Commons business papers

Contents

Published: Friday 26 April 2024

Early Day Motions tabled on Thursday 25 April 2024

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

684School Games Mark, Finchale Primary in the City of Durham

Tabled: 25/04/24 Signatories: 1

Mary Kelly Foy

That this House congratulates Finchale Primary in the City of Durham for achieving platinum status in the School Games Mark; notes the innovative practices the school has employed to equip staff with additional skills to delivery school sports effectively; further notes the importance of physical education for pupils’ wellbeing; encourages the Government to do more to support physical education in our schools; and wishes Finchale Primary the very best for the future.

685ANZAC Day 2024

Tabled: 25/04/24 Signatories: 1

Andrew Rosindell

That this House remembers the heroic campaign that followed the landings of Allied forces at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915; joins all Australians and New Zealanders in commemorating the bravery of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who, together with their British colleagues and others sacrificed so much in defence of freedom; expresses its pride at the close association that exists between the people of these three nations bound together by language, history, and culture and by sharing His Majesty King Charles III as Head of State; and commends all those involved in the organisation of this year's Anzac Day commemorations in London held at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, at Westminster Abbey, and at Westminster Hall on Thursday 25 April 2024.

686School Games Mark, Sherburn Primary in the City of Durham

Tabled: 25/04/24 Signatories: 1

Mary Kelly Foy

That this House congratulates Sherburn Primary in the City of Durham for achieving platinum status in the School Games Mark; notes the innovative practices the school has employed to equip staff with additional skills to delivery school sports effectively; further notes the importance of physical education for pupils’ wellbeing; encourages the Government to do more to support physical education in our schools; and wishes Sherburn Primary the very best for the future.

687School Games Mark, Neville’s Cross Primary in the City of Durham

Tabled: 25/04/24 Signatories: 1

Mary Kelly Foy

That this House congratulates Neville’s Cross Primary in the City of Durham for achieving platinum status in the School Games Mark; notes the innovative practices the school has employed to equip staff with additional skills to delivery school sports effectively; further notes the importance of physical education for pupils’ wellbeing; encourages the Government to do more to support physical education in our schools; and wishes Neville’s Cross Primary the very best for the future.

68820th anniversary of The Leither Magazine

Tabled: 25/04/24 Signatories: 1

Deidre Brock

That this House congratulates The Leither Magazine on its 20 year anniversary; notes the publication is read by around 45,000 people from Leith, Edinburgh and beyond, having built a strong readership since it was founded in 2004 by Billy Gould; congratulates the editorial, sales, design and writing teams and everyone involved with producing the Leither for their hard work and dedication which ensures each issue is an engaging read, covering topics as diverse, interesting and offbeat as the community it represents; recognises the importance of independent community journalism like The Leither in a world of increasingly centralised media voices; and wishes the Leither every success as it continues to provide its own unique take on the world from this vibrant historic docklands.

689Leith Croft Community Pavilion

Tabled: 25/04/24 Signatories: 1

Deidre Brock

That this House congratulates the Leith Croft Community Pavilion on being shortlisted for a My Place Community Award 2024; applauds the inspiring work of this grassroots project which cleared two acres of debris-strewn wasteland and repaired, refurbished and returned a dilapidated old tennis pavilion for community use; notes the site now provides shared food growing plots to about 120 urban crofters and their families, a social enterprise tree nursery, horticultural training, a biodiversity play area, picnic facilities and a community cafe; further notes the project is run by local charity Earth in Common, founded by Evie Murray and built from a grassroots movement of Leith families who wanted to give their children a healthy outdoor experience in a crowded urban environment; welcomes the national platform provided by the My Place Awards from the Scottish Civic Trust to local community-led regenerative projects such as this; and thanks everyone involved including the many staff, volunteers and crofters for making this a fantastic new home for nature and people, benefitting thousands of Leithers.

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.

539Town and Country Planning

Tabled: 21/03/24 Signatories: 30

Keir Starmer

Yvette Cooper

Stephen Kinnock

Dan Jarvis

Feryal Clark

Sir Alan Campbell

That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Town and Country Planning (Former RAF Scampton) (Accommodation for Asylum-Seekers etc.) Special Development Order 2024 (S.I., 2024, No. 412), dated 20 March 2024, a copy of which was laid before this House on 21 March 2024, be annulled.

