That this House notes the recent Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report on the life chances of disabled people which states that there are currently no incentives for local service providers to prioritise disabled children; believes that schools in England and Wales need a clearer, more effective and less bureaucratic framework if they are meaningfully to tackle current inequalities for such children; further notes that disabled children's access to other services including wraparound childcare increasingly depends upon schools promoting their equality; further notes that the current legislative framework does not cover the promotion of equality for disabled teachers, support staff or disabled parents; supports the call for change in these areas presented by the Disability Rights Commission, the Special Educational Consortium, the Disability Charities Consortium, the Children's Society and teachers' unions; and therefore calls on the Government to follow these organisations' advice and include schools in England and Wales in the list of public bodies to be subject to specific duties to promote disability equality in regulations to be made under the new Disability Discrimination Bill in line with schools' existing duties under the Race Relations Amendment Act and to ensure effective joint working with other public sector partners.

That this House notes the recent Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report on the life chances of disabled people which states that there are currently no incentives for local service providers to prioritise disabled children; believes that schools in England and Wales need a clearer, more effective and less bureaucratic framework...

That this House notes that the overwhelmingly majority of medical studies have shown that passive smoking is severely detrimental to human health; further notes that, according to a recent Imperial College London study, one person working in the hospitality industry is killed every week by the effects of passive smoking and that according to other studies, smoking is the cause of 32,000 deaths from lung cancer and 11,000 from other cancers every year; further notes that the Department of Health has initiated a major consultation exercise on smoking in public places that will form part of a White Paper later this year and that the Welsh Assembly is beginning a similar consultation; rejects the notion that a ban on smoking in public places would be illiberal and believes that a ban would act as an encouragement for heavy smokers to kick the habit; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to introduce legislation to ban the smoking of tobacco in public places forthwith.

That this House notes that the overwhelmingly majority of medical studies have shown that passive smoking is severely detrimental to human health; further notes that, according to a recent Imperial College London study, one person working in the hospitality industry is killed every week by the effects of passive smoking...

That this House welcomes the first ever investigation into pregnancy discrimination which has been launched by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC); notes with concern that the EOC helpline receives more calls from women facing problems at work because of pregnancy than on any other subject; further expresses alarm that women have been demoted, disciplined or sacked simply for having a baby; strongly believes that the UK economy needs the skills and experience of pregnant women in the workplace and women returning from maternity leave; and calls on the Government to act upon the findings of the investigation to put a stop to pregnancy discrimination.

That this House welcomes the first ever investigation into pregnancy discrimination which has been launched by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC); notes with concern that the EOC helpline receives more calls from women facing problems at work because of pregnancy than on any other subject; further expresses alarm that women...

That this House notes the serious nature of injuries sustained in pubs and clubs from pint and half pint capacity glasses and glass bottles; further notes that lasting physical and psychological scarring frequently results from such injuries, predominantly in young people; notes the substantial expenditure these injuries necessitate in terms of burdens on tax payers through criminal injury compensation awards; further notes that research carried out at the University of Wales College of Medicine indicates that many injuries could be prevented through a switch to multi-layer plastic bottles and that there is a need to increase safety standards by kite marking one pint and half pint capacity glasses to indicate conformity to basic manufacturing standards for toughened glass; congratulates all those involved in bringing about the almost universal adoption of toughened glass over the past five to 10 years; now urges the British Standards Institution to develop manufacturing standards for toughened glass and local authorities and the police to ban the carrying of glasses and glass bottles in public places.

That this House notes the serious nature of injuries sustained in pubs and clubs from pint and half pint capacity glasses and glass bottles; further notes that lasting physical and psychological scarring frequently results from such injuries, predominantly in young people; notes the substantial expenditure these injuries necessitate in terms...

That this House welcomes the first ever investigation into pregnancy discrimination which has been launched by the Equal Opportunities Commission; notes with concern that the EOC helpline receives more calls from women facing problems at work because of pregnancy than on any other subject; further expresses alarm that women have been demoted, disciplined or sacked simply for having a baby; strongly believes that the United Kingdom economy needs the skills and experience of pregnant women in the workplace and women returning from maternity leave; and calls on the Government to act upon the findings of the investigation to put a stop to pregnancy discrimination.

That this House welcomes the first ever investigation into pregnancy discrimination which has been launched by the Equal Opportunities Commission; notes with concern that the EOC helpline receives more calls from women facing problems at work because of pregnancy than on any other subject; further expresses alarm that women have...

That this House congratulates the people of Wales on electing the world's first perfectly gender-balanced legislature, with 50 per cent. men and 50 per cent. women Assembly members; recognises that all the main political parties in Wales contributed to this achievement; further congratulates the people of Scotland on electing a Scottish Parliament with 40 per cent. women MSPs; however, regrets that only 18 per cent. of honourable Members are women; recalls that the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 permits political parties to take positive action in order to select more women candidates; and urges all political parties to examine their selection procedures to ensure a significant increase in the number of women elected to Westminster at the next general election.

That this House congratulates the people of Wales on electing the world's first perfectly gender-balanced legislature, with 50 per cent. men and 50 per cent. women Assembly members; recognises that all the main political parties in Wales contributed to this achievement; further congratulates the people of Scotland on electing a...

That this House notes that after 33 years since the Equal Pay Act was introduced, the pay gap between men and women for full-time work remains considerable at 19 per cent.; further notes that the pay gap for part-time work is even larger at 41 per cent. and that this has remained unchanged for the last 25 years; acknowledges that in retirement, women suffer the consequences of a lifetime of pay inequality as the pay gap grows to become an income gap of 44 per cent.; commends recent research commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission that shows only 18 per cent. of large employers and 10 per cent. of medium-sized employers have actually carried out a pay review or are in the process of doing so; acknowledges that without conducting a pay review employers may be unaware that pay inequality exists in their organisation; welcomes the steps the Government has already taken to address the pay gap; but urges the Government to go further and give the strongest possible lead to employers.

That this House notes that after 33 years since the Equal Pay Act was introduced, the pay gap between men and women for full-time work remains considerable at 19 per cent.; further notes that the pay gap for part-time work is even larger at 41 per cent. and that this...