Session 2014-15
House of Commons
14th July 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
215 PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF THE RAILWAYS 7:7:14
26That this House believes that the interests of passengers, taxpayers, rail workers and the wider economy would be best served by ending the UK's complex and fragmented system of privatised railways and introducing an integrated, publicly-owned and accountable railway.
217 EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNCIL 7:7:14
12That this House condemns the decision by nine Conservative councillors in Northumberland to call an extraordinary meeting of the Council at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of £45,000 to seek to overturn a democratic decision taken by a Labour council which has to make savings of £130 million over the next four years because of Government cuts; notes that the decision to call the meeting was taken against the advice of senior officers at the Council and may leave the Council open to legal challenge at a further cost to the public purse; further notes that cuts in Northumberland so far have meant 1,500 job losses and cuts in services to the value of £259 per family; and calls on Northumberland Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to explain why they consider £45,000 spent on a meeting which has been described by senior officers at the Council as 'an exercise in Punch and Judy politics' is a good use of scarce public funds.
218 PROSOPAGNOSIA 7:7:14
16That this House welcomes the research being undertaken by the Centre for Face Processing Disorders at Bournemouth University which seeks to aid the development of potential remediation techniques for prosopagnosia, otherwise known as face-blindness; understands that an estimated one in 50, or one and a half million people in the UK, suffer from the developmental form of prosopagnosia; notes that there has been an improvement in the awareness of prosopagnosia since its formal recognition; and supports further efforts to promote public and professional awareness of the condition.
219 CHILD MAINTENANCE SCHEME 7:7:14
18That this House is deeply concerned about changes to the Child Maintenance scheme; notes that the charging scheme will deter lower income families from claiming and will increase child poverty; recognises that the four per cent now deducted by the Government from the final amount that goes to the child sees the Exchequer profiting at the expense of the child; further notes that the contractor has been unable to cope with call volumes and regrets that the Child Maintenance Options service has been privatised; and urges the Government to bring this work back in-house, to be run by experienced Department for Work and Pensions staff.
221 GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE LAW ON INDUSTRIAL ACTION 7:7:14
17That this House believes that Conservative plans to further restrict the rights of public sector unions to take industrial action are once again a blatant attack on working people and are also anti-democratic and counter-productive; deplores the proposal that union leaders will have to prove that over half their members support a strike; points out that the right hon. Member for Horsham, who is proposing the law, was elected on less than 40 per cent of the electorate and that his party nationally was supported by less than a quarter of those entitled to vote; reaffirms the right of union members to withdraw their labour on a simple majority of those balloted; and supports the action by unions protesting about performance-related pay, pension cuts and the running down of public services.
222 PRIVATISATION OF NHS CANCER CARE 7:7:14
14That this House strongly opposes plans to privatise cancer care; is appalled that four GP-led clinical commissioning groups in Staffordshire are involved in the likely outsourcing of services worth more than £1.2 billion; believes that this opening of the most sensitive and critical areas of the NHS to the private sector demonstrates that there is no limit to the willingness of this Coalition Government to replace them with those from profit-driven operators; notes the evidence from the respected Nuffield Health organisation that, since the Coalition took power in 2010, private firms' share of the NHS spend has increased from 12 per cent to 18 per cent, and is now more than £1.77 billion; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to commit to the excellence of NHS care by denying private companies the opportunities of profiteering from cancer and terminal care.
223 FUTURE FUNDING OF TRIDENT NUCLEAR PROGRAMME 7:7:14
8That this House does not believe that the British public would approve of spending £100 billion on renewing Trident while welfare and health provision is being slashed; notes that the Ukrainian government is using crowdfunding to pay for its border drone system; and urges the Government to use a similar method to finance the nuclear programme so that only those who believe it necessary or desirable would pay for it.
