argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
PIP Assessment Centre: Accessibility — House of Commons, 2020-02-26
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the location of an accessible personal independence payment assessment centre for disabled and vulnerable claimants in north-west Wales.
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The disability centre, which moved to Rhyl without consultation, is now back in Bangor in my constituency, housed temporarily in a museum. Does the Secretary of State agree that that would also be an apt location for the Government’s disability benefits system?
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-04-27
Topic: Transportation
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On Friday, the Government announced support for ferry services between Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. The Holyhead-Dublin route was ignored. A great deal of Holyhead-Dublin traffic is in fact between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, including the transport of time-sensitive goods such as food and medicine. It is also vital to the economy of north Wales. Is the Chancellor just standing back and waiting for Holyhead, the UK’s second-busiest roll-on roll-off ferry port, to fail before stepping in?
Domestic Abuse Bill — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Law and Crime
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am sure the hon. Lady agrees that we just do not know what the picture is. If we were to do away temporarily with the "no recourse to public funds" condition, that would bring people forward, confident that they would not be penalised in any other way.
Covid-19: Strategy — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: International Affairs
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I understand the sense of optimism that the Prime Minister wishes to convey, and I understand that people need hope, but we must not forget that more than 31,000 people are dead, so for the hundreds and thousands of grieving families this does not feel like victory in a fight There is now a three nations approach: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all agree on policy and message. I mean this with no malice, but for the sake of clarity, can the Prime Minister confirm that on almost everything he has announced today he is acting as the Prime Minister of England?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): This is a welcome step in the right direction—there is much to welcome in the Chancellor’s announcement—but the family reliant on a zero-hours-contract hospitality worker’s salary or the self-employed tradesman whose cash flow has dried up want to know how this money will reach their bank account. What prevents the Chancellor from introducing a coronavirus universal basic income in his package of new measures which, in itself, would give confidence to thousands of Welsh workers and beyond?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-03
Topic: Labor
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Rural Wales has a high percentage of self-employed people, and data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that 23% of households in Gwynedd are self-employed, compared with a Welsh average of 16%. What provisions have the four Governments made to assure self-employed people that they will be compensated for lost income arising from the covid-19 outbreak?
Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-03-03
Topic: Law and Crime
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Can I add another name to the list? My constituent Michael O’Leary has been missing since January, suspected to have been murdered, and the individual charged with his murder is refusing to let the police know where the body has been hidden. For the families who are now living through this trauma, the fact that they cannot retrieve the body is hugely traumatic. They wanted me to put on the record today their support for what the Government intend to do.
Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-03-10
Topic: Technology
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I thank the hon. Lady for giving way. We are minded to support the Labour amendments because of the designation of the National Cyber Security Centre. However, what impact does she think that it will have on the roll-out of 5G? How much time are the UK Government likely to lose in terms of rolling out 5G across the UK?
Self-employed Persons: Financial Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-24
Topic: Labor
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): More than 400 self-employed sole traders and freelancers have contacted me over the past 24 hours, and many of them have already lost their work because of this crisis. As well as echoing others’ calls to introduce support for them as soon as possible, can I ask the Minister to ensure that such measures are backdated, as in the job retention scheme, to help to address the disruption that has already been caused by the covid-19 epidemic?
British Citizens Abroad: FCO Help to Return Home — House of Commons, 2020-03-24
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what measures he plans to introduce to assist British citizens abroad to return home.
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Peru have not only closed their international borders, but are considering imposing internal travel restrictions. Under such circumstances, can the Foreign Secretary reassure us that UK nationals who find themselves under lockdown will be supported to get from remote towns and villages to the main transport hubs?
