argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2016-05-04
Topic: Housing
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the Commons has insisted that this amendment be rejected with a strong majority. It is unworkable and would lead to uncertainty and delay in delivering our manifesto commitment to build more homes Flood risk is a very important issue, and I understand the strength of feeling on this matter in the House. Following the devastation of last winter’s floods, we are all keen to ensure that development is safe from flooding and does not increase flood risk. Just one year ago, the Government demonstrated our commitment to ensuring that development is safe from flooding when we strengthened planning policy on sustainable drainage. We have made clear our intention to review the impact of this policy once it has had time to bed in Although I understand the good intentions behind the proposed new clause, it does not recognise that there are cases when a development may not provide sustainable drainage for very good reasons. This may be because it is not practical for some forms of development, including mineral sites or where site constraints mean that a suitable sustainable drainage system cannot be provided. Sustainable drainage simply may not be appropriate on a small site with high groundwater or contaminated soil I am also concerned that, by making the right to connect conditional on planning permission, we will need to introduce more bureaucracy, complexity and cost into the process to allow for situations where connections are in fact needed or where there is currently no requirement for planning permission to be obtained. This may include situations where water and sewerage companies are exercising their statutory obligations effectively to drain an area Another critical defect of the clause is that it does not provide for a process to enable a developer to demonstrate that conditions have been met. This detail needs to be carefully thought through to ensure that the measure is workable and has the intended impact Finally, this will be important to many who are looking to government to support industry to provide the homes that communities need. There are no transitional arrangements. What happens to those developments that have planning permission but no right to connect? The measure has the potential to stall development, including in those areas that are not in fact at risk of flooding at all As the amendment expands current policy to small developments, which are not currently covered by this policy, small builders, who are only now starting to recover from the economic crash, are likely to be especially hard hit. These are the same small builders on whom we are relying to deliver above and beyond what the larger housebuilders can deliver. I beg to move Motion M1 (as an amendment to Motion M)
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2016-05-04
Topic: Housing
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, this has been a very interesting and short debate, and I shall be brief. I hope that noble Lords will accept that, while we join them in supporting the use of sustainable drainage, there are flaws that make the proposed new clause simply unworkable, and a potentially serious impediment to the delivery of new homes. As the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, said, we have heard the arguments at some length during the Bill, and I can only reiterate our position that we will review the impacts of the current planning policy on sustainable drainage. That is a definite reassurance On the point that the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, raised on why by building now we might be storing up problems for later, when determining planning applications, local planning authorities are expected to ensure that flood risk is not increased elsewhere. In areas at risk of flooding, they should ensure that priority is given to the use of sustainable drainage systems. There is also an expectation that sustainable drainage systems will be provided in all new major developments, unless demonstrated to be inappropriate. A site-specific flood risk assessment is required for planning applications for a development likely to be affected by local sources of flooding, and should look at all forms of flood risk, including from surface water. The developer is responsible for providing effective drainage already to serve the development and agreeing it with the local planning authority. I hope that, with the continuing reassurance about looking very closely at the issue in our review, noble Lords will reject the amendment.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2016-05-04
Topic: Housing
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, Amendment 111 implemented a number of the DPRRC’s recommendations. It also took steps to ensure that our pilots would test the benefits of introducing competition to planning application processing on a level playing field, and make clear that the planning decision would always be made by the local planning authority. The other place has accepted Amendment 111 but has proposed a minor amendment, Amendment 111A, to clarify that regulations can provide only for temporary arrangements in England. I beg to move.
Personal Independence Payment: Mobility Criterion — House of Lords, 2016-05-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rosalind Altmann (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the noble Lord for his question. I can assure him from my own experience that it is important that we have any statistics properly verified before they are released as official statistics. We will release relevant data, and if we have any further information, I will be happy to write to the noble Lord with any other data we can provide As regards the information that the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, asked for on the amount of money spent on mandatory reconsiderations and appeals, we will provide written details of those costs.
Queen’s Speech — House of Lords, 2016-05-19
Topic: Other
Thomas Jeremy King (Conservative, Centre-right): That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty as follows: "Most Gracious Sovereign—We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, beg leave to thank Your Majesty for the most gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament".
