That this House acknowledges the excellent work done by the Forced Marriage Unit, the police and local authorities across the country to combat forced marriage and to protect victims of honour-based violence; recognises and welcomes the legal precedent set by Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights, yet regretfully notes the complete lack of prosecutions of perpetrators under this Act; further recognises that forced marriage is present across many faiths and cultures and is a growing issue in the United Kingdom; finds it disgraceful that there is no specific criminal offence in England and Wales of forcing someone to marry; and urges the Government to introduce legislation that will criminalise the act of forcing a British citizen into a marriage against their will or without their explicit and freely-given consent.

That this House acknowledges the excellent work done by the Forced Marriage Unit, the police and local authorities across the country to combat forced marriage and to protect victims of honour-based violence; recognises and welcomes the legal precedent set by Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights, yet...

That this House notes the proposal by the Executive of Kings College London as part of its budget review process to abolish the Chair of Palaeography, the only one of its kind in the United Kingdom; further notes the fundamental importance of palaeography to a broad and interdisciplinary scholarly community; considers that without the development of palaeographic skills, millions of documents would be rendered inaccessible, thus depriving the nation of its full historical legacy; and therefore urges Kings College London to consider very carefully any proposals in respect to this prestigious and important Chair.

That this House notes the proposal by the Executive of Kings College London as part of its budget review process to abolish the Chair of Palaeography, the only one of its kind in the United Kingdom; further notes the fundamental importance of palaeography to a broad and interdisciplinary scholarly community;...

That this House mourns with great sadness the untimely passing of Dr Ashok Kumar, Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, and formerly Langbaurgh; acknowledges the immensely high regard in which he was held in his beloved constituency and in both Houses of Parliament, across political divides; recognises the warmth he radiated to all he met; remembers the modesty he exhibited despite his formidable and highly impressive scientific record both in industry and academia; holds in awe his unsurpassed credentials in local campaigning; and notes that hon. Members and constituents will remember Ashok as a man of honour and integrity, and as someone motivated solely by a strong sense of duty and public service, who will be missed on the Commons benches but never forgotten.

That this House mourns with great sadness the untimely passing of Dr Ashok Kumar, Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, and formerly Langbaurgh; acknowledges the immensely high regard in which he was held in his beloved constituency and in both Houses of Parliament, across political divides; recognises...

That this House welcomes the second annual National Cask Ale Week, 29 March to 5 April 2010; also welcomes the opportunity for brewers and pubs alike to remind the British public why cask ale is the UK's national drink; congratulates the success that the cask ale industry has enjoyed in the last 12 months with 71 new breweries opening in the UK, taking the total up to 660; notes the suggestion for pubs to host a number of exciting events up and down the country including beer festivals, food and ale appreciation evenings, tasting tips and try before you buy promotions; praises the Independent newspaper for its plan to publish a 16 page supplement on 27 March 2010 in support of Cask Ale Week; and encourages hon. Members to support their local pubs during Cask Ale Week 2010.

That this House welcomes the second annual National Cask Ale Week, 29 March to 5 April 2010; also welcomes the opportunity for brewers and pubs alike to remind the British public why cask ale is the UK's national drink; congratulates the success that the cask ale industry has enjoyed in...

That this House welcomes the Government's announcement recommending that the threshold for the Tenancy Deposit Scheme be raised from the ??25,000 to ??100,000 which will ensure that many more people, including thousands of students, will be protected from rogue landlords wrongly withholding deposits; celebrates the success of the campaign for such a change, which was supported by the National Union of Students, Unipol and The Sun newspaper; notes that the Use Class Order consultation calls on the Government to ensure that the results of this consultation become law as quickly as possible; expresses concern that the Government has not set a date or a timescale for introducing this important change; and, with the general election imminent, urges the Government to do so before Parliament is dissolved.

That this House welcomes the Government's announcement recommending that the threshold for the Tenancy Deposit Scheme be raised from the ??25,000 to ??100,000 which will ensure that many more people, including thousands of students, will be protected from rogue landlords wrongly withholding deposits; celebrates the success of the campaign for...

That this House deplores the prospect of the international moratorium on commercial whaling being nullified by so-called compromise proposals being drafted for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Conference in Agadir, Morocco in June 2010; notes with alarm that under the guise of reductions in whale slaughter through quotas, observers and DNA databases, two IWC working groups are proposing to legitimise the commercial whaling activities of the three countries who have persisted in hunting whales in defiance of the existing ban established by the IWC in 1986, in Japan, Norway and Iceland, and to allow whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary; notes with anxiety that the proposed quotas are being negotiated towards a final revision of the draft proposals due in late April when Parliament may be dissolved; welcomes the concerns voiced by UK Government ministers about the worrying drafts now on the table which claim that `the moratorium shall remain in place'; stands by the environmental movement's landmark achievement of the whaling moratorium agreed in 1982 and introduced in 1986; and abhors the possible setback for wildlife protection at Agadir in June which could follow the failures on climate change in Copenhagen in December 2009.

