Contents

Published: Friday 26 February 2021

Early Day Motions tabled on Thursday 25 February 2021

Early Day Motions (EDMs) are motions for which no days have been fixed.

The number of signatories includes all members who have added their names in support of the Early Day Motion (EDM), including the Member in charge of the Motion.

EDMs and added names are also published on the EDM database at www.parliament.uk/edm

[R] Indicates that a relevant interest has been declared.

New EDMs

1548Women prisoner leavers and homelessness

Tabled: 25/02/21 Signatories: 1

Wera Hobhouse

That this House notes official statistics showing that 42 per cent of women released from prison in 2019-20 were discharged into unsettled accommodation; further notes that the Safe Homes for Women Leaving Prison initiative estimates that as many as six in ten women leave prison with nowhere safe to go; highlights that women released into homelessness are more likely to offend and are at increased risk of returning to harmful behaviours, possibly including having to return to abusive relationships; welcomes the recent announcement of government funding to house prison leavers in temporary accommodation, but expresses concern that people will only be housed for a maximum of 12 weeks; expresses further concern that the initiative is only being launched in five of the 12 probation regions in England and Wales, seemingly with no specific measures to address the particular needs of women; and urges the Government to expand this initiative nationwide and introduce specific measures to end completely the practice of releasing women from prison into homelessness.

1549World Hearing Day

Tabled: 25/02/21 Signatories: 1

Dr Lisa Cameron

That this House commemorates World Hearing Day on 3 March 2021 by supporting the National Association of Deafened People (NADP) and the Hearing Loss and Deafness Alliance to ensure people with hearing loss have prompt and equal access to life-long learning, employment and health services as echoed by the upcoming WHO World Report on Hearing with annual aims of improve screening, person–centred hearing care, rehabilitation and improved access to communication; commits to aiding accessibility for people with hearing loss in constituencies as well as broader society; recognises the escalated frustration and alienation many people with hearing loss face due to increased difficulty of lipreading caused by commonplace mask-wearing; and acknowledges improvements including transparent face mask use which can be implemented in a cost-effective way relieving some of the estimated £25 billion loss to the economy each year due to lost productivity as a result of hearing loss.

1550Cuba and the US blockade

Tabled: 25/02/21 Signatories: 1

Grahame Morris

That this House recognises that the US blockade of Cuba has cost the Cuban economy billions of dollars, causes shortages in essential services and has been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s designation of Cuba as state sponsor of terrorism – a politically motivated move which intensifies sanctions against the Cuban people in the middle of a health pandemic; welcomes recent comments by Juan González, White House Director for the Western Hemisphere, that the Biden administration is seeking to lift remittance and travel restrictions; hopes measures will be taken to enable Cuba to access materials to produce and deliver millions of doses of its covid-19 vaccine both to its own population and elsewhere; congratulates the Government for voting against the blockade, and on its positive engagement with Cuba, including joint projects on covid-19, medical research and facilitating the posting of Cuban medical brigades to British overseas territories; and calls on the Government to promote international cooperation between Cuba and the UK and to encourage the Biden administration to normalise relations by reversing the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and ending the blockade.

Added Names

Below are EDMs tabled in the last two weeks to which names have been added. Only the first 6 names and any new names are included.

1444World Cancer Day 2021

Tabled: 4/02/21 Signatories: 14

Tim Farron

Munira Wilson

Jamie Stone

Clive Lewis

Mary Kelly Foy

Allan Dorans

That this House recognises World Cancer Day 2021; acknowledges the difficulty that cancer patients and their families have faced during the covid-19 pandemic; notes that 2.9 million people across the UK are living with cancer; further notes the reduction in cancer screenings and routine diagnostic work throughout the pandemic has resulted in approximately 35,000 missing cancer diagnoses; calls on the Government to refocus efforts on the prevention, detection and cure of all cancers; and further calls on the Government to pursue a national cancer recovery plan to offer diagnosis and treatment to all those who have been left behind as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

