Session 2013-14
House of Commons
7th January 2014
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
883 PROSECUTION OF RAPE IN KENYA 16:12:13
18That this House condemns the abhorrent actions of the six men who beat and raped a young woman in Kenya leaving her injured and wheelchair-bound; further condemns the behaviour of the Kenyan police who did not punish these criminals and dismissed these atrocious actions as assault, allowing them to return to the woman's family home to taunt their victim; calls for justice to be brought against the rapists and the police in Busia; acknowledges the problem of an epidemic of rape across central Africa and particularly Kenya; further calls for Kenya's General Inspector of Police to take appropriate action against the policemen responsible and to ensure justice is brought; and further acknowledges the legal support being given to the young woman by Kenya's Coalition on Violence Against Women and its work in raising awareness of the issue.
885 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOWNING STREET DECLARATION 16:12:13
49That this House celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Downing Street declaration signed by British Prime Minister, Rt hon. John Major MP, and the Irish Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds TD, on 15 December 1993; believes that the remarkable contribution of these two leaders to developing the path of peace is too frequently overlooked and that the Declaration itself stands as a monument to their shared commitment to overcome the legacy of history, to heal divisions and create a lasting settlement between the peoples of Britain and Ireland; recognises that the Prime Minister's re-affirmation that the British Government has no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland, his statement on self-determination and the Government's stated commitment to encourage, facilitate and enable the achievement of agreed structures, played a pivotal role in creating confidence in a process of negotiation to be pursued exclusively by peaceful and democratic means; and urges the Government to be vigilant against threats while continuing to foster agreement and reconciliation encompassing the totality of relationships within Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and between Britain and Ireland.
887 NUCLEAR POWER COST 16:12:13
17That this House commends the judgement of City analysts Liberum Capital who say that the Hinkley Point nuclear power station deal is economically insane offering a price for electricity at double the going rate, index linked and guaranteed for 35 years; agrees with the head of Ineos, Jim Ratcliffe, that the price of £95 per megawatt hour agreed with Électricité de France is a rip-off especially when the company simultaneously agreed a price of £38 for French customers; is alarmed that future British industry and domestic users will be forced to buy some of the most expensive electricity in the world, adding to the burdens of domestic bills and putting industry at a competitive disadvantage; and calls for a full disclosure of the deal and parliamentary debate.
893 RAIL FARES FREEZE AND SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS 18:12:13
22That this House notes that since 2008 rail fares have risen three times faster than wages; is concerned that these increases have taken place while rail companies have been making substantial profits; further notes that hard-pressed rail passengers, on top of energy and water price rises, are due to face further fare increases in the New Year; and calls for urgent consideration of a freeze in rail fares and service improvements financed by a windfall tax on the profits of rail companies which would be part of a first phase of consideration of returning the railways to public ownership to ensure a better deal for both the taxpayer and fare-payer.
894 FUTURE OF UK TRAIN MANUFACTURING 18:12:13
18That this House notes that Bombardier in Derby is the UK's last train manufacturing facility; understands that if Bombardier does not win the Crossrail contract then the plant will close and end train manufacturing in the nation that gave the railways to the world; is deeply concerned that the closure of the Bombardier plant would have a devastating impact on the region and supply chain with the loss of existing train manufacturing skills, scores of apprenticeships and at least 10,000 jobs; further notes that the Crossrail contract is co-sponsored by the Mayor of London and Department for Transport; and urges both the Mayor and the Government to do all they can to ensure the survival of UK train manufacturing.
895 PLANNING LAWS AND FIXED ODDS BETTING TERMINALS 18:12:13
12That this House notes the increase in the number of betting shops in deprived areas, that betting shops are currently in the same use class as banks and building societies, allowing them to be opened with no planning consent required for change of use in some cases and that most of the revenue generated from betting shops is now from high reward fixed odds betting terminals rather than from traditional betting on sport and track events; further notes that the Portas Review into the future of high streets describes gaming outlets as a blight on the high street, that their proliferation is creating unsightly gambling clusters on struggling retail hotspots and that in many areas, crime and anti-social disorder has been associated with a proliferation of betting shops; believes that local authorities should be empowered to decide whether or not to give approval to existing and additional gambling venues in their community; and calls on the Government to place betting shops in a new separate planning use class, allowing local authority planning committees to control them and to amend the Gambling Act to allow council licensing committees to take into account the cumulative impact of a proliferation of gambling activities when considering applications.
896 STEER CLEAR CAMPAIGN 18:12:13
6That this House commends the Steer Clear campaign, which encourages all seasonal revellers either to leave their car at home or to appoint a designated driver; congratulates the Portsmouth News for promoting the campaign and the many pubs that have already signed up, promising to offer a free soft drink to the designated driver in a group of four or more between 6pm and 9pm; encourages the setting up of these initiatives countrywide; and expresses the hope that schemes of this kind will be successful in reducing the level of drink-driving and drink-related road accidents.
