Session 2014-15
House of Commons
20th 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
674 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 12:1:15
45That this House notes that on 27 January 2015 the UK will observe Holocaust Memorial Day, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where an estimated 1.1 million people were murdered; commemorates the six million victims of the Holocaust; further notes that the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 is Keeping the Memory Alive; further notes the significance of 2015 as it marks 70 years since the end of the Holocaust and the liberation of the concentration camps; pays tribute to the commitment of Holocaust survivors who share their experiences with young people across the country; acknowledges the importance of the Holocaust Educational Trust's work in schools across the UK and in particular the Lessons from Auschwitz project, which has so far given over 25,000 students and teachers the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau; also pays tribute to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for organising the 2015 national Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration; further notes that a Holocaust Educational Trust Book of Commitment will be placed in the corridor between the Members' Cloakroom and Members' Staircase; and urges all right hon. and hon. Members to sign that Book and observe the day, so that the appalling events of the Holocaust are always understood by future generations.
675 NON-PAYMENT OF DAIRY FARMERS 12:1:15
22That this House notes with grave concern that more than 1,000 British dairy farmers will not be paid for their milk from 12 January 2015 because of a financial crisis at the dairy co-operative First Milk; further notes that all farmers' payments will be delayed by a fortnight; further notes that NFU said in December that the number of dairy farmers had dipped below 10,000 for the first time, a 50 per cent fall since 2001; further notes that pint for pint, milk is now cheaper than mineral water in most supermarkets and that the recent milk price cuts, from most processors, have had a significant impact with some farmers now facing their lowest milk price since 2007, at around 11.4p per litre; further notes that farm costs remain about 36 per cent higher than they were eight years ago and the single largest cost component of a dairy farm, animal feed, is more than 50 per cent higher than 2007 levels; supports farmers in their attempts to work together to secure a better deal from large processors and retailers; calls on the Government to enable farmers to work collectively; urges First Milk to speak to its suppliers; and further urges Ministers to take action against processors and retailers who unfairly offer very low prices which severely disadvantage farmers.
678 NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY 2015 12:1:15
35That 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.
679 ACCESS TO LEGAL AID 12:1:15
31That this House welcomes the legal challenge by Rights of Women on the lawfulness of the Government's changes to access to legal aid which prevents victims of domestic abuse from accessing legal aid for family cases, even where there has been violence or ongoing risk of violence; notes that legal aid is a lifeline for victims of domestic abuse; further notes that legal aid enables victims to escape abusive relationships, protect their children and manage their financial situations; further notes that two women are killed each week as a result of domestic abuse; and calls on the Government to enable victims of domestic abuse to access legal remedies so they can safely leave violent relationships.
680 AIRBUS A350 XWB 12:1:15
13That this House congratulates Airbus and its launch customer Qatar Airways on the entering into service of the Airbus A350 XWB, the aircraft with already 778 orders; notes that this will help secure over 10,000 jobs at Broughton and Bristol and many more in the supplier chain including Rolls Royce and small and medium-sized enterprises; further notes that this is one of the quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft in service; and recognises that this demonstrates the best of British design and manufacturing.
681 BLACK FRIDAY 13:1:15
6That this House criticises large retailers who chose to adopt the American retail custom of Black Friday on the day after the American Thanksgiving holiday and at the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season; notes that the huge discounts led to scenes of disorder in some stores as many police had to attend to prevent or break up fights in stores, whilst other stores were forced to close; further notes with concern the safety risk that this custom poses; further notes that many shoppers suffered injuries due to the level of public disorder caused by this event; recognises the importance of police time and the unnecessarily high demands that Black Friday is placing on it; sympathises with police officers who have expressed frustrations including Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, who said that officers have enough to do already; and calls on all UK retailers not to mark this event in 2015 or again.
