on becoming the third community in Fife and one of just over 100 in the UK to be awarded Plastic-free Community status by Surfers Against Sewage; recognises the hard work of volunteers to gain this accreditation in June 2020, just nine months after forming P

Battle of Prestonpans commemoration

That this House joins in commemorating the 275th anniversary of the Battle of Prestonpans; notes that the battle was a decisive victory for Jacobite troops, dramatically increasing morale and leading directly to the early success and eventual failure of the 45 Rising; congratulates the Battle of Pre

Riverside Hall’s response to covid-19

That this House commends the Riverside Hall in Govan, Glasgow, for their inspiring work during the covid-19 outbreak by supporting families and children in the community with the delivery of over 5,000 emergency food parcels to isolated pensioners and local children and the offer of a regular prescr