argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is making a very important point. As the Chancellor set out, those costs are many billions of pounds. One example is the proposed relocation of clearing houses, with an effective cost of some £25 billion a year. Does my right hon. Friend agree in addition that it is critical to have continuity for the legal instruments that underpin financial services, and that continuity of access for legal services must therefore be inextricably linked?
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The hon. Gentleman, and all hon. Members, can question other Members’ political attitudes and what they say in this House. What we cannot have is one Member suggesting that another Member has said something, in writing or otherwise, which he says he did not say. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook) will not question what I am saying. Mr Blomfield might like to consider just closing this down with a withdrawal of his remark about Mr Redwood.
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope we can return to the subject we are meant to be debating today. The hon. Gentleman talks about manifestos, and of course his party failed to get elected on its one. Is he familiar with the Conservative manifesto, which some may say we have drifted away from to some considerable extent? It made it clear that the Government’s policy, should they be re-elected to govern our country, was that we would seek a customs arrangement.
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. There is plenty of time for debate this afternoon. I hope that we can manage the debate without a formal time limit, because that will allow natural debate to occur without restriction. That will work if Members speak for approximately 10 minutes each. If anybody speaks for much longer than that, we will have to have a time limit.
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Civil Rights
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): My business interests are declared in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, but I do not plan to talk about them today Before the referendum, I made a speech in the House saying that we had become a puppet Parliament. All too often, regulations came from the EU that we could do nothing about, because they acted directly. In many other cases, even if we had been outvoted or were not happy about a proposition, a directive instructed the House to put through massive and complex legislation whether it wished to or not. We had a situation in which the Front Benchers of the main parties, alternating in government as they tended to do, went along with this. The convention was that the Opposition did not really oppose, because they knew that Parliament was powerless and that the decision had been made elsewhere, whether the British people liked it or not. That even extended to tax matters, such as a number of VAT issues, including areas where we cannot change VAT as we would like, and to corporation tax issues, which included occasions when we thought that we had levied money on companies fairly, but the EU decided otherwise and made us give it back Many British people shared my concern, and that was why we all went out together and voted in large numbers to take back control. The British people wanted to trust their British Parliament again. Of course they will find times when they dislike the Government, individual MPs and whole parties, but they can live with that, because they can get rid of us. They know that come the election, if we cease to please, they can throw one group out and put in place a group who will carry out their wishes. They said very clearly to our Parliament in that referendum, "Take back control; do your job." A recent example is that of Her Majesty’s Government presenting a very long and complex piece of legislation to completely transform our data protection legislation. Because it was based entirely on new EU proposals, it went through without any formal opposition. The Opposition obeyed the convention and did not vote against it or try very hard to criticise it. I am sure that if the proposal had been invented in Whitehall and promoted actively by UK Ministers, the Opposition would have done their job, found things to disagree with and made proposals for improvement. We will have this "puppet Parliament" effect all the time that we are under control from Brussels.
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is making an important point. An obvious example are goods that are sold with an insurance policy attached, which is a classic case of an area in which we are world beaters. Once we start to disentangle one part of the financial ecosystem, then we of course damage the whole lot, whether in trade with the EU or elsewhere.
European Affairs — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I appreciate that, as the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) said, she had a lot of points to cover. It is also obvious to me that nobody except the right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) has taken the least notice of my exhortation to take about 10 minutes. If I were to impose a time limit now, it would be seven minutes, but I am still going to try to proceed without a time limit, and I hope that Members will tailor their remarks accordingly. I do not suffer if somebody makes a long speech—more than twice as long as the 10 minutes I recommended—but other colleagues do.
CERN Pensions: UK Tax Treatment — House of Commons, 2018-03-15
Topic: Other
Robert Andrew Raymond Syms (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that offer. This is a complex area, and I think that my constituents would be grateful for at least a brief meeting just to go through some of their concerns, outside the public spotlight.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I, too, have put my name to this amendment, and I intend to speak to it in a few moments. The way in which the Bill is drafted means that the Minister will lay regulations in due course, but should we not take this opportunity now to express our views on the Floor of the House about what the definition of a bereaved parent should be? Of course we trust Ministers to get this right, but it is for us as well to put forward what we think would be the appropriate definitions—hence these amendments.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. The vast majority of employers will be considerate and understanding and will look to support their employees. At the end of the day, they will generate a lot of loyalty in an employee that might well be repaid in a positive way at a later date. It is not a burden for an employer to be good to their employees. Reducing staff turnover can actually be a huge boost for a business. Employees can get experience and develop skills and will stay if they feel that the situation is more of a partnership than a "them and us" relationship Unfortunately, however, there is still an undoubted need to legislate. The majority of people would not discriminate against others based on their gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, but there are some who would, which is why we have the law and the relevant sanctions in place.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is making some excellent points. The Bill has an impact on the Treasury, with an annual cost of about £3.2 million, because the taxpayer—not the Treasury itself, clearly—will be picking up the tab for the statutory pay element. We have to take that key consideration into account. We must also consider costs for businesses, especially small businesses, as they will suffer the effects more than larger businesses. Small businesses find it much more difficult to cater for absence. As there is already a predicted cost of £2.6 million a year for small businesses, does my hon. Friend agree that we need to strike a balance by taking into account the interests of both business and the individuals who suffer these tragedies?
