argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Law and Crime
John David Penrose (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope that the commitments I have just made and the words I was able to adduce have reassured the right hon. Member for Belfast North and his colleagues, and that on that basis they will be willing not to press their amendments. I think we are in agreement on the issue, but I am sure they will intervene on me if not Finally, let me turn to amendments 21 and 22, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) spoke briefly and eloquently late on in our proceedings. The amendments would require reports on gambling and the progress towards looking after gambling addicts, and on people who were victims of human trafficking. On the basis that we have been willing to consider other reports, I am of course willing to respond to that request and to accept the amendments I hope we have managed to dispose of the various amendments in reasonably good order, that everybody will treat the Government’s approach to those amendments in as constructive and positive a way as possible, and that we will therefore be able to dispose of the remaining business in Committee easily and straightforwardly. I therefore wish to do something quite unusual for a politician, which is to draw my remarks to a close, stop talking and sit down. Question put and agreed to. Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 3 Progress report Amendment made: 14, in clause 3, page 2, line 13, leave out "21 October" and insert "4 September".—(Mr Grieve.) This amendment would bring forward the date for a progress report to 4 September 2019. Amendment proposed: 6, in clause 3, page 2, line 15, at end insert— "(1A) The report under subsection (1) must include a report on progress made towards protecting veterans of the Armed Forces and other security personnel from repeated investigation for Troubles-related incidents by introducing a presumption of non-prosecution, in the absence of compelling new evidence, whether in the form of a Qualified Statute of Limitations or by some other legal mechanism."—(Dr Julian Lewis.) The subsection would include placing a duty on the Secretary of State to report on the options available to ensure that veterans of the Troubles would be able to assist in a truth recovery process, for the benefit of bereaved families, without fear of prosecution.
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Government Operations
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. No, we are having no confusion on this matter. We are starting this matter again. [Interruption.] I would appreciate just a little less noise, because we are debating serious matters here and it is not amusing Amendment made: 10, in page 2, line 15, at end insert— ‘(1A) Before making a report under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must publish a report on or before 4 September 2019 on progress made towards preparing legislation implementing a pension for seriously injured victims and survivors of Troubles-related incidents." —(Tony Lloyd.) The subsection would include placing a duty on the Secretary of State to report on the implementation of a pension for seriously injured victims and survivors of Troubles-related incidents. Amendment made: 12, in page 2, line 15, at end insert— ‘(1A) Before making a report under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must publish a report on or before 4 September 2019 on progress made towards implementing the recommendations made by the Report of the Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995, including the establishment of a publicly funded compensation scheme under an HIA Redress Board, distinct from the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2009.’—(Tony Lloyd.) The subsection calls for a report on implementing the Report of the Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995, published in January 2017, which was chaired by Sir Anthony Hart. Amendment proposed: 15, in page 2, line 15, at end insert— ‘(1A) The Secretary of State shall make a further report under subsection 1 on or before 9 October 2019 at least every fourteen calendar days thereafter until either an Executive is formed or until 18 December 2019, whichever is the sooner.’—(Mr Grieve.) This amendment would require fortnightly reports to be made after the conference recess until an Executive was formed, or until the December recess. Question put, That the amendment be made.
Intentional Unauthorised Development — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Government Operations
Alexander Paul Beresford (Conservative, Centre-right): There has recently been a meeting of every single local authority in Surrey. The Chancellor set it up and a number of other MPs went there. They would disagree totally with the Minister that we think that the legislation is adequate. It is inadequate.
Intentional Unauthorised Development — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I hear my hon. Friend’s view of the legislation, but, as I say, it is not the generally accepted view that came through in the consultation. I am more than happy to take a submission from the local authorities in Surrey if they believe that there are lacunae in their powers that mean they are unable to enforce successfully. However, there are local authorities across the country that do successfully enforce in this area. I would be more than happy to put his local authorities in touch with those local authorities who are successful in this regard, particularly the one that is always held out as an example—Sandwell in the west midlands, which has a particularly assertive and successful policy in this area, and might, I am sure, be able to offer some tips and tricks on what is available in the armoury of legislation for local authorities to use We want to ensure that local authorities use their powers to full effect and, as I say, draw on good practice across the country, at county or district level, in the ways that they can work more effectively with police and neighbouring authorities.
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Environment
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): We have set out clear plans within Government to reduce emissions across all transport modes. In my own area of responsibility, this includes last year’s "Road to Zero" strategy for road vehicles and, most recently, our future of mobility strategy specifically focused on creating cleaner and greener transport.
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Energy
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for that question, and delighted by Labour’s recently rediscovered interest in emissions. The hon. Gentleman will know that many of the areas that he mentions—I say this as former Energy Minister—have been colossal successes. In the offshore wind industry, for example, the required levels of subsidy have fallen dramatically over time, as have the costs. As I said, we have the "Road to Zero" strategy. We also have the "Aviation 2050" Green Paper and the "Maritime 2050" strategy, all of which are designed to reduce emissions.