That this House deplores the prospect of the international moratorium on commercial whaling being nullified by so-called compromise proposals being drafted for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Conference in Agadir, Morocco in June 2010; notes with alarm that under the guise of reductions in whale slaughter through quotas, observers and...

That this House welcomes two initiatives of the UK Resource Centre (UKRC) for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) to encourage employers and organisations to stimulate and develop initiatives to support and retain women; believes that women play a vital part in the SET sector, but regrets that to date women only make up 15.5 per cent. of SET professionals in the UK and still only make up less than seven per cent. of the UK's engineering professionals; welcomes the launch of the SET Fair Standard, an award that recognises and rewards good practice in gender equality across all SET sectors, and the Athena Swan Charter, the equivalent award for universities which is jointly managed by the UKRC and the Equality Challenge Unit; believes that these two initiatives will further enhance the position of women in science, engineering and technology and their contribution to the UK's economy; considers that these awards should be a key accreditation for any forward-looking employer; and congratulates UKRC on its launch in the week commencing 22 March 2010 of the Women of Outstanding Achievement in a SET photographic exhibition at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

That this House welcomes two initiatives of the UK Resource Centre (UKRC) for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) to encourage employers and organisations to stimulate and develop initiatives to support and retain women; believes that women play a vital part in the SET sector, but regrets that to...

That this House recognises the hard work of Home Office and UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff set out in the Chief Inspector's report into asylum within UKBA; is deeply concerned that the targets for dealing with new asylum claims within six months and clearing the backlog of 450,000 legacy cases are deemed unachievable with the current staffing levels; considers that plans to reduce the staffing complement across UKBA, including caseworkers dealing with the legacy backlog will be a massive blow to the proper running of UKBA; and therefore calls for a halt to the job cuts at UKBA and for investment in staff resources and training as the best way to achieve the targets set.

That this House recognises the hard work of Home Office and UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff set out in the Chief Inspector's report into asylum within UKBA; is deeply concerned that the targets for dealing with new asylum claims within six months and clearing the backlog of 450,000 legacy cases...

That this House notes the Department for Energy and Climate Change's 2007 figure of approximately four million households in fuel poverty, meaning that they spend more than 10 per cent. of their income on maintaining an adequate level of heating; believes that the situation could be helped by consumers having more information about accessing the best tariff for their pattern of energy use, but notes the confusion caused by the existence of around 4,000 different tariffs; notes the Government's recent commitment to require energy companies to publish information on their standard direct debit tariff only applies to annual statements and not to all energy bills; believes that this disadvantages actively-switching consumers who would benefit from this information more than once a year and who may never receive an annual statement; praises Scottish and Southern Energy's pledge to go above the beyond the Government's requirement and to publish such information on all energy bills; and calls on the Government to extend the requirement to apply to all energy bills in addition to annual statements.

That this House notes the Department for Energy and Climate Change's 2007 figure of approximately four million households in fuel poverty, meaning that they spend more than 10 per cent. of their income on maintaining an adequate level of heating; believes that the situation could be helped by consumers having...

That this House supports the principle that the counting of votes following the 2010 general election should take place immediately after the close of polls, recognising that in some remote areas the commencement of the count may be delayed for several hours; is disappointed that in Harrogate and Knaresborough where all ballot boxes can be returned to a central counting area within an hour of the closing of the polls a decision has been taken to delay the count until the next day; believes that election night remains one of the remaining opportunities for mass engagement with the political system; supports the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons that it is important to democracy that counting is not delayed and we have `instant and not slow motion democracy'; was pleased that there was cross-party support for an amendment to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill 2009 to require councils to arrange counts within four hours of the closure of the polls; and calls on Harrogate Borough Council to re-consider its ill-advised decision to break with decades of tradition and agree to hold the 2010 general election count immediately after the polls close.

That this House supports the principle that the counting of votes following the 2010 general election should take place immediately after the close of polls, recognising that in some remote areas the commencement of the count may be delayed for several hours; is disappointed that in Harrogate and Knaresborough where...

That this House regards the proposals by London Mayor Boris Johnson to shed up to 800 ticket office and gateline jobs on London Underground as a hugely retrograde step in terms of public service; believes that this move will fail to achieve the company's stated objective of improved customer service, and undermines long-term safety operational procedures for stations, trains and signals in order to run trains without available station staff; condemns the actions of the Mayor of London in breaking an election campaign promise that he would protect ticket offices by ensuring that they are always properly staffed; is deeply concerned that if these cuts were to take effect, London Underground would be incapable of responding to a major security alert or function efficiently during the 2012 Olympics; and calls on the Government to urge the Mayor to meet with the trade unions to re-affirm reasonable and safe staffing levels right across the London Underground network.

