That this House regrets the current disruption caused to commuters on the Thameslink line into London by the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; recognises that, when completed, the rail link will improve communications between the South East of England and the rest of Europe as well as smoother transition to the London Underground for commuters; further recognises that the work currently being carried out is essential; supports the bid by Network Rail for the new station to be fitted out at the same time as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link box currently under construction; is concerned that the completion date of 2007 is now in doubt; and calls on the Government to make a firm commitment on funding for the fitting out of the new station to avoid future line closures and delays for hard-pressed commuters.

That this House regrets the current disruption caused to commuters on the Thameslink line into London by the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; recognises that, when completed, the rail link will improve communications between the South East of England and the rest of Europe as well as smoother...

That this House believes that first class maternity services are a vital component within a 21st century NHS; commends midwives for the excellent work they do in delivering maternity services to women; and calls upon the Department of Health to increase investment in maternity services to deal with current staffing shortages, allowing all women in the future a choice in maternity services, including giving birth at home or in a midwife-led unit.

That this House believes that first class maternity services are a vital component within a 21st century NHS; commends midwives for the excellent work they do in delivering maternity services to women; and calls upon the Department of Health to increase investment in maternity services to deal with current staffing...

That this House notes with concern that teachers working in the new independently-managed academies will not be required to register with the General Teaching Council (GTC); believes that professional regulation gives parents in the maintained sector the reassurance that teachers are qualified and subject to a properly exercised model of accountability for their conduct and competence; recognises that parents whose children attend academies are not opting out of the safeguards offered by registration with the GTC but are simply choosing the local school they believe will best meet their child's needs; further believes that the public interest demands that GTC registration should be a requirement for qualified teachers working in academies as it is for teachers in other publicly-funded education; and calls upon the Government to bring teachers in academies within the scope of mandatory regulation through registration with the GTC.

That this House notes with concern that teachers working in the new independently-managed academies will not be required to register with the General Teaching Council (GTC); believes that professional regulation gives parents in the maintained sector the reassurance that teachers are qualified and subject to a properly exercised model of...

That this House notes the overall five per cent. cut to the Supporting People budget for housing-related support for 2004-05 announced in December; understands that it now falls to each local authority to determine how the decrease will be passed on to service providers and ultimately to local people who need extra support; is concerned that simply ordering across the board cuts could put at risk projects in which the building is integral to the support such as hostels; urges all local authorities to review their housing-related support on a case by case basis, rather than issuing a universal grant reduction; and, in particular, calls on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, local authorities and service providers to work in concert to reduce administrative costs, the savings from which can be used to better support vulnerable people.

That this House notes the overall five per cent. cut to the Supporting People budget for housing-related support for 2004-05 announced in December; understands that it now falls to each local authority to determine how the decrease will be passed on to service providers and ultimately to local people who...

That this House welcomes the formation of an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); highlights the cross-party recognition that ADHD is a medical condition which affects five per cent. of school-aged children; hopes the Group will advance information-sharing and best practice among professionals working in the field and patient groups; notes that failures to diagnose and properly manage the condition have serious adverse consequences for children, their families and society; and calls on the Government to improve understanding and treatment of ADHD in the education, health and social services as well as in the criminal justice system, so that all children have access to the support they need to have the best chances in life.

That this House welcomes the formation of an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); highlights the cross-party recognition that ADHD is a medical condition which affects five per cent. of school-aged children; hopes the Group will advance information-sharing and best practice among professionals working in the field...

That this House recognises the importance of post office branches to local communities, particularly the elderly, disabled and people without access to private cars; commends the work of post office managers and franchises in providing benefits, banking services, passport checking and many other important services to people in their communities; welcomes the Government's announcement of funding to enable rural post offices to remain open; regrets plans by Post Office Ltd to begin a programme of closures of directly managed post office branches staffed by employees; notes that transferring branches to franchises may allow Post Office Ltd to avoid taking responsibility for future closures when franchisees agree to give up these post office branches; and calls on the Government to take immediate action to prevent Post Office Ltd from closing these vital community facilities either directly or indirectly by transferring to franchisees.

That this House recognises the importance of post office branches to local communities, particularly the elderly, disabled and people without access to private cars; commends the work of post office managers and franchises in providing benefits, banking services, passport checking and many other important services to people in their communities;...

That this House recognises the offence caused to local communities by graffiti in their environment; notes the difficulty in removing graffiti without the application of graffiti repellent paint to buildings and street furniture; calls on the Government to give local authorities more powers to insist on anti-graffiti paint being applied to buildings and street furniture owned by private organisations such as telephone companies, bus companies and owners of poster sites; and calls on private organisations to work together with local authorities to ensure that anti-graffiti coatings are applied to public telephone boxes, telephone switching boxes, bus shelters, bus stops and other street furniture.

That this House recognises the offence caused to local communities by graffiti in their environment; notes the difficulty in removing graffiti without the application of graffiti repellent paint to buildings and street furniture; calls on the Government to give local authorities more powers to insist on anti-graffiti paint being applied...

That this House recognises the devastation caused by flooding in India and Bangladesh; further recognises that Bangladesh in particular has limited resources to alleviate the suffering caused by such a natural disaster; notes that the airport at Sylhet has now been closed; understands that a large number of the Bangladeshi community in the United Kingdom have families in Sylhet and the surrounding area; calls on the Government to make available additional funding to provide both immediate relief during the disaster and also help in the aftermath of the floods for this deprived region; and calls on the international community to work together to provide immediate practical help to Bangladesh, particularly for the area prevented from receiving assistance due to the closure of the airport at Sylhet.

That this House recognises the devastation caused by flooding in India and Bangladesh; further recognises that Bangladesh in particular has limited resources to alleviate the suffering caused by such a natural disaster; notes that the airport at Sylhet has now been closed; understands that a large number of the Bangladeshi...

That this House condemns the recent attack on the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, His Excellency Anwar Choudhury; notes that Mr Choudhury was injured by a grenade thrown when he was leaving his mosque after Friday prayers; sends best wishes to Mr Choudhury for a speedy recovery; and calls on both the UK and Bangladeshi governments to ensure that members of the British Diplomatic Corps can live, work and worship in safety when they are representing the country in Bangladesh.

That this House condemns the recent attack on the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, His Excellency Anwar Choudhury; notes that Mr Choudhury was injured by a grenade thrown when he was leaving his mosque after Friday prayers; sends best wishes to Mr Choudhury for a speedy recovery; and calls on...

That this House welcomes the success of the Pubwatch scheme in St Albans, where 36 of the 46 pubs in the city centre are members; notes that St Albans has the highest number of drinking establishments per head of the population in Europe with a large number of younger people coming into the town at weekends; congratulates the Hertfordshire Constabulary and the Pubwatch team for their success in overseeing a 40 per cent. decrease in the number of drink-related incidents in the past 15 months; notes that alcohol-related crime has shown an increase in other parts of the country in the same period; and calls on other towns and cities to follow St Albans' lead and introduce similar pubwatch schemes to reduce the number of drink-related incidents nationally.

That this House welcomes the success of the Pubwatch scheme in St Albans, where 36 of the 46 pubs in the city centre are members; notes that St Albans has the highest number of drinking establishments per head of the population in Europe with a large number of younger people...