That this House expresses concern about the loss of jobs in privatised railway companies; recognises that job losses undermine the quality and reliability of railway services as illustrated recently by the shambles of train cancellations by South West Trains; fears that job losses may compromise the safety of railway passengers and staff; notes that Regional Railways North East, within days of its privatisation, has written to all its employees to invite applications for redundancy; further notes that York had 4,700 railway jobs when privatisation began, that the workforce has been reduced already to 2,200 and that Regional Railways North East is reported to be considering 1,300 further redundancies; and requests the Transport Committee in the new Parliament after the General Election to conduct an inquiry into the extent of job losses in privatised railway companies and the effect these job losses will have on the quality and safety of railway services and to make recommendations to the new Government about how to stop further damage to the British railway system.

That this House expresses concern about the loss of jobs in privatised railway companies; recognises that job losses undermine the quality and reliability of railway services as illustrated recently by the shambles of train cancellations by South West Trains; fears that job losses may compromise the safety of railway passengers...

That this House remembers the assurances given by Ministers during the passage of both the Coal Industry Act and the Environment Act that British Coal's responsibilities for minewater control and discharge would pass to other agencies, particularly the Coal Authority; notes that the transfer of these obligations has not been without difficulty; regrets that legal responsibilities have not properly been defined; reflects that the issue of minewater control and discharge remains a ticking time bomb waiting to explode; and calls on all with responsibilities for these matters to ensure that our environment and heritage is maintained unchanged until a new Government has the opportunity to resolve these problems.

That this House remembers the assurances given by Ministers during the passage of both the Coal Industry Act and the Environment Act that British Coal's responsibilities for minewater control and discharge would pass to other agencies, particularly the Coal Authority; notes that the transfer of these obligations has not been...

That this House notes with great concern that church leader Sunday Ogunwobi and his family have now been living in sanctuary in Downs Baptist Church, Hackney, for over 1,000 days under threat of deportation to Nigeria, making it the longest running sanctuary in modern British history; understands that Mr Ogunwobi has lived in the United Kingdom since 1981 and his wife since 1984; believes that the deportation of this family would have a detrimental effect on the health and education of the Ogunwobi children; and therefore asks the Home Secretary to show compassion in this case by exercising his discretionary powers to life the deportation order and grant the Ogunwobi family indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

That this House notes with great concern that church leader Sunday Ogunwobi and his family have now been living in sanctuary in Downs Baptist Church, Hackney, for over 1,000 days under threat of deportation to Nigeria, making it the longest running sanctuary in modern British history; understands that Mr Ogunwobi...

That this House regrets that the British Board of Film Classification has passed for release and without any cuts the film Crash, a film which depicts deliberately engineered car crashes in the pursuit of sexual pleasure; notes further that car crashes are the cause of thousands of deaths and serious accidents every year; and therefore regrets that such a film will now be able to be seen in cinemas up and down the country.

That this House regrets that the British Board of Film Classification has passed for release and without any cuts the film Crash, a film which depicts deliberately engineered car crashes in the pursuit of sexual pleasure; notes further that car crashes are the cause of thousands of deaths and serious...

That this House deplores the Government's decision to contract out the Benefits Agency Medical Service to the private sector without Parliamentary debate on the role and accountability of the contractors; in particular the contracting-out of the decision-making 'adjudication' function; believes that contracting-out of the assessment of disability benefits affecting over six million people and concerning a budget of almost ??16 billion is a policy development of such magnitude that there should be Parliamentary scrutiny of the scope of the service to be contracted out and the terms of the contract being offered; is extremely concerned that there should be safeguards to ensure the confidentiality and limited use of sensitive personal information, especially where private companies may have commercial interests in a data bank of claimant information or may already have access to other data bases with which to cross-reference this information; notes the inadequacy of Parliamentary procedures for the accountability of any public service which is contracted out to the private sector; notes the delay in implementing the original timetable for this particular contractorisation; calls for a halt to the process until there has been a full Parliamentary debate on how value for money is to be obtained and on how the quality of service is to be maintained and improved; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to undertake urgent consultation on this matter with organisations representing disabled people.

That this House deplores the Government's decision to contract out the Benefits Agency Medical Service to the private sector without Parliamentary debate on the role and accountability of the contractors; in particular the contracting-out of the decision-making 'adjudication' function; believes that contracting-out of the assessment of disability benefits affecting over...

That this House believes that, for the good of our parliamentary system and in the public interest, this House should not Prorogue on 21st March in order to allow the Committee on Standards and Privileges to receive and publish the report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on allegations referred to by Madam Speaker in her Statement to the House on 14th October 1996.

That this House believes that, for the good of our parliamentary system and in the public interest, this House should not Prorogue on 21st March in order to allow the Committee on Standards and Privileges to receive and publish the report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on allegations referred...

That this House is delighted to hear that Mr Paul Daniels, the diminutive necromancer, has announced his decision to leave the country if Labour wins the General Election; believes such an undertaking will greatly encourage people to vote Labour; and eagerly looks forward to Mr Daniels' last and hopefully permanent disappearing act.

That this House is delighted to hear that Mr Paul Daniels, the diminutive necromancer, has announced his decision to leave the country if Labour wins the General Election; believes such an undertaking will greatly encourage people to vote Labour; and eagerly looks forward to Mr Daniels' last and hopefully permanent...

That this House deplores the decision of the British Embassy in Algiers to refuse to issue visas to Miss Enoueha Mohammed Salem and Mr Saleh Moustapha of UJSARIO, the youth organisation representing Saharawi refugees living in exile in the barren and inhospital desert of South West Algeria; notes that the arbitrary decision to refuse visas considerably hampers the work of organisations like War on Want, the Western Sahara Campaign and the Woodcraft Folk who have been involved in organising practical assistance for Saharawi refugees; and calls for an immediate review of the decision and the issuing of visas to enable the two young Saharawis to attend the Woodcraft Folk Conference on 22nd and 23rd March.

That this House deplores the decision of the British Embassy in Algiers to refuse to issue visas to Miss Enoueha Mohammed Salem and Mr Saleh Moustapha of UJSARIO, the youth organisation representing Saharawi refugees living in exile in the barren and inhospital desert of South West Algeria; notes that the...

That this House welcomes the Third Report of the Social Security Committee into the Uprating of State Retirement Pensions payable to People Resident Abroad (HC 143) of Session 1996-97) and strongly supports its concluding recommendation: That there should be a free vote at prime time to allow honourable Members to express their opinion on the principle of whether the Government should pay upratings to some or all of those pensioners living in countries where upratings are not paid at present.

That this House welcomes the Third Report of the Social Security Committee into the Uprating of State Retirement Pensions payable to People Resident Abroad (HC 143) of Session 1996-97) and strongly supports its concluding recommendation: That there should be a free vote at prime time to allow honourable Members to...