argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-03-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I do not accept that I am making a cheap point, but I fully accept the hon. Gentleman’s central point. We would not be strong Members of Parliament for Scotland if we were not here to represent Scottish interests, and the Barnett formula is there for a reason The Secretary of State for Scotland should have used his position in Cabinet to stand up for Scotland and protect the Barnett formula, but he did not. If he did, the Scottish budget could have increased by £400 million. Moreover, if he had stood firm regarding the confidence and supply agreement in its entirety, Scotland would have had an extra £3 billion to mitigate this Government’s policies, to prepare for Brexit and to invest in infrastructure, but he either failed or did not bother. He has abdicated his responsibility to Scotland and, despite various promises that he would resign with regard to protecting Scotland interests vis-à-vis Brexit, he has bottled it each and every time.
Families of Commonwealth Soldiers — House of Commons, 2019-03-05
Topic: Immigration
Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his words. Absolutely—it is just the right thing to do. There is no dubiety here. He is absolutely right about the effect on people As I was saying, my constituent’s wife and daughter applied for naturalisation, with no decision yet. That means that despite his being a UK citizen, his wife and daughter do not have recourse to public funds and are not allowed to work, and the Home Office currently has all their identification documents. They have been waiting well over a year, and are yet another family of a Commonwealth soldier suffering at the hands of the Home Office, which insists that the case is "complex". When I ask for a timeline for the decision, we are told that it cannot give us one, and so on Another case is that of Emmanuel, who is happy to be named. He wanted to bring his auntie over for a visit, but was unable to do so because she did not earn enough in Ghana, and the Home Office would not accept him paying for her visit here. He basically just wanted to see his family before he went off for a tour in Iraq in 2018. He wrote to my assistant, Callum: "Dear Callum, Good day and thank you very much for getting in touch Even though we felt abandoned in our own case, I will be more than glad for the MP to mention my case as an example and use my name if need be, so Parliament and the Home Office knows that these are real issues affecting real Commonwealth people. I am sad to say that after two attempts, my auntie never was issued the visa. This is unacceptable, what is happening to Commonwealth citizens serving in the British army and it’s super bad for the recruitment drive It’s bad enough that these men and women, having signed blank cheques with their lives for this country, still pay the full cost for their naturalization to become British, and yet their loved ones cannot even visit them to keep them sane. My support for Mr Omondi in getting his daughter is massive, as it affects all of us Commonwealth people, especially when I and my partner have experienced this ill treatment. We are still devastated by what has happened to us, because I was going through postnatal depression then. Extend our thanks to Mr Drew for flying the Commonwealth flag for us in this matter." All these cases are simple. We have asked these people to come and do a duty for us—to put their life at risk, and to obviously involve their families, because that is a part of the job. I am asking the Minister now to take this seriously. In the case of Mr Omondi, I would like an answer. In the case of this entire situation for all Commonwealth armed services personnel, there is a big job to do to sort this out. Let us see the changes made that need to be made, and let us see those Commonwealth soldiers and armed forces personnel treated with the dignity that they deserve.
Backstop Protocol — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Immigration
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Last October, the Secretary of State gave a guarantee that her Government would not renege on the backstop, saying: "We are committed to everything we have agreed to in the joint report and we will ensure there is no border on the island of Ireland." Can she explain why there has now been a U-turn and the Government’s policy has changed to ditching the backstop?
Backstop Protocol — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Immigration
Christopher Murray Alexander Law (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): In order to protect the Good Friday agreement, the backstop protocol was designed as an insurance policy to prevent a hard border in all circumstances. The only major party in these islands that opposed the Good Friday agreement was the Democratic Unionist party. Did the Secretary of State consult with any other party in Northern Ireland before throwing her support behind the new Government policy of ditching the backstop?
Supporting Business — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Immigration
Angus Brendan MacNeil (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We know that the business community in Northern Ireland does not want a hard border, so surely, if technology and connected promises do not avoid that, the backstop is an understandable insurance policy for Dublin and the European Union, as indeed the United Kingdom agreed in December 2017. Surely the Government will not be reneging on that promise, which is beneficial to business.