225 KILLINGS OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN 7:7:14
13That this House notes that over the last 13 years a Palestinian child has been killed every three days by Israel; points out that 1,518 Palestinian children have been killed by Israel's occupation forces since the start of the second intifada in September 2000, and that over the same period at least 6,000 children were injured; further notes that since the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers on the illegally-held West Bank and their subsequent funerals, seven Palestinians have been killed, four of them teenagers, two of them shot by Israeli snipers; and urges the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to use whatever influence he has with Israel to stop the wholesale arrests and detentions of Palestinian civilians and the likely re-occupation of Gaza, which can only lead to countless more deaths.
226 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND CONTROL OF EXCESSIVE TEMPERATURES 7:7:14
28That this House welcomes the introduction of mandatory cooling breaks for players in World Cup matches in circumstances where the temperature exceeds a specified level; notes that FIFA was required to introduce such control measures in order to comply with Brazilian labour law which would have seen them fined in the region of $90,000 dollars for each game played without a break; recognises that relief from excessive temperatures has a positive effect on productivity, concentration and general well-being; further notes that excessive temperature in the workplace is not something that applies only in tropical climates but regularly affects millions of workers in a wide variety of factories, call-centres, schools, forms of transport and offices in the UK; and therefore supports the campaign of the TUC-backed Cool It! coalition initiated by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union in calling for a specific maximum working temperature to be set in legislation, beyond which the employer would have a legal responsibility to introduce appropriate control measures.
227 PRIVATELY-EDUCATED PUPILS AND THEIR FUTURE EARNINGS 7:7:14
5That this House deplores the inequality in the British education system which ensures that children from private schools will have earned £200,000 more than state school pupils by middle age, according to a survey carried out by the Sutton Trust; points out that these independent schools are bastions of privilege where predominantly affluent families can buy their children's financial success in later life by paying high fees for education; calls for an open access scheme to be imposed where all young people from disadvantage backgrounds are admitted for free to such schools; and demands that the Government removes the charitable status from all private schools as they are clearly anything but charitable.
228 TOUR DE FRANCE LE GRAND DÉPART 2014 7:7:14
34That this House celebrates the success of the Le Grand Départ of the 101st Tour de France and the first three stages, Leeds to Harrogate, York to Sheffield and Cambridge to London; echoes comments that this was the grandest Grand Départ in the history of the Tour; congratulates Welcome to Yorkshire and its CEO, Gary Verity, for a successful bid, supported by Leeds City Council and others; thanks race director Christian Prudhomme for his faith in Yorkshire's bid; congratulates Sir Rodney Walker and Nicky Roche and TdFHub2014Ltd, councils along the route and the 12,000 volunteer Tour Makers for delivering three fantastic stages of the race; agrees that this has been a wonderful advertisement for Yorkshire and the UK, boosting local economies and the UK economy by at least £100 million; further congratulates local communities, businesses, farms, hotels, pubs, cafes, restaurants, places of worship and community and village halls who all worked hard to provide entertainmnet, food, drink and fun for spectators; notes that over four and a half milion people are estimated to have lined the route across the three days; hopes that Le Grand Départ 2014 will inspire the next generation of UK cycling stars and welcomes the new annual three-day Tour of Yorkshire race starting next year; believes that a real legacy must and will be delivered, including through concerted strategies to get more people cycling in the UK and improvements for cyclists on our roads; and sends its best wishes to the competitors, organisers and all involved for the remainder of Le Tour 2014.
230 GREEN INVESTMENT BANK SECOND ANNUAL REVIEW 8:7:14
9That this House welcomes the results published in the Green Investment Bank's second annual review; recognises that in 2013-14 the Green Investment Bank invested in 18 new green projects and committed £668 million in new capital; congratulates the Green Investment Bank on continuing to grow by taking its total capital commitments to £1.3 billion of profitable investments; further recognises that, for every £1 invested, the Green Investment Bank mobilised approximately £3 of additional private capital; acknowledges that, once built, the investments to date will create 3,500 construction jobs, provide renewable power to over three million homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking over 1.6 million cars off the road; further congratulates the Green Investment Bank on investing across the whole of the UK; and supports the Green Investment Bank in continuing to invest in the UK's green future.