1445Vulnerability to alcohol harms

Tabled: 4/02/21 Signatories: 13

Grahame Morris

Mike Hill

Mary Kelly Foy

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Navendu Mishra

Kate Osborne

That this House is alarmed at the recent sharp increase in alcohol deaths revealed in provisional data released recently by the Office for National Statistics which have hit a record high during the pandemic; is disturbed that the number of people in treatment for an alcohol issue has fallen by nearly one fifth since 2013-14 with around four out of five dependent drinkers not accessing any kind of support; is deeply concerned by reports of increased domestic violence, recognising the strong relationship between alcohol consumption and domestic abuse; notes that Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) research examining patterns of alcohol-related violence across England and Wales between 2013-14 and 2017-18 revealed that those from the lowest socioeconomic groups were disproportionately at risk of victimisation; further notes that the IAS recommendations included removal of barriers to accessing support services, improvements in provision of publicly funded domestic violence services and a substantial increase in alcohol-treatment services; recognises that for many isolated older service users, who value face-to-face contact above all, their phone call from an alcohol service has been one of the few interactions with the outside world during the pandemic; commends the Drink Wise, Age Well programme for highlighting the vulnerability of the over-50 age group and helping to reduce stigma, build resilience and secure support; and calls on the Government to prioritise an alcohol action plan, informed by service providers and service users, and its implementation, to address these issues and reduce alcohol harms.

1450Zero covid strategy

Tabled: 4/02/21 Signatories: 42

Richard Burgon

Ms Diane Abbott

Liz Saville Roberts

Caroline Lucas

Dr Philippa Whitford

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

That this House notes with sadness that the UK has now had more than 100,000 covid-19 deaths, with one of the highest death rates in the world; further notes that the Government's strategy to live with the virus and balance the loss of lives and the economy has led to failure on both counts with the UK also experiencing a particularly large economic downturn; recognises that in New Zealand, Vietnam and across countries following a Zero covid plan, the death rate is over a hundred times lower than in the UK and that their societies are reopening safely and their economies are recovering; recognises that, while covid-19 vaccines offer real hope and can be a key weapon in the battle against covid-19, it will be many months until everybody has been fully vaccinated; is concerned that if in the meantime the virus is allowed to circulate widely, many more will be infected with many more losing their lives, putting huge additional strain on the NHS, and risking further dangerous mutations of the virus; and calls on the UK Government urgently to adopt a Zero covid plan that seeks the maximum suppression of the virus as the best way to save lives and allow our communities and the economy to safely reopen.

1451Intellectual property and covid-19 response

Tabled: 8/02/21 Signatories: 42

Caroline Lucas

Navendu Mishra

Clive Lewis

Layla Moran

Claudia Webbe

Wendy Chamberlain

That this House considers nobody is safe until we are all safe from covid-19; believes all policy tools should be deployed to address the global crisis around access to covid-19 vaccines, treatments, diagnostics and equipment; notes that the head of the World Health Organization warns we face a catastrophic moral failure because of unequal covid vaccine policies; welcomes the Government’s commitment to ensuring access for all to safe and effective, high-quality and affordable vaccines, diagnostics, medicines, and other health technologies as part of an effective response to the pandemic; further welcomes the substantial amounts of public funding for research, development, at-risk manufacturing and purchasing of covid-19 vaccines, reducing the risks for private sector companies developing vaccines; notes that existing flexibilities within the TRIPS agreement are not sufficient in the context of a pandemic; urges the Government to defend the rights of countries to use TRIPS flexibilities especially as they have long been subjected to intense pressure in the interests of pharmaceutical companies when they have done so; notes that 100 countries support a proposal from India and South Africa for a TRIPS waiver, which would allow WTO members to quickly overcome Intellectual Property barriers to access much-needed vaccines and treatments during the global crisis; is concerned that the Government does not yet support this proposal; and urges the Government to recognise that intellectual property barriers are hindering equitable access to covid-19 health technologies, reconsider its position and support the waiver proposal at upcoming TRIPS Council and WTO General Council Meetings.

