That this House expresses profound sadness at the death of Corin Redgrave; recalls his life as a brilliant actor, peace campaigner, supporter of the downtrodden and man of enormous principle and generous character; and offers its condolences to all his family and many friends at the loss of such a fine man.

That this House expresses profound sadness at the death of Corin Redgrave; recalls his life as a brilliant actor, peace campaigner, supporter of the downtrodden and man of enormous principle and generous character; and offers its condolences to all his family and many friends at the loss of such a...

That this House notes with concern the operations of the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) and its funding of political parties in the UK; further notes that its chairman, Poju Zabludowicz, has donated over two million pounds to BICOM over the last three years and has funded the Conservative Party through a British subsidiary company, Tamares Real Estate Investments; further notes with concern allegations that Tamares is a beneficiary of investments in Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem; and questions whether it is appropriate for political parties in the UK to receive funding derived from such activities.

That this House notes with concern the operations of the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) and its funding of political parties in the UK; further notes that its chairman, Poju Zabludowicz, has donated over two million pounds to BICOM over the last three years and has funded the Conservative...

That this House recalls the national trade union building workers strike of 1972 and the subsequent arrest a year later of 24 pickets, the sentences handed to six of them, and the long imprisonment served by Des Warren and Ricky Tomlinson; notes the legacy in the construction industry since the 1972 strike, including an unregulated industry, increasing casualisation through bogus self-employment, an appalling accident and death rate and renewed blacklisting of workers, as was the case after the 1972 dispute; and supports the campaign by the Trades Union Congress, Unite and Ucatt, for the Home Secretary to release all secret papers related to the Shrewsbury case and to instigate a public inquiry.

That this House recalls the national trade union building workers strike of 1972 and the subsequent arrest a year later of 24 pickets, the sentences handed to six of them, and the long imprisonment served by Des Warren and Ricky Tomlinson; notes the legacy in the construction industry since the...

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 notes that Birmingham - city of Tolkien and Sir Simon Rattle, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and UB40 - is and always has been a great city of culture; and believes that it should be recognised as such when the UK's first official City of Culture is announced later this year.

That this House notes that Birmingham - city of Tolkien and Sir Simon Rattle, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and UB40 - is and always has been a great city of culture; and believes that it should be recognised as such when the UK's first official City of Culture is announced...

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 urges a greater sourcing of goods and services which will help boost local economies and local businesses as well as protecting existing jobs and creating new ones in local communities; notes that the Government has already done some good work in this area but recognises that many local organisations, such as local authorities, currently tender products from outside their areas rather than encouraging a local sourcing of goods and services; further recognises that millions of pounds could be brought into local economies if key local agencies sourced locally; calls on all contracts at local authority level to include a clause to say the council expects a condition of acceptance of any contract to state that goods and services will be sourced locally and that this is checked and verified before work is commenced; and urges greater co-ordination between central and local government to ensure greater levels of local sourcing are established.

That this House urges a greater sourcing of goods and services which will help boost local economies and local businesses as well as protecting existing jobs and creating new ones in local communities; notes that the Government has already done some good work in this area but recognises that many...

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 is gravely concerned that thousands of rail workers continue to be made redundant; believes that the rail industry is haemorrhaging important skilled engineering jobs which will not be replaced; notes with dismay that the 300 rail renewals jobs lost at Babcock Rail is over and above the 1,500 rail maintenance job cuts already announced by Network Rail; further notes that the 69 jobs in train fleet maintenance lost at Bombardier Crewe represents the third wave of redundancies there in a year, with the company continuing to cite the unpredictable nature of the rail market; supports the RMT union's call for a Government-backed, industry-wide strategy to enhance the role of railways in battling climate change, retaining skilled green jobs and reducing the economic impact of the recession; and urges the Government to intervene to safeguard skilled engineering jobs, the loss of which will hinder capacity for future major rail projects including the construction of high speed lines and the maintenance of high speed trains.

That this House is gravely concerned that thousands of rail workers continue to be made redundant; believes that the rail industry is haemorrhaging important skilled engineering jobs which will not be replaced; notes with dismay that the 300 rail renewals jobs lost at Babcock Rail is over and above the...

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...