That this House regards the proposals by London Mayor Boris Johnson to shed up to 800 ticket office and gateline jobs on London Underground as a hugely retrograde step in terms of public service; believes that this move will fail to achieve the company's stated objective of improved customer service,...

That this House calls for the establishment of a credit union for small and medium-sized enterprises in local communities to help sustain such businesses as economic recovery begins; notes that such a credit union would help free-up access to borrowing for companies with any cash flow problems; recognises that the aim of this would be to provide a financial instrument that could assist these companies to survive until better times; further calls for the establishment of locally-funded and locally-managed investment banks to spread the risk of each company's cash flow needs; further calls for such a resource to be run and managed in the way that existing credit unions tackle doorstep debt with the aim of protecting jobs; urges the Government to back such an initiative in support of the existing help it has provided for companies like the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and the Capital for Enterprise Fund; and suggests that such a model could be tested out in selected communities including Halifax and if it proves to be successful rolled out to other parts of the country.

That this House calls for the establishment of a credit union for small and medium-sized enterprises in local communities to help sustain such businesses as economic recovery begins; notes that such a credit union would help free-up access to borrowing for companies with any cash flow problems; recognises that the...

That this House notes that the whaling moratorium was introduced in 1986 in order to combat the fact that many populations of the great whales had been drastically reduced by over-hunting, and that whaling itself, based on the firing of explosive harpoons into large and intelligent animals, was cruel; is concerned by the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) proposal to legitimise the commercial whaling activities of Japan, Norway and Iceland; understands that the proposal seeks to set official IWC quotas for whales that they may hunt, in all the places where they currently hunt them in defiance of the moratorium, including the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, for the first time in 25 years; believes that such a proposal represents a conservational disaster; further believes that the proposal represents no guarantee of a significant reduction in the number of whales killed in the short term; and calls on the Government to oppose any proposal that condones or endorses commercial whaling if the issue is raised and voted on at the IWC conference in Agadir, Morocco, in June.

That this House notes that the whaling moratorium was introduced in 1986 in order to combat the fact that many populations of the great whales had been drastically reduced by over-hunting, and that whaling itself, based on the firing of explosive harpoons into large and intelligent animals, was cruel; is...

That this House is concerned that the planned merger of Warwick Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) and the University of Warwick's Department of Biological Sciences will result in the closure of the internationally renowned Wellesbourne site, further eroding the UK's applied agricultural and horticultural research capabilities at a time when policy imperatives recognise the urgent need for such research to address the threat to food security posed by population growth, climate change and environmental degradation; calls for the redundancy process facing most of the academic and skilled technical staff at Warwick HRI to be halted pending a proper independent review of the potential impact this merger will have on the UK's ability to meet future food security objectives; and asks the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs personally to intervene to ask the University of Warwick to consider the impact of this decision on the UK's agri-food science base.

That this House is concerned that the planned merger of Warwick Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) and the University of Warwick's Department of Biological Sciences will result in the closure of the internationally renowned Wellesbourne site, further eroding the UK's applied agricultural and horticultural research capabilities at a time when policy...

That this House supports the Unheard Voices - Women Can't Wait campaign by Concern Worldwide aimed at sending a clear message to the UN Summit in September 2010 to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals; notes the case made that of over one billion people now going to bed hungry every night at least 60 per cent. are women, despite the fact that they produce the majority of food in developing countries; further notes that women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce more than half of the world's food but only earn 10 per cent. of the world's income; agrees that women play a vital but unrecognised role in the fight against hunger; recognises the need for the UN and world leaders to act now to deliver support to poor women in the fight against hunger; and calls on them to do so, by listening to poor women's voices, developing gender-sensitive policy and programmes and by ensuring that funding and other support measures reach them.

That this House supports the Unheard Voices - Women Can't Wait campaign by Concern Worldwide aimed at sending a clear message to the UN Summit in September 2010 to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals; notes the case made that of over one billion people now going to bed...

That this House welcomes the holding of the first EU-Morocco Summit on 7 March 2010, in Granada, under the Spanish Presidency as being the first summit of its kind with an Arab country; recognises the degree of maturity and trust attained by the political dialogue between the parties; acknowledges the importance of the strategic partnership between the European Union and Morocco particularly the need for Morocco to achieve optimum proximity to the EU; further welcomes the parties' commitment to begin a thorough process of reflection on the nature and form of a new contractual relationship beyond the Advanced Status granted to Morocco in October 2008; takes note of the need to accelerate integration in the Maghreb region through a responsible and constructive dialogue between members of the Maghreb Arab Union; and further acknowledges that the co-operation between the EU, Morocco and other countries of the Sahel-Saharan region must be further developed in order to efficiently tackle security threats in this region.

That this House welcomes the holding of the first EU-Morocco Summit on 7 March 2010, in Granada, under the Spanish Presidency as being the first summit of its kind with an Arab country; recognises the degree of maturity and trust attained by the political dialogue between the parties; acknowledges the...