Contents

Published: Friday 21 January 2022

Early Day Motions tabled on Thursday 20 January 2022

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

873Recognition of Ballantrae village as a UNESCO Biosphere Community

Tabled: 20/01/22 Signatories: 1

Allan Dorans

That this House congratulates the village of Ballantrae in South Ayrshire on becoming the sixth Biosphere Community in Galloway and Southern Ayrshire’s UNESCO Biosphere, and the first in South Ayrshire, which recognises the village as a destination for visitors from home and abroad who are seeking sustainable, slow tourism experiences on Scotland’s UNESCO Trail; notes that in becoming a Biosphere Community, the people of Ballantrae have committed to preserve the area’s natural environment and wildlife, promote and celebrate their rich cultural heritage and local produce, contribute to the health and wellbeing of the village and develop knowledge of environmental issues; and commends them for that commitment.

874Fair pay and conditions for rail cleaners

Tabled: 20/01/22 Signatories: 4

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Ian Mearns

John McDonnell

Richard Burgon

That this House supports cleaners who are members of the RMT union employed by Churchill Contract Services who are balloting for industrial action in support of better pay, sick pay and travel facilities; notes that these cleaners, who work to clean trains and stations in the South East, including on Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern and Southeastern train services, High Speed 1 and Eurostar, have worked throughout the pandemic, at risk to themselves, to ensure that rail travel is safe and help keep essential services running; further notes that passenger surveys consistently stress the importance of cleanliness in restoring confidence in public transport, making clear that cleaning is an essential service; is concerned to learn that many Churchill cleaners are only paid the legal minimum wage, others earn only £9.90 per hour and none receive company sick pay; is shocked to learn that 61 per cent say that they struggle to make ends meet while 69 per cent report having gone into work while sick because they do not get sick pay; is deeply disappointed that Churchill Contract Services have failed to make a satisfactory offer to these cleaners in spite of paying a £12 million dividend last year; and calls on Churchill to meet the cleaners’ claims and for the clients, including on Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern and Southeastern trains services, High Speed 1 and Eurostar to help facilitate a settlement that will give cleaners the respect and dignity they deserve.

875Play Alloa fundraiser

Tabled: 20/01/22 Signatories: 1

John Nicolson

That this House commends Aaron Anderson for his efforts for local charity, Play Alloa; wishes him and other participants luck in their fundraising kickboxing match on 26 February 2022; and finally, recognises the hard and essential work that Play Alloa do, especially throughout the covid-19 pandemic.

876Post-election violence in The Gambia

Tabled: 20/01/22 Signatories: 1

Anne McLaughlin

That this House is very concerned by the post-election violence in Gambia which took place on the 6 December 2021 close to the residence of the leader of the United Democratic Party, condemns the unfortunate incident involving the use of tear gas and other forms of force and calls on the Gambian Government to ensure Police always exercise maximum restraint in dispersing crowds and managing assemblies; condemns the two Police Officers who filmed themselves celebrating the tear gassing of civilians and encourages the Gambian Government to investigate the matter; recognises the role of the Police and other State security agents in the protection of lives and maintenance of peace and security and urges them to maintain professionalism and continue the good work they have done throughout the electoral cycle; calls on the UDP leader to encourage his party supporters to be law abiding and conduct themselves in line with the laws of The Gambia; and further calls on all political parties with electoral grievances to follow the laid down laws and seek redress through the courts.

877International Day of Education 2022 and Girls' Education

Tabled: 20/01/22 Signatories: 1

Layla Moran

That this House celebrates the International Day of Education 2022; recognises the incredible work of so many charities and organisations that highlight the importance of and delivering girls' education programmes across the world; recognises how girls’ education in particular has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the Government to reinstate the 0.7 per cent GNI target for international development spending to assist the 129 million girls that are out of school; and urges the Government to give International Development its own seat at the Cabinet table once again.

878Tractor runs and HMRC

Tabled: 20/01/22 Signatories: 1

Mr Alistair Carmichael [R]

That this House recognises and welcomes the Tractor Runs organised by farmers in rural communities throughout the country around the Christmas and New Year period; congratulates all those taking part for their creativity and the good cheer that they brought to many people during the darkest period of the year; further welcomes the money raised for charities by these events; notes in particular the achievement of the organisers of the Orkney Tractor Run in raising more than £44,000 for CLAN Cancer Support Orkney and Kirkwall Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre; is dismayed that HM Revenue and Customs are reported to be insisting that, in the future, participants in such events will be obliged to use white diesel with full duty being paid on it instead of the agricultural red diesel on which agricultural vehicles normally are fuelled; and calls on HMRC to classify Tractor Runs as an agricultural activity so that they may continue to bring much needed cheer to farming communities in the depths of winter.

