Session 2013-14
House of Commons
28th February 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
1070 WHICH? CLEAN UP CREDIT CAMPAIGN AND EXCESSIVE DEFAULT FEES CHARGED BY PAYDAY LENDERS 10:2:14
50That this House notes the recent research published by the Competition Commission that found more than a third of payday loan customers repay their debt late and incur default fees; further notes previous research estimating that a million UK households a month are using payday loans; welcomes the Which? Clean Up Credit campaign on excessive default fees charged by payday lenders; supports the campaign's call for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to clamp down on excessive charges and irresponsible lending, and to make sure borrowers are being treated fairly whatever form of credit they are using; and calls on the FCA to take urgent action in response to this growing problem.
1073 DOWN'S SYNDROME AWARENESS WEEK (17-23 MARCH) AND WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY (21 MARCH) 11:2:14
73That this House supports the campaign Better Health Care for People with Down's syndrome mounted by the UK charity Down's Syndrome Association (DSA) to ensure that people with Down's syndrome receive regular and effective health surveillance; acknowledges that Down's syndrome is the most frequently recognised cause of learning disability; notes that people with Down's syndrome have specific health needs; welcomes the launch of the DSA Health Book during Down's Syndrome Awareness Week (17 to 23 March); celebrates World Down Syndrome Day which takes place on 21 March and focuses on Health and Wellbeing—Access and Equality for All; and welcomes the Parliamentary Reception to be held on 18 March in the Churchill Dining Room when there will be an opportunity to hear about the DSA Health Book, and to meet parent members including Patron Damon Hill OBE.
1080 POWER CUTS IN GAZA 12:2:14
47That this House calls on the Government to recognise the severe situation faced by Palestinians in Gaza in accessing electricity; notes the call from UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk that the situation in Gaza is at a point near catastrophe due to fuel shortages resulting in daily power cuts for sustained periods of time which have undermined an already precarious infrastructure; further notes that the provision of all basic services including health, water, sanitation and education is being severely disrupted; recognises that specialised health services are being interrupted daily, including kidney dialysis, operating theatres, blood banks and incubators, threatening lives; and further calls on the Government to respond to the call made by Amnesty International to urge Israel to lift the Gaza blockade immediately and urge Eygpt to open the Rafah border crossing.
1084 DRUGS 12:2:14
15That this House condemns the sale of legal highs in shops; and asks the Government to co-ordinate a UK-wide strategy that involves all the regions of Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England and to stop this vile trade in misery and heartache for the individuals and their families.
1086 UK CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 12:2:14
52That this House regrets that every day 10 children and young people in the UK hear the shocking news that they have cancer; notes that although survival rates are now around 75 per cent, cancer remains the largest cause of death from disease in children and young people in the UK; recognises that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the impact of childhood cancer on children and families; urges the Government to support Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM) to raise awareness of the challenges children with cancer face, how charities help them and why it is vital to raise funds to improve support provided; supports the change of month of UK CCAM, which aims to raise awareness of the impact of childhood cancer and the need for more support for children and their families, to September; commends the work of Julie Yates and others who have campaigned to change the date of CCAM to September; acknowledges that this move brings the whole of the UK's CCAM activities into line with other countries; welcomes the work of charities such as CLIC Sargent, Childhood Cancer and Leukaemia Group, Cancer Research UK, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and others who work with children with cancer which have announced that they will join together in September this year to take part in the month and raise awareness for more support; and further recognises plans to adopt the gold ribbon as the symbol for childhood cancer awareness throughout the UK.
1090 AFGHANISTAN QUARTERLY STATEMENT 13:2:14
10That this House regrets the delusional Government Quarterly Statement on Afghanistan made in February 2014 that ignored the insult to the UK's brave troops by the ingrate President Karzai who described their sacrifices as failures, and also disregarded the record high total of Afghan civilian deaths, the largest ever heroin production and the degradation of hard-won women's rights; calls for a withdrawal of the foolish boast of mission accomplished, and a recognition that the Taliban control large areas of the country and that President Karzai has released 65 imprisoned Taliban terrorists; and believes that unbalanced Government optimism threatens the future peace of the region.
1106 UGANDAN ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL (No.2) 24:2:14
22That this House condemns the signing of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law; notes that the Act expands the range of same-sex activities that will be criminalised and introduces life imprisonment for acts of so-called aggravated homosexuality; further notes that the Act also makes it a crime not to report gay people; believes that such a law makes it impossible to be openly gay in Uganda; recognises that passing such a law is a retrograde step in the worldwide fight for gay equality; and calls on the Government to denounce President Yoweri Museveni and the Ugandan government in the strongest possible terms.
1108 THE PRIME MINISTER AND FOOD BANKS 25:2:14
7That this House concurs with the conclusion of 27 Anglican bishops that the Prime Minister is responsible for a national crisis which has seen 500,000 people visit food banks since Easter 2013; notes with shame the bishops' concern that in the world's seventh richest country people are still going hungry; further notes with grave concern that in the last year 5,500 people have been admitted to hospital with malnutrition; and concludes that the welfare system is failing to provide a robust last line of defence against hunger and that the Government's cuts and policy has made hundreds of thousands of poor people more vulnerable and dependent on charity.
1109 DEMANDS BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS 25:2:14
7That this House believes that requirements by the Department for Work and Pensions that claimants must send off at least 50 job applications a week or risk having their benefits stopped is unreasonable, punitive and fruitless; concludes that it is a way of removing people from the unemployment register both to save money and to artificially deflate the figures; and further concludes that the only honourable way to slash the numbers is to create meaningful jobs, which the Government has signally failed to do.