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): Surely the key point is the difference between rigidity and clarity. The fact that management and staff will know where they stand, as opposed to there being a general reliance on reasonableness, is surely a huge benefit that works to the advantage of both sides.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): It must be wonderful being one of my hon. Friend’s constituents—we will all be emailing him at 3 o’clock tomorrow morning and waiting for the reply. As I was saying, I accept that there is a need for balance, but I do not want the process to be too rigid.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): May I put on record my thanks to the hon. Lady for her work on this Bill, particularly during Committee stage. Earlier, she said that we had worked together to improve this Bill. I and my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince) were delighted that the Government were willing to accept her amendment on stillbirth. That is a clear sign of how cross-party working can improve legislation as it goes through the House. That particular amendment will always be attributed to my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester and the hon. Lady.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is making some powerful points. She is right that this is about the impact on the person. As I said, my grandmother was into her late 70s and her son was 59, but his death still impacted her very strongly emotionally.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): If someone adopts a child, they become the parent as far as the law is concerned. There are also foster carers or those who have taken in a child in certain circumstances—for example, when there are potential child protection issues. We must be clear that this applies to the primary care giver, not necessarily only the person who is legally or biologically defined as the parent.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I remember serving on my very first Bill Committee when he was my equal and opposite. Is it not often the case that amendments are tabled to be probing? Alternatives are put forward that would be equally suitable and that is a perfectly logical and rational way to have a sensible debate.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak. My heart goes out to everybody who has been affected by a bereavement. I take my hat off to all Members who have contributed to the debate who have personally endured loss themselves. It is a very brave and remarkable thing to share with the House. Their experience will enable others to have a better experience. I cannot imagine going through parental bereavement, but if my constituents or I were to do so, I would expect employers to be generous. The Bill is meant to ensure the minimum of what employers should give to their employees. It is important to note, however, that some microbusinesses or small businesses just do not have the capacity to pay staff for a period of leave, and a member of staff might not be able to afford unpaid leave, so the provision of a statutory element is a great step forward. It will give employees more freedom to take the time to grieve and to deal with their loss. It will also give employers the benefit of knowing that they will be able to facilitate that while keeping their business afloat. I think that that is the right thing to do. It is right for taxpayers to be contributing. We have heard today that the cost will be £3.2 million, and I would argue that this is a very good use of that money. I know that my constituents will be delighted as I have already received a number of pieces of correspondence from them echoing that view.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been looking for information about international comparisons, and the reason why there is not much of it is because no one else does this. It is heartening to think that we will be leading the way, and that will be in no small part due to those Members on both sides of the House who have fought so hard for these changes.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely echo my hon. Friend’s comments. I pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) and for Colchester (Will Quince), as well as everybody else in the House who has contributed to the Bill, including all members of the Public Bill Committee. The Bill commands cross-party support, as well as support from the public, who will note today’s debate and see that Parliament sometimes really is in touch with people and their needs I echo comments about the fact that when employers are very generous towards their employees, it fosters a sense of loyalty and respect among them. I am sure that employers’ ability to offer this additional support will go some way towards developing that even further. Some of the amendments relate to the amount of leave that can be given. I honestly think that we can never quantify the length of time that it takes to get over a loss—in fact, we never really do get fully over a loss, be that of a child or anybody else who is significant in our lives—so I question whether the time being allowed is enough, although it is a good start. The whole point is that the Bill is supposed to set out the minimum, and we might revisit this and look to increase the time through secondary legislation We have discussed when people can take leave. There is a strong argument that an eight-week period is too arbitrary and very strict, because of such things as inquests, anniversaries and the dates when it really hits home. We must also remember that the Bill offers statutory pay, and people who only get that might not be able to afford to take time within those eight weeks. They might have to save up or make provision as a result of debts or the unexpected bills that people have to pay when someone dies. They might also not be ready for those losses. We cannot expect that somehow their financial burdens will suddenly disappear—that can take time We have heard an interesting discussion about the age of the child. It is important to remember that no matter how old someone’s child is, they are still that person’s child. Whether someone is 18 or 40, the loss is still huge, and Members have mentioned their personal experiences of that today. There is an argument for increasing the age from 18. We might not be able to do that in this Bill, but perhaps we can look at the position again. I echo the comment from my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson) that the burden would probably not increase fivefold, because a lot of people will be retired by the time their child is lost. It is important to remember that not everybody will take up the offer, and some employers would offer their own scheme, so their employees would not be looking at the statutory benefit. We can explore this area more, and I think that further research and investigation needs to determine the cost to the taxpayer if the provision were extended.