1455Ten years on from Bahrain's Arab Spring uprising of February 2011

Tabled: 8/02/21 Signatories: 17

Brendan O'Hara

Jonathan Edwards

Kenny MacAskill

Chris Law

Layla Moran

Caroline Lucas

That this House commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring and the beginning of Bahrain’s pro-democracy uprising on 14 February 2011; endorses the demands made by hundreds of thousands of Bahraini citizens during protests at Manama’s Pearl Roundabout for democratic reform, social justice and respect for human rights; condemns the brutal suppression of the protest movement by Bahrain’s Government; denounces the continued detention of leading opposition figures imprisoned for their role in the 2011 uprising, including Hassan Mushaima, Abdulwahab Husain and Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace; notes with alarm the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Bahrain since the Arab Spring, including the suspension of independent media, dissolution of opposition parties and suppression of civil society; decries Bahrain’s abandonment of a moratorium on the death penalty in 2017 and the subsequent execution of six individuals, five of whom alleged being tortured; notes that reform efforts promised in the wake of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry have been reversed or abandoned by Bahrain’s Government; questions the efficacy and effectiveness of technical assistance provided to Bahrain by the Government since 2012; reminds the Government of Bahrain of their duty to uphold the highest human rights standards in line with their international obligations; urges greater transparency on UK funding to Bahrain through the Integrated Activity Fund and Gulf Strategy Fund; and calls on the Government to make support for Bahrain contingent on tangible improvements to the human rights situation in that country.

1456Tenth anniversary of the Bahraini revolution

Tabled: 8/02/21 Signatories: 31

Margaret Ferrier

Jonathan Edwards

Kenny MacAskill

Andrew Gwynne

Steven Bonnar

Marion Fellows

That this House recognises the tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring and the Bahraini revolution of 2011; remembers the horrific events of the deadly pre-dawn raid of 17 February 2011, also known as Bloody Thursday; recognises the countless forms of repression that have targeted peaceful opponents of the regime, such as human rights defender Mr Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and the leader of the political opposition in Bahrain Mr Hassan Mushaima, who has been in prison for the last 10 years; calls on the Government to press the Bahraini Government to abide by the principles of good governance, self-determination and human rights; and urges the Government to use whatever leverage it has with the Bahraini authorities to advance the democratic demands called for by the Bahraini people in 2011.

1462Temporary extension to Compulsory Basic Training Certificates for motorbikes and mopeds

Tabled: 8/02/21 Signatories: 20

Jonathan Edwards

Allan Dorans

Tonia Antoniazzi

Tracey Crouch

Chris Law

Jim Shannon

That this House notes that Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) certificates for motorbikes and mopeds are issued on a two year basis for learner drivers; further notes that these vehicles provide a low carbon mode of transport for passenger and cargo; notes that many key workers use this mode of transport as part of their commute, especially in rural areas where public transport links can be poor; notes that as a result of lockdown measures, motorcycle and moped tests are suspended; expresses concern that road users whose CBT certificates lapse whilst lockdown measures are in place are prohibited from using their vehicles on public roads through no fault of their own; notes that whilst road safety concerns are paramount, motorists in this position have been using their chosen mode of transport for two years; calls for a temporary extension of CBT certificates whilst lockdown measures are in place; and further calls on the Government to annul test fees for people with CBT certificates which have lapsed during the current lockdown if they will not extend their validity.

1463Removing barriers to education

Tabled: 8/02/21 Signatories: 45

Carol Monaghan

Drew Hendry

Jonathan Edwards

Margaret Ferrier

Kirsty Blackman

John Nicolson

That this House believes removing barriers to education, including ending all forms of violence against children, is crucial to achieving the Government’s goal of ensuring 12 years of quality education for every girl and boy; and further believes that removing barriers to education should be a central theme in the Government’s engagement at the 2021 G7 Summit.

1481Seafarers' hours of work and rest

Tabled: 10/02/21 Signatories: 25

Ian Mearns

Mr Alistair Carmichael

Chris Stephens

Grahame Morris

Kim Johnson

Rebecca Long Bailey

That this House notes the World Maritime University’s (WMU) EVREST report evaluating the regulation of seafarers’ hours of rest and work; notes that the report, based on interviews with seafarers, maritime safety and port state regulators, flag states and seafarer organisations, finds an ingrained culture of under-reporting and falsification of seafarers’ hours of work and rest which implicates the entire industry, from flag states and shipowners to the seafarers onboard; further notes the report’s conclusion that a 14 hour working day has become standardised for some seafarers, in contravention of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention; agrees with maritime union RMT that the WMU report exposes a culture of fatigue and downward commercial pressure on seafarers and safe crewing levels, long standing problems in the ferries sector, which are exacerbated in the deep sea supply chain by the demands of multinationals such as Amazon; believes that the coronavirus pandemic has intensified the crisis in seafarer working conditions and that this requires stronger regulatory and enforcement responses at domestic and international level; and calls upon the Government to work with maritime trade unions to implement the recommendations of the WMU report.

