That this House congratulates all those responsible for the hugely successful inaugural Gillette Tri-Nations Rugby League Tournament, and in particular the winning Australian team, whose performance in the final was outstanding; commends the Australian coach, Wayne Bennett, for his vision in pressing for such a competition and all those within British, Australian and New Zealand rugby league who have contributed to its success; and looks forward to the competition going from strength to strength in future years.

That this House congratulates all those responsible for the hugely successful inaugural Gillette Tri-Nations Rugby League Tournament, and in particular the winning Australian team, whose performance in the final was outstanding; commends the Australian coach, Wayne Bennett, for his vision in pressing for such a competition and all those within...

That this House believes that law reform on corporal punishment of children in the family is an issue on which every honourable Member should be free to vote according to their own conscience.

That this House believes that law reform on corporal punishment of children in the family is an issue on which every honourable Member should be free to vote according to their own conscience.

That this House supports National Condom Week, organised by Durex, and its goals of educating young adults about safer sex, unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); notes that the United Kingdom has the second worst record for teenage pregnancies in the developed world with birth rates three times as high as Belgium, and that 49,500 people are living with HIV in the United Kingdom of which approximately one third are unaware of their infection; further notes that condoms are the most popular method of contraception in the United Kingdom and the only form of contraception to offer protection against both STIs and unplanned pregnancies; and calls on the Government to support this action week.

That this House supports National Condom Week, organised by Durex, and its goals of educating young adults about safer sex, unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); notes that the United Kingdom has the second worst record for teenage pregnancies in the developed world with birth rates three times as...

That this House recalls that it is 50 years since a then-world record Rugby League crowd of 102,569 gathered at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, on 5th May, 1954 to watch the replay of the Challenge Cup Final between Halifax and Warrington; notes that the actual crowd was estimated by police to be at least 120,000 and thousands more never reached the match because of severe traffic congestion; further notes that then, as now, Rugby League supporters celebrated their sport with exemplary standards of sportsmanship and crowd behaviour; and welcomes the fact that this famous stadium is now being upgraded and modernised by Bradford Bulls, with the active support of the honourable Member for Bradford South, to cater for the crowds which are also attending the 2004 Super League season in record numbers.

That this House recalls that it is 50 years since a then-world record Rugby League crowd of 102,569 gathered at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, on 5th May, 1954 to watch the replay of the Challenge Cup Final between Halifax and Warrington; notes that the actual crowd was estimated by police to...

That this House contrasts the complete lack of any factual basis to Nottinghamshire's claims to be the county of Robin Hood with actual records of his Yorkshire connections; believes he was most likely to have been Robert Hode of Wakefield, a forester, recorded in the Wakefield Court Rolls as living with wife Matilda at Bichill, Wakefield, in 1316; notes he is not among the defaulters when, in 1320, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, took over the Manor of Wakefield and raised an army against Edward II; believes that Robert Hode was one of the rebels outlawed when Thomas was defeated and executed in 1323, when records also indicate that his house in Wakefield was among properties seized and that, after this failed rebellion, Robert and Matilda fled to what became the focus for much of the Robin Hood legend, the Barnsdale Forest; recalls that the outlaw is known to have met his death at the hands of the Prioress of Kirklees, around 1347; notes, in addressing Nottinghamshire's claims, that in medieval times there was afforestation from Sherwood, through Barnsdale, nearly to Leeds and that prior to the creation of the title of Sheriff of Nottingham in 1449, the Sheriffs were actually of Nottinghamshire with a jurisdication including parts of Yorkshire and no doubt a role in bringing to justice the rebels; and concludes that just as the current Sheriff of Nottingham is a Yorkshireman, historical evidence also indicates that so was the real Robin Hood.

That this House contrasts the complete lack of any factual basis to Nottinghamshire's claims to be the county of Robin Hood with actual records of his Yorkshire connections; believes he was most likely to have been Robert Hode of Wakefield, a forester, recorded in the Wakefield Court Rolls as living...

That this House warmly welcomes the establishment of Amicale Parlementaire du Rugby a Treize, a Rugby League Parliamentary Association in France; recalls that, in one of the most disgraceful episodes in sporting history, rugby league in that country was banned as a sport by the Vichy Government, its assets being removed and never returned; notes that the French Government's recent commission of inquiry into sport during the Occupation confirmed the injustice suffered by the treizistes; is concerned that the question of reparation has not so far been addressed; further notes that the European Commission has written to the French Government about discrimination against rugby league; welcomes the new Association's efforts to lift the ban on the sport being played in certain municipal stadia and campaign for its introduction into the curriculum for future PE teachers; wishes the Association well in its efforts on behalf of rugby league; and calls upon the British Government to support the European Commission's representations to the French Government.

