House of Commons
19th January 2015
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

678 NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY 2015 12:1:15
Mr David Ward
Chloe Smith
Mark Durkan
Mr Gregory Campbell
Mr Adrian Sanders
Andrew George
*26
Mr Elfyn Llwyd

That this House welcomes Bite The Ballot's second annual National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) on 5 February 2015, supported by Open Society Foundations, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, Hogan Lovells LLP and others, which aims to encourage 250,000 new electors to join the electoral register; praises the NVRD 2014 campaign which encouraged over 50,000 people to register to vote at a cost per registration of £0.25; acknowledges the Government's commitment to get more young people and other under-represented groups to register during the transition to Individual Electoral Registration; further welcomes the move to online registration and that over 36 million people have been successfully matched and automatically added to the new register; believes that with millions of voters still missing from the register, in order to deliver its commitment to maximising registration, the Government must now do more to encourage, support and promote the NVRD annual day of action that involves youth clubs, community groups, educational establishments and businesses across the UK registering people to vote; recognises that this initiative is supported by the APPG on Voter Registration and the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee, with unanimous all-party support from members of both Houses and the devolved legislatures; and strongly urges the Government, the Cabinet Office, the Electoral Commission, local authorities, valuation joint boards and local electoral registration officers to fully recognise the importance of NVRD in creating an engaged and inspired young electorate.

682 PROPOSED REDUCTIONS IN FUNDING FOR THE LIBRARY OF BIRMINGHAM 13:1:15
Mr Roger Godsiff
Mr Ronnie Campbell
Kelvin Hopkins
Jeremy Corbyn
*4

That this House notes with great concern the plans to severely cut the funding available to the Library of Birmingham, which would result in the loss of more than half of the library's staff and many of its services, including the loss of archive and research facilities; observes that Birmingham City Council's funding from central Government has been cut heavily over the course of the current Government, and that poorer cities such as Birmingham have received a disproportionately heavy share of spending cuts; condemns the decision to cut Birmingham's funding by an amount equivalent to £147 per household this year, compared to the national average of just £45; does not see why the citizens of Birmingham should have their library services destroyed in an attempt to cut a deficit that was caused by paying for the gambling debts of bankers, not by supporting essential cultural services for UK citizens; encourages the Government to take serious and concerted action to reclaim for the Exchequer the many billions of public funds which are currently lost to corporate tax avoidance; strongly supports the attempt to find alternate ways to keep the library open and maintain it as a centre of excellence, and wishes this campaign every success; believes that the whole of the UK would be the poorer without its world-class libraries, which play a vital role in education and research; and calls on the Government to urgently reconsider its ongoing slashing of local government funding.

As an Amendment to Mr Roger Godsiff's proposed Motion (Proposed Reductions In Funding For The Library Of Birmingham):

John Hemming
*1

Line3, leave out 'observes' in line 3 to end and add 'observes that Birmingham City Council's funding from central government has been cut heavily over the course of the current Government and faces further cuts whether Conservatives, Labour or Liberal Democrats are in power; further observes that the Council also faces severe financial problems as a result of the payments required to deal with equal pay; regrets the financial errors of government from 2005 to 2008 in exacerbating the difficulties in the public sector; believes that all parties should review the future of local government finance and ensure that other government spending in either ring-fenced departments or non-ring-fenced departments should be reviewed from a public benefit and value for money comparative basis; supports proposals to ensure that reductions in central support operate on the basis of equivalence in terms of spending power reduction; further supports the Government's efforts to increase the tax take by more effective tax collection; strongly supports the attempt to find alternative ways to keep the library open; and further believes that local libraries are also important facilities not to be ignored.'. 19:1:15(a1)

700 DISABLED ACCESS DAY 15:1:15
Greg Mulholland
Sir Peter Bottomley
Jeremy Corbyn
Glenda Jackson
*4

That this House gives its full support to Disabled Access Day on 17th January 2015, a fantastic initiative aiming to encourage the 11.6 million disabled people in the UK to visit somewhere new with their friends and families; praises Euan's Guide and all the organisers for the hard work that they have put into recruiting organisations and ensuring that the day will be a success, and for their continuous efforts to make information on disabled-accessible locations readily available; commends the over 200 companies and venues across the UK that have pledged their support for the initiative, including Buckingham Palace; recognises the importance of empowering disabled people so that they have the confidence to get out of their comfort zone and visit new places; and encourages more venues and facilities to consider how they could make their sites more accessible for disabled people.

705 CONDUCT OF FORMER PRIME MINISTERS 19:1:15
Andrew Bridgen
*1

That this House notes that the former Prime Minister Tony Blair remains, in part, a public servant, but considers that his conduct since leaving Downing Street is in breach of the code of ethics established in 1994 to regulate public life which he himself, whilst in Parliament, enforced so vigorously against others; calls for an urgent debate into the former Prime Minister's commercial and business activities, leading to legislation that mirrors controls over the executive that exists in countries such as the US; further notes that such legislation would control, restrict and regulate a former incumbent of No.10 Downing Street in the interest of national security and protecting the reputation of the UK among the UK's friends and allies, by limiting his or her ability to work for foreign nations once out of office; and finally believes that it is an essential function of Parliament to do its utmost to safeguard and protect the integrity and reputation of the UK, including the conduct of the holder of the highest executive office in the land.

706 GREATWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL 19:1:15
David Morris
*1

That this House notes that pupils at Greatwood Primary School raised £130 for Epilepsy Action by hosting a bake sale at the school in December 2014; and congratulates Archie F, Jack W, Oliver G, Ethan W, Dale I and Jaden O for their hard work and planning.

707 LINCOLN CLOSE ILLUMINATIONS 19:1:15
David Morris
*1

That this House notes that on 30 November 2014 the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale and Gilly from BBC Radio Lancashire switched on the Christmas lights on Lincoln Close in Westgate; further notes that the lights were on for the full Christmas period to raise money for Derain House children's hospice; and congratulates Ian and Dianne Clifton on another successful year raising money for Derain House.

708 LANCASTER CITY COUNCIL AND ERIC MORECAMBE STATUE 19:1:15
David Morris
*1

That this House notes that on 11 October 2014 the statue of Eric Morecambe in Morecambe was taken down by Lancaster City Council for repairs following an act of vandalism; further notes that the statue was repaired by sculptor Graham Ibbeson and restored on the promenade in Morecambe on 11 December 2014; congratulates chief officer Mark Cullinan and head of environment Mark Davies and their teams for their swift action to ensure Eric was back on the promenade before Christmas; and thanks Eric Morecambe's family for visiting Morecambe on 11 December 2014 to see the statue back where it belongs.

709 IMMIGRATION RULES MINIMUM INCOME THRESHOLD 19:1:15
Sir Nick Harvey
Mrs Linda Riordan
Annette Brooke
Glenda Jackson
Sir Gerald Kaufman
John Hemming
*8
Mr Ronnie Campbell Paul Blomfield

That this House condemns the arbitrary nature of the minimum income threshold in the Immigration Rules; notes that the requirement for citizens to be earning at least £18,600 for their non-EU family members to be able to migrate to the UK unfairly discriminates against those who live in areas of the country with lower wages, and those who may have an income below £18,600 but are still able to accommodate a family member, such as pensioners; further notes a study by Middlesex University which found that the financial requirement costs the Government money due to the loss of migrants' economic activity; and calls on the Government to introduce more flexibility into the financial threshold to ensure that families are not unnecessarily kept apart.

Prepared 20th January 2015