Session 2014-15
House of Commons
8th September 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
296 NORTHERN IRELAND NATIONAL INSURANCE 1:9:14
14That this House recognises that people working in Northern Ireland at ages 14 and 15 between 1947 and 1957 paid national insurance contributions but that these do not count towards their pension as this is calculated by taking into account contributions made from age 16 only; acknowledges that this impacts Northern Ireland disproportionately as the working age in Great Britain changed from 14 to 15 in 1947, 10 years before it was changed in Northern Ireland; and calls on the Government to look at measures to address this discrepancy.
297 DR ELIZABETH GARRETT ANDERSON AND WOMEN IN SCIENCE 1:9:14
20That this House commends the contribution to medical science by Elizabeth Garrett Anderson who was born in London in 1836; notes that in 1865, Dr Anderson was the first Englishwoman to qualify as a doctor after passing the Society of Apothecaries' examinations; praises Dr Anderson's work in 1866 to establish a dispensary for women in London; further notes that in 1870 Dr Anderson was made a visiting physician to the East London Hospital and in 1872 she founded the New Hospital for Women in London, which was staffed entirely by women; further notes that Dr Anderson helped found the London School of Medicine for Women in 1874 and was appointed dean in 1883; further notes that because of Dr Anderson's pioneering work an Act was passed in 1876 that permitted women to enter medical professions; further notes that during her retirement in Aldeburgh in Suffolk, Dr Anderson became the first female mayor in England in 1908; and calls on the Government to ensure that young women are encouraged to pursue careers in science.
299 NATIONAL PARKS WEEK 2014 1:9:14
14That this House welcomes National Parks Week 2014, running from 28 July to 3 August; sees the UK's national parks as valuable assets to the UK which are enjoyed by millions of visitors each year from all corners of the globe, as well as local British people; celebrates the diverse and varying environments found in our national parks; notes that they are havens for wild flora and fauna, have breath-taking scenery, contain thousands of years of historical heritage and represent opportunities for education, exercise, cultural enrichment, physical and mental peace and spiritual activity and a home for thousands of businesses; further notes that businesses in the national parks make a significant contribution to the British economy and break new ground with environmentally sustainable business practices and technologies; and recognises the hard work that thousands of people undertake to make our national parks a success, including farmers, business people, local residents, national park authorities, tourists and environmentalists.
300 NATIONAL GALLERY'S VISITOR SERVICES AND SECURITY 1:9:14
13That this House commends the knowledge, experience and dedication of the visitor and security services staff at the National Gallery; is concerned that the National Gallery is privatising up to 400 of its staff; does not support the decision to use a private company to manage services that include ticketing, security and information; notes in the past when front-line services have been privatised, experienced staff have left and that new staff have not had the knowledge nor training to provide the same standard of experience; believes that visitor and security services should remain in-house to ensure that world-famous art can be viewed and enjoyed by the public in an educational environment; and calls on the Government to ensure that funding is in place so valuable skills and knowledge of the current staff are not lost.
301 FORCED CHILD ADOPTION 1:9:14
18That this House recognises the suffering that forced child adoptions during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s caused, which took place owing to social pressures on women who had children outside marriage; notes the unacceptable adoption and care practices of the past, such as not giving information about welfare services including housing and financial help which were available at the time, and not questioning whether women putting their children up for adoption had given informed consent; further recognises the negligence of previous governments, with regard to ensuring that the care provided for unmarried mothers was appropriate and that they and their children were not mistreated or discriminated against, resulting in many women suffering traumatising pre and post-natal experiences and children being denied contact with their birth parents; further notes that the Australian Prime Minister has in 2014 apologised to the victims of forced adoptions in Australia; and therefore calls on the Government to apologise in order to go some way towards helping the parents and children who were victims of these practices.
302 MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY TREAT ME RIGHT CAMPAIGN 1:9:14
28That this House commends the Multiple Sclerosis Society for organising the Treat Me Right campaign; supports the campaign and believes that all licensed multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments should be available on the NHS making everyone eligible for them; notes that people with MS should have fair and equal access to the right treatments at the right time; further supports the goal that all people with relapsing remitting MS should be invited to talk with a specialist about their treatment, in light of new disease modifying drug options in 2014; agrees that accessible information about treatment options, and support to be equal partners in decision-making, should be available to all people with MS; further notes that this year marks a potential revolution in MS treatments for relapsing remitting MS due to the now nine MS drugs approved for use on the NHS; further notes that up to 80 per cent of people with MS retire within 15 years of diagnosis, severely shortening the working lives of young adults and incurring costs to the labour market and economy; and states that there are more than 100,000 people living with MS in the UK and that the Government needs to ensure that the NHS has the right treatment available as it can make a huge difference to their lives, helping control relapses and managing symptoms.