231 BLACK COUNTRY DAY 8:7:14
10That this House congratulates the four Black Country boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton and local business organisations and representatives for pioneering the special Black Country Day on 14 July of each year which reflects that region's distinctive dialect, food and humour as well as the anniversary of the introduction of the Newcomen steam engine in 1712 which made the Black Country the centre of the workshop of the world; and calls on residents, schools, businesses and organisations on that day to fly the Black Country flag which symbolises the region's historic chain-making and glass manufacturing industry, representing its glorious past and current resurrection as a manufacturing powerhouse.
234 NATIONAL RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AWARENESS WEEK 8:7:14
29That this House congratulates the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) on holding its second national Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness (RA) week from 16 to 22 June 2014; notes that the autoimmune disease RA affects over 690,000 people throughout the UK; further notes the important work that NRAS does to raise awareness of this disease and provide support to those affected; welcomes the publication of a new NRAS report on the impact of chronic fatigue; further notes the report's findings regarding the high impact of chronic fatigue on worklessness and quality of life; and calls on the Government to better prioritise the management of chronic fatigue within long-term conditions and strategies and to reform the work capability assessment descriptors to properly capture the impact of chronic fatigue.
235 GATESHEAD CARERS ASSOCIATION 8:7:14
16That this House expresses its congratulations to Gateshead Carers Association on its week of events in Carers Week 2014 to promote carers, the unsung heroes in Gateshead, who provide unpaid help and support to a relative or friend who could not otherwise manage because of frailty, illness or disability; praises the 2014 Gateshead Carers Association annual Party in the Park in Gateshead's Saltwell Park, showcasing 25 local organisations supporting carers and the people they care for including Gateshead Alzheimer's Society, Thrive, Gateshead Crossroads and the Stroke Association; welcomes the new initiative of a Carers Allotment to give cares vital respite from caring and a place to meet other carers in a friendly welcoming environment, supported by the Big Lottery Fund, Gateshead Housing Company, the Community Foundation and Gateshead Council; notes that Gateshead Carers Association has been Sainsbury's Team Valley Charity of the Year in 2014 and was presented with a cheque for £4,000 in Carers Week; and celebrates the contribution of the 6.5 million people caring across the UK despite the emotional strain, money worries and health impacts this can cause carers.
236 SECOND CHANCE INITIATIVE 8:7:14
12That this House acknowledges the importance of sustained and meaningful employment in reducing instances of reoffending; expresses its support for the Second Chance initiative to enhance employment opportunities for ex-offenders which is spearheaded by the Citizen Trust working in the community and at HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs; welcomes the creation of the Second Chance Charter with a nationally recognised kitemark, which will identify employers willing to consider offering employment to suitable ex-offenders without discrimination on the basis of past records.
237 MISUSE OF ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS 8:7:14
8That this House notes the impending prosecution by the Equality Commission (EC) of the managers of a bakery for declining to bake a cake with a gay rights slogan; opposed to discrimination, regrets the fact that the law is being used in such a draconian fashion to target people with Christian beliefs; deplores the use of taxpayers' money to further the agenda of the activists; and calls on the Minister for Equality to issue guidance to the EC to prevent this prosecution from being carried forward.
238 ASDA EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES 8:7:14
10That this House condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the tyrannical employment practices of Asda, whose branch in Longsight, Manchester, has bullied and bludgeoned a staff member, a constituent of the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, for more than two years, placing his livelihood in jeopardy throughout this period, subjecting him to intolerable pressure and blatantly violating their own employment procedures; in particular condemns Allan Edwards, Asda Director of Public Affairs, who, in correspondence with the right hon. Member over a prolonged period, has procrastinated and dodged in order to fob off extremely justified concerns; and calls on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to investigate these immoral thugs, who clearly believe that they are immune from decency because of the company's huge wealth.
239 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPENDING TARGET 8:7:14
24That this House welcomes the presentation of the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill and looks forward to its second reading on 12 September 2014; highlights the cross-party consensus on development aid which underpins the UK's commitment to fulfilling the UN target to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on official development assistance; and further welcomes the Bill's intent to enshrine this level of development spending in law.