Draft Domestic Abuse Bill: Territorial Extent — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Civil Rights
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The situation in Northern Ireland as regards women’s rights, particularly on abortion, is deplorable and requires addressing. However, this Bill could never have been UK-wide, because civil and criminal justice are devolved to Scotland. Indeed, last year Scotland passed its own Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, which has already significantly strengthened statutory definitions and protections in respect of domestic violence, for example, by recognising the offence of coercive control There is much to be welcomed in the UK Government’s Bill, but I am pleased to hear that they are putting it through pre-legislative scrutiny, which we hope signifies that they are willing to listen to genuine concerns from Members from across the House. There are some UK-wide issues that this Government could and should legislate on. My hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) has led the campaign calling for default separate payments in universal credit, to protect the victims of domestic abuse from financial coercion. Scottish National party Members were dismayed that that was dismissed out of hand by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Will the Minister speak to her counterpart at the Department for Work and Pensions so as to urgently introduce default separate payments or at least to create provision for the Scottish Government to do that, because of course that is one of the many aspects of welfare powers that are not yet devolved As has been mentioned by others, the insecure immigration status of women who are victims of domestic violence also needs addressing. I want to know what the Minister is doing to extend the eligibility of the destitute domestic violence concession, so that it supports more migrant women. More generally, what discussions will she have with her counterparts to support migrant women, throughout the UK, who are victims of domestic abuse?
Draft Domestic Abuse Bill: Territorial Extent — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Immigration
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I would like to start by saying to the Minister that unless she is going to devolve Department for Work and Pensions and UK Visas and Immigration functions, it will be a missed opportunity for the Bill not to tackle the issues those Departments are responsible for, particularly with regards to women in the immigration system and some DWP policies, including the rape clause, which, in the way it is formed, either forces a woman to leave an abusive relationship at a time not of her choosing, which can be extremely dangerous, or denies her support I would also like to know a bit more about the recommendations for training DWP staff. I have heard from some organisations that that can be sorely lacking in the advice that is offered to women. I would like to know how exactly that would operate for both England and Scotland Lastly, if Mr Speaker will allow, it was announced today that all judges and sheriffs in Scotland will be given specific domestic violence training, particularly around coercive control. Will she consider doing something similar for all judges in the English court system, too?
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Other
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Words are great but it is deeds that are important, and we think that this should be in this Bill. As the Bill is, to use the Minister’s term, the docking station for future agreements, we think that this should be in the Bill, which sets the tone of the regulations for future agreements.
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Civil Rights
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That is not the point—it is about the principles. We have spoken at length about this and listed some of them. It is about the principles, and we are signatories to the ECHR as well. We should ensure that these principles and obligations are in this Bill; otherwise, in my view, we are not following those obligations Amendment 1, tabled by the Liberal Democrats, is an improvement on new clause 1, but my only small concern—the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Sir Edward Davey) may address this in his speech—is that it might not cover instances where data could be requested by another state through a different route, similarly to the issues that I set out with regard to new clause 1 Amendment 12 simply refers to "where the treaty provides for requests" and therefore provides the most comprehensive level of protection. I urge Members from across the House to back this amendment, as our international reputation may well be degraded even further—if that were possible given the Brexit situation at the moment—if we enable this barbaric practice anywhere else in the world On journalistic protections, I very much welcome the amendments tabled by the Government and by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman), but they still do not go far enough. They are fine in and of themselves, but other areas of journalistic protection still need to be looked at.
