That this House notes the report by the District Auditor and Thanet District Council's Scrutiny Committee, published on 22nd February 2001, on the management of a project to build a new football stadium in Thanet that found that the honourable Member for South Thanet had acted in a way that left him open to accusations of 'impropriety'; notes that his actions misrepresented the council's position to the private company involved in the negotiations and that private meetings were held without the appropriate council officers being present; expresses concern that the mishandling of this project could result in Thanet District Council having to pay compensation to the developer of tens of thousands of pounds; and urges the honourable Member to consider whether he should offer to repay part or all of any resulting losses to the council.

That this House notes the report by the District Auditor and Thanet District Council's Scrutiny Committee, published on 22nd February 2001, on the management of a project to build a new football stadium in Thanet that found that the honourable Member for South Thanet had acted in a way that...

That this House notes that a study of cohorts of individuals with similar academic abilities, as determined by SATs at age 14, has established that students in comprehensive schools do as well or better than their academic counterparts at grammar schools, that the Minister for Education and Employment, Lords Official Report, 15th March, column 1546, has confirmed that the performance of the top 24 per cent. of students at comprehensive schools exceeds that of students at grammar schools and that despite this clear evidence that a comprehensive system of education achieves better education outcomes than selective education, there are several local education authorities that continue to select about a quarter of children for a grammar school education at age 11 and who do not offer any comprehensive alternative; further notes that the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, rightly made it possible for parents to call a ballot to address this issue but, in areas where there is a predominantly selective education system, the size and complexity of the trigger petition is a practical impossibility for volunteer workers; welcomes the Secretary of State's promise to review the rules governing the collection of a petition for a ballot on the future of selective education; and hopes that fairer and more practical arrangements can be put in place for the coming academic year.

That this House notes that a study of cohorts of individuals with similar academic abilities, as determined by SATs at age 14, has established that students in comprehensive schools do as well or better than their academic counterparts at grammar schools, that the Minister for Education and Employment, Lords Official...

That this House notes that the Home Affairs Committee, in its Third Report, has recommended a relaxation of the double jeopardy rule under certain conditions; respects the opinions of the committee and understands the concerns that have led to them but believes their recommendation to be deeply flawed; notes that protection against double jeopardy dated from Roman times and is a fundamental protection for the individual citizen and any relaxation, however well motivated or restricted, would undermine this essential safeguard against wrongful conviction; believes that its relaxation may allow some apparent injustices to be addressed in the short term but would lead to far more and far greater injustices in the long term; and calls on the Government, when it considers this matter, to reject calls for any change to the law in this regard.

That this House notes that the Home Affairs Committee, in its Third Report, has recommended a relaxation of the double jeopardy rule under certain conditions; respects the opinions of the committee and understands the concerns that have led to them but believes their recommendation to be deeply flawed; notes that...

That this House notes that Autism Awareness Week 2000 will take place between 15th May and 21st May; notes that the week will include the launch of a campaign entitled, Action for Autism by the National Autistic Society, which will seek to highlight the rights and interests of people with autism and Asperger Syndrome; further notes that the public launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism, which will seek to raise awareness in Parliament about the problems facing autistic people, will also take place during the week; and calls upon the Government to look into the establishment by research of reliable prevalence rates of all autistic spectrum disorders in the United Kingdom and to encourage collaborative working across health, social services and education agencies, to facilitate accurate early identification and diagnosis and effective inclusive policies in educational settings and in society in general for people with autistic spectrum disorders.

That this House notes that Autism Awareness Week 2000 will take place between 15th May and 21st May; notes that the week will include the launch of a campaign entitled, Action for Autism by the National Autistic Society, which will seek to highlight the rights and interests of people with...

That this House notes with dismay that Kent County Council is to make redundant 17 front-line social service care workers in East Kent and that this will include 75 per cent. of the care workers at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Thanet and will inevitably lead to people remaining too long in hospital with consequential bed blocking and rising waiting lists for elective treatment throughout East Kent; believes that this move will jeopardise the plans of the East Kent Health Authority and the East Kent National Health Service Hospital Trust to improve patient services in East Kent; rejects completely the suggestion that the existing team of community care workers will be able to step in and replace these services; is deeply concerned that this step was taken without consultation with trades unions or the staff affected; believes that this action has come about entirely because of the mismanagement of the County's budget and observes that it was arranged in secret and announced on the day following the local elections; and calls upon the Government to investigate urgently the action of the County Council.

