Session 2013-14
House of Commons
12th May 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
1313 20 YEARS OF WOMEN PRIESTS 6:5:14
That this House notes that the Church of England has celebrated 20 years since the first women were ordained as priests on 12 March 1994; congratulates the first 32 women who were ordained and led the way for many more women to follow them; welcomes the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury during a service at St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday 3 May 2014 that men and women are equally icons, witnesses, and vessels of Christ for the world; praises the progress that has been made, but also notes that there is still more work to do; and calls on the Government to encourage the Church of England's General Synod to bring in legislation for women bishops to be appointed.
1314 OUTSOURCING OF PARLIAMENT'S SEARCH AND SCREENING FUNCTIONS 6:5:14
That this House values the dedication of House of Commons security staff who are employed by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS); recognises their professionalism and commitment every day to ensure that all those within Parliament are safe; is concerned by plans to outsource search and screening functions for the three main entrances of Parliament, which will affect around 150 staff, when the current contract expires in 2015; and urges the Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Parliaments to reconsider their proposals and ensure all security functions continue to be carried out by employees of the MPS or by staff directly employed by Parliament.
1316 TRISTAN DA CUNHA SUPPORT FOR PHILIPPINES TYPHOON APPEAL 7:5:14
That this House applauds the generosity, humanity and enterprise of the people of the world's most remote inhabited island, the British Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, for raising £3,456 for the Philippines Typhoon Appeal, representing the sum of £13 for each of the 264 residents, raised from events which included a sponsored swim by Tristan children in the island pool, equivalent to a collective round-the-island swim of 20 miles; notes that all monies have been paid to the UK Disasters Emergency Committee; and recognises that this selfless act comes as the islanders celebrate the 50th anniversary of their return from exile following the volcanic eruption of 1961, and their recent sheltering in their homes of the Filipino crew rescued from the bulk carrier Oliva, wrecked on one of the Tristan islands.
1317 WORK-LIFE BALANCE 7:5:14
That this House calls on the Government to enter into discussion with employers' representatives and trades unions to agree a protocol on ensuring that employees do not have to answer work emails whilst off-duty or out of hours; welcomes the introduction of similar rules in France which ensure that parents can spend quality time with children without work interruptions; notes that such a protocol would not prohibit those who choose to access their work email accounts at home but merely offer protections for those who choose not to do so; further notes that a deal agreed between French employers' federations and unions ensures that approximately one million workers in the consultancy and digital sectors are not sent work emails outside the hours of 9am to 6pm; further notes that job insecurity drives people to work longer hours which in turn damages productivity; further notes that the development of children in particular can suffer if they do not have a full interaction with their parent who might be preoccupied dealing with work emails; and calls for a protocol restricting digital working time in order to ensure a healthy work-life balance.
1319 ABERYSTWYTH FARMERS MARKET 8:5:14
That this House congratulates Aberystwyth Farmers Market for winning Best Food Market in Radio 4's Food and Farming Awards 2014; applauds the hard work of all those to establish this award winning farmers market in Aberystwyth; notes the important links which have been established between local producers in the area and local consumers; and commends the Aberystwyth Farmers Market for its success and the positive impact it has on the local economy and the community within which it operates.
1320 MUNICIPAL BUS COMPANIES 8:5:14
That this House notes with pride that 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the entry into service of the first publicly-owned buses, when on 30 March 1914 six open-topped double deckers started work on routes in Coventry; recognises the importance of the remaining municipally-owned bus companies in providing excellent services and cheaper fares for passengers in UK cities and towns, including Newport, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Blackpool and Reading; is alarmed by the onslaught against local authority-supported bus services which has seen thousands of services cut or reduced since May 2010; further notes with concern that the Government does not record service cuts in the deregulated bus market which provides 78 per cent of bus services across the UK; further notes the RMT union's findings that since 2003 UK bus fares have increased by over 60 per cent; supports the Campaign for Better Transport's call for an examination of all cases for reform of the bus industry, including municipal ownership and not-for-profit services; and calls on the Government to enact an urgent review of bus services.