682 PROPOSED REDUCTIONS IN FUNDING FOR THE LIBRARY OF BIRMINGHAM 13:1:15
6That 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):
1Line3, 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)
683 NHS PRIVATISATION AND BEDFORD HOSPITAL TRUST AND CIRCLE GROUP 13:1:15
6That this House notes with concern that Bedford Hospital Trust is refusing to sign a contract with a private healthcare provider, Circle group, over fears this will affect its trauma service; further notes that since the Circle group took over Bedfordshire's £120 million Musculoskeletal Service, Bedford Hospital Trust has seen a 30 per cent reduction in referrals; believes that if this trend were to continue it would not only undermine the ability of A&E to see and admit trauma patients, but also its ability to pay and retain consultants; also records that as part of the proposed contract, Circle would not pay the hospital its full fee for physiotherapy appointments, which would mean an additional loss to that department of the order of £90k per year; does not subscribe to the mantra enunciated by Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and other CCGs around the country that the best way to drive efficiency and innovation is through patient choice when this means siphoning off profits for private health providers to boost investor returns, further depleting already scarce resources; calls on the Secretary of State for Health to seek much-needed efficiencies and integration through a model such as that employed in Sweden, where hospitals, GPs and community services work in one team and with one set of data, without the intervention of the private sector employed at premium rates to further erode existing service provision.
684 NHS PRIVATISATION AND NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL TRUST AND CIRCLE GROUP 13:1:15
7That this House notes with alarm that Nottingham University Hospitals Trust will not be able to provide acute adult dermatology, including skin cancer and emergency care, after losing six of its eight consultants; further notes that five of those departing are understood to have left rather than transfer to private healthcare company Circle over concerns about job security and that a profit-driven provider would not offer opportunities for academic research or training; understands that any patients with severe conditions will no longer be seen by a specialist at the hospital and may have to be referred elsewhere; fails to appreciate how the closure of a national centre of excellence for dermatology and the abandonment of its trainee programme will assist dermatological provision when there is already an estimated shortage of about 200 dermatology posts around the UK; agrees with the British Association of Dermatologists that the privatisation and fragmentation of specialist services was decimating the NHS; believes that this is yet another example of the Government's lack of understanding of the implications of pushing NHS services into unsustainable models provided by commercially driven private providers; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to abandon the current commissioning model and seek much-needed efficiencies and integration by ensuring that hospitals, GPs and community services work together using one set of data, without employing the private sector at premium rates to further erode and undermine service provision.
685 NHS PRIVATISATION AND HINCHINGBROOKE NHS HOSPITAL TRUST AND CIRCLE GROUP 13:1:15
7That this House notes with the gravest concern the recent announcement that Circle Group, a private healthcare company, will pull out of a 10-year contract to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire - the first hospital to be privatised - which commenced in 2012; further notes that the company had the right to terminate its franchise in the event that support payments it had to make to run the hospital exceeded five million pounds; considers it appalling that Steve Melton, chief executive of Circle, should cite unprecedented A&E attendances and inconsistent and conflicting regulatory regimes as reasons for pulling out while not mentioning severely reduced expectations of profitability and share price pressure; further notes that the Care Quality Commission viewed Circle's running of Hinchingbrooke Hospital as inadequate; believes that this is yet another example of poorly thought-out commissioning decisions and the Government's lack of understanding of the implications of pushing NHS services into unsustainable models provided by commercially driven private providers or enterprises; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health, as a matter of urgency, to abandon the current commissioning model which allows private companies to cherry-pick the most profitable services, leave the NHS to deal with the difficult cases, and walk away from the contract if they feel it is insufficiently profitable, and to replace this with a service which prioritises public health not private profit, as the NHS was founded to do.
686 NHS PRIVATISATION AND PATIENT SAFETY IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS 13:1:15
8That this House views with the gravest concern the findings of a recent report published by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI), including figures obtained from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) showing that just over 800 patients died unexpectedly in private hospitals in England between October 2010 and April 2014, and there were more than 900 serious injuries; agrees with the report which makes an unequivocal case for transparency in making hospitals safer; notes that currently it is not possible to compare data side-by-side from NHS and private hospitals for death rates or complications such as infections; believes the same level of scrutiny, regulation and protection of patients' safety should be afforded to private patients as for NHS patients; further notes that private hospitals now receive 28 per cent of their income from treating NHS patients, with the report confirming that the NHS serves as a safety net for the private sector, with over 2,600 emergency NHS admissions from the private sector in 2012-13; does not see why the taxpayer should carry this burden while private hospitals and their shareholders make a profit from people who are ill; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to carry out a review of the nature and cost of admissions to the NHS from private hospitals and to give the NHS the powers to recoup costs resulting from a failure by a private hospital.
