That this House regrets the passage of the Food Supplements Regulations (England) 2003; and calls on the Government to use the UK Presidency to seek agreement to any necessary changes to the EU Food Supplements Directive to enable the current UK regulations to be repealed and replaced with regulations that better protect the interests of consumers and manufacturers in the United Kingdom.

That this House regrets the passage of the Food Supplements Regulations (England) 2003; and calls on the Government to use the UK Presidency to seek agreement to any necessary changes to the EU Food Supplements Directive to enable the current UK regulations to be repealed and replaced with regulations that...

That this House notes that the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive and the Medicinal Products for Human Use Directive have recently been passed into European law; believes that these Directives and the Food Supplements Directive together place unnecessary restrictions upon the choice exercised by British consumers of vitamins and minerals; further believes that many restrictions are for the sake of European harmonisation rather than public safety; notes the misgivings of the British food supplements industry over the prohibitive costs of compiling complex dossiers defending their products from bans, which have been estimated by the Government to be between ??80,000 and ??250,000 per product; further notes that the Government must now translate the directives into British law by producing new legislation; and calls upon the Government when framing domestic legislation, to address the concerns of consumers, who continue to use food supplements safely, and of manufacturers, who fear debilitating restrictions placed upon their business.

That this House notes that the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive and the Medicinal Products for Human Use Directive have recently been passed into European law; believes that these Directives and the Food Supplements Directive together place unnecessary restrictions upon the choice exercised by British consumers of vitamins and minerals;...

That this House supports the Right to Care Campaign; believes that the campaign grouping involving 20 major campaign groups, charities and trade unions, is testament to the depth of feeling surrounding the issue of long-term care felt by the members of these organisations and by many members of the public; notes that a petition of 100,000 signatures has been presented to 10 Downing Street; is concerned that distinguishing between personal and nursing care is impractical and unworkable; further believes that these differences in policy between regions of the United Kingdom are creating major disparities in the type and levels of care available to elderly and disabled people; welcomes the statement of the Royal Commissioners that called on the Government to reconsider its rejection of free personal care; and urges the Government fully to fund personal and nursing care that is free at the point of use for all who need long-term care; wherever they live, throughout the United Kingdom.

That this House supports the Right to Care Campaign; believes that the campaign grouping involving 20 major campaign groups, charities and trade unions, is testament to the depth of feeling surrounding the issue of long-term care felt by the members of these organisations and by many members of the public;...

That this House is concerned by the considerable delay in publishing Government research into the eligibility of children with autistic spectrum disorder for the Blue Badge Scheme; notes that this research was first mentioned in March 2002; urges the Government to give a report of the finding of this research; and calls on the Department of Transport to review the regulations of the Blue Badge Scheme to extend the criteria to include consideration of safety.

That this House is concerned by the considerable delay in publishing Government research into the eligibility of children with autistic spectrum disorder for the Blue Badge Scheme; notes that this research was first mentioned in March 2002; urges the Government to give a report of the finding of this research;...

That this House condemns the poor service endured by Mr Keith Roads and other disabled rail users as a result of the failure of Central Trains to make reasonable adjustments to overcome the barriers presented by inaccessible stations; agrees with the Disability Rights Commission that it is reasonable to expect train operating companies to pay the cost of accessible taxis, reasonable adjustments or other replacement services for disabled travellers where their stations are not accessible; notes with concern that over 1,850 stations out of a total of 2,500 on the rail network are classed as small, or unstaffed, inaccessible stations by the Strategic Rail Authority; further notes with concern that the Government has yet to begin consultation on accessibility regulations for taxis which are a vital part of the transport network for disabled people; and calls on the Government to take urgent action to ensure that train operating companies are actively undertaking access audits and making improvements to stations.

That this House condemns the poor service endured by Mr Keith Roads and other disabled rail users as a result of the failure of Central Trains to make reasonable adjustments to overcome the barriers presented by inaccessible stations; agrees with the Disability Rights Commission that it is reasonable to expect...

That this House is concerned by the considerable delay in publishing Government research into the eligibility of children with autistic spectrum disorder for the Blue Badge Scheme; notes that this research was first mentioned in March 2002; urges the Government to give a report of the findings of this research; and calls on the Department of Transport to review the regulations of the Blue Badge Scheme to extend the criteria to include consideration of safety.