1482Protecting rail catering services

Tabled: 10/02/21 Signatories: 20

Grahame Morris

Kim Johnson

Rebecca Long Bailey

Navendu Mishra

Paula Barker

Rachel Hopkins

That this House recognises that rail catering is a vital part of a high quality rail passenger offer and will play an important role in encouraging travellers back to the rail network when it is safe to do so; believes that the presence of catering staff also makes passengers feel more secure when travelling by train and understands that recent research conducted by Transport Focus found that staff play a central role in making passengers feel safe on trains; is concerned that across the UK, many rail catering workers are outsourced, with less job security and inferior working conditions compared to directly employed staff; commends the Welsh Government’s decision in 2020 to bring its on-board catering staff in-house; notes that South Western Railway, whose operations are currently being funded by the Government via an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA) has recently terminated its on-board catering contract with provider Elior and that this decision was authorised by the Department for Transport; supports the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) campaign to protect rail catering; and calls on the Government to ensure that catering is protected across the rail network and all outsourced rail catering contracts are brought in-house at the earliest opportunity.

1486Tenth anniversary of Bahrain's revolution

Tabled: 10/02/21 Signatories: 16

Layla Moran

Caroline Lucas

Jonathan Edwards

Mr Alistair Carmichael

Wendy Chamberlain

Jamie Stone

That this House notes the 10th anniversary of Bahrain's revolution protesting structural inequalities, corruption, oppression, and a lack of government representation; expresses its concern that there remains a lack of democratic structures and that human rights abuses are still occurring in the country; observes that the UK Government has continued to support the Bahraini regime with little meaningful opposition of its continued human rights abuses despite Bahrain being listed as a human rights priority country by the UK; calls upon the UK Government to work for the immediate and unconditional release of Bahraini political prisoners; urges the UK Government to work with Bahrain to facilitate a democratic transition; calls for consideration of Magnitsky sanctions for those known to be perpetrators of human rights atrocities; and urges the UK Government to end arms exports to Bahrain and to adopt a presumption of denial when considering licence applications for exports to the country.

1492Global vaccines

Tabled: 11/02/21 Signatories: 11

Ben Lake

Jonathan Edwards

Stephen Farry

Liz Saville Roberts

Hywel Williams

Kenny MacAskill

That this House celebrates the development of several vaccines against covid-19; highlights that with the development of covid-19 mutations across the world UK domestic recovery is dependent on collective vaccination efforts globally; believes that the UK has a duty to support vaccine distribution in low-income countries and promote the expansion of production capabilities in the global south; and calls on the UK Government to work with the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) allies to accelerate vaccine distribution to defeat the virus worldwide and prevent future pandemics.

1515VAT on hair and beauty services

Tabled: 22/02/21 Signatories: 35

Alison Thewliss

Hannah Bardell

Chris Law

Kirsten Oswald

Owen Thompson

Allan Dorans

That this House recognises the significant impact that the Coronavirus pandemic has had on the hairdressing, beauty and holistic service industry; notes that this sector is reported by the British Beauty Council to contribute £9.2bn annually to Britain’s economy, employing a workforce of 288,160 people as hair and beauty practitioners in salons and in a self-employed capacity within the UK; appreciates that 88.6 per cent of those employed in the sector are women; is concerned by reports that 62 per cent of salons owners were unsure if they would survive beyond this financial year and that 18 per cent felt certain they would have to close their doors; notes that while Government grants were welcome, the loss of income for many in the sector has been considerable; appreciates that many self-employed professionals within the sector have struggled to get financial support; recognises the strenuous efforts by this sector to become Covid-19 secure; and calls on the Chancellor to chop the VAT for the hairdressing, beauty and holistic service industry to 5 per cent in the upcoming budget.

