That this House is concerned at the growing numbers of beggars and drinkers in public places who cause nuisance and alarm, particularly to women and elderly passers-by, in city and town centres; welcomes the statements by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on this subject; welcomes the existence of laws and bye-laws to curb this nuisance; neverthess notes that the spring weather produces beggars and public drinkers, in, for example Castle Green, Taunton, even before the first cuckoo is heard; therefore calls on local authorities and police forces to use every opportunity given by the law to curb this nuisance, as public opinion massively demands; urges the Home Office speedily to resolve any practical difficulties encountered in enforcing such laws and bye-laws; and calls on the political parties in their Election Addresses to give attention both to this problem and, while welcoming progress under the Rough Sleepers Initiative, to the related problems of assisting people with drug and alcohol dependency problems, and people who, without any family to turn to, are genuinely homeless.

That this House is concerned at the growing numbers of beggars and drinkers in public places who cause nuisance and alarm, particularly to women and elderly passers-by, in city and town centres; welcomes the statements by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on this subject; welcomes the...

That this House notes the various criticisms by honourable Members of all parties of the area cost adjustment subsidy in local government finance; regrets that the statistical analysis and economic theorising by Professor Elliott and his team; reported in July 1996 did not adequately or satisfactorily challenge the assumption, which permeates their report, that higher employment costs in the private sector in an area inevitably drive up pay in the public service; notes the absence of evidence in the Elliott report that local authorities outside London had to pay above rigid national pay scales for such groups as teachers, police and fire services; welcomes the Government's decision not to implement in the 1997-98 local government settlement their changes in SSA and grant recommended by the Elliott report especially as these would have disadvantaged Bedfordshire, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Devon, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire and North Yorkshire, which would together have lost a total of over ??186 million of standard spending assessment; and calls on the government rapidly to phase out payments of area cost adjustment subsidy to shire counties, except where these can be justified by authorities incurring specific extra costs, and to redistribute the proceeds to other shire counties.

That this House notes the various criticisms by honourable Members of all parties of the area cost adjustment subsidy in local government finance; regrets that the statistical analysis and economic theorising by Professor Elliott and his team; reported in July 1996 did not adequately or satisfactorily challenge the assumption, which...

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 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...

That this House congratulates the Right honourable Member for Maidstone on visiting all 129 prisons in England and Wales since July 1995; and notes that this is not only a remarkable personal achievement but is also a symbol of the Government's commitment to the prison system, the people who work in the prisons and the general public whom they protect.

That this House congratulates the Right honourable Member for Maidstone on visiting all 129 prisons in England and Wales since July 1995; and notes that this is not only a remarkable personal achievement but is also a symbol of the Government's commitment to the prison system, the people who work...

That this House expresses its deep concern that more than 50 years after the end of World War II those British children who were interned by the Japanese have received no direct compensation from any source; considers that action needs to be taken following the recommendations by the United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, adopted by the General Assembly, which welcomed the information that the Permanent Court of Arbitration is available to victims of violations of human rights, including various forms of slavery, and to states, should the parties wish to submit any matters to arbitration; draws the attention of the parties concerned to the possibility of making agreements on voluntary submission to the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration; considers that the prompt establishment of a Japanese administrative tribunal to deal with persons who suffered maltreatment, in particular subjection to treatment akin to slavery, would effectively settle such grievances; invites the Government of Japan to co-operate with the United Nations and the specialised agencies in this matter; notes that the Swiss and German governments have recently set up funds to compensate victims of human rights violations in World War II; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to play its part in this process and in particular to co-operate with non-governmental organisations, which are seeking to negotiate an honourable settlement between the parties concerned.

That this House expresses its deep concern that more than 50 years after the end of World War II those British children who were interned by the Japanese have received no direct compensation from any source; considers that action needs to be taken following the recommendations by the United Nations...

That this House deplores the recommendations of the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals calling for a ban on many long-term and well established canine characteristics which, if successful, would lead to the outlawing of the splendid British bulldog and other findbreeds such as St. Bernards, several breeds of terrier and some types of corgi; and notwithstanding the fact that 11 European states have signed the treaty, calls upon the Government not to sign this disgraceful convention under any circumstances.

That this House deplores the recommendations of the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals calling for a ban on many long-term and well established canine characteristics which, if successful, would lead to the outlawing of the splendid British bulldog and other findbreeds such as St. Bernards,...