That this House supports Young Carers Action Day, led by the Carers Trust, which takes place on 16 March 2022; recognises the invaluable contribution more than 800,000 young carers make to their families and local communities across the UK; notes the Day’s theme of Taking Action on Isolation, and the importance of investment in social care, and in local support for carers, to relieve young carers of the overwhelming pressure so many are under; further notes that the NHS needs to ensure its mental health services prioritise young carer support and that education providers need to take a more integrated approach to identifying and supporting young carers, working in partnership with the NHS, local authorities and local carer organisations; and calls on the Government to ensure that young carers get the support and services they need.

That this House supports Young Carers Action Day, led by the Carers Trust, which takes place on 16 March 2022; recognises the invaluable contribution more than 800,000 young carers make to their families and local communities across the UK; notes the Day’s theme of Taking Action on Isolation, and the...

That this House supports Young Carers Awareness Day, led by Carers Trust, which takes place on 30 January 2020; recognises the importance of young carers, who include as many as 1 in 5 children and young people in the UK; highlights the challenges faced by young carers and the negative impact their caring responsibilities can have on their education; acknowledges that research shows that young carers perform substantially less well than their peers at school; notes that compulsory education providers have an important role in identifying and supporting young carers; and calls on the Government to collect and publish information about the attendance, school achievement and well-being of young carers.

That this House supports Young Carers Awareness Day, led by Carers Trust, which takes place on 30 January 2020; recognises the importance of young carers, who include as many as 1 in 5 children and young people in the UK; highlights the challenges faced by young carers and the negative...

That this House condemns the Government's decision to close the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) office in Sheffield; notes that there are 247 experienced policy staff working for BIS in this office who are responsible for delivering Government policy on a range of issues including apprenticeships and further and higher education; is concerned by the Government's decision to move all policy work to London which will mean the loss of vital expertise, shrink the civil service talent pool and reduce the variety of experiences that contribute to policy-making; further notes this decision to withdraw investment from the North will have a detrimental impact on the local economies contrary to the Government's Northern Powerhouse agenda; notes the statement in the Government's Estate Strategy, published in October 2014, that civil servants should be able to work flexibly across locations; is aware that the business case for the Sheffield office closure has yet to be seen by key stakeholders or trade unions; and therefore calls on the Government to publish the business case as a matter of urgency and to halt the process until a full review and debate has taken place regarding the decision.

That this House condemns the Government's decision to close the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) office in Sheffield; notes that there are 247 experienced policy staff working for BIS in this office who are responsible for delivering Government policy on a range of issues including apprenticeships and further...

That this House recognises the enormous cultural, academic and economic contribution that international students studying at UK universities make to the country; is concerned at the dramatic drop in students enrolling to study at UK universities from some of the UK's major international trading partners; believes that the public does not generally view international students to be migrants and does not wish to see their number reduced; and urges the Government to exclude university students from efforts to bear down on immigration including by removing university students from any target to reduce net migration.

That this House recognises the enormous cultural, academic and economic contribution that international students studying at UK universities make to the country; is concerned at the dramatic drop in students enrolling to study at UK universities from some of the UK's major international trading partners; believes that the public does...

That this House notes that in 2007 the charges imposed on UK retailers for the processing of credit and debit card payments from customers in other EU countries were declared anti-competitive and unlawful by the European Commission; welcomes the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), following an appeal by MasterCard, that this decision should be upheld; further notes that evidence from the British Retail Consortium's recent Cost of Collection Survey shows that fees levied on domestic card transactions are also unjustifiably high; believes these charges are a tax on retailers and shoppers; and calls on the UK competition authority to consider fully what the implications of the ECJ ruling are for the UK market.

That this House notes that in 2007 the charges imposed on UK retailers for the processing of credit and debit card payments from customers in other EU countries were declared anti-competitive and unlawful by the European Commission; welcomes the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), following an...

That this House is extremely concerned that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skill's (BIS) own regulatory impact assessment for their proposed 24+ Advanced Learner Loans, due to be introduced next March, suggests that low take up of them could cause as many as 100,000 learners to drop out of Further Education (FE) and that BIS's own market research found only one in 10 adult learners would definitely take loans up andthat this would adversely hit women who make up over 60 per cent of enrolments at this level; recognises that these concerns come on top of stakeholder fears forcing adult apprentices to take out loans on an individual basis and also Access to HE learners having to take out first an FE loan and then an HE loan when they reach university; believes that if these issues are not addressed the Government risks creating a lost generation of adult learners and damaging FE colleges, courses and staff; and urges the Government to halt its break neck implementation of these plans and to rethink and revise its proposals in the light of these mounting concerns.

That this House is extremely concerned that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skill's (BIS) own regulatory impact assessment for their proposed 24+ Advanced Learner Loans, due to be introduced next March, suggests that low take up of them could cause as many as 100,000 learners to drop out of...

That this House is concerned by the Government's decision to postpone indefinitely the planned Higher Education Bill; calls for an urgent debate on the future of higher education policy; notes the economic, social and wider value of our publicly-funded university system which has a long-established worldwide reputation for quality; further notes with great concern that further changes to higher education policy, including the opening up of degree-awarding powers and public funding to for-profit education providers, might be enacted without an opportunity for full parliamentary scrutiny and transparency or the input of the views of students, young people and staff; further calls for the provision of maximum opportunities for public scrutiny of the Government's White Paper proposals, Students at the Heart of the System, which have still not been afforded the opportunity to be voted upon by this House; further calls for a debate on the availability of student support, postgraduate funding, access for mature students and the extent and causes of student hardship in light of proposed reductions in student bursaries and increases in hidden course costs; and further calls for the means to create protections for students and staff whilst the wider reforms are in flux, including protecting the terms and conditions attached to student loans.

