That this House proposes an annual Senior Citizens Awareness Day in celebration and commemoration of the massive contribution made by ordinary people throughout the 20th century which has resulted in the greatest period of social, industrial, technological and scientific progress in the history of the United Kingdom, together with the highest sacrifice of life in two world wars; and honours and congratulates all those people for their unique contribution to the most rapidly changing period ever witnessed and recognises their sacrifices, endurance and fortitude, together with their indomitable spirit, which transformed and bequeathed to its citizens the bright prospect of a new 21st century.

That this House proposes an annual Senior Citizens Awareness Day in celebration and commemoration of the massive contribution made by ordinary people throughout the 20th century which has resulted in the greatest period of social, industrial, technological and scientific progress in the history of the United Kingdom, together with the...

That this House calls upon the Government to press UK Coal not to abandon Ellington Colliery; condemns the actions of UK Coal which has deliberately set out to engineer a situation to enable it to close the colliery; notes that every miner at Ellington Colliery, many of whom have in excess of 30 years experience, understands that the water, which is currently flooding the face could be pumped dry within 48 hours enabling coal production to be restarted within 7 to 10 days; calls upon UK Coal to continue pumping and to drain the face to establish once and for all the source of the water; congratulates the workforce at Ellington Colliery who have demonstrated their ability to recover the colliery from previous geological problems; and calls for opportunity to be provided to recommence production and preserve the 340 much needed jobs.

That this House calls upon the Government to press UK Coal not to abandon Ellington Colliery; condemns the actions of UK Coal which has deliberately set out to engineer a situation to enable it to close the colliery; notes that every miner at Ellington Colliery, many of whom have in...

That this House commends English Nature for its decision to restore over 40 derelict pit sites in South and West Yorkshire and transform them into lowland heathland landscapes, which is one of Great Britain's most important wildlife habitats.

That this House commends English Nature for its decision to restore over 40 derelict pit sites in South and West Yorkshire and transform them into lowland heathland landscapes, which is one of Great Britain's most important wildlife habitats.

That this House welcomes the recent report of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on the draft Animal Welfare Bill; notes its recommendation that external, independent regulation of all greyhound tracks is essential; welcomes its call that draft statutory regulations should be published as soon as possible; and urges the Government to accept the Select Committee's recommendations.

That this House welcomes the recent report of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on the draft Animal Welfare Bill; notes its recommendation that external, independent regulation of all greyhound tracks is essential; welcomes its call that draft statutory regulations should be published as soon as possible; and...

That this House notes that since 1996 GNER has provided high-quality high-speed inter city train services along the East Coast line linking London, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland; recognises that these services make a strategically important contribution to the economies and prosperity of the regions along the line; notes that some fares are now cheaper than when the franchise was awarded and that the number of passengers carried has increased, thereby taking traffic off the roads; notes that GNER's locomotives have an excellent reliability record compared with those of other operators; welcomes GNER's significant investment of ??100 million in rebuilding trains, improving car parks, modernising stations and improving information for passengers, yet notes that it receives no Government subsidy; congratulates GNER on achieving Investors In People status for a second time; notes that nearly 20,000 declarations of support for GNER's bid to retain the franchise have been received from satisfied customers; and calls on the Government to provide stability and continuity for the East Coast service, and to reward a successful company and its helpful staff, by awarding GNER a further franchise so that they will continue to operate this strategically important route.

That this House notes that since 1996 GNER has provided high-quality high-speed inter city train services along the East Coast line linking London, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland; recognises that these services make a strategically important contribution to the economies and prosperity of the regions along...

That this House notes the Government's statement in its Review of the Climate Change Programme that the new statutory duty to take reasonable steps to achieve an increase of at least 20 per cent. in residential energy efficiency in England by 2010 from a 2000 baseline 'will require even greater levels of energy efficiency improvement than our existing aim'; further notes that a stamp duty rebate for house buyers who install energy saving measures is recommended by the Energy Saving Trust, the Association for the Conservation of Energy and the Sustainable Energy Partnership as being the best way of achieving the installation of more energy efficiency products, particularly cavity wall and solid wall insulation; recalls that the Energy White Paper described energy efficiency as the 'cheapest, cleanest and safest way' of achieving all energy policy objectives,; notes that 75 per cent. of first-time buyers now pay stamp duty compared to only 18 per cent. 10 years ago; and believes that measures to make the necessary adjustments to stamp duty should be implemented.

That this House notes the Government's statement in its Review of the Climate Change Programme that the new statutory duty to take reasonable steps to achieve an increase of at least 20 per cent. in residential energy efficiency in England by 2010 from a 2000 baseline 'will require even greater...

That this House is disappointed by the decision not to establish a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease scheme for the relatively small number of surface mine workers who did not work underground or worked underground for less than five years and who were involved in processing coal and exposed to a dusty environment covered by the 1974 Coal Miners' Pneumoconiosis Scheme; and calls on the Department for Trade and Industry to reconsider its decision.

That this House is disappointed by the decision not to establish a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease scheme for the relatively small number of surface mine workers who did not work underground or worked underground for less than five years and who were involved in processing coal and exposed to a...

That this House recognises the successful efforts of the Government to tackle pensioner poverty and that pension credit benefits many thousands of pensioners, especially women; is nonetheless concerned at the financial position of women pensioners in the 21st century, and notes that on retirement only 14 per cent. of women are entitled to the full basic state pension in their own right; further recognises that this stems from the different pattern of women's working lives, requiring the need to balance work with caring commitments, both when their children are young and also later in life as they help look after the older generation; believes that such commitments should not affect their eligibility for a state pension; and urges the Government now to consider how best to meet this inequity, for example through a universal entitlement to a basic state pension based simply on age and residency, combined with a contributory state second pension which can meet the flexible requirements of modern employment patterns.