Queen’s Speech — House of Lords, 2016-05-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Kevin Shinkwin (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I apologise to the House for missing a few of the opening words of my noble friend the Minister I am excited about the commitment in the gracious Speech to tackling the barriers to opportunity and to laying the, "foundations for educational excellence in all schools, giving every child the best start in life" Communicating the message that it is possible to be young, gifted and disabled is fundamental to building a one-nation society in which disability discrimination is consigned to history. That does not mean tokenistic excellence just for disabled pupils and students. It means expecting and demanding more of them so that intellectually talented disabled children are singled out, encouraged and supported to excel. As the Prime Minister said in his inspiring speech on life chances in January, it means a new way of thinking. Surely, as the Government seek to halve the disability employment gap—a worthy goal—building employers’ confidence in disabled people means ensuring that when they want to recruit the best, they can be confident that talented disabled job applicants are more than equal to the challenge For me, a one-nation society is one that does not discriminate on account of disability—a society in which disability equality is a consistent reality. My commitment to disability equality and my appreciation of the remarkable record of your Lordships’ House in advancing disability equality have informed my introduction of a Private Member’s Bill on the issue. It concerns an area where, unbelievably, the diagnosis of disability carries a death sentence. Partly because of your Lordships’ House, discrimination on the grounds of disability after birth is outlawed. Yet today legal and lethal discrimination on the grounds of disability is allowed up to birth by law. It is illegal for an unborn human being to have their life ended by abortion beyond 24 weeks, but if they have a disability their life can be ended right up to birth by law. Where is the consistency, the justice or the equality in that? If anyone thinks such obvious discrimination is acceptable, I respectfully invite them to imagine the outcry if the same were applied to skin colour or sexual orientation. Such discrimination would rightly be regarded as outrageous To be a Member of your Lordships’ House is to be a Peer, an equal. Yet, for as long as this discrimination is allowed by law and remains on the statute book, how can I, as a severely disabled person, reasonably be expected to regard myself as an equal? The recent excellent report on the Equality Act 2010 and disability produced by an ad hoc Select Committee of your Lordships’ House shows that this House is equal to the challenge—equal to the noble task of righting this wrong, of advancing disability equality once more and of building one nation in which disability discrimination is consigned to history. Surely if life chances are to have meaning, if every child is to have the "best start in life", as the Prime Minister quite rightly wishes, disabled children must first be given an equal chance to live.
Modern Slavery (Transparency in Supply Chains) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-07-08
Topic: Civil Rights
Patrick Cormack (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure we would all rather be defended by the Minister than prosecuted by him, but he gave us a glimmer of hope when he talked about the need to complete the circle. Will the Minister be kind enough to agree on the Floor of the House to meet the noble Baroness and all her supporters, those of us who have spoken and others, together with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to see whether something could be produced that would complete the circle?
Modern Slavery (Transparency in Supply Chains) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Richard Keen (Conservative, Centre-right): I am obliged to the noble Lord The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, raised a number of issues. One of them was how we identify those corporate entities or partnerships that have an obligation under Section 54. The obligation was designed to coincide with the definition of large companies under the Companies Act in the context of registration. I am not saying that that takes us very much further forward, but there is at least a litmus test that one can have regard to in that context. I do not seek to ignore the other points that she raised, but I hope I have covered them in the course of this reply The noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, asked about public bodies. Again, if I may, I repeat that they are subject to a parallel provision—albeit not identical, for obvious reasons—and that is being developed under reference to the code that I mentioned before In conclusion, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Young, for raising this important topic. The Government have listened and reflected carefully on the topics raised by her Bill. We are determined to lead by example on this issue and do everything that we can to prevent modern slavery in both the public and private sector supply chains in this country, and indeed overseas. While the Government are not persuaded that further legislation is the right approach at this stage, we welcome the ideas in the Bill. We will want to examine some of them in more detail and, as I have said before, I will be happy to meet with the noble Baroness again to do so.