304 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROYAL ANGLIAN REGIMENT 1:9:14
13That this House congratulates The Royal Anglian Regiment on the 50th anniversary of its formation on 1 September 1964 from the former County Regiments of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire; declares its appreciation to former and current members of the Regiment for their service both at home and overseas; registers with approval that anniversary celebrations were held at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, on 31 August 2014 during which new Colours were presented by HRH the Duke of Gloucester, the Regiment's Colonel-in-Chief; and wishes The Royal Anglian Regiment continued success in the years ahead.
307 WELSH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM, SKY SPORTS AND WELSH LANGUAGE COMMENTARY 2:9:14
5That this House notes that the rights to broadcast Welsh international football matches have been bought by Sky television since 2004; further notes that Welsh language broadcaster S4C has no rights to broadcast Welsh international football matches; expresses its concern at the decision of Sky Sports to cease its Welsh language service for Welsh international football matches; further notes that Welsh language speakers will no longer be able to watch the Welsh national football team in their own language should they choose to do so; commends the strong bilingual policy of the Football Association of Wales; calls on UEFA, who negotiated broadcast rights on behalf of European football associations for the forthcoming European championships, to ensure that Welsh language speakers can watch Welsh language live broadcasts of their national team during the forthcoming European qualifiers; and wishes the exciting young Welsh national football team well in their forthcoming fixtures.
308 TREATMENT OF IRAQI MINORITIES BY THE ISLAMIC STATE 2:9:14
26That this House is extremely concerned about the genocidal campaign being waged against minorities in Iraq by the Islamic State (IS) and notes with alarm the evidence recently collected by Amnesty International about IS's brutal campaign to obliterate all trace of non-Arabs and non-Sunni Muslims that has turned the area into blood-soaked killing fields; is shocked by the barbaric treatment of Yazidi and other ethnic and religious minority women kidnapped by IS, particularly reports of women being reportedly gang-raped and sold into sexual slavery; calls on the Government and the international community to take further measures to help secure the release of those held by IS and to assist those at imminent risk of being captured and those facing extreme hardship in refugee camps in Iraq and Syria, including offering to resettle the most vulnerable; and further calls on the Government and the international community to assist in collecting and preserving evidence of these atrocities so that the perpetrators can ultimately be brought to justice.
309 WOMEN'S AID SAVE OUR SERVICES CAMPAIGN 2:9:14
18That this House welcomes the launch of the Women's Aid SOS Campaign: Save Our Services: save refuges, save lives; recognises that specialist domestic violence refuges are life-saving services; acknowledges this national network of services in England is facing a crisis due to funding cuts and poor local commissioning decisions; further welcomes the aim of the SOS Campaign to protect the national network of specialist refuges and commit to exploring a new funding model for these services; acknowledges that a recent YouGov poll shows that 61 per cent of the population think that the Government should do more to preserve the national network of specialist domestic violence refuges for women and children; and calls on hon. Members to support the campaign by meeting with their local specialist refuge, signing the SOS campaign petition and supporting the protection of funding for the national network of life-saving refuges.
312 GOVERNMENT POLICY ON CLIMATE CHANGE 3:9:14
11That this House urges the Prime Minister to attend the United Nations meeting of heads of state in New York in September 2014 to discuss climate change; supports the mobilisations and marches to be held on 21 September around the world to demonstrate the groundswell of demand that exists for ambitious climate action; and thanks all of the organisations involved in the mobilisation for bringing people's attention to this important matter.
313 UK ARMS EXPORTS TO ISRAEL 3:9:14
6That this House notes with concern that, despite Government commitments to keep all weapons export licences under review and despite the recent deaths of more than 2,000 civilians in Gaza, the UK is still permitting arms exports to Israel; further notes that the UK has licensed more than £40 million worth of military exports to Israel since 2010, including components used for drones, bombs and targeting systems; condemns the UK's long history of exporting arms to regimes which use them against their own citizens to suppress dissent and calls for democracy, or for external aggression; further notes that the laser guidance systems of Paveway II bombs - which were used against hospitals, schools and UN refuges in Gaza in the recent conflict - were produced in a factory in Fife, Scotland; further notes estimates that more than 50,000 such bombs have been dropped on Gaza since 8 July 2014; observes that under UK arms export rules, the UK may not issue an export licence for equipment that will be used for internal oppression; further notes with concern that the Ministry of Defence is currently working with Israel-based defence company Elbit Systems on a drone programme worth £1 billion; further condemns the Government's failure to withdraw any of the UK's 131 arms export licences to Israel; further calls on the Government to stop prioritising the profits of wealthy arms companies over human lives and global stability; and asks the Government to reconsider the UK's arms export policy to stop the use of UK-made weapons against civilians.