687 SAFE STAFFING ON HOSPITAL WARDS 13:1:15
11That this House welcomes the Safe Staffing Alliance Manifesto which emphasises that patient safety is compromised significantly when the ratio of eight patients to each registered nurse, excluding the nurse in charge, is breached, and that even the ratio of seven patients to each registered nurse results in care being missed; notes its recommendation that safe nurse/patient ratios should be enforced and its finding that 45 per cent of hospital wards have unsafe staff levels; acknowledges that poor care does not only cost more, but causes more complications and deaths; and therefore calls on the Government to implement a transparent fundamental standard which should ensure that each hospital ward is staffed safely and never reaches the unsafe ratio of 1:8.
688 PAEDIATRIC FIRST AID TRAINING FOR PRE-SCHOOL AND NURSERY STAFF 13:1:15
29That this House welcomes the Department for Education's review of paediatric first aid training for nursery staff across England following the tragic case of Millie Thompson, who passed away aged nine months after a choking incident at a nursery school in Cheadle; notes that Millie's case has exposed loopholes in current regulation; further notes that over 100,000 people signed an e-petition requesting a change to the law; pays tribute to Joanne and Dan Thompson and all their supporters for setting up Millie's Trust and campaigning for a positive legacy; and calls on the Government to introduce a requirement for all relevant pre-school and nursery staff to receive paediatric first aid training.
690 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN SRI LANKA 14:1:15
7That this House congratulates the people of Sri Lanka following the recent presidential elections, which will serve as a positive step for democracy in Sri Lanka; calls on all parties to allow for a peaceful transition of power following the victory of Maithripala Sirisena; and further calls on President Sirisena to launch a full and thorough investigation into crimes committed by any party in the recent conflict, and to build bridges with the Tamil community of Sri Lanka.
691 OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY JOBS 14:1:15
7That this House notes with concern that one of the consequences of the falling oil price is the pressure this is putting on many businesses in the North East of Scotland; recognises the importance of the North Sea oil and gas industry in keeping export-earning businesses and the associated supply chain anchored to the UK; further notes the risk of losing valuable expertise from the UK as a result of job cuts; and calls on the Government to work with North Sea businesses to help them retain jobs and skills during this downturn.
693 GP WAITING TIMES 14:1:15
3That this House recognises the fantastic work done by local GPs and other practice staff; notes the importance to a patient of seeing a GP at their local surgery in a timely manner; praises the Government for restoring named GPs for patients who are aged over 75 years; and urges the Government to ensure that a patient can see their GP within a week and, in the case of patients with managed chronic conditions, enable them to schedule future regular appointments at the end of their current appointment.
697 HEALTH CARE AND ASSOCIATED PROFESSIONS (S. I., 2014, No. 3139) 15:1:15
2That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (Fees) (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 2014 (S.I., 2014, No. 3139), dated 26 November 2014, a copy of which was laid before this House on 1 December, be annulled
698 LEEDS BID FOR EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 15:1:15
2That this House supports Leeds City Council's ambition to be the best city in the UK by 2030; notes that the next opportunity for a UK city to become European Capital of Culture will be in 2023, with only two UK cities having held the title previously, Glasgow in 1990 and Liverpool in 2008; believes Leeds is fast becoming a city of wider European and global appeal and would be a strong contender for the 2023 title; commends the city for its huge range of sporting, cultural and economic successes; further notes that recent sporting successes include hosting the Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France and being a host city for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup; further notes the diverse range of cultural attractions, from Europe’s longest-running West Indian Carnival to the Leeds International Piano Competition, one of the world's most prestigious, well-known and popular arts organisations like Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Northern Ballet, world-renowned museums and galleries including the Royal Armouries and the Henry Moore Institute; also notes the economic strength of Leeds as the biggest city region economy outside London, worth £55 billion; expresses confidence that a successful Leeds bid would also be a boost for the wider Yorkshire region, with Merseyside attracting 75.1 million visitors in 2008, a 19 per cent rise from 2007, which generated £754 million for the North West economy; and therefore wishes the city every success in seeking to become the 2023 European Capital of Culture.