1526The Green Homes Grant

Tabled: 22/02/21 Signatories: 8

Caroline Lucas

Jonathan Edwards

Wera Hobhouse

Jim Shannon

John McDonnell

Alan Brown

That this House believes the Green Homes Grant to upgrade 600,000 homes and support 100,000 jobs is in need of fundamental reform; is concerned that as of 8 February 2021 just 22,165 vouchers had been issued to customers despite enormous demand, that any underspend of the £2 billion invested until March 2021 will not be rolled over to 2021-22, and that delays in issuing vouchers has led to financial difficulties and redundancies for companies, with one third of those surveyed reporting that delays in payment were threatening their business’s viability; welcomes the Environmental Audit Committee’s Growing Back Better report and the Committee’s survey demonstrating that many homeowners struggled to find registered contractors and that 86 per cent had a poor experience with the application process; notes the commitment in the 2019 Conservative Party Manifesto to invest £9.2 billion in improving the energy efficiency of homes and public buildings; further notes that the Climate Change Committee’s Balanced Net Zero Pathway requires £55 billion of investment in home energy efficiency by 2050; calls on the Government to work with stakeholders to improve the Green Homes Grant, ensure installers are urgently paid for delivered work, strip US consultancy ICF of their contract, and commit to a Green Jobs Guarantee including long-term funding for an ambitious multi-year investment in home retrofits; and urges the Government to reverse the current tax incentive which operates in favour of new build and against retrofit.

1530Immigration Rules and rough sleepers

Tabled: 22/02/21 Signatories: 19

Claudia Webbe

Ms Diane Abbott

Paula Barker

John McDonnell

Zarah Sultana

Mick Whitley

That this House is appalled by the Government’s Immigration Rules which came into effect on 1 December 2020 that make rough sleeping grounds for refusing or cancelling someone’s right to remain in the UK; fears that those new immigration rules will push people further away from seeking support and will also make people more vulnerable to exploitation; is aware that the Government has indicated that the rough sleeping grounds for cancelling or refusing someone’s permission to be in the UK will only be used sparingly, yet is concerned that that is only a rhetorical commitment and that the scope of the grounds to refuse or cancel someone’s right to remain in the UK as set out in the Immigration Rules is very broad; is alarmed that those rules do not include protections for people who are illegally evicted from private properties; recognises that specialist organisations working in homelessness, including Crisis, have expressed concern that that will make the work of outreach teams trying to support people sleeping rough much harder, as people fear that engaging with services could put them at risk of being detained and deported; and urges the Government to scrap that cruel policy and instead work towards eradicating the scourge of rough sleeping in the UK for all people, regardless of their immigration status.

1545Political and security situation in Myanmar

Tabled: 24/02/21 Signatories: 34

Rushanara Ali

Jeremy Hunt

Ms Harriet Harman

Dame Margaret Hodge

Layla Moran

Caroline Lucas

That this House condemns the military coup in Myanmar (Burma); demands the immediate release of all political prisoners; extends solidarity to fellow Members of Parliament who have been denied the right to exercise their democratically elected mandate; welcomes the establishment by Parliamentarians of representative committees from national, regional and state parliaments; further welcomes the condemnation of the coup by the British government; calls on the British Government not to impose generalised sanctions such as withdrawing trade privileges, which will disproportionately impact workers, and instead focus on sanctioning military companies; further calls on the British Government to build a global coalition of countries imposing arms embargoes; and calls on the British Government to join the genocide case at the International Court of Justice and to publicly support the referral of the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court.

1547Regulation of genetic technologies in food and farming

Tabled: 24/02/21 Signatories: 3

Caroline Lucas

Claudia Webbe

Claire Hanna

That this House notes with concern the proposed removal of risk assessment and traceability safeguards from new gene editing techniques in England, as set out in the DEFRA Consultation on the Regulation of Genetic Technologies which closes on 17 March 2021; further notes concerns that the vigorous promotion of gene editing is out of step with the complexity of the science, the needs of farmers, the UK’s potential as a world leader in agroecological innovation, the wishes of consumers, and the Government’s own environmental and farm animal welfare ambitions; further notes concerns that, like the vast majority of GM crops grown around the world, the first gene edited crop to be commercially cultivated is engineered to withstand repeated application of particular weed killers in industrial farming systems that harm biodiversity, encourage the development of herbicide-tolerant super weeds and increase farmers’ dependency on high cost inputs; further notes concerns that the current consultation falls short of a robust attempt to understand public and stakeholder views on the use of genetic engineering in food and farming, which would require a well-resourced and in-depth UK-wide initiative similar to the 2003 GM Nation public debate; and calls on the Government to establish effective regulation of all forms of genetic engineering that encompasses transparent assessments of the scientific, social, ethical and economic impacts of each proposed release, and upholds the right of farmers, consumers and devolved nations to choose, including through full traceability and clear labelling across the food chain.