897 SUPPORT FOR SIXTH FORM COLLEGES 18:12:13
11That this House believes in the excellent contribution made by sixth form colleges in providing students with a wide range of courses, subjects and an atmosphere akin to that of a university; emphasises the view of the National Audit Office that sixth form colleges are the most successful and cost-effective providers of post-16 education; urges the Government to end the present discrimination against colleges in favour of sixth forms in schools; feels that colleges and school sixth forms should be put on an equal funding basis by the Government reversing its decision to withhold the VAT rebate proposed from colleges and by restoring the cuts which have been made to tutorial and support funding, to enrichment and careers education, as well as the cuts in the overall funding for students over 16 and, now the proposed 17.5 per cent reduction in funding for students aged 18; further emphasises that this vulnerable group of 18 year olds is in a critical year of transition and includes students who have lost time through illness, a change in career plans, students who have had to repeat their level 2 qualifications and students who have been excluded from sixth forms in schools; and points out that the Government's pledge not to cut education budgets is not being honoured by these cuts.
898 LEGAL AID AND ADVICE (S. I., 2013, No. 2790) 18:12:13
6That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Criminal Legal Aid (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I., 2013, No. 2790), dated 1 November 2013, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4 November, be annulled.
899 LEGAL AID AND ADVICE (S. I., 2013, No. 2791) 18:12:13
6That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Criminal Legal Aid (Financial Resources) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I., 2013, No, 2791), dated 1 November 2013, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4 November, be annulled.
900 EVE'S LAW AND VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 18:12:13
22That this House recognises that victims of domestic violence and abuse are being placed at risk when forced to give their safe address in open court in unrelated proceedings; supports Eve's Law to address this dangerous anomaly; further supports Eve's Marker which would red flag the personal information of a victim of abuse as confidential and highly sensitive and would ensure that the data would never be publicly disclosed unless exceptional circumstances demanded it; notes that Eve's Law would protect victims of domestic violence in court on an unrelated matter; further notes that Eve's Law would close an anomaly which may deter victims of domestic violence from reporting abuse; and urges the Government to introduce Eve's Law.
901 HUMAN RIGHTS IN BAHRAIN 19:12:13
10That this House notes that despite the publication of the Bahrain Commission of Inquiry Report in 2011 which chronicled torture and extrajudicial killing regrets that many violations of human rights continue; is shocked that there are 3,000 political prisoners, children in detention, citizenship removed from activists and arbitrary arrests amongst the many violations of human rights independently reported; and calls on the Government to make the strongest possible representations to the government of Bahrain and to refuse all arms and crowd control equipment exports to Bahrain.
902 EMPLOYEE SHARE OWNERSHIP LIMITS 19:12:13
17That this House welcomes the Government's decision to double the maximum savings limits for employees who save and invest in a Save As You Earn (SAYE) plan to £500 a month from 2015; further welcomes the decision to increase the annual free shares limit in a share incentive plan (SIP) to £600 and the SIP partnership shares limit to £1,800; notes these increases have the potential to help over two million UK employees save and invest more for their own futures; and further notes the important role that not-for-profit organisation IFS ProShare has played in securing this positive change and that parliamentarians from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Labour, DUP, SDLP and the Conservative Party have all contributed to making this long overdue change a reality.
903 NATIONAL POLLINATOR STRATEGY 19:12:13
10That this House recognises that insect pollinators are in decline in the UK; acknowledges that this can have a devastating knock on effect for farmers and food production and could lead to increased inflationary pressures on food prices; notes that the Government has committed to rolling out a National Pollinator Strategy in May 2014; and calls on the Government to redouble its efforts to tackle this issue by engaging with environment groups and experts to formulate a strategy for halting the decline in the number of insect pollinators and to rejuvenate numbers in the UK.
904 ENERGY DEMAND REDUCTION 19:12:13
19That this House welcomes the publication by the Department for Energy and Climate Change of the report, Energy Efficiency Opportunity in the UK, in November 2012 which shows the potential for cost effectively reducing the demand for electricity by 69TWh by 2020, for gas by 74TWh by 2020 and for oil and other fuels by 53TWh by 2020; further welcomes the publication of the report, Electricity Demand Reduction, in May 2013 which showed that a further 32TWh of electricity could be saved by 2030; and so supports the proposals contained in the Energy Demand Reduction Bill for the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to draw up and implement a strategy to achieve those reductions.
905 SUPPORT FOR CLAIMANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM ACT 1999 6:1:14
5That this House is concerned that support rates under section 4 and section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are very austere; notes that a maximum payment of £35.39 per person per week is barely half the sum of income support and is often not sufficient to cover essential medical, food and transport costs; deems the maximum level of support of just £5.06 per person per day as a strong driver of asylum seekers' social exclusion in society; urges the Government to raise the support rates under section 4 and section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to a minimum of £45.44 per person per week, representing 80 per cent. of income support, for single adults; recognises that the cashless payment methods under which section 4 benefits are issued place detrimental limits on how families and individuals can buy fundamental goods and services and access transport; believes that restrictions on the use of the cashless payment method unfairly favour just nine of the UK's largest retailers, which damages local businesses; supports a move towards cash methods for distributing support payments; and urges the Government to reassess the conditions used to determine granting of support rates under section 4 so that they include people who are currently being refused or withdrawn from support but who clearly have substantial health needs as was the case previously.