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.

817Fuel prices for motorists

Tabled: 6/01/22 Signatories: 12

Carla Lockhart

Wera Hobhouse

Mr Gregory Campbell

Jonathan Edwards

Gavin Robinson

Sir Jeffrey M Donaldson

That this House recognises the challenging impact of high fuel costs on households and business across the UK; notes the comments of the RAC and their belief that petrol retailers are ripping off motorists by refusing to pass on wholesale price cuts; expresses concern at the RAC's findings that this has resulted in motorists being overcharged by £5 million a day in December as retailers made an average of 16 pence a litre on petrol instead of the normal 6 pence; and calls on the Government to explore the creation of an independent pricing watchdog to protect motorists from overcharging at the pump.

822Post Office Horizon compensation scheme

Tabled: 6/01/22 Signatories: 82

Kate Osborne

Paula Barker

Wera Hobhouse

Kim Johnson

Allan Dorans

Alan Brown

That this House believes that the 555 litigants, who won civil proceedings against Post Office Ltd in 2018-19, should not be excluded from the Post Office Horizon compensation scheme; that the exclusion of these litigants from the compensation scheme is having and will continue to have a direct and devastating impact on these individuals and their families, especially as they exposed the scandal against all odds and have been left with the legal bill for doing so; resolves that all those affected by this scandal, including the 555 litigants, must receive compensation that is commensurate with the suffering they have faced; and strongly urges the Government to put in place an external compensation scheme that is outside the scope of the Post Office and provide this group with the redress they not only deserve but are entitled to.

824Work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)

Tabled: 6/01/22 Signatories: 26

Angus Brendan MacNeil

Kim Johnson

Dan Carden

Alison Thewliss

Jonathan Edwards

Mohammad Yasin

That this House commends the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) on their tireless work as well as their record year of donations and increased membership; celebrates the institution which is on its way to breaking its fundraising record since it was founded in 1824; notes the work of the 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland; recognises the heroic work of the RNLI staff and volunteers who risk their own lives to save others; praises the work they do in local communities as well as across their work in the nations of the United Kingdom; and further recognises in particular the work they have done to rescue those who have got into difficulty at sea while seeking asylum and making the perilous journey across the English Channel.

825Energy prices

Tabled: 6/01/22 Signatories: 29

Mick Whitley

Kim Johnson

Kate Osborne

Paula Barker

John McDonnell

Kate Hollern

That this House reaffirms its belief in the fundamental right to a warm home; recognises that millions of households are grappling with soaring energy prices; acknowledges the recent findings of the trade association Energy UK that prices could rise by between 45 to 50 per cent. by spring 2022; notes with concern National Energy Action’s warning that a further two million households could, as a result, slip into fuel poverty, bringing the total number of people living in fuel poverty to the highest levels since records began; recognises that rising energy prices are contributing to a spiralling cost of living crisis; believes that Government interventions to date have failed to address the scale of this challenge or give essential protections to those most at risk; calls for urgent action to address this crisis in the short-term, including removing the 5 per cent. VAT rate on energy bills and greater financial assistance for low-income households; is convinced of the necessity of wholescale reform of the energy sector; believes that in the long-term public ownership has an essential role to play in building a fairer, greener sector as well as in reducing foreign energy dependence; further notes that the nationalisation of the energy system commands broad public support; and calls upon the Government to bring the energy sector into public hands.

829Covid mitigation in schools

Tabled: 10/01/22 Signatories: 13

Layla Moran

Ms Diane Abbott

Wera Hobhouse

Sarah Olney

Claudia Webbe

Jim Shannon

That this House notes that schools never shut and should never have to; expresses alarm that internationally and scientifically recognised, multi-layered mitigations advised by the WHO were not in place before in-person education resumed in September 2020, March 2021, September 2021 and January 2022 to prevent unnecessarily exposing students, staff and their families to increased risk of infection from airborne, covid-19 causing pathogens; recognises the importance of face-to-face learning in children’s psychosocial development but stresses that this cannot be at the cost of their safety; notes with concern the failure to issue guidance that was firmly grounded in health and safety legislation and scientifically recognised infection control protocols, instead focusing on maximising attendance, which has contributed to over 100 children dying and thousands suffering from long covid; calls on the Government to stop pursuing the prosecutions of parents who wish to prevent their children from catching and spreading covid-19; and praises the work of SafeEdForAll, for tirelessly helping hundreds of thousands of families across the UK, who are deeply concerned with the current safety of schools.