That this House recognises the successful efforts of the Government to tackle pensioner poverty and that pension credit benefits many thousands of pensioners, especially women; is nonetheless concerned at the financial position of women pensioners in the 21st century, and notes that on retirement only 14 per cent. of women...

That this House notes that thousands of workers now face real hardship and reduced pension rights in their old age as a result of the fact that their pension schemes were in deficit when their employers' companies went into receivership or bankruptcy; welcomes the decision by the Government to set up a ??400 million Pension Assistance Fund; now calls on the pension industry to accept its moral responsibility for the present problems and to make a substantial contribution to the Government Pension Assistance Fund; and believes that such a contribution is the only way in which the industry can start to rebuild confidence in its products.

That this House notes that thousands of workers now face real hardship and reduced pension rights in their old age as a result of the fact that their pension schemes were in deficit when their employers' companies went into receivership or bankruptcy; welcomes the decision by the Government to set...

That this House expresses concern at current proposals to define a pint of beer as not less than 95 per cent. liquid; notes that the Campaign for Real Ale, the Trading Standards Institute and the Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services believe that this proposal will result in the proposed 5 per cent. tolerance being added to the existing deficiency threshold normally applied by enforcement agencies before considering prosecution action, which will result in licensees being able to serve pints of substantially less than 95 per cent. liquid; further notes that short measure costs consumers over ??400 million annually, HM Treasury over ??54 million annually in lost excise revenues and brewers ??133 million in lost beer sales; and therefore calls on the Government to bring forward legislation to protect consumers from short beer measures by defining a pint of beer as 100 per cent. liquid.

That this House expresses concern at current proposals to define a pint of beer as not less than 95 per cent. liquid; notes that the Campaign for Real Ale, the Trading Standards Institute and the Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services believe that this proposal will result in the proposed...

That this House welcomes the United Kingdom Government's commitment to tackling African poverty in 2005; notes that changes in trade rules to ensure trade justice are vital to achieving poverty reduction in developing countries, particularly in Africa; notes with concern that current proposals by the European Commission for free trade areas with Africa through economic partnership agreements could lead to the liberalisation of 90 per cent. of African trade over 12 years, including agricultural products; further notes with concern that the European Commission is refusing to talk about its own Common Agricultural Policy in these talks; further notes that economic partnership agreements may undermine Africa's own regional trade integration; further notes that Europe is including issues in these talks that have been rejected by those African countries at the World Trade Organisation; and calls on the United Kingdom Government to lead the way for changes in the Commission's negotiating mandate to take account of these concerns and take an important step towards trade justice by fulfilling its own commitments to provide alternative forms of market access into the EU to those African countries which do not want to sign up to economic partnership agreements.

That this House welcomes the United Kingdom Government's commitment to tackling African poverty in 2005; notes that changes in trade rules to ensure trade justice are vital to achieving poverty reduction in developing countries, particularly in Africa; notes with concern that current proposals by the European Commission for free trade...

That this House values the contribution to society that millions of working parents and carers of elderly and/or disabled dependants make; recognises the difficulties that they face in trying to balance their responsibilities at home with their working lives and that three-quarters of the UK workforce have to deal with these problems; welcomes the Supporting Parents & Carers campaign by the shopworkers' union, USDAW; believes that most parents are unable to afford to take time off work to spend with their children when they need their parents because the parental leave is unpaid; is concerned that there is no right to paid time off for carers; calls upon the Government to introduce paid time off for parents of children up to 16 years old and carers of dependants; further calls on the Government to include parents of children up to 16 and carers in the right to request flexible working and to require employers to justify such a request being refused; and further believes that these measures will help parents to be there for their children when they need them, to relieve the burdens on carers and on health and social services, and to help deliver full employment in the UK.

That this House values the contribution to society that millions of working parents and carers of elderly and/or disabled dependants make; recognises the difficulties that they face in trying to balance their responsibilities at home with their working lives and that three-quarters of the UK workforce have to deal with...

That this House notes with sadness that solicitors dealing with Miners Compensation Scheme cases for chronic bronchitis and emphysema (CBE) are currently receiving an average fee of ??2,143 per case whilst at the same time almost half the former miners so far compensated have received final settlements of less than that amount, and that over 3,100 former miners have received less than ??200; and calls upon the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to undertake an urgent review to consider implementing a minimum compensation payment to former miners suffering from CBE of ??1,500.

That this House notes with sadness that solicitors dealing with Miners Compensation Scheme cases for chronic bronchitis and emphysema (CBE) are currently receiving an average fee of ??2,143 per case whilst at the same time almost half the former miners so far compensated have received final settlements of less than...

That this House believes that, given the exemplary recruitment record of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment and the excellent record of the two other Yorkshire regiments, the Prince of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment and the Green Howards, a new Yorkshire regiment of three regular battalions should be formed from these historic regiments.

That this House believes that, given the exemplary recruitment record of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment and the excellent record of the two other Yorkshire regiments, the Prince of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment and the Green Howards, a new Yorkshire regiment of three regular battalions should be formed from these...

That this House condemns the racism displayed during the England football team's international friendly in Madrid on 17th November; is appalled by continued incidents of racist chanting at Premiership matches, as recorded at Blackburn on 21st November; agrees that no sportsperson should have to conduct their activities under the threat of racist intimidation or abuse; supports the Football Association in its efforts to stamp racism out of football's culture; and calls on the government to use its influence in the EU to ensure this issue is taken as seriously by other states as it is in the Uk.

That this House condemns the racism displayed during the England football team's international friendly in Madrid on 17th November; is appalled by continued incidents of racist chanting at Premiership matches, as recorded at Blackburn on 21st November; agrees that no sportsperson should have to conduct their activities under the threat...