1321 PENDLE LABOUR PARTY AND THE CROSS-PARTY AGREEMENT ON HANDLING POSTAL BALLOT PAPERS 8:5:14
That this House notes the Electoral Commission's report in January 2014 on electoral fraud in the UK, which identified 16 local authority areas at greater risk of allegations of electoral fraud being reported, including Pendle; deplores the loss of confidence in the electoral system that has resulted from widespread allegations of electoral fraud in certain parts of the country; welcomes the investigation begun in March 2013 by Stephen Barnes, Chief Executive of Pendle Borough Council and Returning Officer for Pendle Borough Council, following concerns expressed about postal and proxy voting in public meetings in Nelson, Colne and West Craven; further welcomes the cross-party panel set up by Pendle Council in August 2012 to investigate allegations of fraudulent postal and proxy votes; regrets the description of the widespread public concern by Councillor Mohammad Iqbal, leader of Pendle Council's Labour Group, as sour grapes; commends the panel on its cross-party agreement asking party workers not to procure signed postal ballot papers, to agree to council staff requesting the names and addresses of people delivering batches of completed postal vote forms and not to issue blank forms without referring requests to the appropriate senior party representative; congratulates the panel on the cross-party agreement being signed up to by the Pendle branches of the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrat Party, UK Independence Party and British National Party as well as the local police; further regrets the Labour agent for Nelson, Robert Oliver's description of the cross-party agreement as a cheap publicity stunt and a smokescreen; and deeply regrets the Pendle Labour Party's decision not to sign the cross-party agreement.
1322 UK ATTENDANCE AT HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONFERENCE IN AUSTRIA 8:5:14
That this House notes the recent governmental conferences on the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons, attended by 127 states in Norway in March 2013 and by 145 states in Mexico in February 2014; welcomes the announcement of a new follow-up conference in Austria in December 2014; further notes the call for UK attendance; and urges the Government to ensure it is represented at the event in Vienna.
1323 MARSHALL ISLANDS AND NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT 8:5:14
That this House notes the 67 nuclear weapons tests conducted in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958; regrets the environmental and humanitarian impact of those tests on the Marshall Islands; further notes that the US Atomic Energy Commission in 1956 described it as by far the most contaminated place in the world; expresses support for the Marshall Islands' legal proceedings against nine nuclear weapon states, including the UK, at the International Court of Justice over their failure to comply with Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and urges the Government to respond by committing to scrap Trident.
1324 CREATION OF AN INDEPENDENT AVIATION NOISE AUTHORITY 12:5:14
That this House recognises that, for those who live near major airports, aircraft noise can be an imposition; believes that a fresh approach to tackling aircraft noise must be adopted in order to give such people confidence that their legitimate grievances are being addressed; echoes the Campaign Statement published jointly by Let Britain Fly, the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise and London First advocating the establishment of the role of an independent aircraft noise ombudsman; endorses the recommendation in the Davies Commission Interim Report of 17 December 2013 of the creation of an independent aviation noise authority (IANA); and urges the Government, when the Department for Transport issues its response to the Davies Interim Report, to publish both a timetable setting out how it will create an IANA and its plans for securing cross-Party endorsement of the backing for this initiative.
1325 EAST SEA/SOUTH CHINA SEA 12:5:14
That this House notes the recent incidents in the East Sea/South China Sea; further notes that the activities undertaken by China violate the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of Vietnam; and calls on all parties to exercise restraint and use peaceful means, according to relevant international laws, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to attempt to resolve the dispute.
1326 LANCASHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE 12:5:14
That this House notes the fantastic work Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service crews carry out in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency; further notes the vast amount of public safety work carried out by those teams; and deplores Lancashire Fire Authority's decision to remove an appliance from Lancaster fire station.
1327 MORECAMBE CARNIVAL 12:5:14
That this House notes that the carnival in Morecambe that was held on 5 May 2014 was a huge success; further notes that 30,000 people were in Morecambe for the event; and congratulates Dave Bradshaw for organising the event and Bill Johnson and all the staff at the Bay for organising the live music stage.
