Petitions
Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)
I rise to present a petition on behalf of my constituents of the North Ayrshire and Arran constituency and I do so under great advice from huge numbers of them.
The petition states:
The petition of residents of the constituency of North Ayrshire and Arran,
Declares that the House of Lords is unrepresentative of and unaccountable to the general UK population, over which it makes decisions and casts votes on important issues; expresses concern at the recent creation of 36 new life peers, increasing the size of the House of Lords to nearly 800 Members, despite the Government’s commitment to reducing the size of the House of Lords; notes that the House of Lords is the largest parliamentary chamber in any democracy; further notes that the House of Lords is one of very few parliamentary bodies in the world with reserved places for members of the clergy—
Iran being the only other example—
further notes concern over the number of peers that fail to speak in the chamber yet are able to claim expenses, for example in 2016-17 when 115 peers failed to speak even once yet still claimed £1.3 million between them; and further notes concern over the high proportion of members of the House of Lords who were, before their elevation, significant donors to political parties.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to abolish the House of Lords in the interests of democracy, accountability and transparency.
And the petitioners remain, etc.
[P002592]
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)
I rise to present this petition on behalf of Terry Holt who owns the Pride gym in Low Moor and other gym and fitness facility owners in my constituency and across Bradford.
The petition states:
The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that the continued closure of gyms and fitness facilities in Bradford only is having a grave impact on a vast number of businesses and members, creating a desperate situation with consequences beyond what is being appreciated by those in power; notes that businesses in Bradford that are currently closed have received no additional support during the extra four weeks and are closed at their own cost; further declares that, after over four months of closure, any recovery from these closures becomes more unlikely by the day; further notes that gym members are being forced to travel into neighbouring districts causing a counter intuitive effect in social mixing, and in turn increasing the transmission risk; further declares that Bradford is currently facing an obesity, diabetes and mental health crisis which these facilities are at the forefront of fighting; and further declares that the nature of these closures was based on now out-of-date advice, and not on more recent data that is available and shows that the measures gyms are putting in place greatly mitigate any risk to almost zero.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to allow gyms to reopen in the Bradford district according to COVID-secure guidelines.
And the petitioners remain, etc.
[P002593]