241 HIGHWAYS AGENCY 8:7:14
13That this House agrees with the findings of the Transport Select Committee, expressed in March 2014, that the case for the removal of the Highways Agency from the direct control of accountable Ministers has not been made; believes that the proposed changes of the status of the Highways Agency to a Government-owned company is the first step towards full privatisation and will lead to road tolls, increased cost to the public and a detrimental impact on the environment and road safety; regrets that the option to maintain the Highway Agency as Executive Agency of Department for Transport but with funding certainty was not even considered; further believes that these proposals are not driven by evidence but the ideological belief that the private sector is better than the public sector; and calls on the Government to accept that there is no desire amongst the British public for a costly privatised road network and that the Highways Agency, properly resourced and at arms length as it was originally intended to be, rather than a Government owned company, would be a considerably more efficient and cost-effective solution to delivering the aims of the infrastructure investment in the Strategic Roads Network.
242 STATUE OF MAHATMA GANDHI IN PARLIAMENT SQUARE 9:7:14
11That this House welcomes the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on his visit to India that there will be a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square; recognises that this is the culmination of a long campaign to honour this great man; notes that there are two other statues of Mahatma Gandhi in Tavistock Square and Belgrave Road in Leicester; and considers that a suitable location would be between the statues of Peel and Disraeli and near Nelson Mandela, with the Supreme Court behind him and facing Big Ben.
243 SUGARPOVA 9:7:14
7That this House recognises the importance of encouraging people to exercise regularly and to have a healthy, balanced diet to avoid health conditions such as diabetes and obesity; believes that sportsmen and women should act as ambassadors for encouraging sporting activity and leading a healthy lifestyle; finds brands such as Sugarpova, which are marketed by admired sportsmen and women, encourage young people to eat excessive amounts of sugar; and calls on the Government to take action to help people to lead healthier lives and to adopt Action on Sugar's proposal to ban sports sponsorships of unhealthy foods.
244 OCEANS OF HOPE PROJECT 9:7:14
8That this House applauds the fantastic work of the Oceans of Hope project which challenges negative perceptions of multiple sclerosis; and recognises the efforts of its round-the-world crew, which completes its journey at Portsmouth this week.
245 DETENTION OF ANDARGACHEW TSEGE IN ETHIOPIA 9:7:14
7That this House is seriously concerned about the safety of Andargachew Tsege, a British citizen, who was detained and then abducted on 23 June 2014 by the Yemeni authorities while in transit through Sana'a airport on his way to Asmara, Eritrea; understands that he may have been extradited from that country to Ethiopia and since then has been denied consular access; believes that this UK citizen's life and well-being may be in danger during his period of illegal detention; and calls on the Government to insist on his immediate release and repatriation back to Britain at the earliest opportunity.
246 COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT OF PALESTINIANS 9:7:14
17That this House notes that once again Palestine's Gaza region has come under attack by the Israeli Defence Force; further notes that in this wholly unequal cycle of violence 490 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel since the end of Operation Cast Lead in 2009, and three Israelis; further notes that in this current attack Defence 4 Children International Palestine report that eight children have been killed and Palestinian writer and health worker, Mona Elfarra, reports the, not unusual, targeting of health centres including the European Hospital East of Khan Younis where many were both suffering and sheltering; and calls on the Government to do everything within its power to bring about an end to the collective punishment of Palestinans and the occupation that is a virtual death sentence for them.
As an Amendment to Jeremy Corbyn's proposed Motion (Collective Punishment Of Palestinians):
1Line1, leave out from 'House' to end and add 'notes that after 13 years of Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and as many as 600 rockets fired in 2014 alone, Israel is compelled to defend itself; further notes that Israel does its utmost to protect civilian life by sending warning messages and launching precision guided missile attacks; further notes that it is Hamas that cynically locates its terrorist infrastructure deep in civilian areas; and supports the UK Government's strong condemnation of the appalling attacks being carried out by Hamas against Israeli civilians.'. 14:7:14(a1)
247 USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN INTENSIVE FARMING 9:7:14
23That this House recognises that the overuse of antibiotics in intensive farming adds to the serious public health threat from antibiotic resistance and the rise of superbugs; welcomes the Government's efforts to reduce over-prescribing by doctors; calls for parallel action to reduce the use of antibiotics by veterinary surgeons and farmers; and further calls on the Government to take steps to ensure that the routine prophylactic use of antibiotics on UK farms is phased out and that specific controls are introduced on the use in livestock of antibiotics that are critically important in human medicine.