That this House is concerned by the considerable delay in publishing Government research into the eligibility of children with autistic spectrum disorder for the Blue Badge Scheme; notes that this research was first mentioned in March 2002; urges the Government to give a report of the findings of this research;...

That this House notes that the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive and the Medicinal Products for Human Use Directive have recently been passed into European law; believes that these Directives and the Food Supplements Directive together place unnecessary restrictions upon the choice exercised by British consumers of vitamins and minerals; further believes that many restrictions are for the sake of European harmonisation rather than public safety; notes the misgivings of the British food supplements industry over the prohibitive costs of compiling complex dossiers defending their products from bans, which have been estimated by the Government to be between ??80,000 and ??250,000 per product; further notes that the Government must now translate the directives into British law by producing new legislation; and calls on the Government when framing domestic legislation to address the concerns of consumers who continue to use food supplements safely and manufacturers who fear debilitating restrictions placed upon their business.

That this House notes that the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive and the Medicinal Products for Human Use Directive have recently been passed into European law; believes that these Directives and the Food Supplements Directive together place unnecessary restrictions upon the choice exercised by British consumers of vitamins and minerals;...

That this House congratulates the Nursing Times for its campaign to improve the availability and quality of medical equipment used by nursing staff; notes that a survey carried out by the journal found that one in five nurses said they had been forced to re-use equipment intended for single use only, one in five said they have been expected to use broken equipment, one third said they had been expected to use equipment they had not been trained to use, and one in 10 said they could not access defibrillators; and calls on the government to take steps to ensure that nurses have the equipment they need to do their jobs, including ensuring that all equipment is maintained and in good working order, that appropriate training is provided, that single use equipment is not re-used, and that outdated equipment is replaced.

That this House congratulates the Nursing Times for its campaign to improve the availability and quality of medical equipment used by nursing staff; notes that a survey carried out by the journal found that one in five nurses said they had been forced to re-use equipment intended for single use...

That this House is appalled by the decision of the Home Office to allow the Criminal Records Bureau to more than double its fees on 1st July for people who work with the vulnerable, hitting care homes, schools and charities hardest when they are already struggling with cash shortages and causing a surge in demand, causing a further backlog for those needing quick checks to be undertaken; is deeply concerned by the bail out of the CRB by the Home Office, Department of Health and DfES using at least ??18.8 million of taxpayers money so far for an ailing PFI project; notes the failure of Capita and the CRB to achieve seven out of their eight key performance targets, leaving volunteers and professionals who want to work with the vulnerable unable to do so; also notes the publication of the CRB Corporate Business Plan which passes the responsibility for identification checks to umbrella bodies without additional training or recompense for their additional costs and without their consultation; and calls upon the Government urgently to introduce the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, to publish a full disclosure of all of the costs incurred arising from negotiating and renegotiating the Capita contract, for Ministers to report every six months to Parliament the state of the Criminal Records Bureau to increase transparency and increase trust in the system, and for officials who were in charge of the initial planning stages of the CRB to resign.

That this House is appalled by the decision of the Home Office to allow the Criminal Records Bureau to more than double its fees on 1st July for people who work with the vulnerable, hitting care homes, schools and charities hardest when they are already struggling with cash shortages and...

That this House notes that, in the early part of 2002, the Government announced proposals that healthcare services in 35 highly specialised areas (including specialist neuroscience, women's health, rheumatology, HIV, haemophilia, renal and cancer services) would be commissioned by primary care trust-led consortia with effect from 2003; believes that this one size fits all approach to commissioning is not appropriate to all the diseases and conditions listed in the National Specialised Services Definitions Set; is concerned that not all primary care trusts have the necessary experience, personnel, skills, funds and infrastructure to plan and commission specialised services effectively; is further concerned that specialised service provision and standards of patient care will suffer as a result; welcomes the formation of the Specialised Healthcare Alliance, a coalition of patient representative groups, advocacy organisations and healthcare professionals, to bring these concerns to the attention of parliamentarians, government and others; and calls upon the Government to publish the results of its review and to announce its intentions with regard to the funding and commissioning of specialised healthcare services as a matter of urgency.