314 ALLEGATIONS OF WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN SRI LANKA 3:9:14
17That this House expresses its serious concern at the recent decision by the President of Sri Lanka to deny visas to the UN team investigating allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka; condemns strongly the government of Sri Lanka's refusal to co-operate with the UN investigation or to heed the concerns of the international community on accountability and reconciliation; calls into question the timing and credibility of the President of Sri Lanka's decision to expand the mandate of the domestic Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances and to appoint a council of international legal experts to advise the Commission on war crimes allegations; notes the poor history of Sri Lanka's domestic commissions of inquiry to adequately investigate cases of human rights violations; further notes that the actions of the government of Sri Lanka continue to undermine the accountability and reconciliation processes in the country; urges the Government to reaffirm its strong support for the UN-mandated investigation and to condemn the President's denial of visas to the UN team; and calls on Commonwealth member countries, including the UK, to move to suspend the President of Sri Lanka from his position as Chairperson-in-Office of the Commonwealth, given his government is in clear breach of the values and precepts of the association.
315 MIGRAINE AWARENESS WEEK 3:9:14
15That this House endorses Migraine Awareness Week from 7 to 13 September 2014; and supports the work of the Migraine Trust charity to encourage more people to learn about migraines and to seek medical support and assistance.
317 WINNERS OF RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE NATIONAL CHAMPION SCHOOLS COMPETITION 3:9:14
4That this House recognises the achievement of the schools and players that took part in the finals of the Rugby Football League's National Champion Schools Competition over the course of the Challenge Cup weekend; further recognises the competition as the largest rugby tournament in the world with over 1,200 teams and 20,000 participants involved annually; believes this demonstrates the enormous hard work and talent involved from all finalists; congratulates the winners Castleford Academy, Sirius Academy, South Holderness High School, Leigh Academy (Kent), Dowdales High School and Settle College; and is confident that with such talented players, dedicated coaches and staff, and parents and volunteers, rugby league in schools is in a very positive position.
318 DUCHENNE AWARENESS DAY 3:9:14
21That this House acknowledges the first World Duchenne Awareness Day taking place on 7 September 2014; recognises the efforts of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and other Duchenne charities and support groups to highlight the need for Duchenne research, improved healthcare and independent living across the UK; notes the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign's leading role in fundraising for vital Duchenne research through its Duchenne Research Breakthrough Fund and Duchenne Forum initiative; further notes the new Fast Forward campaign launched by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign calling for faster access to specialist treatments for muscle-wasting conditions which become available; acknowledges the work of the Trailblazers young campaigners network in promoting and enabling a better quality of life and independent living for young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; calls on the NHS to meet the required standards of care for more than 2,500 boys and young men in the UK with Duchenne muscular dystrophy through NHS neuromuscular service specifications; and urges the Government to ensure that people affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy have rapid access to emerging treatments which are safe and effective.
320 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL FOR BUSINESS 4:9:14
9That this House recognises the great success of the International Festival for Business 2014, hosted by Liverpool and the City Region on behalf of the UK as a whole; notes that 75,000 business delegates took part in more than 400 events, making it the largest business festival in the world this year; further notes the very positive feedback that has been received so far from participants and partners; looks forward to the completion and publication of the Interim Evaluation Report this November, exploring the Festival's impact on the economy; commends the Mayor of Liverpool, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Vision and partners for their excellent work in delivering it; and further looks forward to seeing the plans for the International Festival for Business 2016, which will once again be staged in Liverpool and the City Region.
321 ENERGY (BUILDINGS AND REDUCTION OF FUEL USE) BILL 8:9:14
32That this House believes that greater energy efficiency and the installation of cost-effective measures to generate energy from buildings can reduce fuel bills, and assist with the alleviation of fuel poverty and with achieving low carbon homes; notes with interest that the Sustainable Energy Association Manifesto demonstrates how, using the Department of Energy and Climate Change figures, an energy from buildings strategy could save every person in the UK £186 per year, and the UK economy nearly £12 billion each year; and therefore supports the Energy (Buildings and Reduction of Fuel Use) Bill which will require the Secretary of State to draw up and implement a strategy to promote such measures.