As an Amendment to Greg Mulholland's proposed Motion (Leeds Bid For European Capital Of Culture):
1Line4, after '2008;' , insert 'notes the success of the application by the city of Hull for 2017;'. 15:1:15(a1)
699 DARK STAR BREWING COMPANY LETTER TO TESCO 15:1:15
4That this House welcomes the letter sent by Dark Star Brewing Company to Tesco about some of the 43 stores Tesco is looking to close this year, offering to buy back some of them, and that they could be converted back into pubs; condemns the weak planning system currently in place which allows predatory purchasing of pubs and converting them into supermarkets without needing planning permission; notes the results of the research carried out by the Campaign for Real Ale that found supermarkets were responsible for two out of 31 pub closures per week between 2012 to 2014 in order to create more stores; believes that local communities, entrepreneurs, smaller breweries, and small pub companies should be allowed a say in seeking to protect much-valued local pubs; and supports the Pubs Matter campaign in its call to the Government to make the simple amendment to the General Permitted Development Order 1995 so that planning permission and consent from the local community is always required before any pubs can be demolished or converted in the future.
700 DISABLED ACCESS DAY 15:1:15
11That 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.
701 IMPRISONMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN MAURITANIA 15:1:15
2That this House condemns in the strongest possible terms the two year prison sentences given to three anti-slavery activists in Mauritania from the Haratin ethnic group, including 2013 UN Human Rights Prize laureate and 2014 Mauritanian Presidential runner-up Mr Biram Abeid, Mr Brahim Ould Bilal Ramdane and Djiby Sow; strongly supports the rights of these and other individuals to peacefully protest and work unhindered towards eradicating contemporary forms of slavery in Mauritania; is deeply concerned about the potential ramifications of such convictions on both the Mauritanian and global fight against contemporary forms of slavery, something to which the UK is a prominent leader; notes the reports that the defendants' non-governmental organisations (NGOs) headquarters have been forcibly closed since 12 November 2014; recognises the important role NGOs play in this regard; is dismayed about allegations of the defendants' pre-trial detention treatment, including sleep deprivation, denial of medical care and not being allowed family visits and of some detainees having been forced to sign false confessions; is therefore troubled by the multiple charges levelled against them and concerned that they may not have received a fair trial; and calls on the Government to urgently raise these cases with the Mauritanian government, to work with its EU partners in the country to bring an end to slavery and landowners' exploitation of marginalised sections of society, to raise this issue with the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and to push for much needed land reforms.
703 LGBT RIGHTS IN RUSSIA 16:1:15
4That this House welcomes recent media reports that Russian officials have stated that their government will not unfairly prohibit transgender citizens from operating vehicles based purely on their self-defined gender identity; urges the Russian government to stay true to its word and continue to ensure that the transgender community is not excluded from driving due to characteristics that are completely unrelated to the ability to safely operate vehicles; and calls on the Russian government to end the restriction of freedoms and persecution of the LGBTQ community and instead work towards ensuring that all Russian citizens are given fair opportunities in all sectors of society.
704 BIG RIDE FROM EDINBURGH TO LONDON 16:1:15
2That this House congratulates the organisers of the Big Ride, a sponsored cycle from Edinburgh to London in August which aims to raise aid for children in Gaza; believes that up to a thousand cyclists will take part and that £100,000 will be raised and donated to the Middle East Children's Alliance, a non-profit organisation working for the rights of children in the Middle East; notes that the money will be used to help support and rebuild children's lives damaged as a result of the Israeli assault on Gaza in July 2014 and the seven-year blockade of the Strip; further notes that the 474-mile ride through secondary roads will bring the message of the continuing suffering of Palestinians in Gaza to hundreds of thousands of people; and urges the Government to bring all the efforts it can to persuade Israel and Egypt to end the siege and allow the people to return to normal lives.