540Town and Country Planning

Tabled: 22/03/24 Signatories: 10

Keir Starmer

Yvette Cooper

Stephen Kinnock

Dan Jarvis

Feryal Clark

Sir Alan Campbell

That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Town and Country Planning (Former RAF Airfield Wethersfield) (Accommodation for Asylum-Seekers etc.) Special Development Order 2024 (S.I., 2024, No. 411), dated 20 March 2024, a copy of which was laid before this House on 21 March 2024, be annulled.

5963 Dads Walking

Tabled: 15/04/24 Signatories: 15

Owen Thompson

Stuart C McDonald

Jim Shannon

Dr Philippa Whitford

Richard Thomson

Ms Anum Qaisar

That this House commends the extraordinary efforts of Tim Owen, Mike Palmer and Andy Airey, collectively known as 3 Dads Walking, for their tireless dedication to raising awareness of suicide prevention among young people; welcomes them to Scotland and Midlothian as they continue their latest trek; acknowledges the profound impact of their new book Three Dads Walking: 300 Miles of Hope, which shares their deeply personal stories of loss and resilience; applauds their commitment to honouring the memory of their daughters - Sophie, Beth, and Emily - by advocating for suicide prevention measures; recognises their superb fundraising efforts for PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide; further recognises their call for age-related suicide awareness to be included in the national curriculum as evidenced by their petition which garnered more than 100,000 signatures; and highly commends their outstanding dedication, exemplary courage and invaluable contribution to the cause of suicide prevention.

631The cost of private rent in England and rent controls

Tabled: 17/04/24 Signatories: 12

Caroline Lucas

Nadia Whittome

Rachael Maskell

Grahame Morris

Mohammad Yasin

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

That this House notes the huge cost of private rents in England and increase in private rents since private tenancies were deregulated and section 21 no-fault evictions were introduced under the Housing Act 1988; recognises the challenges with accurately estimating average private rents but further notes historical data points to an average £410 per month rent across all private sector tenancies in 1990, in 2023 prices, and ONS data indicating the average private rent in England in February 2024 was £1,276 per month, suggesting roughly a threefold increase; is deeply concerned by the homelessness crisis and the 50% rise of homelessness in one year due to no-fault evictions and that English councils spent £1.7bn on temporary accommodation last year; further notes that the cost of private rented accommodation in England is higher and renters' rights weaker than in European countries with rent controls and more secure tenancies; calls on the Government to establish an independent Living Rent Commission tasked with consulting on and designing a national system of rent controls with local flexibility and to provide powers to local councils to control rents in high rent areas; believes rent controls must be implemented gradually and fairly alongside a suite of policies to give renters security of tenure and to address the housing supply crisis, including a mass programme of zero-carbon social homes; and further calls on the Government to follow the example of Scotland and other European countries by legislating for rent controls in the private rented sector.

646Multiple sclerosis (MS) Awareness Week

Tabled: 22/04/24 Signatories: 18

Charlotte Nichols

Jonathan Edwards

Mary Kelly Foy

Marion Fellows

Ben Lake

Hywel Williams

That this House supports MS Awareness Week, which takes place between 22 and 28 April 2024; recognises that the MS Society, MS Trust, MS Together, MS-UK, the Neuro Therapy Network, Shift.ms and Overcoming MS are working together to speak up about the realities of life with MS, a neurological condition affecting over 130,000 people in the UK; welcomes the MS Unfiltered campaign to shine light on MS topics that can feel taboo or difficult to talk about to enable people to talk honestly and openly about everything from bladder control and sexual dysfunction, to navigating menopause and cultural stigma; notes the MS Unfiltered survey which found that over a third of people with MS have avoided seeking medical help due to embarrassing symptoms while over half said they were embarrassed by bladder issues, more than a quarter were embarrassed by sexual dysfunction, and just under half were embarrassed by walking issues, such as stumbling or not walking in a straight line; and further supports the campaign to raise awareness about the huge range of symptoms and daily challenges that people with MS face.