1112 RE-LAUNCH OF BME CANCER VOICE 25:2:14
14That this House recognises the re-launch on 25 February 2014 of BME Cancer Voice by BHI (Black Health Initiative), an organisation with charitable status which works nationally with a commitment to reducing cancer patient inequalities, increasing early diagnosis, culturally appropriate and equal services within prosthesis, hair loss services and takes account of religious and ethnic differences; and calls on the Department of Health to support its essential work.
1114 GOOGLE AND UNOFFICIAL CHARGING SITES 25:2:14
12That this House notes that Google has now agreed to co-operate with Transport for London to remove unofficial congestion charge sites; further notes that up to 1,000 people a day have been conned into paying an additional charge of up to £8 each as a result of the con being perpetrated by these unofficial sites with confidential financial information being unintentionally passed to persons unknown; believes Google's decision is welcome but long overdue; and calls on all Government departments and bodies such as the Land Registry and DVLA to seek a similar agreement from Google in relation to unofficial sites charging for their services as a matter of urgency.
1116 EFFECTS OF SUPERMARKET PROMOTIONS ON LOCAL NEWSAGENTS 25:2:14
12That this House notes with concern the impact that some supermarket promotions can have on newsagents and convenience stores; recognises that the recent Waitrose offer of a free newspaper with every purchase over £5 in store or on line is likely to have a detrimental impact on the traditional corner shop and newsagents; further recognises the important role that independent retailers play in local communities; and therefore urges people to support local independent newsagents and convenience stores.
1121 UGANDAN GOVERNMENT'S TREATMENT OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE 26:2:14
6That this House strongly condemns Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's decision to sign into law the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which further criminalises homosexuality and introduces life sentences for aggravated homosexuality, making it lawful to report lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to the authorities; is appalled that the Ugandan Red Pepper newspaper has published the names of 200 LGBT people putting their lives at risk; urges the Government to take immediate action working with its partners in the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the EU to make it absolutely clear to the Ugandan government and the members of the Ugandan Parliament who voted in favour of the Bill that their cavalier disregard for fundamental human rights is intolerable and to formally requests that the UN Human Rights Council investigates this persistent violation of LGBT people's fundamental human rights; and requests that the Government seeks to assist those affected in Uganda in every possible way by working with allies who share the UK's commitment to LGBT equality.
1123 FAIR TAX MARK 26:2:14
11That this House notes that the Government is losing much more than £1 in every £10 it seeks to collect from companies to tax evasion and avoidance; further notes that according to a recent Institute for Business Ethics poll, the public is now more concerned about tax avoidance than any other issue of corporate conduct; shares the public opposition to companies that avoid and evade paying the tax they owe; further notes the emergence of boycotts of companies such as Amazon and Starbucks; welcomes, like ICAEW and others, the launch of the Fair Tax Mark and the certification of Midcounties Co-opeative, Unity Trust Bank and others, who have been accredited as seeking to pay the tax that they owe in the right place at the right time; believes that such a mark will usefully provide consumers with the information they need to make ethical purchasing decisions based on the behaviour of corporations, and ultimately lead to additional tax revenue being paid to HM Revenue and Customs; and therefore calls on the Government to endorse the idea of a Fair Tax Mark, to work with its founders to put fair tax at the centre of the corporate social responsibility agenda and to redouble its efforts to clamp down on corporate tax evasion and avoidance.
1124 MIGRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND TIER-ONE VISAS 26:2:14
4That this House notes with concern the recommendation of the Migration Advisory Committee that would allow foreign millionaires to bid for fast-track tier-one UK visas; rejects the principle that the right to stay in the UK could be sold off to affluent people, even if they would donate money to the UK; recognises that this policy would widen the gap in opportunity between the rich and poor applying for a tier-one visa; and recognises the benefit of allowing talented, motivated and hard-working people to apply for the right to settle in the UK, regardless of their financial background.
1125 NEW BEATSON CANCER CHARITY 26:2:14
5That this House welcomes the launch of the new Beatson Cancer Charity, which brings together the resources of Friends of the Beatson and the Beatson Oncology Centre Fund; recognises that this new charity will support the vital work of the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow which is the UK's busiest cancer treatment centre and second busiest in Europe; understands that the launch and subsequent development of this new charity is a unique and significant step in the fight against cancer in the UK; further welcomes that the Beatson Cancer Charity is determined to beat cancer and that through a programme of active fundraising it will help fund improvements and innovation in services, provide enhanced medical equipment, fund additional nursing, radiology, physics and research posts, as well as fund education, training and staff development at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre; further welcomes that the charity will focus on facilitating high quality research programmes and ground-breaking early stage research to improve cancer treatment; understands that the Beatson Cancer Charity will adopt a partnership approach; further welcomes the Beatson Cancer Charity's support of the vision of the Beatson in Glasgow being rightfully regarded as an internationally renowned comprehensive cancer centre attracting the highest calibre of professional staff and developing state-of-the-art, pioneering techniques and treatments that will change the face of cancer treatment on a local, national and international scale; further recognises the importance of this new charity in the fight against cancer; and looks forward to hearing more about its work in due course.
1130 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (S. I., 2014, No. 16) 28:2:14
6That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I., 2014, No. 16), dated 8 January 2014, a copy of which was laid before this House on 10 January, be annulled.