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is making some excellent points. As I am sure she is aware, there is a consultation on many of the issues to which she refers. I absolutely accept that we need to consider the eight-week window, for example, and that is one matter that is subject to consultation. I urge her and any Members who may have an interest in this, as well as constituents and charities, to submit evidence to the consultation, which I believe expires at 11.45 pm on 8 June.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and for clarifying that very specific time of 11.45 pm. I will urge all my constituents to contribute to the consultation, especially those who can bring their own experience to it.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that the priority is that the provisions do not become a cliff edge, meaning that we do not have people’s 18th birthday as the absolute marker? Actually, when we read the Bill, we see that it could apply not only to someone under 18, as the parent of someone who dies on their 18th birthday may end up qualifying. However, the issue is making sure that this age is seen as a bare minimum, not a ceiling.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is making a very good speech. Some powerful arguments have been made on both sides about the 18 threshold. Is my hon. Friend at least reassured that, as I understand it, parents of those over 18 would be covered by the "reasonableness" provisions?
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Alexander Courts (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend powerfully makes the very point I want to make. For any human being, burying a child is profoundly distressing, as it goes against our very nature as humans. We therefore should not even countenance saying that people should not be able to avail themselves of assistance just because their child is older; that would go against what we are trying to achieve. While that is my wish, however, I listened carefully to the interventions made by my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester, and my overriding desire is that this legislation gets on to the statute book. If it just sets a minimum level, we do not have to say that that is it, the story is closed and we can never amend it again. We can come back to it: we can either amend this legislation through regulations or come back and debate it again, and campaign, as we are so used to doing, to ensure that we provide a higher standard. I would not like any changes to be made now that mean either the Government are unable to support the Bill or employers feel that it is too onerous on them, and as a result we do not have these much-needed protections. It must be our foremost concern today to put these protections in place The last group on which I want to comment is those that address notice periods: amendments, 9, 10, 11, 15 and 17. I think that an element of practicality is intended here, and I would certainly not wish to see anything in this Bill that requires people, at a time of profound distress, when their world has been turned upside down and they cannot think straight, to have to worry about filling in forms or jumping through hoops or having to comply with something, which, as my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp) said, might mean they inadvertently fall foul of a regulation We are seeking to provide legislation that is compassionate and sensitive. The requirement for any notice period to be given must be very light touch and amount to nothing more than people simply telling the employer that this tragedy has occurred and they would like to go off for a certain period. That is reasonable to enable the employer to provide some cover for the job they are undertaking at that time, but I certainly would not want to see requirements put in place—perhaps involving training—and people having to worry about whether they have complied with them. That would be running completely counter to what we are trying to achieve here.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that that is the benefit of saying the notice must be reasonable or, as amendment 17 from my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson) proposes, giving as much scope as possible about how this notice can be provided, so that there is not a written form that people must be aware of and fill in?
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is making some excellent points. It might not seem that we have best reason for taking this approach; as he rightly points out, the flexibility required in the circumstances of bereavement is entirely different from that needed in the case of paternity leave. However, the difficulty we are dealing with relates to processes in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and its ability to deal with statutory pay. The bureaucracies that support the decisions we make in this House should not necessarily drive our thinking, but they are a consideration to which we must pay due regard.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): May I clarify for my benefit and that of other Members that the idea is for eight weeks to be the minimum timeframe and that the leave can be broken? This is not about a solid two-week period.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend mentioned the desire for a culture change among businesses. Will he continue to engage with the many business representative organisations to make sure that that message from this House is clear and spreads out across the whole country?
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-05-11
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I hesitate to interrupt the hon. Gentleman, but I am listening carefully to what he is saying, and while of course he can thank his colleagues and other hon. Members as often as he wishes—I have no objection; that is perfectly in order—I gently remind him that at the moment he should be addressing the amendments that we have been dealing with since 9.35 this morning. Once he has done that and we come to the end of this process, we will go on to Third Reading, when it is customary for the thanks to come, but of course the hon. Gentleman may wish to make his thanks more than once, and there is nothing wrong with that. If he does so more than twice or three times, I will have to say he is being repetitive, but I never discourage courtesy in this place—I am merely pointing him in this direction.