648Civil Service Pay

Tabled: 22/04/24 Signatories: 24

Chris Stephens

Grahame Morris

John McDonnell

Ian Mearns

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Nadia Whittome

That this House notes that civil service pay has been eroded over the past 40 years, which has seen wages fall from above the national average to below average; regrets that, despite this, the Government did not ring-fence funding for a pay rise for civil servants in the recent Budget; expresses solidarity with the almost 150,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union who are currently balloting for national industrial action in their ongoing dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions; and calls on the Government to get back around the negotiating table with PCS and show respect for their workforce by offering them an inflation-proofed pay rise, pay equity across Government departments, a living wage of £15 per hour, a London weighting provision of at least £5,000 a year, and a minimum of 35 days annual leave.

652Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023

Tabled: 22/04/24 Signatories: 7

Patricia Gibson

Jonathan Edwards

Ben Lake

Hywel Williams

Liz Saville Roberts

Chris Stephens

That this House notes with concern that the Constitutional Court of Uganda recently upheld the provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 which, it believes, is in defiance of international law; is aware that the legislation, adopted in May 2023, has been described as being among the world's harshest anti-gay laws and has, it believes, rightly drawn condemnation from human rights campaigners across the world; condemns the legislation, which, it understands, imposes penalties of up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make aggravated homosexuality an offence punishable by death; understands that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that close to 600 people are reported to have been subjected to human rights violations and abuses based on their actual or imputed sexual orientation or gender identity since the Act was enacted; welcomes the strong international condemnation by elements of the international community, including the United Nations and countries such as the United States; acknowledges reports that activists, including Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, Frank Mugisha, have filed an appeal to Uganda's Supreme Court; and expresses its support to them by backing the repeal of what it considers to be a homophobic and draconian piece of legislation.

655Lesbian Visibility Week

Tabled: 23/04/24 Signatories: 13

Kate Osborne

Dawn Butler

Nadia Whittome

Hannah Bardell

Christine Jardine

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

That this House congratulates Lesbian Visibility Week on their fifth anniversary; notes that the theme for this week is unified not uniform to celebrate the diversity of LGBTQ+ women everywhere; welcomes the representation and acknowledgement of incredible LGBTQ women that Lesbian Visibilty week brings; acknowledges that there are still unique barriers that lesbians face in day to day life that must be urgently addressed; and further notes that this week has never been more important as hate crime abuse continues to rise.

657Childcare for working parents

Tabled: 23/04/24 Signatories: 8

Rachael Maskell

Jim Shannon

Kim Johnson

Dan Carden

Mick Whitley

Chris Stephens

That this House notes the importance of affordable childcare to enable parents, especially mothers, to work; further notes the important contribution of migrants to the economy; welcomes the intention behind the expansion of childcare support for working parents which is currently being rolled out; also notes however that this support is not available equally to all working parents even where they are working the same hours for the same wages; is concerned about the difficulty this creates for excluded families due to the high costs of childcare; and calls on the Government to amend its support scheme so that all parents working the requisite number of hours and earning the requisite salary can access 30 hours of funded childcare, regardless of their immigration status.

662Drug and alcohol treatment services for women

Tabled: 23/04/24 Signatories: 9

Rachael Maskell

Jim Shannon

Christine Jardine

Mary Kelly Foy

Chris Stephens

Kate Osborne

That this House acknowledges that women’s substance use often results from trauma and abuse; notes that women’s access to trauma-informed, safe spaces has been limited, as cuts and contract competition have driven service provision to concentrate on its majority male user-base; welcomes the Centre for Justice Innovation’s guide to commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services for women, in helping to ensure services are responsive to women’s experiences; and urges the Government to support and promote the development of a range of bespoke, responsive and sustainable resources enabling more women to access drug and alcohol treatment support.

663National Stalking Awareness Week

Tabled: 23/04/24 Signatories: 8

Liz Saville Roberts

Hywel Williams

Ben Lake

Jim Shannon

Christine Jardine

Chris Stephens

That this House acknowledges National Stalking Awareness Week, beginning on 22 April; notes that stalking and harassment accounted for a third of all police recorded violence in the year ending September 2023 and that around 1.6 million people over 16 were estimated to be victims of stalking in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023; further notes that only 6.6 per cent of reports of stalking to the police in the year ending March 2022 resulted in a Crown Prosecution Service charge, with only 1.4 per cent of cases ending in conviction; recognises such failings across the criminal justice system in relation to stalking offences, particularly in terms of support provided to victims of stalking as campaigners including the victims’ commissioner for London, Claire Waxman, and Gwynedd activist, Rhianon Bragg, have underlined; highlights the recommendations of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, including specialist stalking training requirements for all professionals dealing with stalking cases and a unified recording system to be used by all agencies involved to follow a victim’s journey through the criminal justice system; calls for the establishment of dedicated, specially trained multi-agency teams in each police force area to work positively to manage stalking behaviours and reduce the risk of harm for victims; and further calls on the Government to revise stalking laws alongside wider criminal justice system reforms, including the introduction of a single standalone stalking offence to ensure more robust sentencing.