1328 ME AWARENESS WEEK 2014 12:5:14
That this House welcomes ME Awareness Week 2014, which takes place from 11 to 17 May 2014; understands that ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) affects an estimated 250,000 men, women and children in the UK; further welcomes the Action for ME Report, ME Time to Deliver, which found that out of more than 2,000 people with ME/CFS in the UK, around 90 per cent had stopped or reduced paid work as a result of their symptoms, while half had reduced or lost capacity to drive and a quarter were no longer able to leave their home independently; and calls on the Government to improve access to specialist services for those with the condition and information and support for professionals working with sufferers of ME/CFS.
1329 ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY IN FASHION 12:5:14
That this House notes the first anniversary of the signing of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire Safety; commends the signatories for their commitment to improving health and safety standards in Bangladesh; calls on the Government to continue their work to support improved, standards; further notes the efforts of Fashion Revolution Day to ask people to think about the working conditions of those producing their clothes and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health to highlight the essential role of good health and safety management; and further calls on the Government to continue to work with the industry, health and safety professionals and Bangladeshi authorities to improve conditions for all workers in the garment industry.
1330 PROCESSING OF PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENTS 12:5:14
That this House notes with concern the lengthy delays occurring in the processing of personal independence payments (PIP), with the National Audit Office (NAO) finding that claimants wait an average of 107 days, and often significantly longer; further notes that these delays are having a severe impact on seriously ill and disabled citizens, who are pushed into financial insecurity, poverty or destitution as a result; further notes with concern the additional stress and worry these delays cause at what is already an extremely difficult time; further notes that the NAO also found that PIP will cost almost three and a half times more to administer than disability living allowance, and takes twice as much time to process; condemns the refusal to pay PIP for the first three months after someone becomes ill or disabled, further lengthening delays and leaving newly ill or disabled people without any means of support through no fault of their own; further condemns the decision to pay carer's allowance only to people who are caring for a person in receipt of PIP, exacerbating the financial strain on newly disabled people and their families; deplores that the Government has once again permitted unscrupulous, uncaring and inefficient companies such as Atos and Capita to profit from damaging the wellbeing of ill and disabled citizens; further condemns the Government's lack of compassion for disabled people; and calls on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to take action to address those delays as a matter of urgency.
1331 BBC RADIO DEVON AND DAVID LOWE 12:5:14
That this House notes the offensiveness of one word in one line of the lyrics of a 1930s recording of the song The Sun Has Got His Hat On; shares the shock of former BBC Radio Devon presenter David Lowe that the song contained such a word; further notes that the BBC failed to accept Mr Lowe's offer of an apology to listeners despite his being unaware that the word was in the lyrics; contrasts the corporation's response to their television presenter Jeremy Clarkson's use of the same offensive word that did not result in his sacking; is saddened by the damage this episode has caused to Mr Lowe's health, exacerbating his dystonic tremor medical condition and meaning he is unable to return to his love of presenting radio programmes; and calls on the BBC and other broadcasters for more consistency in they way they handle such matters and more thought about the effects of their decisions on loyal members of staff.
1332 ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF JOHN CLARE 12:5:14
That this House recognises that 20 May 2014 marks the 150th Anniversary of the death of John Clare, one of England's greatest poets of the countryside; and congratulates the John Clare Trust on its campaign to ensure that every child has a right to explore and learn in the natural environment, and in particular its determination, with its 150 Campaign, to ensure that children and schools in all communities have an opportunity to enjoy the full benefits of our countryside.
1333 CHILDREN'S RIGHT TO THE COUNTRYSIDE 12:5:14
That this House is deeply concerned that over 50 per cent of children have never visited the countryside and that a child's chance of visiting the countryside has halved in a generation, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds being particularly badly affected; recognises that children who spend time in natural environments obtain better health and educational outcomes, performing better in reading, mathematics, science and social studies; and congratulates the hon. Members who are leading the John Claire Trust's 150 Poems challenge, which will raise vital funding to enable more schools to participate in opening up the woodlands, forests and meadows of our beautiful countryside to many more children.