906 STUDY OF TEXTILES AT BLYTHE HOUSE 6:1:14
4That this House welcomes the opening of the Victoria and Albert Museum's new centre for the study of textiles at Blythe House, the Clothworkers Centre for the Study of Conservation of Textiles and Fashion, and congratulates it on its careful renovation of this listed building; applauds the Victoria and Albert Museum's moves towards greater accessibility to its collections, and to such cutting edge facilities in the study and conservation of textiles; believes that, with 104,000 objects all amassed in one building, this is a hugely valuable collection for the nation and an unparalleled resource for students and the creative industries that ought to be protected; and further believes that universities and businesses across the country should be encouraged to make use of this state-of-the-art facility.
907 LEGAL RECOGNITION FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH A PARTICULAR GENDER (No. 2) 6:1:14
4That this House recognises the issues faced by those in the UK who identify themselves as non-gender, bi-gender or intersex; believes that many of those who are non-gendered or bi-gendered feel compromised and diminished as a result of inappropriate gender references on their personal identity information; acknowledges that all passports issued by HM Passport Office are currently gender-specific and it is therefore not possible to obtain a passport that contains no reference to gendered identity; understands that, alongside F (Female) and M (Male), the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Document 9303 already contains X (unspecified) as a permitted character for three permitted characters under the mandatory sex element for machine-readable travel documents; notes that in Australia and New Zealand citizens are able to obtain a non-gender specific X passport and that India, Nepal and Pakistan also recognise the legitimacy of X as a preferred option when M and F are not appropriate; further believes that allowing this possibility in the UK would go a long way to amend this discriminatory policy which denies non-gendered and bi-gendered people a legitimate identity; and therefore urges the Government and HM Passport Office to make non-gender-specific X passports available to those UK passport holders who do not identify with a particular gender.
908 ENERGY COMPANIES CHARGES FOR PAYMENT OTHER THAN BY DIRECT DEBIT 6:1:14
6That this House is disappointed that the Co-operative Energy company has contacted its customers to say that they will be charged an extra £63 if they do not begin to pay their bills by direct debit; notes that the Government is taking measures to reduce energy bills by an average of £50; further notes that this move will hurt the poorest the most; believes that energy companies should not try to recoup this money by raising money in other areas; and calls for Co-operative Energy to treat all its customers fairly, regardless of their chosen payment method.
909 THREATS TO ANABEL HERNÁNDEZ 6:1:14
13That this House salutes the bravery of Mexican journalist Anabel Hernández whose recently published book on Narco Wars has highlighted issues of security and corruption in Mexico; is appalled that in common with many investigative journalists she faces constant death threats; notes that on 19 December 2013 her home was invaded by an armed gang in an attempt to find her and threaten her life; supports campaigns to secure the freedom and security of journalists to go about their work; and calls on the authorities in Mexico to ensure the safety and security of Anabel Hernández and the many serious investigative journalists who are also constantly threatened.
911 STATUTORY EMPLOYMENT LEAVE FOR BEREAVED PARENTS 6:1:14
26That this House believes that parents who suffer the death of a child should have the right to paid time off from their employer in order to grieve; recognises that most employers offer flexibility and support to employees in such tragic circumstances; deplores the significant number of employers who force bereaved parents to go back to work too early or take sick leave in order to grieve; congratulates the Jack's Rainbow campaign for highlighting the injustice that parents who suffer such a tragic loss have no statutory right to paid employment leave; and calls on the Government to amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to enshrine in law the right to statutory bereavement leave for parents.
912 CAMP LIBERTY - ISSUING OF VISAS 7:1:14
2That this House is aware of the plight of the 3,000 residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq who have been promised United Nations protection but who instead regularly face violence, assaults, physical torture and intimidation; understands also that the Iraqi authority frequently denies relatives visas to visit their loved ones; and urges the UK Government to inform the controlling regime that such behaviour is neither acceptable nor in the spirit of freedom, justice or democracy.
913 INTEREST RATES AND HOUSEHOLD DEBT 7:1:14
1That this House recognises the difficult economic times and financial challenges faced by families; highlights the impact that a rise in the base rate of interest would have on homeowners who would face increasing mortgage demands; draws attention to a recent report by the Resolution Foundation which demonstrates that a rise in interest rates could put two million households into a dangerous financial situation, with over half of these cases involving families with children; acknowledges that many homeowners already face a strain on their household income from rising petrol prices and home energy costs; further recognises that household debt held on credit cards, especially after Christmas, will bring a further burden to many people; and urges the Government to bring forward measures to prevent an escalating household debt crisis.