835Human rights in Bahrain

Tabled: 11/01/22 Signatories: 48

Margaret Ferrier

Sir Peter Bottomley

Tony Lloyd

Brendan O'Hara

Jim Shannon

Kenny MacAskill

That this House is concerned by continuing serious human rights violations in Bahrain, including the ongoing arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment of prisoners of conscience, including Abduljalil al-Singace, Hassan Mushaima, Abdulwahab Hussain, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Sheikh Ali Salman; notes that Freedom House in its 2021 report rated Bahrain as not free and that Bahrain is ranked 150 out of 167 countries in The Economist’s 2020 Global Democracy Index and 168 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index 2021; urges the Bahraini Government to release all prisoners of conscience, enable civil society representatives and human rights defenders to operate freely, permit genuine political opposition and independent media, and end the use of the death penalty; further urges the Bahraini Government to initiate a substantive and inclusive in-country dialogue on political and constitutional reform and to cooperate with human rights organisations and experts, including from the UN, to allow for, inter alia, an independent assessment of prison conditions and its reform agenda; and calls on the Government to review its funding to and other agreements with Bahrain and to meet human rights defenders and organisations, civil society representatives and non-violent opposition from Bahrain, as well as to take action to hold Bahraini officials responsible for serious human rights violations to account.

836Detention of Professor Faizulla Jalal

Tabled: 11/01/22 Signatories: 11

Patrick Grady

Jim Shannon

Caroline Lucas

Allan Dorans

Chris Law

Amy Callaghan

That this House notes with concern reports that Professor Faizullah Jalal of Kabul University, Afghanistan, has been arrested by the Taliban following an appearance on a news channel in which he criticised the regime’s response to the humanitarian situation in the country; notes that many human rights organisations have expressed concern at that arrest, and that Amnesty International has described it as the latest effort by the Taliban to stifle dissent and further evidence of Taliban intimidation, harassment and violent attacks on individuals who criticise them, and that the organisation has found human rights defenders, women activists, journalists and members of academia have the greatest number of reprisals; and calls on the UK Government to condemn the behaviour of the Taliban, join efforts to press for the release of Professor Jalal, and to rapidly scale up its effort to provide asylum and resettlement support to Afghan nationals who wish to escape the Taliban regime and make their home in the UK.

837Warm Home Discount Scheme

Tabled: 11/01/22 Signatories: 12

Chris Stephens

Jim Shannon

Allan Dorans

Chris Law

Jonathan Edwards

Amy Callaghan

That this House notes that the Government began in 2021 to consult on the idea of extending the Warm Home Discount scheme to a broader group of households on low incomes and with high heating costs; further notes that, under this idea, those households would receive the rebates automatically, rather than having to apply; notes that the idea has not yet been enacted and was instead earmarked for a later date; and calls on the Government to bring forward the introduction of that reform with immediate effect to help households on low incomes with the rising cost of living.

838Funding for nutrition-related aid programmes

Tabled: 11/01/22 Signatories: 14

Patrick Grady

Jim Shannon

Allan Dorans

Chris Law

Amy Callaghan

Liz Saville Roberts

That this House calls on the Government to urgently reconsider its decision not to pledge any new funding at the December 2021 Nutrition for Growth Summit hosted by Tokyo; notes that the Government did not set targets for its impact in this area at the summit; is concerned that the UK was previously considered a leader in combatting malnutrition but has since reduced nutrition-specific international aid by 70 per cent which is disporportionate to reductions elsewhere and has undermined the UK's international reputation in addition to putting millions of lives at risk; notes that malnutrition is still linked to 45 per cent of deaths among under fives worldwide; and calls on the Government to urgently commit to investing £120 million per year over the next five years in nutrition-specific programming and to renew its commitment to reach at least 50 million people with nutrition-specific programming by 2025 as campaigned for by international charities in the field prior to the summit.

848Compassion, respect and integrity in politics

Tabled: 13/01/22 Signatories: 32

Liz Saville Roberts

Ian Blackford

Ed Davey

Caroline Lucas

Claire Hanna

Debbie Abrahams

That this House condemns the organisation of social gatherings and events at Downing Street during the periods of covid-19 lockdown; further condemns the lack of transparency from the Government regarding the parties and reluctance to disclose attendance; believes that when Members and Ministers do not acknowledge or apologise for making statements that are not accurate and refuse to correct the record, they endanger the reputation of the House of Commons; calls for action to strengthen the values of compassion, respect, and integrity in politics; further calls for the introduction of a new law to strengthen the ability of Parliament and the public to hold politicians to account for deliberate lying and misrepresentation; recommends that Parliamentary time be allocated for a debate on such a law as soon as possible; and is concerned that failure to take action on this matter could erode confidence in our democracy.