664Alcohol-related deaths

Tabled: 23/04/24 Signatories: 10

Dan Carden

Ian Mearns

Jim Shannon

George Galloway

Mary Kelly Foy

Chris Stephens

That this House is alarmed at the rocketing rise of alcohol harm; notes that the Office for National Statistics' figures released on 22 April revealed a new record of over 10,000 alcohol-specific deaths in the UK in 2022, representing an increase of a third since 2019; further notes the warning of Professor Sir Ian Gilmore that, with the NHS already under severe pressure, the UK cannot continue on the current trajectory; and calls on the Government to bring forward a comprehensive alcohol strategy, building upon the 2018 Alcohol Charter and the 2020 Commission on Alcohol Harm report.

665FA Cup replays

Tabled: 23/04/24 Signatories: 7

Martin Vickers

George Galloway

Jonathan Edwards

Mr Clive Betts

Shaun Bailey

Sir Mike Penning

That this House regrets the decision to end replays in the FA Cup; and calls on the football authorities to reconsider this decision.

666Work Capability Assessment reforms

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 2

Marion Fellows

Richard Burgon

That this House expresses its deep concern that the Government’s proposed Work Capability Assessment reforms will expose more people, including disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to work conditionality and the threat of benefit sanctions; recognises that there is considerable evidence, including the Department of Work and Pension’s own report entitled The Impact of Benefit Sanctions on Employment Outcomes, published on 6 April 2023, that conditionality, and in particular the use of sanctions, is counterproductive in efforts to support people into sustainable work and causes unnecessary hardship; acknowledges that the use of sanctions are harmful to people’s health and wellbeing, further punishing society's most vulnerable people; notes that removing the Work Capability Assessment risks conflating incapacity and disability payments, as not everyone who is sick and not able to work will qualify for disability payments; further notes that there is no safety net for people with short-term ill-health and sickness to manage their condition and live a dignified, independent life; and calls on the Government to stop the implementation of their Work Capability Assessment changes which will lead to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions losing out financially.

670Diversion schemes for drug-related offending

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 3

Grahame Morris

Rachael Maskell

Richard Burgon

That this House endorses the recognition from Dame Carol Black and the Home Affairs Committee that improved use of diversion schemes, where police deal with low-level offending without the involvement of courts, can be an important tool in reducing drug-related crime; pays tribute to the pioneering work of Police-led Drug Diversion (PDD) schemes such as Durham’s Checkpoint programme led by the late Ron Hogg, the West Midlands’ Operation Turning Point and the Thames Valley Druglink scheme championed by former Chief Inspector Jason Kew; highlights the importance of community resolution to preclude the need for arrest and to facilitate access to education, treatment and support services; welcomes the work of Professor Alex Stevens of the University of Kent and Paul Quintom from the College of Policing in providing evaluation of PDD schemes and identification of best practice; believes this will establish effective national standards and a template to end the patchy postcode-lottery of provision; and calls on the Government to commit to consistent national roll-out of high-standard diversion schemes, as soon as practicable, to provide a cost-effective alternative to the current cycle of criminalisation and reoffending.

672UK’s national minorities

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 2

Ben Lake

Mary Kelly Foy

That this House marks the 10th anniversary of the UK Government recognising the Cornish as a national minority through the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; notes that this landmark decision set out numerous obligations including support for language and culture, education and the media, the greater visibility of national minorities in public life, the protection of historic territories, more opportunities on the international stage; further notes that the decision should afford the Cornish the same status as the UK’s other national minorities; is however concerned that the UK Government has yet to fully meets its obligations under the Framework Convention by treating Cornwall equally with the other national parts of the UK; and calls on the UK Government to deliver meaningful devolution through the creation of a legislative Cornish Parliament or a National Assembly of Cornwall, full membership of the British-Irish Council and other trans-national bodies, fair funding for Cornwall and its public services, a Cornish Language Act, and public service broadcasting provision for Cornwall.