Parliamentary Constituencies Bill — House of Commons, 2020-07-14
Topic: Government Operations
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I completely acknowledge and note the right hon. Gentleman’s arguments, but we fundamentally disagree. I consider the UK to be a union of four nations, as opposed to a single entity. I think we are at an impasse and will never be able to agree. I acknowledge that his argument is coherent, but I do not agree with it, which is more than I can say for other Members The representation of the peoples of the UK could be addressed if we were to explore reforms to other parts of the constitution, most notably the other place. Other countries have shown that second Chambers can be very good at doing this. However, that is not on offer at the moment and, indeed, is not a measure before the House. For that reason, I encourage Members to support new clause 2, to at least make us pause and make sure that it is a conscious decision to reduce the number of MPs from the respective nations of the UK.
Probation Services — House of Commons, 2020-06-11
Topic: Law and Crime
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Education, health and social policies are key to supporting the work of the probation system. What does the Secretary of State make of the findings of the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales? In particular, does he agree that the devolution of responsibility for the probation service would allow for better integration with Welsh health and education policies, thereby improving rehabilitation outcomes?
Covid-19: Economic Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Recognising the severity of the economic damage of covid-19 and also the importance of swift responses from the Government, will the Minister consider proposals made by the Wales Governance Centre recently that both the annual drawdown limit from the Welsh reserve and the cap on Welsh Government borrowing should be "very significantly relaxed—or removed?"
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am totally on board with the Prime Minister’s rhetoric that for too long money has piled into the south-east corner of this island. Investment is needed now to bolster and boost universal confidence. Can he explain, therefore, why his Secretary of State for Wales took to Twitter this week to argue that Wales is too poor, with too few businesses and taxpayers, to be successful? Surely he cannot condone the Welsh Secretary’s off-message pessimism.
Green Bond — House of Commons, 2020-07-07
Topic: Energy
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am glad that the Government will keep this matter under consideration because, as evidenced recently by Quebec, green bonds can be effective in raising capital investment and investment for operational expenditure to further the green transition. Will the Government also consider enabling the Welsh Government to issue such a bond to help the effort for a greener economy?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Secretary of State has mentioned that both the R rate and the level of new cases are important factors in determining the Government’s decision making, but will he clarify whether the way in which those factors differ throughout the UK will be considered in future planning, including in respect of financial-assistance programmes?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Labor
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. Covid-19 has now broken out in three Welsh food factories. There are 200 cases in Llangefni in Ynys Môn, 70 in Wrexham and 34 in Merthyr Tydfil. A plant in Germany has also seen 1,500 workers test positive. The difference, of course, is that German employees get sick pay worth 100% of their salary. Here, workers get sick pay worth on average perhaps 20% of their salary, so they lose 80% of their salary. These are low-paid workers. For any future local lockdown to succeed, people will need to be supported. Will the Prime Minister now commit to local furlough-like schemes for self-isolating workers?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-03-11
Topic: Labor
Questions: Last week, Emmy award-winning actor and musician Riz Ahmed released a hard-hitting new album and a short film, “The Long Goodbye”, which powerfully expresses the heartbreak of many British minorities who feel unwanted in Britain, where hate crime is rising and hate speech infects public life. These are also the concerns of Muslims in my constituency. I urge Members of the House to listen to it and watch it. Will the Prime Minister, for once without hiding behind the robes of his Muslim ancestors—yes, we all know he had them—or clinging to the fig leaf that his ex-Chancellor’s presence in the Cabinet provided him, or resorting to the potentially divisive, tit-for-tat deflection of the very serious issue of antisemitism, and given the 300 complaints of Islamophobia in his party, simply tell me what he is doing to assure Britain’s Muslims that their Prime Minister is not an Islamophobe and takes their concerns seriously?; I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the news that he and Carrie are expecting their first child. All parents want the best start in life for their children. With the UK lagging behind the rest of the world in the number of diseases that we genetically test for—we test for only nine genetic conditions in this country—does he agree with and will he support my campaign calling for a review of the new-born baby screening programme?
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Further to the questions posed by my right hon. Friend the leader of the SNP, irrespective of what other countries are doing, policy in this country is the Prime Minister’s responsibility, so what will he do to help the self-employed during this coronavirus crisis?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): We know that social care workers play a key role in supporting people to recovery and in alleviating pressure on clinical staff, yet today’s Budget offers no clarity on new money, and care providers are still awaiting a draft social care strategy. If the Secretary of State rightly seeks cross-party agreement, what steps have the Government taken to introduce a draft social care strategy for discussion, and what discussions is he having with the Welsh Government regarding social care capacity?