Modern Slavery (Transparency in Supply Chains) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-07-08
Topic: Civil Rights
Richard Keen (Conservative, Centre-right): As I say, the public sector is subject to Section 6 of the Human Rights Act; that was merely one aspect of my explanation as to why it was not considered appropriate to extend this legislation to the public sector. The other issues concern the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the codes and guidance that apply in that context As regards the Secretary of State having resort to the courts to bring a penalty, we will see consumers, NGOs and peer pressure bringing out the question of who is complying and who is not. I will give one simple example. If a retailer on the high street discovers that their competitor is retailing T-shirts at 50p each when they know perfectly well that they cannot be produced for anything like that sum, and they persist in doing so, they will detect that something is amiss. As the large corporate retailers observed in the consultation period, they want a level playing field and their one way of doing that is to ensure that their competitors comply with Section 54 and, if they do not, to bring that to the attention of the Secretary of State.
Modern Slavery (Transparency in Supply Chains) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-07-08
Topic: Immigration
Richard Keen (Conservative, Centre-right): The noble Lord also reminds me that he raised the question of children coming from Europe under the immigration scheme. He may appreciate that I do not have figures on these matters for the purposes of this debate, but I will be content to write to him on the point he has just raised.
Armed Forces Deployment (Royal Prerogative) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-07-08
Topic: Other
John Attlee (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, if I had tabled a fatal Motion, a difficulty would have been that it might well have had to be debated in prime time. I think the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, would have been thrilled to bits by that. She would probably not have been that worried about the end result and we would have had a much bigger debate—so I was actually being a bit cruel by not tabling a fatal Motion.
Armed Forces Deployment (Royal Prerogative) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-07-08
Topic: Other
Michael Nicholson Lord (Conservative, Centre-right): I am following what the noble Baroness is saying with great interest. Is there not a basic conundrum here that long and detailed debate on the action you plan to take against your opponent gives him the opportunity to decide exactly how he is going to deal with it? While I accept in a way that this is necessary, it is also a problem.
Immigration Act — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Immigration
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, with the leave of the House, I will repeat in the form of a Statement the Answer given by the Immigration Minister to an Urgent Question in another place. The Statement is as follows: "The Home Secretary updated this House on 24 October on how the UK Government were supporting the French authorities in the humanitarian operation to clear the camp in Calais. That Statement outlined the Government’s absolute commitment to bring eligible children from France to the UK. This included those with close family links under the Dublin Regulation and those unaccompanied refugee children who met the wider criteria of the Dubs amendment to the Immigration Act 2016. Those are: the very youngest; those assessed as being at a high risk of sexual exploitation; and those likely to be granted refugee status in the UK. On Monday, my department published further details of the policy, including our intention to prioritise the youngest We remain absolutely committed to bringing all eligible children to the UK as soon as possible. More than 300 children have been transferred from France since 10 October, including, with transfers resuming over the weekend, another 19 girls assessed as being at high risk of sexual exploitation who were brought to Scotland. It is important to note that all the children previously in the camp in Calais are now in the care of the French authorities. Staff from the UK supported the French operation to move the children from the container area in the camp to specialist centres across France, where they are receiving the care and protection they need Home Office staff, interpreters and social workers are currently visiting the centres to carry out the necessary assessments to determine whether it is in the best interests of the child to be transferred to the United Kingdom. This Government have continued to seek every opportunity to expedite this process, but as has previously been made clear we must work alongside the French and with their permission. I am grateful for the support of the local authorities that have stepped forward to accommodate these children and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them to ensure that we do not place an unnecessary burden on them The Government are getting on with the job of bringing eligible children over to the UK, working closely with the French authorities to ensure that both Governments are working in the best of interests of these children. Mr. Speaker, I hope that is something that the whole House will join me in supporting".
Immigration Act — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Immigration
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, it will perhaps be helpful if I repeat the criteria on which these children will be considered. We will be considering: all those children aged 12 or under, not just certain children from certain countries; all children referred to us by the French authorities who are assessed as being at high-risk of sexual exploitation; and those nationalities most likely to qualify for refugee status in the UK aged 15 or under.
Immigration Act — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Immigration
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, we are not basing the criteria on country of origin. I repeat that we will consider: all children aged 12 and under; all children referred to us by the French authorities assessed as being at high risk of sexual exploitation; and those nationalities most likely to qualify for refugee status in the UK aged 15 or below.