That this House warmly welcomes the establishment of Amicale Parlementaire du Rugby a Treize, a Rugby League Parliamentary Association in France; recalls that, in one of the most disgraceful episodes in sporting history, rugby league in that country was banned as a sport by the Vichy Government, its assets being...

That this House welcomes the current campaign of the Children Are Unbeatable Alliance entitled, Hitting Children is Wrong and the Law Should Say So; further welcomes the Joint Committee on Human Rights report which concludes that the 1860 law allowing 'reasonable chastisement' should be scrapped in line with the recommendation of the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child; notes that the Health Select Committee has also proposed the same measure in the interests of child protection; believes that children, as the smallest and weakest in society, should be afforded the same protection from being hit as adults and that equal protection for children is a fundamental human right; recognises that changing the law to give children equal protection is a requirement of the UK's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter; and urges Her Majesty's Government to investigate the progress made in many other countries on this issue with a view to modernising the law throughout the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.

That this House welcomes the current campaign of the Children Are Unbeatable Alliance entitled, Hitting Children is Wrong and the Law Should Say So; further welcomes the Joint Committee on Human Rights report which concludes that the 1860 law allowing 'reasonable chastisement' should be scrapped in line with the recommendation...

That this House welcomes the launch of Community Care magazine's, Changing Minds Campaign, to expand and improve mental health services for children and young people; calls for increased funding in these services; is alarmed that there is almost no specialist provision and few community-based services available to this group; notes that such services were specifically called for by the predecessor Health Committee both in its report into The Provision of NHS Mental Health Services (HC 373, Session 1999-2000) and in its report into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (HC 26, Session 1996-97); recognises that young people are ending up back in the mental health system as adults with more severe and enduring difficulties; further notes that there is no national policy on where young people with mental health problems should be treated; and calls on the Government to convene a task force to draw up a national strategy for England covering all mental health services for children and young people.

That this House welcomes the launch of Community Care magazine's, Changing Minds Campaign, to expand and improve mental health services for children and young people; calls for increased funding in these services; is alarmed that there is almost no specialist provision and few community-based services available to this group; notes...

That this House is dismayed at the decision by English Rugby Ltd not to allow Rotherham RFU Club, as winners of the first division, promotion to the Zurich Premiership; calls on the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and for Culture, Media and Sport to ask the Office of Fair Trading to investigate immediately, and to report by 31st May, the head leases and ownership clauses of the current members of the Zurich Premiership, whether English Rugby Ltd is a cartel and the reasons why Rotherham RFU has been denied its rightful place in the Zurich Premiership; and furthermore requests the Minister of Sport to review the public funding by Sport England of grants to rugby union clubs.

That this House is dismayed at the decision by English Rugby Ltd not to allow Rotherham RFU Club, as winners of the first division, promotion to the Zurich Premiership; calls on the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and for Culture, Media and Sport to ask the Office of...

That this House welcomes the presentation to Parliament of a petition signed by over 30,000 supporters of rugby league calling for the promotion of fair and constructive media coverage of the sport; shares their concern over a series of recent examples of inaccurate, ill-informed and damaging commentary in some sections of the media by London-based journalists with little or no knowledge of rugby league; notes that the popularity of rugby league is such that it is now played regularly in all counties of the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland, with clubs at amateur, semi-professional, professional, student and armed forces levels and can no longer be characterised as a purely northern regional sport; commends this important supporters' initiative; and calls upon the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to make every effort to ensure that rugby league is covered in the media in a balanced, accurate and informed manner.

That this House welcomes the presentation to Parliament of a petition signed by over 30,000 supporters of rugby league calling for the promotion of fair and constructive media coverage of the sport; shares their concern over a series of recent examples of inaccurate, ill-informed and damaging commentary in some sections...