248 BIOMETRIC TESTING ON LONDON UNDERGROUND 9:7:14
8That this House is concerned at the imposition by ISS of a biometric fingerprinting system to book on for duty for cleaners on London Underground; is dismayed at the prospect of such Orwellian devices eroding basic civil liberties; is further concerned that the workforce who refuse to surrender their biometric data to the company have effectively been locked out from work; is also concerned that this type of intrusion is occurring in an industry where experience shows that prejudice and racism is rife; supports the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in its campaign against the use of biometric fingerprinting; and calls on ISS to drop this practice and for the Mayor of London and the Government to take steps to ensure that the civil liberties of all workers are protected in line with the basic principles of dignity at work.
249 STOP THE WAR ON THE POOR CAMPAIGN 9:7:14
10That this House welcomes the Stop the War on the Poor initiative which commemorates Martin Luther King's Poor People's Campaign launched just before his assassination on 4 April 1968; further welcomes the RISE Out of Poverty Act now before the US Congress, which would make the elimination of child poverty the priority of welfare policy and recognises the caring work of mothers and other carers; believes that the UK would benefit from a similar policy since four million UK children, one in three, are living in poverty; notes that Dr King condemned the Vietnam War, accusing Congress of hostility to the poor by spending military funds with alacrity and generosity; further notes that he supported mothers' right to welfare, a living wage and a guaranteed income for all; rejects US-style workfare as it forces unwaged carers to work for their benefits, undermining both the minimum wage and pay equity; and reaffirms humanity's assumption that every child is precious to the whole society, and that every primary carer is entitled to resources and support for their life-saving, life-enhancing caring work.
250 ISRAELI MILITARY STRIKES ON THE GAZA STRIP 10:7:14
13That this House regards Israel's latest attack on the Gaza Strip, Operation Protective Edge, as a disproportionate escalation of violence against Palestinians; notes that since the end of Operation Cast Lead on 19 January 2009 Israel has killed 490 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; calls for an immediate end to Israeli military strikes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and military incursions into Palestinian population centres in the West Bank, both of which constitute collective punishment and are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention; calls for an immediate end to retaliatory rocket attacks from Gaza; and urges Israel as the occupying power to de-escalate the conflict.
251 CHILDREN AND THE COUNTRYSIDE 10:7:14
8That this House is deeply concerned that over 35 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 Clare 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.
252 COMMEMORATION OF THE BATTLE OF HILL 112, 10 TO 12 JULY, NORMANDY 10:7:14
11That this House notes with pride this week the 70th Anniversary, 10 to 12 July, of Operation Jupiter in Normandy and the battle of Hill 112, the holding of which was described by Rommel as the key to the whole of Normandy, as part of the Allied victory, which was successfully conducted through the courage and bravery of the 43rd Wessex Division, including the 112th Field Regiment RA, the 59th AT Regiment, the 7th and 9th Royal Tank Regiments, together with the infantry Battalions of 7th Hampshire's, 4th and 5th, Dorset's 4th and 7th Somerset Light Infantry, 4th and 5th Wiltshire's, 5th Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, 1st Worcester's, 2nd Glasgow Highlanders, 7th Seaforth Highlanders, the 9th Cameronians, the Royal Scots Greys and 46th Highland Brigade, 15th Scottish, 53rd Welsh and 4th and 11th Armoured Division, supported by Typhoons and Mustangs, with parallel operations by the North and South Staffordshire Regiments, Canadian and Polish Divisions and those from East Lancashire, Royal Warwickshire and 49th West Riding and all others who successfully repulsed the Waffen SS/Hitler Youth 9th, 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions (Panthers and Tigers) and the 102 Tiger Tank Regiment and L.E.H.R. Division; and congratulates the Mayor and community of Fontaine Etoupefour who, with Andre Nové organised, a commemoration this week of the battle in and around Hill 112, Maltot and Éterville.
