Session 2013-14
House of Commons
4th November 2013
Notices of Motions for which no days have been fixed
('Early Day Motions')
The figure following this symbol is the number of Members who have added their names in support of the Motion, including the Member in charge of the Motion.
After an Early Day Motion (EDM) has been printed for the first time, it is only reprinted when names are added or amendments tabled; only the first six names and any names added since the last printing are included. After the week in which a Motion is first printed and the following week, added names and amendments appear only in a separate paper, Mature EDMs, distributed the next Thursday. In the meantime, they are available for inspection by Members in the Table Office and the Library or on the EDM database at edmi.parliament.uk
630 OPEN GOVERNMENT AND ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS 28:10:13
15That this House is concerned that the current lack of accountability and openness created by the secrecy clause, Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, is a hindrance to public accountability, open government and the replacement, reduction and refinement of animal use in experiments; notes the concerns of the animal experimentation industry about personal information and intellectual property, which are already met by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and are no reason to maintain a blanket ban on information, especially as government polls reveal a decreasing level of public trust in regulation; and calls on the Government to repeal Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
631 TESTING OF HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS ON ANIMALS 28:10:13
21That this House notes that the Coalition Agreement contained a pledge to end the testing of household products on animals; further notes that a response to a Parliamentary Question on 28 March 2011 stated that `the prohibition will apply to both finished household products and their ingredients, although in practice mainly the latter are tested', 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 80W; is disappointed that no action has been taken on this issue to date; and supports the campaign led by Cruelty Free International to call on the Government to introduce a total ban on the testing of finished products and ingredients.
634 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE 28:10:13
7That this House is aware that the Government released authority-specific information on local government future funding in July 2013 as part of the consultation of the Local Government Finance Settlement; notes that Coventry City Council has already lost approximately £45 million in the three years to 2013-14 in core Government grant and has had to implement a significant savings programme as a consequence, that a further £19 million cut was also expected for 2014-15 and that the June Spending Round announcement indicated a 10 per cent cut in resources for local government in 2015-16; understands instead that according to the July settlement consultation, the actual cut is over 13 per cent nationally and 15.2 per cent for Coventry; recognises that Coventry will therefore be facing a cumulative cut of 24.2 per cent between October 2013 and 2015-16; further notes that both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury have indicated that they expect the current trend of austerity settlements to continue for the remainder of this decade; further notes fears voiced by sources within Coventry City Council and other local authorities that, assuming current trends, by 2020 local authorities will only be able to afford the most basic elements of their services, such as statutory minimum levels of service in children's and adults' social care; and calls on the Government to reconsider the scale of the cuts to local government future funding to avoid local authorities having to reduce non-mandatory services.
635 FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION 28:10:13
37That this House expresses concern at the abhorrent crime of female genital mutilation (FGM); notes the work of the British Arab Federation in its efforts to tackle this issue; calls on the Government to implement a change in the law to protect girls living in Britain and British girls from being taken to other legal jurisdictions with the intention of carrying out FGM; further calls for better enforcement of the law relating to parents and guardians who organise FGM and medical practitioners who conduct FGM procedures; and further calls for better education to support young girls in resisting FGM and to empower communities to confront that crime.
638 LABOUR AND TRADE UNION LAW IN IRAQ 29:10:13
24That this House notes that the international trade union movement has urged successive Iraqi governments to amend the labour and trade union laws which place substantial restrictions on the fundamental rights of workers, including to associate freely, to bargain collectively and to strike; further notes that the US last year put under review Iraq's trade preferences, in large part over the Iraqi government's failure to adopt ILO-complaint legislation; and respectfully urges the Iraqi authorities, in full consultation with the trade unions, to implement new laws that overcome Saddam Hussein's restrictions on the fundamental rights of Iraqi workers so that their organisations can play a full role in helping construct a pluralist Iraq.
639 TRUSTEES' WEEK 2013 29:10:13
32That this House welcomes the fourth annual Trustees' Week between 4 and 10 November 2013 as an opportunity to recruit new trustees and to celebrate the work of nearly one million charity trustees across the UK and the vital contribution they make to civil society; notes the importance of the role good trustees and good governance play in successful charities across the UK; encourages everyone to think about the difference they could make to the community by becoming a trustee and to look at the Trustee's Week website for more information; urges hon. Members to attend the Trustees' Week reception at the Cabinet Office on 5 November 2013; and thanks the Charity Commission, OSCR, the Small Charities Coalition, Charity Finance Group, NCVO, SCVO, and Reach Volunteering for having had the foresight to establish Trustees' Week as an annual event, alongside a host of additional partners.