Immigration Act — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Immigration
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, to answer the noble Lord’s last question first, any child at risk of sexual exploitation—that might include trafficking—will be a top priority, no matter what country they are from; ditto any child aged 12 or under. On the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, there have thus far been more than 3,000 people transferred, and half of those are children.
Immigration Act — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Immigration
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, while those children are in France, they are under the care and jurisdiction of the French. I have said this over and again and I cannot make the point strongly enough. The French have safeguarding systems that are among the best in the world. We are not talking about countries where these children are at risk. The French are doing everything they can to ensure these children do not abscond or jump on to the back of lorries, as the noble Baroness said.
Investigatory Powers Bill — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Other
James Peter Hymers Mackay (Conservative, Centre-right): I express my gratitude for the responsible attitude the noble Baroness has taken in this respect. I know how deeply she feels about the amendment she put forward. Of course, there is good journalism and less good journalism. I am glad to see the noble Lord, Lord Myners, in his place. It is possible to distinguish between what he was talking about and the feeling in respect of Section 40. I particularly want to emphasise the Minister’s words—that this is to be a genuine consultation; in other words, I take it that the Government have not yet made up their mind on this question and therefore, it will be worth while for anyone who has a point of view to express it. Even though the consultation period is slightly shorter than before, it is over Christmas and the New Year, which is perhaps the best time to generate good feelings.
Investigatory Powers Bill — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Frederick Richard Penn Curzon (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I am grateful for the contributions made from all quarters of the House. I will comment briefly on the consultation The consultation is a serious effort to canvas opinion. This is a difficult issue. There is no consensus around Section 40 implementation. We want to find a model for self-regulation that has broad support and works in practice. As well as having a responsibility to the victims, the Government have a responsibility to make sure that we have, as the noble Lord, Lord Myners, has correctly put it, a vibrant and sustainable press, particularly at the local level. We want to gather the evidence through a proper process, better to understand the potential impacts and explore options for next steps I and the Government believe that a consultation period of 10 weeks is appropriate and right. This is enough time to enable those who want to comment to do so, and we look forward to that process commencing.
Policing and Crime Bill — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Other
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, we have carefully considered the concerns that have been raised about the provision and we will then determine how best to look at how it is working in practice before deciding whether any further action needs to be taken. We are going to do it as soon as possible.
Policing and Crime Bill — House of Lords, 2016-11-16
Topic: Civil Rights
John Attlee (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I have sympathy for the noble Baroness’s amendment regarding collection of ethnic minority data. I would like to pick up on the point about education. So long as we are not properly educating the Traveller community it will continue to be exceptionally difficult for it to engage exclusively in legitimate economic activity.
Social Mobility — House of Lords, 2016-10-27
Topic: Other
James Stopford (Conservative, Centre-right): This is a time-limited debate and we are behind time already. I ask the noble Lord to make his point to the noble Lord, Lord Addington, at another time. I apologise to the noble Lord but there is no time for interventions.
Social Mobility — House of Lords, 2016-10-27
Topic: Immigration
Christopher Holmes (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken the time to participate in the debate, not least my noble friend Lady Couttie, who made an excellent maiden speech. It is clear that, at whatever age and whatever stage, social mobility matters—and there are precious few policy areas that do not have a role to play. Security and stability are the bedrock of mobility. A nation where every individual, regardless of background, has the opportunity to achieve their potential: I believe that is a mission that we can all completely get behind.
House of Lords Act 1999 (Amendment) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-12-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Trefgarne (Conservative, Centre-right): As your Lordships will be aware, my noble friend Lord Caithness and I have a number of amendments to the Bill, which we have in mind to move in a little while. I certainly have no intention of opposing the Motion that Committee stage do now commence, but I should explain—I have been asked to do so—that I and, I believe, my noble friend Lord Caithness, but he will speak for himself, do not oppose the principles of House of Lords reform—
House of Lords Act 1999 (Amendment) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2016-12-09
Topic: Other
Patrick Cormack (Conservative, Centre-right): I said no such thing. I did not say that it was odd that they were here. I paid particular tribute to what they do. The Bill of the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, does not make any of them leave. I am concerned about the reputation of the House and the method by which they are selected. Also, I made it quite plain that the Government said the Bill would not pass, so why the worry?