Electric Car Batteries: Disposal and Recycling — House of Commons, 2020-03-11
Topic: Energy
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am sure that the hon. Lady knows that in the United States, Senator Angus King has just introduced a Bill this month calling for investment worth $150 million in lithium battery recycling and research over the next five years. Wales is home to key strategic industrial sites such as Vale Nickel in Clydach and Envirowales in Ebbw Vale. They could play a part in recycling the batteries of the future. Will the hon. Lady join me in pressing the Minister to explain how the Government will support Wales to ensure that our existing industrial base is able to make the transition to recycle future battery technologies, and whether the UK is investing enough in this area to remain internationally competitive?
Government Planning: End of the Transition Period — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Education
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Universities throughout Wales and the UK are working flat out to cope with the effects of covid and Brexit. Some stability and reassurance would be provided by Horizon Europe and Erasmus. Has the Minister now secured full, rather than associate, membership of these valuable programmes?
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Foreign Trade
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Thirty-five years ago, in 1985, the then Tory European Commissioner’s White Paper detailed 300 legislative proposals to complete the European single market, and that was with a seven-year deadline. On the UK internal market, this Tory Government are giving a four-week consultation over the summer. That is persuasive evidence, were it needed, that the UK internal market is first and foremost a convenient headline—a veneer lacking detail or a legal basis. Will the Secretary of State concede that the only certainty is that this Bill is a power grab retaining—yes, retaining—vast powers over devolved areas to Tory Ministers?
EU-UK Partnership: EU’s Mandate — House of Commons, 2020-06-04
Topic: International Affairs
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am inordinately grateful to the Minister for giving way. In the previous Parliament, it was made clear just how considerable the resource and effort required for no-deal planning was. Can she tell us how confident she is that the Government have the capacity to deal with both the potential of no-deal planning and of covid-19?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-11-02
Topic: Government Operations
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): We have learned so much since spring: we have learned that we are expected to act grateful in Wales; we have learned that the Treasury is only there for us when the home counties of England go into lockdown—a casual dismissal of devolution that cost people their jobs; the news simply came too late. The Prime Minister may not have noticed yet, but he and his Chancellor are fronting a membership drive for the independence movement YesCymru, which added 2,000 members in two days this weekend. Would he accept my grateful thanks?
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-11-02
Topic: Social Welfare
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): May I add to the point that the hon. Gentleman is making? He will be aware that the Welsh Government have given care workers a £500 bonus, but I have constituents whose families have lost benefits because the Treasury has treated that bonus for care workers working during the pandemic as income. It is disgraceful.
Additional Covid-19 Restrictions: Fair Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-10-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Minister mentioned earlier that he will meet the Finance Ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland later this afternoon. Is he in a position to tell the House whether he expects further support packages for Wales to be announced at that meeting ahead of the two-week firebreak that will come in on Friday?
Schools and Colleges: Qualification Results and Full Opening — House of Commons, 2020-09-01
Topic: Education
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Mr Deputy Speaker. Watching the A-levels results fiasco from back home in Wales, it seemed that the policy of the Labour Government in my country closely resembled the policy of the Secretary of State’s Department. Can he outline how closely the Governments were working together?
Fisheries Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-09-01
Topic: Agriculture
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Like many right hon. and hon. Members, I suspect, I have received emails from campaigners calling for a ban on super-trawlers in UK countries’ fisheries’ waters. My understanding is that there is no UK-registered super-trawler. I suppose that many citizens will be perplexed as to why there is no mention of this in the Bill. Is it not the reality that these provisions will be made in future trade deals rather than in legislation coming from this House?