641 FORMATION OF THE POST-CRASH ECONOMICS SOCIETY AT MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY 29:10:13
8That this House congratulates the economics undergraduates at the University of Manchester who have formed the Post-Crash Economics Society, which aims to combat the orthodox neoliberal globalised free market teaching which has been churned out by many universities over the last 40 years and has been accepted and embraced by the leadership of the main political parties; notes that this neoliberal free market model has resulted in a massive increase in wealth for the richest one per cent of the population, while the vast majority of people have seen their incomes, terms of employment, public services and standard of living eroded; and hopes that students studying economics at other universities will follow the example of the Manchester undergraduates and challenge their own universities to acknowledge the failure and instability of unregulated free markets which resulted in the 2008 financial crisis, and which would have caused even more misery and destruction of jobs and businesses if the Government had not stepped in and nationalised parts of the financial sector, and the Bank of England had not injected vast sums of money into the economy through quantitative easing.
643 SAFE REGISTERED NURSE STAFFING ON HOSPITAL WARDS 29:10:13
16That this House shares deep concern about occasions when patient safety has been compromised on acute hospital wards; believes that any cases of inexcusably poor nurse practice should be rooted out; notes however, that many reports on such cases provide compelling evidence of a link between the adequacy of registered nurse numbers and the quality of patient outcomes; supports the work of the Safe Staffing Alliance in highlighting the need for safe registered nurse staffing , that cases of poor staffing should be routinely reported and that hospital care should be underpinned by a fundamental standard where a limit of eight patients to each registered nurse, excluding the nurse in charge, should never be breached; further notes recent supportive comments by respected authorities including Robert Francis QC; and calls on the Government to introduce new benchmark standards of safe registered nurse staffing on hospital wards.
644 CHARTISM AND PARLIAMENT 29:10:13
52That this House welcomes the recent lecture by Professor Malcolm Chase as an apposite recognition in Parliament of the Chartist Movement's legacy to parliamentary democracy; acknowledges with gratitude Mr Speaker's significant contribution to celebrating the 175th anniversary of the People's Charter by officially opening the Chartist exhibition in the No Lobby and allowing the Chartist lecture to be given in Mr Speaker's State Rooms; recognises the support of Mr Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art in establishing the permanent exhibition, Chartism 1838-1858, in the Upper Committee Corridor; notes that there is a web version of the exhibition at www. parliament.uk/art-chartism; notes that the Dearsley Windows at the end of St. Stephen's Hall include a depiction of the Chartist period; and places on record the professionalism of Melanie Unwin, Deputy Curator of the Parliamentary Art Collection, and the commitment of the All Party Group on Archives and History in accomplishing these appropriate tributes to our great forerunners, the Chartists.
647 SECRET IMPRISONMENT 29:10:13
8That this House notes that at a hearing on 18 September 2013 where the claimant had applied to have the female defendant imprisoned for contempt of court it was decided that the court should sit in secret; further notes that an anonymised judgment was produced giving the reasons for this, but that has not as yet been published on Bailii, in contravention of the practice directions in respect of committals for contempt of court; further notes that at a hearing of the Royal Courts of Justice there was an initial attempt to treat the hearing as being in chambers; further notes that a woman was committed at the hearing to prison for contempt of court; further notes that no listing of the case occurred in contravention of the practice directions; further notes that the woman concerned has still not been named notwithstanding a request to the Head of News of the Judicial Office; further notes that there is no reference to this case on Bailii in contravention of the practice directions; is saddened by the fact that UK citizens are still being imprisoned effectively in secret; and calls for the judiciary to follow the proper procedures and the Government to report on when citizens are imprisoned for contempt of court to enable an audit of imprisonments to occur in order to ensure that none are secret.
648 WINDRUSH DAY 29:10:13
18That this House notes the cross-party campaign to celebrate a Windrush Day every year on 22 June to celebrate the positive contribution of the first generation of Caribbean immigrants since the MV Empire Windrush landed at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948; recognises that this generation have helped shape the UK's multicultural society, from their contribution to public service to literature, culture and food; and welcomes the statement by the Prime Minister on the 65th anniversary in 2013 praising their fortitude and determination in overcoming difficult challenges; and hopes that the Windrush generation, the last of whom are in their 80s and 90s, are remembered long into the future with an annual day of celebration.
650 INTERNET GOODS DELIVERY SURCHARGES 30:10:13
7That this House notes that people living in the north east of Scotland and the Highlands and Islands are often asked to pay substantial surcharges for the delivery of goods ordered over the internet; is concerned that such charges are often not clear to customers ordering products online; believes that such charges are unfair and discriminate against people living in the areas of the UK which are affected; welcomes the commitment of the UK Government to hold a delivery charge summit with major retailers; and backs calls from the Fairer Delivery Charges campaign for retailers to end excessive delivery surcharges and to offer delivery by Royal Mail when this is the cheaper option.
655 VISTEON UK LTD PENSION SCHEME 30:10:13
24That this House continues to note that, when Visteon UK Ltd was spun off from the Ford Motor Company, employees transferred from Ford's pension fund into the Visteon UK pension fund on the clear understanding that their pension rights would be unaffected; further notes that when Visteon UK subsequently went into administration, now over four years ago, former Ford employees suffered a substantial reduction in their pension rights; regrets that the resolution of any court action is still some way off; believes that Ford should recognise a duty of care to its former employees and should make good the pension losses suffered by those worst affected without the need for legal action; and calls on the Government to use the power and influence at its disposal to help ensure that Ford recognises its obligations and accepts voluntarily its duty of care to former Visteon UK pensioners.
