argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Exiting the EU: Equalities Policy — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Sue-Ellen Cassiana Braverman (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, we have a proud record, history and tradition in the UK of supporting workers, protecting civil liberties and championing human rights. Leaving the EU will in no way affect that historical tradition, of which we can all be proud.
Workplace Sexual Harassment — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties in the workplace.
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): The Equality Act 2010 provides protection from harassment for employees, whether committed by their employer, co-workers or a third party. The coalition Government repealed the third party harassment provisions in section 40 of the Equality Act because they were unnecessary and overcomplicated. Employers have a legal obligation to protect their workers, and may be liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment of workers by third parties.
Workplace Sexual Harassment — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties in the workplace.
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am most concerned to hear about those incidents of harassment, and the hon. Lady should be reassured that they are covered already by the Equality Act. The reason those provisions in section 40 were repealed was that, as she has identified, they required not one but three occasions of harassment, and we know that, in the three years those provisions were in place, they were used only once. We have tried to improve the law, and I would encourage her to encourage people to use it.
Workplace Sexual Harassment — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties in the workplace.
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): It is really encouraging to hear my hon. Friend’s response, but does she not agree that it is not just about getting the law right? We have to get the remedies within the law right. We have to encourage anonymised reporting in the workplace. We must also make sure that the unethical use of non-disclosure agreements does not work to stop people bringing forward claims of sexual harassment in the first place.
Workplace Sexual Harassment — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties in the workplace.
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for her question. With her expertise on the Women and Equalities Committee, she knows only too well the challenge we have in advertising the rights that people have in the workplace. I am particularly concerned with non-disclosure agreements. We know that they can be used for lawful reasons—for example, to protect client confidentiality—but they cannot be used to shield employers from claims of harassment or discrimination, and any work that her Committee can do to help the Government in advertising that, I would very much welcome.
Workplace Sexual Harassment — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties in the workplace.
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much pay tribute to the hon. Lady for the work that she did as a Minister and that she continues to do now in the House. We of course keep this matter under review, but on the point I made about the section 40 amendments, general protection exists under the Act. However, we will continue to look at the evidence, and we are very, very clear: discrimination and harassment in the workplace is simply not on and is against the law.
Workplace Sexual Harassment — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: If the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties in the workplace.
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I hesitate to correct the hon. Lady, but that is simply not true: there is a general protection against harassment in the workplace; it is in the 2010 statue—it is a general protection against harassment. Of course, if there are any instances that Members on both sides of the House have of particular types of harassment or discrimination, I and the Home Secretary will always be willing to listen. However, the Equality Act protects workers, the general protection is there and, what is more, it is better than the section 40 protections, because it does not require three occasions of harassment; it requires just one.
Period Poverty — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): No girl or woman should be held back because of her gender or her background. This is why the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has identified period poverty as a priority for the tampon tax fund, which, in 2018 and 2019, totals £15 million. We have encouraged bids to address this issue.
Period Poverty — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Other
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to hear that Stockton-on-Tees Council has started that innovative project, and, in fairness to our Scottish colleagues, the same is happening in Aberdeen as well. I look forward very much to hearing the results of that pilot, and I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss them.
Period Poverty — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: I was pleased to hear that the student union in Lincoln sells sanitary products at cost before VAT. Will the Minister acknowledge that sanitary products are not a luxury, but a necessity? My question is: will she accelerate the timetable for removing the tampon tax—yes, or no?
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady shakes her head, but I am afraid that that is the law. We have lowered the rate to the lowest possible level—5%—and, what is more, we are using that money specifically for funds that help women and girls. We are waiting for the moment that we leave the European Union. I know that my Treasury colleagues are looking at exactly that issue.
Period Poverty — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: I was pleased to hear that the student union in Lincoln sells sanitary products at cost before VAT. Will the Minister acknowledge that sanitary products are not a luxury, but a necessity? My question is: will she accelerate the timetable for removing the tampon tax—yes, or no?
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are led, if I may say, by a female Prime Minister—I just mention that as a small detail because Labour members have never managed to entrust the leadership of their party to a woman. We are proud of our record of helping women, which is precisely why we are bringing forward a ground-breaking piece of legislation this year to tackle domestic abuse, which will help both the victims of domestic abuse and their children. It is one measure in a long programme that we are carrying out to try to help women—not just women who are victims of crime, but women in the economy. We have more women in the workplace than ever before, and we all know that financial independence is a key indicator when it comes to ensuring that women are not stuck in those terrible relationships that the hon. Lady has described.