Fisheries Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-09-01
Topic: Agriculture
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): It is, of course, important that we look to the future. Some 95% of the Welsh fishing fleet is under 10 metres in size, and it is essential that, with this Bill, we ensure that they, too, can gain an advantage from this. Will the Secretary of State consider the potential of the quota reserve in enabling that small fleet to go after different species and thus ensure diversity and a more prosperous economic future for Welsh coastal communities?
Fisheries Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-09-01
Topic: Agriculture
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): As we are talking about devolved powers, I wonder whether the hon. Lady shares my concern that we do not know the mechanism by which the quotas will be divvied up among the four nations, nor what the arbitration arrangements will be, but we also have the anomalous situation whereby the Government here will act as poacher and gamekeeper for the UK-wide consideration of fisheries and also for the English interests.
Agriculture Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-04
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Can I take the Minister back to amendment (a), because she moved on before I got to make my point? Subsection (5) of the proposed new clause provides that any report would have to be laid before Welsh Ministers and Scottish Ministers. Can she outline what would happen if those Ministers, or indeed Northern Ireland Ministers, disagreed with the content of the report?
Japan Free Trade Agreement — House of Commons, 2020-09-14
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Based on the British Government’s own best-case scenario figures, am I right in calculating that it will take 71 deals of this nature to make up for what will be lost by pursuing the British Government’s policy of leaving the EU single market and customs union?
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-14
Topic: International Affairs
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Mr Dirprwy Lefarydd. It is difficult to know where to start with the Bill, so numerous are the egregious assumptions, the pitfalls and the Trojan horses lurking within it, so I will be brief and specific For Wales, the Bill is damaging without precedent, emerging fully fledged as the single biggest sustained assault yet to threaten devolution and our powers. It scorns two referenda and seeks to overturn the reiterated will of the Welsh people, not only weakening the powers of the Senedd, but explicitly reserving new powers to this place This Bill would render Wales powerless to stop low-quality produce, such as chlorinated chicken, flooding our supermarkets and undercutting Welsh farmers by being cheaper. This Bill would permit a 21st-century Tryweryn by giving Westminster more spending powers directly over water infrastructure. It would invalidate "buy local" policies in Wales by making it illegal to place goods from another part of the UK at a disadvantage compared with local goods in Wales The Conservative party would hold the whip hand over our Senedd’s attempts to protect our NHS against privatisation through damaging trade deals. The Bill holds up the spectre of no trade deal with the UK due to the Prime Minister breaking international law, which would wreak havoc on businesses already suffering the effects of covid-19. It could force Wales to accept abuses of animal welfare and food production, with the Senedd powerless to block such produce from entering our markets if they were to be tolerated in other parts of the UK, and who is even speaking for the future of the port of Holyhead Whatever some Conservative Members like to say, devolution is no experiment; it lives and breathes in Wales. Our democracy has been growing in the last two decades and more, in confidence and in power, and our wings will not be clipped. Plaid Cymru will stand up for our powers and our Senedd every step of the way, and we will not be supporting this Bill.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-15
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I fully agree with amendment 28, which is very well drafted. The same should apply to Wales and Northern Ireland, because it would allay any fears in the respective devolved countries of the UK that the British Government are using the UK Internal Market Bill to torpedo devolution.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-15
Topic: Foreign Trade
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman is making some points on which we might be able to agree. The issue at hand is who sets the rules for the new UK internal market. Does he agree that the four Governments should play an equal role in setting the rules? Or does he believe that it is a matter for Westminster alone? That is the fundamental issue at hand.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-15
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I agree with the vast majority of new clause 2, but this is the one point that really worries me, because it indicates that Westminster will have supremacy over Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Am I right in interpreting the end of the new clause in that manner? Surely the hon. Lady’s colleagues in Wales will be very concerned about any proposal that means that the Westminster Parliament will have supremacy over the Welsh Parliament.
Future of Financial Services — House of Commons, 2020-11-09
Topic: Environment
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In answer to the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) earlier, why did the Chancellor rule out allowing the devolved Governments to issue their own green bonds? Surely that would be one way to help the Welsh Government directly fund the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project, considering that the Treasury views the contract for difference model to be too costly.