656 CLOSURE OF NHS SERVICES 30:10:13
12That this House notes that the Secretary of State for Health has suffered another embarrassing legal defeat after the Court of Appeal judges ruled he had acted illegally in deciding to cut accident and emergency and maternity services at Lewisham Hospital; has concerns about Government amendment 168a to the Care Bill designed to change the rules to give the power to any hospital administrator appointed in England to dismantle hospital services arbitrarily, as long as a neighbouring hospital is deemed to be failing; believes that this attempt to sneak through a fundamental change to the way decisions are made about local hospitals makes a mockery of local scrutiny and democracy; and calls on the Government to accept that it has lost and to stop trying to change the law to enable it to close successful hospital services that the community wants and needs.
661 PILOT BADGER CULL PARLIAMENTARY ASSESSMENT AND VOTE (No. 2) 31:10:13
3That this House recognises that 145 hon. Members signed Early Day Motion 299 expressing concern over the pilot badger cull; notes that since this EDM was tabled the pilot badger culls have killed fewer badgers than was envisaged and that the cull timetable has been extended; further notes that 10 members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons have written a letter to England's Chief Veterinary Officer suggesting that the extension of the badger cull could result in increased suffering of badgers and place both badgers and cattle in and around the cull zones at greater risk of contracting bovine tuberculosis; further notes that the reduced effectiveness of the cull makes vaccination more cost effective; and calls on the Government to make a statement to the House and bring forward a vote to decide on the most cost effective, humane and efficient way to reduce bovine TB.
662 UNDER-OCCUPANCY PENALTY 31:10:13
3That this House recognises that the bedroom tax, spare room subsidy, is unjust, discriminates against disabled and sick people, carers, separated parents, grandparents, the low paid and the poorest, will not reduce homelessness or housing benefit spending as claimed, and puts financial and social strain on communities, landlords and local authorities; and calls on the Government to suspend the policy pending a review of its impact and effectiveness, which should consider writing off the tenant and landlord arrears it has caused.
663 COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 31:10:13
5That this House welcomes the launch of the Government's Commission on Physical Activity to confront the urgent issue of physical inactivity in children in the UK; notes that the Commission will take a cross-sector approach to investigating the physical inactivity epidemic and take evidence from organisations and individuals across health, sport, transport, urban planning and education; recognises that 31 per cent of boys and 28 per cent of girls aged between two and 15 were classed as either overweight or obese in 2011-12; and reminds the Government of the role of food and drink manufacturers in contributing towards this obesity epidemic that should not be ignored.
664 QUALIFIED TEACHERS 31:10:13
7That this House believes that teachers are the single most important resource of any school, and that parents want and expect their children to be taught by good qualified teachers; further believes that all state-funded schools should provide parents with a guarantee that their children are taught by qualified teachers or those working towards a teaching qualification; notes that the Education Act 2002, enacted under Labour, failed to include a legal requirement for non-maintained schools to employ qualified teachers; and welcomes the fact that there are 3,000 fewer unqualified teachers employed by state-funded schools than when the Coalition Government came to power.
665 NEUROBLASTOMA TREATMENT 4:11:13
1That this House recognises that neuroblastoma affects around 100 children a year in the UK; further recognises that children with this type of cancer have an 80 to 95 per cent chance of relapsing at any time until they reach the age of 20; understands that the best chance of survival is by using a new treatment called Radioimmunosorbent Test (RIST); acknowledges that those suffering from the disease have to travel abroad for RIST treatment because none is available in the UK; notes that the cost of RIST treatment can be as high as £300,000; and calls on the Government to consider ways in which RIST treatment can be made available in the UK.
666 VULTURE FUNDS 4:11:13
5That this House welcomes the impact of the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Act 2010 in preventing vulture funds taking an estimated £145 million from developing countries; further welcomes the passing of similar laws in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man; notes that vulture funds are trying to force Argentina to default on its debt through a legal case in New York; further notes that vulture funds are making large profits on Greek debt repayments owed under UK law, despite other creditors agreeing a reduction in the amount they are owed; is concerned that vulture funds are preventing the fair implementation of debt restructuring; and urges the Government to share its experience of legislating on vulture funds with the US administration, bring forward legislative proposals to prevent vulture funds ignoring international agreed debt restructuring for Argentina and Greece in UK courts, and support the creation of a fair, independent and transparent arbitration mechanism for sovereign debt.
667 LOBBYING REGISTER 4:11:13
1That this House is concerned that the Government's planned lobbying register is deeply flawed and would result in less than one per cent of lobbying activity being publicly-registered; and calls on the Government in the strongest possible terms to amend its proposals to ensure that 100 per cent of professional lobbyists - to include those working in-house, for trade unions, for charities, for think tanks, for lobbying agencies, for law firms and for accountancy firms - are all part of a statutory registration regime in the UK.