Gender Pay Gap — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Other
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important matter. It has been instructive to see how the BBC has responded. I am happy to confirm that I will take forward her advice and indeed have a word.
Gender Pay Gap — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman asks an important question. We have put in place ground-breaking legislation to ensure that we close the gender pay gap. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will oversee any sorts of sanctions that are necessary. I hope that it will be its intention, as it is ours, to use persuasion and demonstration of the law to get participation, but of course it can use the full force of the law if it finds that the legislation is not being complied with.
Gender Pay Gap — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): It is incredibly important that we do address closing the gender pay gap. Transparency is one of the key ways that we will achieve that. Having this compulsion of reporting on gender pay is an important first step, but we will take it further. We will engage with businesses to see what measures they will be putting in place to address the gender pay gap. My experience, when I talk to businesses about this, is that when they realise that they have such a gender pay gap—to some, it is a revelation—they are moving to put in training and other measures to address it.
Gender Pay Gap — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): It is vital data, and Conservative Members are proud of it because it has been introduced by a Conservative Government. We will be contacting private sector companies, and public sector organisations, to make sure that they do report. This is an important first step, with 1,000 so far and more to go until the deadline. I urge the hon. Gentleman not to make perfect the enemy of the good.
Women Standing for Election — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I am proud to be part of the most diverse Parliament in history. My hon. Friend is of course making his own contribution by being the first British-Chinese Member of Parliament, for which I welcome him. We are commissioning evidence to identify strategies to overcome barriers to participation. Through our centenary fund, we are supporting projects to get more women involved in all levels of governance and ultimately to stand for elected office.
Women Standing for Election — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for her answer and for her kind words. Twelve women Conservative councillors currently serve on Havant Borough Council, giving over 100 years of collective service. Will my right hon. Friend continue to support women into elected office at local government level and congratulate my friends locally on their service?
Women Standing for Election — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): That is such a good question from my hon. Friend. It is so important that we also encourage women to participate more in local councils. Only 33% of local councillors are women, and I would like to see that number rise. I echo his thanks to his local councillors. I pay particular tribute to Councillor Gwen Blackett, who is soon to retire from Havant Borough Council following 45 years of service. I congratulate her on that, and congratulate the other women who have served as well.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): This legislation was passed in 1995 to create an equality between men and women. Those who seek to change the legislation would be effectively creating an inequality between men and women on an ongoing basis that has a dubious nature in law and an inequality between 1950s-born women and 1960s-born women.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that question. It is so important to protect women particularly, who get the largest share of abuse, from the type of attacks that can put them off participating in public life. That is why my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a review that the Law Commission will do to ensure that what we say—what is illegal offline is illegal online—is actually the case and that the law is following that guidance. We will come back to the House with further updates.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): Some 89% of those who take time out of work to fulfil caring responsibilities are women, and employers, as my right hon. Friend has identified, have a huge role to play in helping women to return to work when they wish to. Can she set out more detail about the plans to publish guidance on best practice for private sector employers?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I am incredibly proud that this Government have made that commitment, and we are going to consult on it to ensure that we get it right. It is important to distinguish between relationships education, which is going to be compulsory in primary schools, and sex and relationships education in secondary schools. The areas the hon. Lady highlights will of course be considered as part of that, but this Government have actually done a lot to address the scourge, unpleasantness and horror of forced marriage and FGM.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I can honestly say to the hon. Lady that I was as shocked as she no doubt was to hear about that. I will be discussing it with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and finding out what further communication to employers is needed to ensure that that does not take place, because it is clearly not allowed.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): Businesses have just two weeks to file their gender pay gap reports. It is clear from some excellent investigative journalism by the Financial Times that some businesses have filed incorrect data. If this is done deliberately, what will my right hon. Friend do?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for raising that issue. This is incredibly important to get right. The reporting on the gender pay gap will be a vital tool in ensuring that we close it. I will be discussing it with the EHRC, which is the group that will follow up with enforcement. It is sufficiently funded to do exactly that, and I will be turning to it to ensure that this is handled properly.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?; With reference to the BBC and the gender pay gap, I have been looking at the diversity and background of the senior management at the corporation. Unfortunately, they will not play ball and give me the information I need to judge how they are doing in terms of diversity and social mobility, so will the Minister have a word with them about this as well?