254 SCRUTINY OF NOMINEES FOR EU COMMISSIONER 14:7:14
4That this House notes that the next EU Commissioner to be nominated by the UK will have an important role, not only in the particular policy area where they will have the lead, but also more generally in promoting the UK's national interest and vision for reform in Europe; further notes that Parliament currently has not had the opportunity to scrutinise the Government's candidate before their nomination is confirmed; and calls on the Government to ensure that such pre-appointment scrutiny takes place before the nomination of the next EU Commissioner by the UK.
255 SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURES ON LIVING ANIMALS REPORT 2013 14:7:14
8That this House notes the publication of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 2013 report; expresses concern that despite a reduction of 0.38 per cent on the 2012 figure, 4,017,578 animals were used in scientific procedures in Great Britain in 2013; further notes that the number of procedures increased by 0.28 per cent, meaning animals are being used in more than one procedure; further expresses concern that these are the last statistics before the General Election and in contrast with the pledge, in the Coalition Programme for the Government to 'work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research', there has been an overall increase of more than 10 per cent since that time; is disappointed with the slow progress being made on this issue; and supports the National Anti-Vivisection Society in calling on the Government to set targets on reduction and increase transparency in research using animals, as part of moves to eventually end the use of animals in experiments.
256 MOVING TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY, REDUCING WASTE AND IMPROVING RECYCLING 14:7:14
2That this House believes that moving to a zero-waste, circular economy will deliver great economic and environmental benefits to the UK including job creation, reduced dependence on imported resources, protection of the UK's air, water, land, sea, rivers and green spaces and a reduction in carbon emissions; broadly welcomes the European Commission document, Towards a Circular Economy, published on 2 July 2014, whilst reiterating the importance of the waste hierarchy and the need to prioritise the reduction of resource consumption in absolute terms, waste prevention, reuse and then recycling; calls on the Government to embrace the proposed 70 per cent recycling target by 2030 and landfill ban for recyclable waste by 2025 as steps in the right direction, but to go further by supporting a ban on incineration as well as landfill of recyclable and compostable waste by 2020; notes that the zero waste plans of Wales and Scotland already include targets and policies to recycle 70 per cent of waste by 2025; further believes that England can do equally as well; further calls on Ministers to provide the necessary funds and support to enable local authorities to improve infrastructure for collection, reuse and re-processing; further notes proposals to allow local authorities to keep landfill tax receipts; and urges Ministers to push for design standards to make products longer lasting and easier to repair, including through extending the Ecodesign Directive to include resource efficiency.
257 MEFLOQUINE HYDROCHLORIDE 14:7:14
1That this House is alarmed that the drug mefloquine hydrochloride, better known by its brand name Lariam, continues to be prescribed to an estimated 2,500 British servicemen and women every year before they are sent out to visit a malarial country; notes the drug has long been known to cause a range of negative side effects, including ringing in the ears, depression, loss of memory and hallucinations and is aware that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has received more than 2,000 accounts of adverse reactions to the drug's use; and calls on the Ministry of Defence to immediately cease prescribing it to UK personnel in its charge and to investigate a full review of its use.
258 INDETERMINATE SENTENCES FOR PUBLIC PROTECTION 14:7:14
3That this House notes that there are 5,206 prisoners in the UK who are still serving indeterminate sentences for public protection, which were abolished by the Government in 2012; further notes that 3,575 of these prisoners have already passed their tariff and that, since the Parole Board releases roughly 400 inmates every year, it will take nine years for the Board to clear this backlog of cases; further notes with dismay that many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences fail to gain places on appropriate courses which would progress their rehabilitation, and that, as a result, such prisoners have little hope of release; further notes that each prison place costs £40,000 every year, making indeterminate sentences highly costly; and calls on the Government to increase funding to the Parole Board to clear the backlog of indeterminate prisoners, starting with those given initial tariffs of two years or less.