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Civil Rights
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That is almost a false choice. The Minister is painting it as a black-and-white issue. At the end of the day, on an issue of such grave importance as the death penalty, I would bring it to the House and seek the House’s view. It would not be for me to try to override our principles as set in the ECHR. The USA might well hold all the data, but if we do not hold to our principles, then what is the point? That is our view Clause 12 provides for a journalist to be given notice of and made a party to an application that pertains to their confidential journalistic material, but this does not apply to non-confidential but none the less extremely sensitive journalistic material. As I said in Committee, that is at odds with the domestic situation as outlined in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The system proposed in the Bill will allow for a significantly reduced opportunity for journalists to engage in arguments about what is, and is not, suitable for disclosure, removing the opportunity for a journalist to make submissions on the issues that this gives rise to in the context of their work We believe that the Bill does not provide adequate protection of confidential journalistic material. This could seriously threaten journalistic inquiry and prevent a free press from doing its job, and the implications for our democracy are worrying. We are not alone in having those concerns; the BBC and many others have raised deep concerns about this part of the Bill. Amendment 18 is essential because it ensures that any protections afforded to our journalists in this Bill are not simply domestic but that other states that the Government enter into an agreement with must mirror the UK’s press safeguards Amendments 19 to 23, tabled by the Home Secretary and the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle, would introduce a requirement that notice must be given for all applications for journalistic material. It is vital that journalists can operate freely in the knowledge that Government cannot just seize their information on a whim. As I said, we very much welcome those amendments. However, I echo the concerns aired by the hon. Member for Torfaen about proposed new subsection (2B) and in particular the indictable offence override. I hope that the Minister can give us some comfort on that. Under the Bill, journalists would have a significantly reduced ability to engage in arguments about what is and is not suitable for disclosure, removing the opportunity for them to make submissions on the issues that give rise to that In conclusion, there have been clear improvements to the Bill, and we very much welcome those concessions. However, new clause 1 and the journalistic protections simply do not go far enough, and that is why we will back the amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Torfaen.
Legislation against Female Genital Mutilation — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): FGM is a violation of human rights. Data released over the weekend showed that in the past two years medics in Scotland’s cities have treated victims of FGM on more than 230 occasions, which is horrific and quite chilling to think of, but we still know very little about the extent to which it is practised despite women being treated who have already suffered FGM In Scotland, we have laws in place to tackle this illegal practice and are looking at introducing protection orders also for women and girls at risk, which would give judges the power to prevent a woman or girl believed to be at risk of FGM from being taken out of the country. I know from some of my own constituency cases that that is a very real concern, and some of my constituents have raised it with me. We also have a national action plan to prevent and eradicate FGM The more crucial point about this today, however, is that it is disgraceful that this Bill has been blocked. It is becoming increasingly frustrating in this House to have the will of the House circumvented by one male Member, whom such issues will not affect, standing in the way of progress when we want to get on and do good things that would prevent women and girls from being harmed. So what will the Minister do, and will she speak to her colleague the Leader of the House and others to ask for measures to be put in place to prevent this abuse of the House from happening again? The private Member’s Bill system has already been said by the Procedure Committee, on which I serve, to be broken and discredited, and we cannot have faith that Bills will progress if somebody can object to them as easily as we saw last week Lastly, the Minister has not given a date for when this Bill will return to the House. I understand that the Leader of the House will make a statement tomorrow in the House after the Prime Minister’s statement; will there be any update on when this will happen then?
Northern Ireland Parties: Donations — House of Commons, 2019-02-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Electoral Commission will publish its correspondence with the Cabinet Office on the publication of donations received by political parties in Northern Ireland from 2014 to 2017.; If the Electoral Commission will publish its correspondence with the Cabinet Office on the publication of donations received by political parties in Northern Ireland from 2014 to 2017.
Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Select Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s interim report into "Disinformation and ‘fake news’" rightly criticised the shadowy and secretive Constitutional Research Council for having "deliberately and knowingly, exploited a loophole in the electoral law to funnel" £435,000 to the Democratic Unionist party during the EU referendum. The source of that money remains a secret and is beyond the scrutiny of both this Parliament and the public. Will the hon. Lady add her voice to those on the Select Committee and the Electoral Commission in calling for the publication of the source of that money?