That this House notes with dismay that Kent County Council is to make redundant 17 front-line social service care workers in East Kent and that this will include 75 per cent. of the care workers at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Thanet and will inevitably lead to...

That this House notes that Thorley Taverns have won The Publican newspaper's prestigious award of Multiple Operator of the Year; congratulates the management and staff on their well deserved recognition; is grateful for the major contribution that Thorley Taverns and its Managing Director, Mr Frank Thorley, make to the regeneration of Thanet and the wider economy of East Kent; believes that the high standards of all Thorley Tavern businesses, the hard work of their staff, the quality of their goods and services and the friendly welcome they offer to their customers fully justifies this award; and hopes this recognition will make their business more widely known and be a further stimulus to tourism in East Kent.

That this House notes that Thorley Taverns have won The Publican newspaper's prestigious award of Multiple Operator of the Year; congratulates the management and staff on their well deserved recognition; is grateful for the major contribution that Thorley Taverns and its Managing Director, Mr Frank Thorley, make to the regeneration...

That this House notes with concern that the incompetence of Kent County Council's Conservative administration has led to a serious shortfall in social services funding that threatens winter provision in the county and which will create difficulties for local health authorities by causing bed blocking in hospitals; notes that the Conservatives have attempted to blame these problems on the cost of supporting asylum seekers even though this Government, unlike its predecessor, reimburses the County for at least 90 per cent. of these costs; notes that the real problem is that Kent's Conservative Council has failed, for political reasons, to plan for factors that were known well in advance such as the impact of the national minimum wage, has diverted over ??5 million into largely unnecessary corporate initiatives, has based its finances on unsustainable and unworkable budgets which failed to make efficient use of the most generous Government settlement in the county's history and which inevitably have lead to a substantial overspend; notes that the Conservatives who control the council intend to resolve the problems they have created by diverting funds ring-fenced for voluntary organisations, reneging on promised regeneration funding for East Kent and cutting services for the elderly and vulnerable; and calls on the county council's Conservative leadership to work with the Government and with other political parties in Kent to devise a new budget and business plan for Kent that truly meets the needs of the county's population.

That this House notes with concern that the incompetence of Kent County Council's Conservative administration has led to a serious shortfall in social services funding that threatens winter provision in the county and which will create difficulties for local health authorities by causing bed blocking in hospitals; notes that the...

That this House believes that almost all the tenant landlords of Inntrepeneur Co. Ltd. entered into agreements with Inntrepeneur relying on the promise to be made 'free of tie' by March 1998; believes that there is incontrovertible evidence that such promises were made to prospective tenants; reaffirms its belief that the Office of Fair Trading was wrong to release Inntrepeneur from their undertaking to free all their public houses from tie; and notes that Inntrepeneur Co. Ltd. is now, as a result of new ownership, about to re-emerge as the biggest pub owning company in the United Kingdom; believes that the new corporate structures will re-create the adverse effects to the consumer forecast in the 1991 MMC report (Elders - Grand Met); and calls on the new owners to honour the past promises made to tenants.

That this House believes that almost all the tenant landlords of Inntrepeneur Co. Ltd. entered into agreements with Inntrepeneur relying on the promise to be made 'free of tie' by March 1998; believes that there is incontrovertible evidence that such promises were made to prospective tenants; reaffirms its belief that...

That this House deplores the unfair treatment of tenants of Inntrepreneur and similar companies who entered into agreements with Inntrepreneur on the basis of their business being free of tie by 1998 at the latest; believes that these contract should be honoured; believes that the decision by Inntrepreneur to renege on their agreement to release all their tied public houses was dishonourable and self-serving and that the decision by the Office of Fair Trading to release them from their undertaking was equally wrong and founded on the incorrect premise that the tied trade would receive discounts, support or concessions that would compensate for the loss of discounts available on the free wholesale market; affirms that the evidence clearly demonstrates that landlords of tied public houses are at a significant commercial disadvantage relative to those operating in the free market; calls on the Office of Fair Trading to review its decision urgently; and calls on the Commission of the European Communities to reject the application of the Inntrepreneur Pub Company Ltd. for a special exemption to Article 85/1 of the Treaty of Rome.

That this House deplores the unfair treatment of tenants of Inntrepreneur and similar companies who entered into agreements with Inntrepreneur on the basis of their business being free of tie by 1998 at the latest; believes that these contract should be honoured; believes that the decision by Inntrepreneur to renege...