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that question on an issue of great importance—reducing emissions from buses. We have done quite a lot of that already. I am sure that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), will look forward to receiving the bid and will carefully examine it with her officials.
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Environment
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will know that we are doing an enormous amount through the clean air fund and the other supported funding that we are giving to local authorities, including by working very closely with Transport for London. She is absolutely right to highlight the importance of this issue. However, I was slightly surprised when I carefully perused the shadow Secretary of State’s speech earlier this week, which discussed emissions in some detail, because I was unable to find virtually any mention of cycling, walking or active travel—an absolutely central part of this discussion. I commend that thought to Labour Members.
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Environment
Kirstene Janette Hair (Conservative, Centre-right): While I warmly welcome any initiative that helps to curb emissions, I am slightly concerned that the roll-out of low emission zones across the country will lead to problems whereby motorists, hauliers and delivery drivers are having to comply with different regulations in whatever city they come into. Does the Minister agree that we also need to look into alternative solutions so that we do not just continue to tax the motorist but give them the alternative of buying a new car or paying taxes?
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am slightly surprised that the hon. Lady, as Chair of the Transport Committee, is not aware of the very considerable funding—hundreds of millions of pounds—and the very specific and close work we are doing with cities, many of them Labour cities constructively working with Government on reducing this problem. It is a complex and multifaceted issue, and we are taking it very seriously.
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Environment
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am very much persuaded that many of the effects of man have been deleterious to the environment in many different ways, including relating to climate. Of course I share his concerns, but I am surprised that the Labour party is not taking this issue more seriously. How can he make a speech that discusses wide-ranging issues and not merely fails to mention issues of diversity or disability but barely focuses on cycling and walking—a critical set of interventions in which we are investing heavily across the country?
Transport Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Environment
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): Far from having failed to read the hon. Gentleman’s speech, I have scrutinised it with almost rabbinical closeness. It is a rather interesting mixture of the good, the incoherent and the baffling. I quite liked some of the stuff about land value capture— I thought that was sensible—but it misunderstands the nature of carbon budgets, the entire purpose of which is to allow the whole of Government to make decisions about how carbon budgets, which we are presently meeting, will be addressed. It is also incoherent in wishing to nationalise the rail service, while also somehow removing Whitehall from the process. I look forward to further details and updates for the House.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am delighted to announce that we are making available from today £21 million in new funding to support the national cycle network. I have agreed with Sustrans that it will work with High Speed 2 and Highways England to integrate routes wherever possible and to use the money we have provided to leverage further investment from other sources.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I warmly welcome the extra funding from the Minister. Two weeks ago, the Select Committee on Transport took its active travel inquiry up to Manchester, where we met Chris Boardman, the walking and cycling commissioner. He told us that they are unable to introduce certain safety measures in Manchester, such as mini pedestrian crossings, due to being discouraged by the Department for Transport because those are not recognised interventions. How can the Department do more to devolve safety improvements to local authorities, so that we can eradicate some of the less safe areas of our streets?
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): That is such an important question. We are working closely across all parts of the Department for Transport to think about improving road safety. I have huge respect for the work that Chris Boardman is doing in Manchester. I have met him on several occasions, as well as Brian Deegan, his chief designer, and we have specifically discussed that issue. There is a tension between national standards and local innovation. We are keen to ensure that both are met in the right way. I will certainly take this up again, because it is an important issue, and we want to see more innovation, particularly in support of road safety.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): It is absolutely right to celebrate what is being done in Manchester. It is also important to celebrate what is being done elsewhere in the country. If Sheffield is taking a lead, that is fantastic. Great work is also being done in Birmingham by the Mayor there, who has just appointed his own west midlands cycling champion, which we welcome.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): Many millions of pounds have rightly been spent on providing cycle highways and cycle routes, but there is no requirement for cyclists to use them. Should it not become an offence for a cyclist not to use these highways where they are provided?