849Healthy Start Vouchers

Tabled: 17/01/22 Signatories: 15

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

Mick Whitley

Alison Thewliss

Jim Shannon

Charlotte Nichols

Apsana Begum

That this House notes that 218,002 families on low incomes in England are currently unable to access their entitlement to the Healthy Start scheme; also notes that, between November and December 2021, take-up of the scheme dropped by more than a fifth, from 65 per cent to 51 per cent, meaning that out of 449,748 potential beneficiaries, only 231,746 are enrolled on the scheme; further notes that no local authority in England has a take-up rate of higher than 62 per cent; and calls on the Government to enact Feeding Britain's proposal for an automatic registration scheme, similar to the one which sees pensioners on low incomes receive their Warm Home Discount automatically, to secure full take-up of the scheme and overcome barriers such as low awareness, bureaucracy, and stigma which prevent take-up being higher.

853Tamil Heritage Month 2022

Tabled: 17/01/22 Signatories: 6

Ed Davey

Alison Thewliss

Jim Shannon

Apsana Begum

Jamie Stone

Gareth Thomas

That this House recognises January as Tamil Heritage Month; acknowledges the tremendous contributions that Tamils make to British society, particularly the vital role the Tamil community has played in helping the UK tackle covid-19 as healthcare workers, teachers, and vaccine researchers; celebrates the richness of Tamil culture; notes that the Canadian Government has already recognised January as Tamil Heritage Month; further notes that January is an important month for Tamils as it marks Thai Pongal, the Tamil Harvest Festival; recognises the importance of increasing awareness about the accomplishments of the Tamil diaspora; and calls on the UK Government to formally establish January as Tamil Heritage Month.

858Diagnosis of Liver Disease

Tabled: 17/01/22 Signatories: 7

Tracey Crouch

Alison Thewliss

Jim Shannon

Sir Mike Penning

Mohammad Yasin

Jonathan Edwards

That this House welcomes the British Liver Trust’s campaign to make early diagnosis of liver disease routine, to be launched in Parliament on Tuesday 26 April 2022; is concerned that the UK is facing a liver disease crisis as a result of the seriously late diagnosis of liver disease across the UK; notes that delays in diagnosis have worsened during the covid-19 outbreak; and calls for urgent action to ensure effective patient pathways are commissioned and implemented.

860War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation payments

Tabled: 18/01/22 Signatories: 28

Owen Thompson

Angela Crawley

Hannah Bardell

Ian Blackford

Marion Fellows

Carol Monaghan

That this House believes that the current process for claiming War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation payments is not fit for purpose and drives many veterans to give up on claims, severely deteriorates many veterans’ mental health, drives many into poverty, and increases the risk of suicides; applauds our veterans for the immense sacrifices they have made and believes that all veterans deserve to be fairly compensated for injury, illness and death caused by their time in service; but is deeply concerned about the mental health impact on veterans of the complexity, lack of transparency and lack of impartiality in the process of putting in a claim, requesting a review of evidence and engaging with the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal, which results in too many veterans not getting the level of payment they need and then facing complex processes in order to get an increase; believes that serious questions must be answered with regards to the use of Veterans UK medical assessors in assessing claims, in particular the practice of the same medical assessor assessing a veteran’s claim at three separate stages of the process instead of separate assessors being used to ensure impartiality and a range of opinions; is deeply concerned by reports of medical evidence and paperwork being removed from veterans’ evidence bundles by Veterans UK during the tribunal process; and calls on the Government to honour its duty of care to veterans by launching an independent inquiry into the failings of the current system.

863Rough sleeping in Southern Oxfordshire

Tabled: 18/01/22 Signatories: 6

Layla Moran

Jim Shannon

Jamie Stone

Tim Farron

Sarah Olney

Hywel Williams

That this House congratulates Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils on recording zero people sleeping rough on 31 December 2021; notes the hard work of the housing team at those councils in achieving homelessness prevention rates of over 75 per cent, compared to the South East average of 55.6 per cent; recognises the effectiveness of employing a Housing First strategy to tackle rough sleeping; encourages the Government to fund and implement this nationally; notes the Government's manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament and calls on the Government to end the needless criminalisation of people still sleeping rough by fully repealing the archaic and cruel Vagrancy Act 1824.

864Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

Tabled: 18/01/22 Signatories: 11

Dr Philippa Whitford

Hannah Bardell

Marion Fellows

Allan Dorans

Jim Shannon

John Nicolson

That this House notes the week commencing 17 January 2022 is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week; recognises that, while not always easy, attending cervical screening allows diagnosis and treatment of Human Papilloma Virus, as well as early detection of Cervical neoplasia, and can therefore save lives; believes that no-one should feel alone or confused when receiving their cervical screening results; and highlights that Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust provides information and support and encourages Members to support that campaign to promote the vital importance of attending cervical screening.

865Miscarriage leave and employment policy

Tabled: 18/01/22 Signatories: 13

Angela Crawley

Hannah Bardell

Allan Dorans

Jim Shannon

John Nicolson

Paula Barker

That this House believes that the Government should introduce a policy of paid miscarriage leave; is aware that the Government has so far been hesitant to introduce such a policy; notes that, in the UK, two weeks parental bereavement leave and pay is in place after stillbirth, however there is no such support for anyone who has experienced a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy; understands that miscarriage is an extremely traumatic experience and that more support should be provided to families that experience such a loss; considers unacceptable the Government’s position that Statutory Sick Pay or annual leave are adequate compromises for a specific miscarriage leave provision; recognises that the provision of paid miscarriage leave is in line with the need to develop a more proactive approach to workplace health and wellbeing as expressed in the Taylor review of modern working practices; assesses that this issue should be viewed under the Taylor review’s ambition of fair and decent treatment in the workplace, including health and wellbeing protections in employment law which serves the wider public interest; and calls on the Government to include paid miscarriage leave in its upcoming Employment Bill.

868200 years of HM Coastguard

Tabled: 19/01/22 Signatories: 4

Jim Shannon

Ian Mearns

Sir Mike Penning

Hywel Williams

That this House notes and celebrates local Coastguard teams as they celebrate 200 years in service; marks the great sense of pride in HM Coastguard and how this milestone anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on what the service has achieved to date; further notes the ongoing commitment by HM Coastguard to keeping all people safe; notes the importance of the formation of HM Coastguard in the 18th century, which initially dealt with the smuggling of goods following the introduction of taxes on imports and exports; further notes its expansion to today, where it manages 310 Coastguard Rescue Teams, made up of 3,500 volunteers and can call on 10 search and rescue helicopter bases; and thanks and praises the dedicated work of HM Coastguard in the Constituency of Strangford, including stations in Donaghadee, Portaferry and across the whole of the United Kingdom.

870Campaign to introduce a PumpWatch body for fair fuel prices

Tabled: 19/01/22 Signatories: 3

Robert Halfon

Sir Mike Penning

Sir Greg Knight

That this House recognises the significant financial impact on the motorists from retailers failing to reflect the fall in oil prices at the pump; understands that when oil prices rise companies often pass that increase on to motorists, but when they fall, the saving is not passed on; further recognises the action the Government has taken to freeze fuel duty for twelve consecutive years saving the average motorist £15 every time they fill up; notes the success of the campaign group FairFuelUK and Howard Cox in saving motorists billions of pounds; and calls upon the Government to take further steps to form a PumpWatch body to ensure fair prices at the pumps.

871Holocaust Memorial Day

Tabled: 19/01/22 Signatories: 8

Ian Paisley

Ian Mearns

Sir Mike Penning

Jim Shannon

Hywel Williams

Chris Law

That this House notes that on 27 January 2022 the UK will observe Holocaust Memorial Day marking the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where an estimated 1.1 million Jewish men, women and children were murdered; commemorates the six million victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution; further notes that the House pays tribute to the commitment of Holocaust survivors and Kindertransport refugees 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 more than 41,000 students and teachers the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau; welcomes the establishment of a permanent National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre adjacent to Parliament; pays tribute to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for organising the national Holocaust Memorial Day event; and urges all Right hon. and hon. Members to observe this day so that the appalling events of the Holocaust are always understood by future generations.

872Removal of titles

Tabled: 19/01/22 Signatories: 9

Rachael Maskell

Clive Lewis

Dawn Butler

Cat Smith

Emma Hardy

Kim Johnson

That this House acknowledges that geographically based titles can become an affront when an individual falls into disrepute; and calls on the Government to introduce a mechanism in law whereby geographically based titles can be removed in certain circumstances such as when the individual’s associations, engagements or actions infringe the rights or safety of others, or are not in keeping with the ethical, social or economic values or interests of the place.