That this House warmly welcomes the London Evening Standard's Save Our Small Shops campaign, which is seeking to halt the spread of clone high streets across the country and to protect small independent shops; notes that if planning policy is not changed the remaining small shops that give high streets their character will vanish; and calls on both the Government and local authorities to do more not just to protect the remaining small retailers but also to put in place the conditions to allow an increase in the numbers of independent shops.

That this House warmly welcomes the London Evening Standard's Save Our Small Shops campaign, which is seeking to halt the spread of clone high streets across the country and to protect small independent shops; notes that if planning policy is not changed the remaining small shops that give high streets...

That this House recognises the vital and unique role that independent locally run shops play in communities and is concerned at the continuing decline in their number; supports a sustainable UK farming sector and food supply chain whilst seeking to ensure that overseas suppliers are treated fairly; believes that the major supermarkets are now abusing the power that they have in the food supply chain to the detriment of their smaller and dependent suppliers and small shops and welcomes the acknowledgement of these issues in the Competition Commission's Emerging Thinking report published in January 2007; and urges the Commission to recommend the introduction of effective solutions to the competition and planning problems in the grocery market which will provide redress and reasonable protection for suppliers and small retailers, thereby preserving sustainable competition in the grocery market and genuine choice for consumers.

That this House recognises the vital and unique role that independent locally run shops play in communities and is concerned at the continuing decline in their number; supports a sustainable UK farming sector and food supply chain whilst seeking to ensure that overseas suppliers are treated fairly; believes that the...

That this House believes that the substantial price differential between alcohol sold in pubs and that sold in the off-trade is exacerbating the problem of binge drinking; continues to support the pub trade's efforts to curb irresponsible drinking and promotions; and urges supermarkets and off-licences to follow the example of pubs and act to end irresponsible drinks promotions and agree not to use alcohol as a loss leader on their premises.

That this House believes that the substantial price differential between alcohol sold in pubs and that sold in the off-trade is exacerbating the problem of binge drinking; continues to support the pub trade's efforts to curb irresponsible drinking and promotions; and urges supermarkets and off-licences to follow the example of...

That this House considers accessibility to shops for the disabled to be an essential human right as recognised in law by the Disability Discrimination Act; welcomes the work of the local shop accessibility campaigning group Aspire in Chesterfield to achieve this in reality; recognises the support of the disability charity Leonard Cheshire in Aspire's campaign; supports Aspire's work in raising awareness of disability access in shops; congratulates the success of Aspire's action day in Chesterfield on Friday 20th October; applauds shopkeepers in Chesterfield for their positive response to Aspire's campaign; commends shops that have taken steps to make their premises accessible; and calls on all shops across the UK to work to ensure that they are fully accessible to disabled people.

That this House considers accessibility to shops for the disabled to be an essential human right as recognised in law by the Disability Discrimination Act; welcomes the work of the local shop accessibility campaigning group Aspire in Chesterfield to achieve this in reality; recognises the support of the disability charity...

That this House welcomes the British Retail Consortium's campaign to end the archaic practice of landlords demanding shop rents three months in advance, imposing severe cash flow pressures on businesses and costing retailers an extra ??145 million a year; is pleased that a large number of trade bodies representing shopkeepers of all shapes and sizes have given their backing to the campaign; urges landlords to pledge to accept rents monthly in advance, thereby helping their tenants continue to trade in an increasingly difficult market place; and recognises that in the past 18 months many well-known retailers and many smaller shops have disappeared from the high street as adverse trading conditions and serious cost inflation have combined to erode margins and that greater flexibility in commercial leases would go a long way in helping to reverse this trend and would help the UK's retail industry to prosper.

That this House welcomes the British Retail Consortium's campaign to end the archaic practice of landlords demanding shop rents three months in advance, imposing severe cash flow pressures on businesses and costing retailers an extra ??145 million a year; is pleased that a large number of trade bodies representing shopkeepers...

That this House values the diversity and choice offered by small independent and local shops in the face of the growing dominance of national chains; recognises the increasing difficulties that small independent and local shops are facing with large rent rises in town centres and high streets; applauds the Evening Standard's Save our Small Shops campaign; encourages the public to make use of small, independent, local shops; condemns those landlords who raise rent excessively, letting only to chain stores; urges consideration of new business conservation areas that cap the number of chain stores; supports the proposal for small shop loyalty card schemes for every borough; and urges simplification of the regulation to which small shops are obliged to adhere.

That this House values the diversity and choice offered by small independent and local shops in the face of the growing dominance of national chains; recognises the increasing difficulties that small independent and local shops are facing with large rent rises in town centres and high streets; applauds the Evening...

That this House notes that over 800,000 cases of abuse were reported between 1995 and 2001 against shop workers; compliments the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) for highlighting the issue; and calls upon the Government to work with employers and unions to raise awareness of the levels of violence, to make retail crime a police Key Performance Indicator, to promote safer shopping partnerships and to improve the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

That this House notes that over 800,000 cases of abuse were reported between 1995 and 2001 against shop workers; compliments the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) for highlighting the issue; and calls upon the Government to work with employers and unions to raise awareness of the levels...

That this House notes that over 800,000 cases of abuse were reported between 1995 and 2001 against shopworkers; compliments USDAW for highlighting this issue; and calls upon the Government to work with the employers and unions to raise awareness of the levels of violence and abuse, to make the workplace safer, to make retail crime a police key performance indicator, to promote Safer Shopping Partnerships and to improve the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme.

That this House notes that over 800,000 cases of abuse were reported between 1995 and 2001 against shopworkers; compliments USDAW for highlighting this issue; and calls upon the Government to work with the employers and unions to raise awareness of the levels of violence and abuse, to make the workplace...

That this House cherishes Christmas Day as a special day, particularly for families and children, and welcomes the campaign by USDAW, the shopworkers' union, on behalf of the 2.6 million shopworkers of the United Kingdom; regrets that many shops remain open on Christmas Day because employers put undue pressure on shop workers to abandon their family responsibilities on this important religious and public holiday; notes that the vast majority of shop workers are parents who should be able to spend Christmas with their children; also notes that current law offers no protection to such workers when Christmas Day does not fall on a Sunday; further notes that Christmas is an extremely busy and stressful period for shop workers and believes that they deserve at least one day off; and calls on the Government to protect shop workers on Christmas Day.

That this House cherishes Christmas Day as a special day, particularly for families and children, and welcomes the campaign by USDAW, the shopworkers' union, on behalf of the 2.6 million shopworkers of the United Kingdom; regrets that many shops remain open on Christmas Day because employers put undue pressure on...

That this House cherishes Christmas Day as a special day, particularly for families and children, and welcomes the campaign by USDAW, the shopworkers' union, on behalf of the 2.6 million shopworkers of United Kingdom; regrets that many shops remain open on Christmas Day because employers put undue pressure on shop workers to abandon their family responsibilities on this important religious and public holiday; notes that the vast majority of shop workers are parents who should be able to spend Christmas with their children; notes that current law offers no protection to such workers when Christmas Day does not fall on a Sunday; further notes that Christmas is an extremely busy and stressful period for shop workers and believes that they deserve at least one day off; and calls on the Government to protect shopworkers on Christmas Day.

That this House cherishes Christmas Day as a special day, particularly for families and children, and welcomes the campaign by USDAW, the shopworkers' union, on behalf of the 2.6 million shopworkers of United Kingdom; regrets that many shops remain open on Christmas Day because employers put undue pressure on shop...