Andrew George has signed EDM2595. Motion reads: “That this House recognises the contribution community sentences make to reducing reoffending rates and keeping communities safer as a result; notes that community sentences cost on average a tenth of what it costs to send a person to prison for a year; further notes that community sentences offer a proportionate response to relatively minor offences in comparison to short-term prison sentences which often result in loss of employment, family breakdown and homelessness; further notes that community sentences can challenge and change people for the better compared to short-term prison sentences during which prisoners are left idle in their cells for most of the day; further notes that in 2009 57 per cent. of people who served a short-term prison sentence reoffended within one year of release compared to a significantly lower reoffending rate for community sentences; supports the Howard League for Penal Reform’s Community sentences cut crime campaign; and believes that in order for reoffending ratesin England and Wales to fall there needs to begreater use of community sentencing rather than ineffective and expensive short-term prison sentences.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2594. Motion reads: “That this House welcomes the publication of The Big Meeting: a history of the Durham Miners’ Gala which has been written by the former miner David Temple; recognises the huge amount of research and commitment that has gone into its production; acknowledges the huge role that the Gala has played in the political and cultural history of the North East and the labour movement; praises all of those involved in retaining a tradition that goes back 140 years, in particular those community groups who have recreated a swathe of miners’ union banners over recent years; and wishes the tens of thousands of people well who organise and will attend The Big Meeting for many years to come.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2599. Motion reads: “That this House congratulates Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, on the publication of its new report, Preventing Babies’ Deaths: what needs to be done; notes that 17 babies are stillborn or die before they are one month old every day in the UK and that the number of stillbirths has not changed in more than a decade; acknowledges that many hundreds of babies’ deaths could be avoided; and calls on the Government to tackle the issues outlined in the report relating to public health, research, data collection, resourcing, reviewing deaths and bereavement care to help prevent all avoidable baby deaths in the future.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2598. Motion reads: “That this House welcomes the recently published National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on assessment and referral following emergency treatment for anaphylaxis and its aim to improve levels of care for those living with allergic disease; expresses concern that despite this guideline, the previously published guideline on diagnosing food allergy in children and numerous reports from the House of Commons and the House of Lords, there is still an enormous, unacceptable gap between patient need and service provision because there is a lack of education amongst health care professionals in primary care and very few posts across the country for allergy specialists; acknowledges the National Allergy Strategy Group’s estimate that around five million people have an allergy severe enough to require specialist care; and calls for more allergy specialist posts to be created in the NHS, for the Department of Health to state that effective commissioning of allergy services should be a priority and for allergy education to be included in GP training to enable effective referral and management of less severe allergies in primary care.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2603. Motion reads: “That this House is aware the Government has yet to commit itself to ending the practice of the physical punishment of children in the UK despite its human right obligations and progress in other countries across the world; recalls that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on the UK Government three times since 1995 to prohibit in law the physical punishment of minors, with further criticism likely later this year as part of its Periodic Review; notes that 31 states have already achieved prohibition of such punishments but that the UK remains one of only four EU countries that has failed to make some commitment in this regard; and calls on the Government to prioritise policy on this matter and in doing so deal with the noticeable absence of early years child protection in our nation.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2610. Motion reads: “That this House expresses concern that a recent survey has found that only one in six public service providers has an acceptable standard of hearing loop provision for the two million hearing aid users in the UK and that a significant number of shops and service providers that display the hearing loop sign do not have a fully functioning system or have not provided sufficient training to allow their staff to use the system appropriately; notes that under the Equality Act 2010, service providers are required to make reasonable adjustments to make their service accessible for customers with disabilities; and calls on the Government to take steps to encourage service providers, where feasible and appropriate, to install hearing loops and train staff to use them so that services are more accessible for customers with hearing loss.”

Andrew George has seconded EDM2593. Motion reads: “That this House supports a greater awareness of chiropractic which has become recognised internationally as a cost effective treatment not only in terms of back pain and musculoskeletal disorders but also in reducing the use of medical services; and urges the Secretary of State for Health to facilitate greater ease of access to chiropractic services and to explore the potential savings that chiropractic can provide to general healthcare costs.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2375. Motion reads: “That this House supports the Faithfulness Matters campaign which affirms that faithfulness between people in committed relationships matters, for individuals, for families, for children and for communities; believes that commitment, trust and honesty are key cornerstones of a healthy society; istherefore unconvinced that the administration of websites specifically focused to encourage married people to have affairs constitute legitimate business for a responsible company and are opposed to anyone making money from breaking-up relationships; and therefore calls on the companies engaged in running websites which encourage people to have affairs to close them down.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2557. Motion reads: “That this House welcomes the campaign by Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland to tackle unfair delivery practices for consumers in remote and rural areas; notes the publication of Free Delivery*, the report from Citizens Advice Scotland which shows that consumers in rural and remote parts of Scotland are often refused delivery or charged more than people in urban areas when ordering goods online; supports Citizens Advice Scotland in urging online retailers to ensure that they comply with the law on distance selling by clearly stating delivery costs before customers enter the purchasing process, reform their delivery policies so that any charges are kept to a minimum and are based on actual costs incurred and offer delivery via Royal Mail wherever possible; and believes that the Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligation must be maintained in order to protect rural and remote consumers from high costs for delivery.”

Andrew George has signed EDM2566. Motion reads: “That this House notes that on27 January 2012 the UK will observe Holocaust Memorial Day, the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where an estimated 1.1 million people were murdered; further notes that the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2012 is Speak Up, Speak Out encouraging each of us to take responsibility for challenging hatred and prejudice today; pays tribute to the commitment of Holocaust survivors who share their experiences with young people across the country; acknowledges the importance of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s work in schools across the UK and in particular the Lessons from Auschwitz Project, which has so far given over 17,000 students and teachers the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau; also pays tribute to the Holocaust Memorial DayTrust for organising this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations; further notes that a Book of Commitment will be placed in the corridor between the Members’ Cloakroom and Members’ Staircase between the hours of 14.30 and 16.30 from 16 January until 26 January; and urges all right hon. and hon. Members to sign the Book and observe the day, so that the appalling events of the Holocaust are always understood byfuture generations.”