That this House notes that, in the early part of 2002, the Government announced proposals that healthcare services in 35 highly specialised areas (including specialist neuroscience, women's health, rheumatology, HIV, haemophilia, renal and cancer services) would be commissioned by primary care trust-led consortia with effect from 2003; believes that this...

That this House notes that more than 4,000 letters are outstanding to honourable Members from seven Government departments; further notes that 800 of these are six months old or longer, of which 474 are from the Department of Health; further notes that the Department for Education and Skills does not monitor these figures; regrets that the DfID and the Home Office have failed to provide this information despite being asked on 7th November; further notes that letters to ministers are one of the few remaining ways that honourable Members are able to hold Her Majesty's Government to account, scrutinise its policies and programmes and pursue constituency cases; believes that ministers are either deliberately withholding information until it is no longer relevant or are incompetent; and calls upon the Public Administration Committee to investigate the reasons for the backlog of unanswered ministerial letters to ensure that this House and its honourable Members are not bypassed or prevented from undertaking scrutiny of the Executive.

That this House notes that more than 4,000 letters are outstanding to honourable Members from seven Government departments; further notes that 800 of these are six months old or longer, of which 474 are from the Department of Health; further notes that the Department for Education and Skills does not...

That this House recognises the invaluable work of St John Ambulance; notes that neither the Department of Health or Treasury were aware that the charity carried out over 240,000 hours of accident and emergency cover in 2001; further notes that without the dedicated members of St John Ambulance, NHS ambulance services would be under even greater pressure; and calls upon the Government to examine the possibility of introducing a VAT exemption for the fuel for its ambulances.

That this House recognises the invaluable work of St John Ambulance; notes that neither the Department of Health or Treasury were aware that the charity carried out over 240,000 hours of accident and emergency cover in 2001; further notes that without the dedicated members of St John Ambulance, NHS ambulance...

That this House believes that the numbers of children in this country who die through abuse and neglect is unacceptable and that public policy has failed to reduce the level of child deaths over the last 30 years; is concerned that the Chief Inspector of Social Services records in her eleventh annual report that three per cent. of children on the child protection register and five per cent. of looked-after children are not allocated a social worker, up to 4,000 children without a safety net; is further concerned that there is no systematic follow-up for child deaths or co-ordinated strategy to reduce child deaths in this country; calls on the Government to place area child protection committees on a statutory footing by placing a duty on all the agencies involved in child protection to participate in the work of the committee and support the local authority in discharging its child protection role; and further calls on the Government to establish an independent Children's Commissioner to promote and protect the rights of all children.

That this House believes that the numbers of children in this country who die through abuse and neglect is unacceptable and that public policy has failed to reduce the level of child deaths over the last 30 years; is concerned that the Chief Inspector of Social Services records in her...

That this House believes that the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill proposed simplistic measures that fail to address adequately a complex problem; further believes that the Bill treats a symptom rather than tackling the cause, which is a failure of successive governments to invest in community-based services to prevent admissions and support people after discharge; regrets that the Bill will undermine partnerships between health and social care; deplores the Bill's failure to take note of the needs of the patient or the concerns of the carers; believes it will give rise to an increase in emergency readmissions of older people; notes with concern that the Bill will distort priorities for the care of the elderly and create perverse incentives by placing the need to hit delayed discharge targets ahead of offering timely and appropriate care to those in their own homes; and calls on the Government to abandon the Bill.

That this House believes that the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill proposed simplistic measures that fail to address adequately a complex problem; further believes that the Bill treats a symptom rather than tackling the cause, which is a failure of successive governments to invest in community-based services to prevent...

That this House is concerned that the current rules governing the issue of Blue Badges discriminate against parents who care for children with autistic spectrum disorder; and calls on the Department of Transport to review the regulations to extend the criteria to include consideration of safety.

That this House is concerned that the current rules governing the issue of Blue Badges discriminate against parents who care for children with autistic spectrum disorder; and calls on the Department of Transport to review the regulations to extend the criteria to include consideration of safety.