That this House is concerned by the Government's decision to postpone indefinitely the planned Higher Education Bill; calls for an urgent debate on the future of higher education policy; notes the economic, social and wider value of our publicly-funded university system which has a long-established worldwide reputation for quality; further...

That this House believes apprenticeships are an essential part of the workplace; recognises that apprenticeships provide individuals, businesses, the public sector and the wider UK labour market with vital vocational skills; notes with great concern that unemployment has reached 2.62 million, with 1.02 million young people unemployed; further believes that greater priority needs to be given to increasing the number of apprentices across the UK to provide essential career opportunities for young people; is concerned that a majority of businesses do not consider apprenticeships to be relevant to their sector, according to the British Chambers of Commerce's Skills For Business: More to Learn? report; urges the Department forBusiness, Innovation and Skills to put greater emphasis on vocational education and further integrate employability skills into the education syllabus; and further urges the Department to review current apprenticeship frameworks to make these more adaptable and responsive to the changing needs of the UK labour market.

That this House believes apprenticeships are an essential part of the workplace; recognises that apprenticeships provide individuals, businesses, the public sector and the wider UK labour market with vital vocational skills; notes with great concern that unemployment has reached 2.62 million, with 1.02 million young people unemployed; further believes that...

That this House is concerned by the possible expansion of for-profit providers in the higher education sector; is further concerned that the world-class teaching and research of the UK's higher education sector could be threatened by new for-profit providers; encourages Ministers to consider the Diverse Provision in Higher Education report by the Higher Education Funding Council for England; urges them to note the report's conclusion that the risks associated with expanding the role of for-profit providers `may amount to a reputational risk for UK higher education'; notes that for-profit providers in the US typically have a lower graduation rate than non-profit higher education institutions; further notes that US education authorities are investigating the recruitment and admissions practices of a number of for-profit universities, including the University of Phoenix, which is owned by the Apollo Group that also owns BPP which was granted private university college status in the UK last year; is further concerned that for-profit providers could cherry-pick the most popular and profitable courses; further notes that for-profit private providers are not required to submit enrolment data to the Government, and are not subject to the same staff employment contract obligations as existing universities; and calls on the Government to protect the quality and reputation of UK higher education.

That this House is concerned by the possible expansion of for-profit providers in the higher education sector; is further concerned that the world-class teaching and research of the UK's higher education sector could be threatened by new for-profit providers; encourages Ministers to consider the Diverse Provision in Higher Education report...

That this House believes the three Yorkshire radio stations BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Radio Sheffield and BBC Radio York, are much-loved and -valued institutions, each providing a distinctive service to their respective communities; is deeply concerned about the pilot shared programme in the afternoon opting out of local programmes which, during snow or floods, will result in a loss of vital information and has already resulted in the loss of Paulette Edwards at BBC Radio Sheffield, one of the few African-Caribbean presenters of a mainstream programme; and is concerned that this pilot might provide a blueprint for other local BBC stations to follow.

That this House believes the three Yorkshire radio stations BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Radio Sheffield and BBC Radio York, are much-loved and -valued institutions, each providing a distinctive service to their respective communities; is deeply concerned about the pilot shared programme in the afternoon opting out of local programmes which,...

That this House notes with concern that Mr Charles Hector Fernandez, a Malaysian human rights lawyer, faces defamation charges in Malaysia for having detailed labour rights violations of 31 Burmese migrant workers at a Japanese firm based in Malaysia on his blog; further notes that Mr Hector Fernandez had raised his allegations with the firm prior to publishing them to his blog, in order that they might correct misinformation, without response; further notes that on 11 April 2011 Mr Hector Fernandez was restricted from all further communication through his blog and Twitter; expresses deep concern at the lack of adequate labour protections for migrant workers in Malaysia and condemns discriminatory treatment of Burmese migrants in particular; further notes the critical role of human rights defenders in upholding the labour rights of migrant workers, who often suffer rights violations and deprivations; expresses deep concern at the threat to free speech in Malaysia this trial poses; calls on the Government to ensure its representatives in Malaysia are present during the hearing and trial of Mr Hector Fernandez on 13 May 2011 and 28 and 29 June 2011 respectively; and furthercalls on the Government to make strong representations in this regard, in particular calling on the Malaysian Government to ensure that the principles enshrined in the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders are upheld.

That this House notes with concern that Mr Charles Hector Fernandez, a Malaysian human rights lawyer, faces defamation charges in Malaysia for having detailed labour rights violations of 31 Burmese migrant workers at a Japanese firm based in Malaysia on his blog; further notes that Mr Hector Fernandez had raised...

That this House believes the ability to read, write and speak English is essential for all people living in the UK; recognises that courses of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) play an important role in enabling UK citizens, refugees and others to contribute to public and economic life and to build inclusive and cohesive communities; is concerned by the funding changes to such courses proposed in the Government's Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth document; notes that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has yet to publish an equality impact assessment on the funding changes; is particularly concerned about the disproportionate impact on women, who comprise two-thirds of ESOL learners; and calls on the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to modify the proposals to ensure that women currently outside the labour market and on a variety of benefits are not excluded.

That this House believes the ability to read, write and speak English is essential for all people living in the UK; recognises that courses of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) play an important role in enabling UK citizens, refugees and others to contribute to public and economic life...