676Student debt

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 4

Jon Trickett

George Galloway

Mary Kelly Foy

Richard Burgon

That this House expresses its concern at the excessive levels of student debt and loan repayment rates; notes that the average student leaves university with £50,000 worth of debt and is currently required to repay 9% on everything they earn over £27,295 a year; further notes that as of April 2024 the current rate of interest for student debt is 7.8%; recognises that many former students are accruing more in interest each year than they are repaying and that 51% of students who took out their loans before August 2023 will never repay their debts in full; believes that the current system of university financing based on tuition fees and high levels of student debt is economically unsustainable and reckless; further believes that higher education is a vital public good that benefits the whole of society and the burden for funding it should fall on the wealthiest; urges the Government to take immediate action to reduce the student debt burden; and calls on the Government to launch a review into the funding of higher education examining the possibility of abolishing tuition fees and funding higher education through wealth and income taxes.

678Disability benefits assessment process

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 3

Jon Trickett

Mary Kelly Foy

Richard Burgon

That this House expresses its concern about the application and assessment process for disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity; notes that the Government is proposing to end GP involvement in the process; further notes that disability rights campaigners have argued that phone assessments and to a lesser extent face-to-face assessments do not give an accurate understanding of someone's ability to work or the level of support they need; believes that GPs have a role to play in the assessment of disability needs; and calls on the Government to review disability benefit assessment processes with the aim of creating a system that is easier and friendlier to navigate for people with disabilities.

680Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 9

Apsana Begum

Andy McDonald

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Jeremy Corbyn

Zarah Sultana

Nadia Whittome

That this House marks that on 24 April it is 11 years since the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed at least 1,132 workers and injured more than 2,500, a large proportion of whom were women in what was one of the worst industrial accidents on record; is concerned at the ongoing poor labour conditions, low wages and unsafe work environments, with a high incidence of work-related accidents and deaths, faced by workers in the garment sector worldwide; is alarmed at the ongoing suppression of trade union and collective bargaining rights in the garment industry and, that since the covid-19 pandemic, there is evidence of worsening health and safety standards, increased gender discrimination and reports of concerning levels of workplace gender-based violence and harassment; recognises that without the ability to organise, workers are inhibited from fully securing improved working conditions and/or challenging abuse; and believes that all workers deserve a workplace that provides them with a living wage, decent working conditions and trade union rights including the right to refuse unsafe work, to take strike action and to collectively bargain.

682World Malaria Day 2024

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 3

Patrick Grady

Stuart C McDonald

Wendy Chamberlain

That this House notes that Thursday 25 April 2024 has been designated as World Malaria Day by the World Health Organisation, marking the 17th time the day has been observed since its establishment by the World Health Assembly in 2007; further notes that this year's theme focuses on accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world, drawing attention to the decline in progress toward reducing malaria globally, particularly in the WHO African Region which in 2022 accounted for 94% of malaria cases and 95% of deaths and, that on current trajectories, critical 2025 milestones of the WHO global malaria strategy for reductions in malaria cases and deaths will be missed; also notes that the disease continues to directly endanger health and cost lives, and perpetuates a vicious cycle of inequity, with people living in the most vulnerable situations including pregnant women, infants, children under five years of age, refugees, migrants, internally displaced people, and Indigenous Peoples disproportionately impacted; and calls on the UK Government to increase its focus on working towards Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 to end the malaria epidemic, and to contribute required funding at the upcoming replenishments of Gavi, the vaccine alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

683Two-child benefits limit

Tabled: 24/04/24 Signatories: 7

Mary Kelly Foy

George Galloway

Jon Trickett

Richard Burgon

Kate Osborne

Jeremy Corbyn

That this House recognises the new research from the End Child Poverty Coalition which highlights the extent to which the two-child limit impacts single parents and families with disabled children; notes that 20% of all households impacted by the two-child limit are families with at least one disabled child, which is just over 87,500 households; further notes that 25% of all families impacted by the two-child limit are single-parent households, with a child under 3; expresses incredulity that no assessment of the potential correlation between the proportion of children living in households affected by the two-child limit and levels of child poverty has been made by the Department for Work and Pensions; and calls for the two-child limit to be reconsidered.