That this House calls upon the Government to bring forward legislation on adult incapacity; notes that there is no statutory definition of incapacity and no uniform legal test regarding the factors to be considered in determining a person's best interest and that there are insufficient regulations to prevent abuse of powers of attorney; believes that any failures to discharge assumed responsibilities for incapacitated adults should automatically trigger investigation by social services departments or in some cases be liable for criminal prosecution; further notes that there is an inadequate, and in some cases non-existent, legal framework for independent advocacy, both to articulate the most intimate needs of vulnerable people in relation to health, social care, benefits or other welfare provision and for carers to be involved in decisions or the process of challenging decisions where disputes arise; and given the inadequacy of existing legislation to protect the most vulnerable adults in our society, notes the need for comprehensive law reform in the field of mental capacity and for any new legislation to be linked directly to reform of the Mental Health Act 1983.

That this House calls upon the Government to bring forward legislation on adult incapacity; notes that there is no statutory definition of incapacity and no uniform legal test regarding the factors to be considered in determining a person's best interest and that there are insufficient regulations to prevent abuse of...

That this House notes with concern that the Government's Commission for Integrated Transport has recommended that free bus passes for pensioners should be abolished; believes that the Freedom Pass and similar concessionary fares schemes elsewhere in the country provide an essential life-line for older people; and calls on the Government to reject the Commission's recommendation.

That this House notes with concern that the Government's Commission for Integrated Transport has recommended that free bus passes for pensioners should be abolished; believes that the Freedom Pass and similar concessionary fares schemes elsewhere in the country provide an essential life-line for older people; and calls on the Government...

That this House regrets that the number of children in prison has doubled in a decade to stand at 2,609 in 2002, far more than any other European country; notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed serious concern at the high and increasing numbers of children in custody at earlier ages for lesser offences; further regrets the Government's failure to drop their reservation to article 37(c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; notes that, in two years 296 chldren sustained injuries following restraint and control in prison; further notes with concern that since 1997, 93 young people have committed suicide while in custody; regrets that many of the children in custody are the casualties of an under-resourced and over-pressured children protection system; believes that custody should be a measure of last resort; welcomes the High Court ruling in favour of the Howard League that the Children Act 1989 applies fully to children in prison and young offender institutions; and calls on the Government to meet its obligations under the UN convention and fully comply with the High Court ruling.

That this House regrets that the number of children in prison has doubled in a decade to stand at 2,609 in 2002, far more than any other European country; notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed serious concern at the high and increasing numbers of...

That this House supports the Right to Care Campaign; believes that the formation of a campaign grouping involving 20 major campaign groups, charities and trade unions is testament to the depth of feeling surrounding the issue of long-term care felt by the members of these organisations and by many members of the public; is concerned that distinguishing between personal and nursing care is impractical and will prove unworkable; further believes that these differences in policy between regions of the UK are creating major disparities in the type and levels of care available to elderly and disabled people; and urges the Government fully to fund personal and nursing care that is free at the point of use for all who need long-term care, wherever they live throughout the UK.

That this House supports the Right to Care Campaign; believes that the formation of a campaign grouping involving 20 major campaign groups, charities and trade unions is testament to the depth of feeling surrounding the issue of long-term care felt by the members of these organisations and by many members...

That this House agrees with the Home Secretary that the function of the Criminal Records Bureau is to reduce the risk of abuse by ensuring that those who are unsuitable are not able to work with children and vulnerable adults; deeply regrets the decision of the Home Office and Department of Health to postpone criminal records checks on 300,000 care home staff, agency nurses, agency domiciliary care staff, residential family centres, and adoption centres; is concerned that the establishment of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list has been postponed indefinitely; believes that in reducing demand for CRB checks Ministers have put the lives of vulnerable people at risk; further believes that this announcement should have been made by way of a statement in the House, not as a written answer in the House of Lords on a Friday afternoon; calls on the Home Secretary to make a statement on this matter; and further calls on the Home Secretary to publish the report of the Carter Inquiry into the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita.

That this House agrees with the Home Secretary that the function of the Criminal Records Bureau is to reduce the risk of abuse by ensuring that those who are unsuitable are not able to work with children and vulnerable adults; deeply regrets the decision of the Home Office and Department...