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The answer to that, I think pretty clearly, is no. The roadway is for all users. Cycling infrastructure is used to try to preserve and protect cyclists. If that had the effect of forcing people into cycle lanes, it might have all kinds of road safety consequences that we would like to avoid.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the hon. Lady is absolutely right, and I very much salute her support for disabled people. She can have a word with the Secretary of State and, on her side, the shadow Secretary of State on the issue of disabilities. Walking is a very important part of the same issue. We are in the process of working very hard on a pavement parking review—it is coming towards the end of its work—and we are also working on the question of micro-mobility and how we regulate that. Both those issues are going to bear very closely on the question of how we think about enforcement against cyclists and other users of pavements who make life difficult for walkers.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to look at that. I met Oxford City Council, including its cycling champion and the leader of the council, just recently on these issues. Let me make one other point, which is that the advent of e-bikes—the Department is supporting them, and further news about them has been given this week—will also open up further housing opportunities around the country in a way that can only be good both for housing and for future personal health.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not know the particularly circumstances of the route the hon. Gentleman is talking about, but I am sure he will join me in welcoming today’s news of the work on the national cycle network, which is precisely designed to target the kinds of cyclists and walkers he is describing Mr Speaker, on the issue of e-bikes—there is a somewhat "Not the Nine O’clock News" quality about this—an e-bike, m’Lud, is an electronically or electrically powered velocipede, either a pedal bike or a moped, which are differently regulated by the Department in each case.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. I have actually walked Long Mynd on several occasions, and I have also paraglided from the top of Long Mynd. I very much encourage him to contemplate that as a perfectly splendid additional mode of transport enabled by walking.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome that question. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that I am a keen cyclist to and from work. Sometimes cars are required for security and other reasons, but I barely use a ministerial vehicle, and I encourage all colleagues to enjoy the benefits of cycling and walking.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): In 2010 the funding levels that we inherited from the previous Government stood at about £2.50 per person, and they are now about £7.55 per person. We would like to get that spending a lot higher if we can, as we fully agree about the merits and benefits of cycling and walking. However, funding is now three times the amount that we inherited from the Government who had governed for 13 years.
Bus Journey Numbers — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (Conservative, Centre-right): Local bus journeys remain central to transport choices, accounting for around 59% of all public transport journeys. Numbers of local bus passenger journeys in England have been falling since the 1950s, and they fell by 1.9% in the year ending March 2018.
Bus Journey Numbers — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises an important point. Bus passengers and disabled passengers have a close link, and it is right that someone’s ability to jump on a bus is about not just economics but social inclusion. That is why we launched the inclusive transport strategy last year. The concessionary bus budget is around £1 billion, which supports about 10 million passengers. That funding is concessionary and down to local authorities, which have very different packages up and down the country.
Bus Journey Numbers — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to say that bus services are a lifeline because, as I said earlier, not only do they get people to school and work, but they also tackle issues linked to loneliness. He is wrong about funding, however, because around £250 million is paid into bus services, and about £43 million of that goes directly to local authorities. We must understand what is happening up and down the country. In Reading, for example, just like in Bristol, Brighton and Liverpool, bus passenger numbers are up. That is why it is important to understand the powers in the Bus Service Act 2017, which enable local authorities to work with local bus companies and ensure a focus on the services that local passengers want.
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): In 2018, 292 million passengers flew to or from a UK airport. That figure was almost 3% higher than in 2017, and 24% higher than in 2008. The feedback that I have received from airports this year suggests that they expect that growth to continue. The one thing that could bring that growth to a grinding halt is Labour’s plan, which was announced yesterday, to hike the cost of going on holiday.
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
David James Duguid (Conservative, Centre-right): On 8 February easyJet ended its service between Aberdeen and Gatwick, which was the latest in a succession of cuts to flights between Aberdeen and London. British Airways has reduced services between Aberdeen and Heathrow in recent months, and that is making life more difficult for businesses and individuals across north-east Scotland, including in my constituency. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss the impact that those service reductions are having on the north-east economy, and say what can be done to help alleviate the situation?
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): I will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. He knows my concern about the need to guarantee enough capacity for regional connections. It is one of the reasons we have said there will be a bloc of new capacity at Heathrow airport, when it expands, set aside for regional connections. That is fundamentally important to the future of aviation in the United Kingdom.
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree: we need both western and southern access to Heathrow. That is an important part of ensuring that the airport can expand in a sustainable way, but it will also make a real difference to the hon. Lady’s constituents who work at the airport.
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): Air passenger duty not only puts UK airports at a competitive disadvantage, but is a particular challenge to domestic carriers, where passengers end up paying the duty twice. Will the Secretary of State join the "A Fair Tax on Flying" campaign and encourage the Treasury to cut air passenger duty on domestic flights once we leave the EU?
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): I know how strongly people in regional airports feel about this issue and the intense pressure from around the United Kingdom on the Treasury to look at this again. I know my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has taken careful note of all those representations. Of course, the one thing that would not help Newquay airport and others is Labour’s plan to hike air passenger duty.
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): I have had regular meetings with both airports since becoming Secretary of State. They have great ambitions to expand their route networks. The commitment I give to the hon. Gentleman is that my ministerial team and I will do everything we can to support their ambitions to attract more international routes and better connections within the United Kingdom.
Passengers from British Airports — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman clearly has not been following too closely what has happened. We have, for example, just opened a new road alongside Manchester airport. We are in the development phase of western rail access to Heathrow. We are taking HS2 to Old Oak Common, creating new opportunities for accessing Heathrow airport, and there are more things happening around the country. I absolutely share his view that we need to improve connections to airports. [Interruption.] He says, "Heathrow". We have just funded new trains for Newcastle-upon-Tyne Metro, which of course connects to the airport. The Government are investing in connections to our airports.