That this House notes with sadness the death of Sir Bob Mahuta, a New Zealand Maori, who, as a 38 year old post-graduate student at Oxford University during the 1970s was probably the first university student in Britain to be banned for life by the Rugby Football Union after playing one game of amateur Rugby League for the Oxford University Rugby League Club; recalls that his subscription to the Oxford Old Boys Rugby Union Club was returned at the time and later donated by him to the British Amateur Rugby League Association, notes his subsequent record as a leading political and academic figure in New Zealand; and pays tribute to his personal contribution in the long battle against Rugby Union's attempts to outlaw the separate sport of Rugby League.

That this House notes with sadness the death of Sir Bob Mahuta, a New Zealand Maori, who, as a 38 year old post-graduate student at Oxford University during the 1970s was probably the first university student in Britain to be banned for life by the Rugby Football Union after playing...

That this House notes with extreme concern the recent difficulties facing Mrs Joan Ibbitson of Lupset, Wakefield, a foster carer with Wakefield MDC, looking for some 56 youngsters over many years, who took out a mortgage in 1998 with the former Springdale Mortgage Corporation Ltd, now Simplicity Mortgages Ltd, of Eastleigh, Hampshire, in order to purchase under Right-to-Buy legislation her council house; further notes that, as part of an agreement signed with Mrs Ibbitson, the company undertook to provide five years' sickness, accident and redundancy insurance but reneged on this agreement after she was unable to follow her occupation as a result of stress-related illness; regrets the fact that as a consequence of their failure subsequently to honour this agreement, allegedly because of her status as a foster carer, which was know to the company at the time of the original agreement, Mrs Ibbitson has had her family home of 30 years repossessed; calls upon the company to publicly apologise to Mrs Ibbitson and fully compensate her financially for the trauma and inconvenience she has experienced; and calls upon the Government to investigate the way in which companies of this kind have exploited the Right-to-Buy legislation to the detriment of people such as Mrs Ibbitson.

That this House notes with extreme concern the recent difficulties facing Mrs Joan Ibbitson of Lupset, Wakefield, a foster carer with Wakefield MDC, looking for some 56 youngsters over many years, who took out a mortgage in 1998 with the former Springdale Mortgage Corporation Ltd, now Simplicity Mortgages Ltd, of...

That this House notes with concern the Fair and Square private medical insurance scheme launched by the Norwich Union, which offers the insured cash payments of ??250 per day or night spent in hospital if the NHS rather than a private facility is used, or ??70 a day if a hospice is used; recognises that such a scheme, offering an inbuilt financial incentive to use the NHS, will further add to waiting lists, actively encouraging the use of NHS in-patient facilities when alternatives in primary care or the community may be more appropriate, and completely undermines the claim that private medical cover somehow raises obvious concerns about the possibility of financial inducements being offered to NHS staff to secure admissions; and calls upon the Norwich Union to recognise the damaging effects of this scheme and withdraw it immediately.

That this House notes with concern the Fair and Square private medical insurance scheme launched by the Norwich Union, which offers the insured cash payments of ??250 per day or night spent in hospital if the NHS rather than a private facility is used, or ??70 a day if a...

That this House commends the campaign by the organisation Treize Actif, supported by the French Rugby League Federation, to bring to public attention the infamous act committed by the wartime Vichy Government in France, outlawing the then thriving sport of rugby league, disbanding its national association and seizing its assets, with rugby union the beneficiary; supports the demands of French Rugby League followers for official acknowledgement of this infamy which resulted in the game not even being able to use the term rugby until 1989 even though it was restarted after the war; condemns unreservedly those individuals and organisations, including some in French Rugby Union, who colluded with this outrage and continued to discriminate against rugby league by trying to deny the sport use of publicly-owned facilities, as recently happened to clubs in Agen and the town of Vichy itself; further supports the actions of Treize Actif in seeking to end the discrimination which continues to exist in the education system in France where it is the only sport not available as of right to pupils and denied specialist teachers; applauds the decision of the French Minister for Youth and Sport, Madame Marie-George Buffett, to establish a national commission of inquiry into sport in France in this period; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to offer all possible assistance and support in addressing this matter and helping to maintain the recent excellent progress made by rugby league in France as it seeks to re-establish its former pre-eminence.

That this House commends the campaign by the organisation Treize Actif, supported by the French Rugby League Federation, to bring to public attention the infamous act committed by the wartime Vichy Government in France, outlawing the then thriving sport of rugby league, disbanding its national association and seizing its assets,...