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has of course done so much work on this issue. We are very clear that discrimination on the basis of caste is not acceptable, which is why we consulted on it last year. We are considering the results of the consultation as we speak, and the Government will respond shortly.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Immigration
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?; With reference to the BBC and the gender pay gap, I have been looking at the diversity and background of the senior management at the corporation. Unfortunately, they will not play ball and give me the information I need to judge how they are doing in terms of diversity and social mobility, so will the Minister have a word with them about this as well?
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I have had a number of conversations with minority communities women’s groups. When I go out to discuss issues to do with integration, I always make a special point of engaging with women’s groups and finding out what else we can do to help them. Their concerns are often those that the hon. Gentleman and I might have about our own families—access to jobs, language courses and general public services—and my right hon. Friend the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary will shortly bring forward an integration strategy that will address some of those concerns.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?; With reference to the BBC and the gender pay gap, I have been looking at the diversity and background of the senior management at the corporation. Unfortunately, they will not play ball and give me the information I need to judge how they are doing in terms of diversity and social mobility, so will the Minister have a word with them about this as well?
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): May I urge the Home Secretary, when she has her excellent ongoing conversations with social media companies on the west coast, to don her ministerial hat as the Minister for Women and Equalities and look at what those companies can do proactively to ensure that women in particular are not put off from going into public life?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps are the Government taking to ensure that women are not asked about their family plans or their childcare arrangements in job interviews?; With reference to the BBC and the gender pay gap, I have been looking at the diversity and background of the senior management at the corporation. Unfortunately, they will not play ball and give me the information I need to judge how they are doing in terms of diversity and social mobility, so will the Minister have a word with them about this as well?
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I am proud that the Government have more beds available to victims of domestic violence than there were in 2010, and we take very seriously the issue of refuge for those victims. I am not entirely sure that the statistics used by the hon. Gentleman are correct, because sometimes when a woman is not accepted at one refuge and goes on to apply to a second or third, each application counts as one person being turned away. However, I share his view that we want to live in a country where women are not turned away and always have a place to go when they need it.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): This matter warrants the urgent attention of the House, which is, of course, why I granted the application for the urgent question. However, I am keen that we make timely progress, as the Back-Bench debates are heavily subscribed. There is, therefore, a premium on observation of time limits from the Front Bench and on very pithy inquiries from the back. I know that that will be reflected in succinct replies from the Minister.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the energy and resources that the Government are applying to this issue, particularly the clean bus funds, which will see a fleet of electric vehicles serving Harrogate and Knaresborough. Are all the local authorities that my hon. Friend is dealing with as committed and enthusiastic as she is about solving this issue? That has not been my experience so far.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): In addition to the £3.5 billion that we are investing to tackle, in particular, air quality in the context of a modal shift, we are massively increasing the incentives for councils to help to deploy the infrastructure that is needed to support the growth in the use of electric vehicles. There is already a reasonably generous grant for people who wish to buy such vehicles—about £1 billion has been allocated—and, as my hon. Friend will know, legislation that is currently before Parliament will require fuel stations to provide the electric infrastructure that enables people to charge their cars, rather than just filling them with petrol and diesel.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): We have been holding Volkswagen to account. One of the challenges of how the EU operates in this regard is that it is for the German Government to be the regulator of Volkswagen, and we hold Volkswagen directly to account through the European Commission. I am pleased that Volkswagen has come forward with its wider group to do some of the retrofitting of vehicles in terms of software updates to correct what it did, and I am pleased that that is now being fixed, but frankly, the behaviour of Volkswagen and its chief executives was a disgrace. The way they used money to fund research into the effects of diesel fumes on primates and humans is frankly disgusting. They should hang their heads in shame, but we are now fixing the problems that they created.
Disabled People and Economic Growth — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): I support what the hon. Lady is saying about businesses. Does she think that there could be a case for having larger employers report on the proportion of their workforce who have a disability, so that we could see which large employers were not pulling their weight and not taking advantage of the high-quality disabled employees who are in the market?
Disabled People and Economic Growth — House of Commons, 2018-02-22
Topic: Other
Abimbola Afolami (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for securing this Backbench Business debate. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Julia Lopez), who is not just an hon. Friend but an actual friend.