709 IMMIGRATION RULES MINIMUM INCOME THRESHOLD 19:1:15
15That 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.
710 FALLING MILK PRICES 20:1:15
5That this House notes with great concern the negative consequences that falling milk prices are having on British dairy farmers; wishes to call to attention that the number of dairy farmers in the UK has been halved in the last 10 years, from over 20,000 to under 10,000 farmers, due to the falling price of milk coupled with the rising costs of production; further notes that dairy farmers are now only receiving around 20 pence per litre of milk sold, down from 33 pence last year, a level which is much less than the cost of production; and calls on the Government to take steps to ensure that companies selling milk raise milk prices to sustainable levels that ensure the continued existence of Britain's dairy farmers.
711 LIFTING OF EUROPEAN UNION INDIAN ALPHONSO MANGO BAN 20:1:15
3That this House is delighted that EU member states have voted to lift the ban on Indian Alphonso mangoes after a nine month campaign; congratulates the team from Fruity Fresh and traders in the city of Leicester for their superb work in the campaign; is grateful for the Prime Minister's welcome assistance to this campaign; notes that deliveries of Alphonso mangoes to Number 10 Downing Street can now recommence; and calls on member states across the EU to allow trade to resume as soon as possible.
712 COMMEMORATION OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISPLACEMENT OF KASHMIRI PANDITS FROM JAMMU AND KASHMIR 20:1:15
4That this House commemorates with deep sadness the 25th anniversary of the attack in January 1990 by cross-border Islamic militants on the population of Jammu and Kashmir; expresses its condolences to the families and friends of all those who were killed, raped and injured in this massacre and also condemns the desecration of the holiest sites in Jammu and Kashmir; further expresses its concern that the Kashmiris who fled to save life and limb have still not secured justice for the atrocities committed against them; deplores those sponsoring such cross-border terrorist attacks and demands they cease immediately; and notes that the international principle of the responsibility to protect obliges individual states and the international community to take effective measures to prevent the commission of genocide and crimes against humanity as seen against the Kashmiri Hindu community.
713 RACEHORSE WHIPPING 20:1:15
4That this House notes that racehorses are routinely beaten with a whip under rules set by the industry's regulatory body, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA); further notes that these rules explicitly sanction this violent treatment in order that jockeys may encourage racehorses to improve their chances of winning, even though evidence indicates that whipping for this purpose is counter-productive; further notes that no other animal can be legally beaten in such circumstances and that a 2014 YouGov poll found that 70 per cent of all respondents oppose racehorses being whipped; recognises that, for genuine purposes of safety where other methods have failed to bring a horse under control, a whip can be legitimately employed, as is the case in Norway; and calls on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that the BHA's rules are amended to forbid use of the whip for encouragement or for equivalent reasons.
714 CHANGE TO RULES ON SUBMITTING NEW EVIDENCE IN ASYLUM CASES 20:1:15
5That this House expresses concern that the Home Office has made a rule change, due to be enforced on 26 January 2015, that asylum seekers who have been refused leave to remain will have to submit evidence in person in Liverpool regarding their case, regardless of where they are living; notes that asylum seekers who have been refused leave to remain can under current arrangements present evidence at a local centre; further notes that this means it is more affordable for charities, other organisations and individuals to help pay for an asylum seeker's travel fare or volunteer to take somebody who cannot use public transport due to a disability or other reasons; expresses further concern that the rule change will make it much harder for asylum seekers to present evidence which may be crucial to correctly resolving their case; and urges the Government to abandon this rule change and ensure that people seeking protection in the UK are able to present evidence relating to their case.
715 SOLAR FARMS AND FARMLAND 20:1:15
2That this House notes the increasing number of solar farms being built on farmland; is furthermore aware of the vast unused potential of solar panels on the roofs of distribution depots, factories and homes in the UK; considers agricultural land as important in terms of landscape, food-generation and local economies; and therefore calls on the Government to commit to making better use of industrial, commercial and domestic roofs for solar energy.