That this House congratulates the Dalesman magazine on the celebration of its sixtieth anniversary; notes the magazine's remarkable progress since its establishment, initially as the Yorkshire Dalesman, by the late Harry Scott in the front room of his Dales cottage, in Clapham in 1939, through to its current position as the country's biggest selling regional magazine with readers all over the world, commends the three subsequent editors, Bill Mitchell, David Joy and Terry Fletcher on retaining Scott's original vision of the magazine as a link between like-minded people who loved Yorkshire in general and the Dales in particular; and, recognising that such a link is perhaps now more important than ever, wishes this great Yorkshire institution a happy and healthy future.

That this House congratulates the Dalesman magazine on the celebration of its sixtieth anniversary; notes the magazine's remarkable progress since its establishment, initially as the Yorkshire Dalesman, by the late Harry Scott in the front room of his Dales cottage, in Clapham in 1939, through to its current position as...

That this House recognises that children should have the same protection under the law on assault as adults; considers that there should be no place for the concept of reasonable chastisement and recommends that the Government promote positive non-violent forms of discipline for all children everywhere; firmly believes that such policies would enhance child protection, support families and help to tackle violence and crime; and is confident that these proposals would not criminalise parents over minor incidents but rather would in time assist the development of a more caring, considerate, responsible and disciplined society.

That this House recognises that children should have the same protection under the law on assault as adults; considers that there should be no place for the concept of reasonable chastisement and recommends that the Government promote positive non-violent forms of discipline for all children everywhere; firmly believes that such...

That this House congratulates coach Harry Williams, captain David Humphreys and the rest of the Ulster rugby squad on their magnificent achievement of winning the European Rugby Cup; commends the commitment and attitude of the Ulster supporters who travelled from the Province and elsewhere to cheer their team to victory; welcomes the positive impact the result will have on the development of rugby football in Ulster, particularly at schoolboy level; and hopes that this achievement will hasten the day when similar sporting events can be held at a new national stadium in Belfast.

That this House congratulates coach Harry Williams, captain David Humphreys and the rest of the Ulster rugby squad on their magnificent achievement of winning the European Rugby Cup; commends the commitment and attitude of the Ulster supporters who travelled from the Province and elsewhere to cheer their team to victory;...

That this House objects to the agreement where BSkyB Television will purchase Manchester United Plc; feels that this will create a unacceptable situation where BSkyB becomes both the biggest purchaser of televised football and also the owner of Europe's largest football club; is certain that this is not in the best public interest of fans, clubs or television viewers and sport in general; and calls upon the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to refer the proposed takeover to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in addition to setting up a full inquiry into the funding of football by television, in all its aspects.

That this House objects to the agreement where BSkyB Television will purchase Manchester United Plc; feels that this will create a unacceptable situation where BSkyB becomes both the biggest purchaser of televised football and also the owner of Europe's largest football club; is certain that this is not in the...

That this House warmly congratulates Wakefield Trinity Rugby League Football Club on its celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Club's founding by the Young Men's Society of the former Holy Trinity Church in Wakefield; commends the Club on the key role it played in the break away from the Rugby Football Union with the formation of the Northern Union and subsequently the Rugby Football league; notes that as part of the evolutionary process the Club provided in Harry Hayley, in 1878, the first player without a public school background ever to be selected for the Yorkshire county side, and also, with a fine disregard for rules geared to the exclusion of working people from the game, the first professional rugb y player in the world in C. E. 'Teddy' Bartram in 1879; further notes that many of the world's finest players have been associated with the Club during its distinguished history, most notably Neil Fox MBE, the holder of the world record for points scored during an individual career; and records with pleasure the fact that the Club is once again experiencing success on the field and is looking forward to a bright new future in the new stadium planned to replace the famous Belle Vue Ground.

That this House warmly congratulates Wakefield Trinity Rugby League Football Club on its celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Club's founding by the Young Men's Society of the former Holy Trinity Church in Wakefield; commends the Club on the key role it played in the break away from the...

That this House congratulates Bath Rugby Club and players on their magnificent victory in the final of the Heineken Cup in Bordeaux; recognises that Bath are the rugby champions of Europe; and wishes the club, its players and supporters every success in the future.

That this House congratulates Bath Rugby Club and players on their magnificent victory in the final of the Heineken Cup in Bordeaux; recognises that Bath are the rugby champions of Europe; and wishes the club, its players and supporters every success in the future.