Future Free Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2019-02-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Secretary of State is right to refer to the emerging middle class in growing economies—India is one example—but can he give me a cast-iron guarantee that when he is negotiating these trade agreements, human rights and issues such as freedom of religion and belief will be at the forefront of his mind? I am concerned about the possibility that, as we go around negotiating these wonderful free trade agreements, we will start to ignore human rights, particularly in the case of India.
Future Free Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2019-02-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Deidre Leanne Brock (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. Let me go back to the issues around Australia—as an Australian this area is of particular interest to me. The Japan-Australia economic partnership agreement took seven years from start to finish to establish. How long does the Secretary of State estimate it will take to establish a similar agreement with Australia?
Female Genital Mutilation — House of Commons, 2019-02-13
Topic: Civil Rights
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Everyone would agree that we need to tackle female genital mutilation. The Minister will be aware that the private Member’s Bill on the issue was scuppered. In the light of that, does she understand that confidence in the Government’s willingness to deal with the issue has been shaken? It is important that they now move quickly to restore that confidence.
Prosperity Fund — House of Commons, 2019-02-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps her Department is taking to ensure that aid spent through the prosperity fund complies with her Department’s duty to reduce levels of poverty.
Christopher Murray Alexander Law (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Alleviating poverty should be at the core of everything that DFID does. As such, I am sure that the Secretary of State will be just as deeply concerned as I was to see the former Foreign Secretary throw his weight behind a report published this week that calls for changing the Department’s purpose from poverty reduction to furthering "the nation’s overall strategic goals" Will the Minister take this opportunity to confirm that the Department will not become a subsidiary of the Foreign Office and that the 0.7% of gross national income will be firmly committed to poverty reduction?
Communities: Charities and Volunteers — House of Commons, 2019-02-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I see that the chair of the all-party parliamentary group and the Minister agree. It is a fundamental point that we need to reinforce The sector in Scotland has a combined turnover of £5.8 billion. For the record, that is higher than the whisky industry. Some 78% of charities in Scotland are locally based, and four out of five Scots used a third sector organisation last year.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the selling of personal data — House of Commons, 2019-02-13
Topic: Civil Rights
Martyn Day (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I rise to present a petition on behalf of my constituents regarding the Driver and Vehicle and Licensing Agency and the selling of personal data. This is quite an interesting issue. Under the 2002 regulations, the DVLA may provide, free of charge, information to the police and local authorities for use in connection with an offence, but it may also make it available for a fee to any person who can show to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that he has reasonable cause for wanting particulars to be made available to him, and reasonable cause is not defined. This clearly appears to be an anomaly that should be rectified The petition states: The petition of the residents of Linlithgow and Falkirk East Declares that the petitioners believe that it is immoral that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are allowed to sell personal data to the third parties, irrespective of whether or not the Treasury gains financially; believes that most members of the public will not be aware that this practice is permitted; further believes that the DVLA should only be permitted information to the police and local authorities for use in connection with an offence The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to review the existing Data Protection legislation and that consideration be given to prohibiting the DVLA from selling personal data to third parties [P002420]
Illegal Immigration (English Channel) — House of Commons, 2019-01-14
Topic: Immigration
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I do not know how to follow that, but I will try. The Secretary of State has been waxing lyrical about the fleet ready escort being based on England’s southern coast to deal with this phantom menace of mass immigration, with no plans for basing OPVs in Scotland, as he admitted to me in parliamentary questions. So will the Minister, on behalf of the Secretary of State, advise the House as to whether they have received any representation from the Scottish Conservative cohort in this House about basing fishery protection vessels anywhere remotely near Scotland?
Russian Military Activity (NATO Discussions) — House of Commons, 2019-01-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Russian incursions into Scottish waters are increasingly blatant, yet still no major naval surface ships are based in Scotland. Has the Secretary of State had any discussions with his NATO counterparts about the UK’s responsibility to patrol its north Atlantic maritime territory properly?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2019-01-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. While I utterly support the idea of proxy voting for women such as our colleague the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq), we have people who are absent from the Chamber and from Parliament with a varying range of illnesses, or who have partners or family members who are terminally ill. The issue needs to be dealt with across the range.