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 supports WWF's Earth Hour 2010; notes the event's record of persuading one billion people worldwide to sign up to switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30 pm on 27 March 2010; congratulates those individuals, organisations, businesses and local authorities which have already pledged to take part; further notes that many British landmarks, including Canary Wharf, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the London Eye will switch their lights off; and calls on the House authorities to ensure that the Palace of Westminster and all other buildings on the Parliamentary estate take part by switching off external floodlights and non-essential internal lighting.

That this House supports WWF's Earth Hour 2010; notes the event's record of persuading one billion people worldwide to sign up to switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30 pm on 27 March 2010; congratulates those individuals, organisations, businesses and local authorities which have already pledged to take...

That this House recognises the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of members of the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq; applauds the recent review and enhancement of the Armed Forces' Compensation Scheme; and calls on the Government to amend the qualifying date of 6 April 2005 to 1 January 2001, which marks the beginning of the war on terror, that ensures equality of treatment for personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan and thereby honours its duty of care to this loyal and dignified group of service men and women and their families.

That this House recognises the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of members of the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq; applauds the recent review and enhancement of the Armed Forces' Compensation Scheme; and calls on the Government to amend the qualifying date of 6 April 2005 to 1 January 2001, which...

That this House welcomes the third International Rare Disease Day on 28 February 2010; notes that there are over 6,000 rare diseases, affecting approximately 3.5 million people in the UK; supports the focus of this year's Rare Disease Day on the importance of research into rare diseases for the millions of patients without a cure; believes that rare diseases should be seen as a public health priority; and joins Rare Disease UK in calling on the Government to act on its commitment to a strategy for rare diseases as demonstrated by the adoption of the European Council Recommendation on action for rare diseases in June 2009.

That this House welcomes the third International Rare Disease Day on 28 February 2010; notes that there are over 6,000 rare diseases, affecting approximately 3.5 million people in the UK; supports the focus of this year's Rare Disease Day on the importance of research into rare diseases for the millions...

That this House notes with concern evidence that the persecution of Christians is increasing around the world; welcomes the current initiative to highlight this in churches across the country on Maundy Thursday; and urges the Government to do all it can to raise and pursue concerns about human rights and religious liberty in overseas countries through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for International Development.

That this House notes with concern evidence that the persecution of Christians is increasing around the world; welcomes the current initiative to highlight this in churches across the country on Maundy Thursday; and urges the Government to do all it can to raise and pursue concerns about human rights and...

That this House marks International Women's Day on 8 March 2010 and supports the global Join me on the Bridge campaign where women around the world gather to say no to war and yes to peace and development; recognises that women bear the main burden of conflict and poverty around the world; and calls for further investment in women and girls so they can rebuild their lives, communities and their nations.

That this House marks International Women's Day on 8 March 2010 and supports the global Join me on the Bridge campaign where women around the world gather to say no to war and yes to peace and development; recognises that women bear the main burden of conflict and poverty around...

That this House congratulates His Excellency Mr Antonio Lagdameo on his appointment as Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Court of St. James; notes the historic special relationship between the United Kingdom and the Republic of the Philippines and the never to be forgotten heroism shown by Filipino allies during World War II; further notes the shared value of respect to the treatment of animals in both countries as evidenced by recent legislation in the Philippines providing severe penalties for those convicted of involvement in the dog meat trade; respectfully requests that Mr Lagdameo conveys to his government the hope of this House that a Special Filipino Task Force is created to enforce these laws thereby eliminating this cruel exploitation of animals once and for all; and calls on the Government to offer support and advice to ensure that the practice is finally stamped out.

That this House congratulates His Excellency Mr Antonio Lagdameo on his appointment as Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Court of St. James; notes the historic special relationship between the United Kingdom and the Republic of the Philippines and the never to be forgotten heroism shown by...

That this House calls for cross-party support for WWF's Earth Hour 2010 campaign which seeks to persuade over a billion people worldwide to switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30 pm on 27 March 2010 to demonstrate to political leaders the far-reaching public desire for an urgent, fair, ambitious, binding and scientifically credible global deal on climate change; notes that the Copenhagen Accord failed to establish a sufficiently ambitious or binding framework capable of tackling the threat of climate change; further notes the urgent need for a legally binding global compact which sets stringent carbon emissions reductions targets at global and national levels; further notes that such a framework must include a mechanism for the independent monitoring and verification of progress; further calls on the Government to seek a new international mechanism to provide sustained and sufficient finance additional to existing commitments and which will be committed to support mitigation and adaptation and to prevent deforestation in developing nations; recognises the lead the UK showed at the climate negotiations in Copenhagen; and further calls on the Government to take a leadership role in securing jobs in the UK's green economy and in safeguarding lives, livelihoods and the planet.

That this House calls for cross-party support for WWF's Earth Hour 2010 campaign which seeks to persuade over a billion people worldwide to switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30 pm on 27 March 2010 to demonstrate to political leaders the far-reaching public desire for an urgent, fair,...

That this House is alarmed that large numbers of traditional working men's clubs, ex-servicemen's and political clubs may have to close following the decision of HM Revenue and Customs to serve them with assessments to pay value added tax (VAT) and duty on category B3A automated lottery machines operating on their premises, having changed their status from lottery machines to gaming machines; notes that unlike gaming machines, category B3A machines do not dispense cash prizes, and that winning tickets are redeemed via the club; appreciates that there is no private gain to be had from such machines as they are simply another source of fundraising for the club and the revenue often serves as a lifeline to smaller clubs; points out that HM Revenue and Customs consider paper-based lottery machines, which differ only from automated lottery machines in that they display the result via paper, to be exempt from value added tax and duty; draws attention to the fact that the Gambling Commission still states that category B3A machines can offer only lottery games; points out that private members' clubs are not-for-profit organisations and as such do not have the resources to pay retrospective tax bills; and calls on the Government to halt this process, taking into account its negative economic and social impact on local communities up and down the country.

That this House is alarmed that large numbers of traditional working men's clubs, ex-servicemen's and political clubs may have to close following the decision of HM Revenue and Customs to serve them with assessments to pay value added tax (VAT) and duty on category B3A automated lottery machines operating on...

That this House notes the imminent publication of the Adult Autism Strategy; further notes the importance of this Strategy for improving the lives of people with autism who routinely struggle to access the specialist services they need; commends the Government for agreeing to implement in full the recommendations made by the National Audit Office in its report Supporting people with autism through adulthood and by the Public Accounts Committee in its recent report on this subject; further notes that the Government has accepted the recommendations of both reports; and calls on the Government to fulfil its commitment and to ensure the delivery of an effective strategy and robust guidance that will result in significant change for people on the ground.

That this House notes the imminent publication of the Adult Autism Strategy; further notes the importance of this Strategy for improving the lives of people with autism who routinely struggle to access the specialist services they need; commends the Government for agreeing to implement in full the recommendations made by...

That this House congratulates the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on acquiring over 200,000 signatories to its campaign to end the illegal killing of birds of prey; recognises the depth of public support this shows for more action to be taken to protect birds of prey; further recognises the socio-economic benefits healthy bird of prey populations can bring to rural communities; notes that the shooting, poisoning and other destruction of magnificent species including hen harriers, golden eagles and peregrine falcons remains unacceptably common; acknowledges that such persecution represents a major impediment towards the recovery of such species to their historic levels; and calls on the Government to make ending the illegal killing of these iconic birds a greater priority.

That this House congratulates the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on acquiring over 200,000 signatories to its campaign to end the illegal killing of birds of prey; recognises the depth of public support this shows for more action to be taken to protect birds of prey; further recognises...