argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Social Care Reform — House of Commons, 2021-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): People across our country will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when the Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street and exclaimed that he had a "clear" and "prepared" plan to solve the social care crisis, but almost two years have passed and there is still no plan in sight. Indeed, the Minister has said today that the Government are still working on a plan. What is the hold-up? Who is obstructing the Prime Minister—or was he simply misleading the nation as usual?
Social Care Reform — House of Commons, 2021-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Paula Barker (Labour, Centre-left): Today marks 700 days to the day since, on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister told the nation that "we will fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared" For clarity, this was before the global pandemic hit. I know, and the Minister knows, that the market has failed, and that that failure has been exacerbated by the pandemic, not created by it. Is it not time for the Minister to face the inconvenient truth that the only way to fund social care is through progressive taxation, with a diverse range of in-house services guaranteeing workforce standards and service user choice, under the umbrella of local government?
Social Care Reform — House of Commons, 2021-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): This pandemic has starkly demonstrated the unequal footing of social care alongside the NHS in this country. The Prime Minister’s announcement back in 2019 that he had a social care plan ready to go has been clearly shown to be untrue, and according to Age UK, 1.5 million older people are going without the care they need. People living in areas with a low council tax base, such as Newcastle, have seen their local council tax precepts rise because the Government have shifted the burden of paying for social care on to those who can least afford it. I agree with the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall), that the time for excuses is over, so what is the Minister doing to ensure that the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary stop making empty promises so that we can start building much-needed cross-party consensus on this issue without any further delay?
Social Care Reform — House of Commons, 2021-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): The 42,000 care home residents who have died of coronavirus during the pandemic are, sadly, just a recent example of how our social care system is failing. The Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street 700 days ago and promised to fix the social care crisis. The bereaved families and everyone whose family depends on our wonderful social care workers deserve answers. Social care staff cannot do this on their own. Those who need the crisis to be fixed need certainty, not the ambiguity of "later this year". So Minister, no more delays—give us a date. Tell us: when will the Government finally publish their plan and fix the social care crisis?
Social Care Reform — House of Commons, 2021-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Mary Kelly Foy (Labour, Centre-left): I was a carer for my daughter Maria for almost 27 years, so I know the demands that carers face every single day caring for those they love. Does the Minister really believe that £67 a week carer’s allowance is a fair amount for round-the-clock care, and will this amount be raised under the Prime Minister’s "prepared" plan for social care?
Social Care Reform — House of Commons, 2021-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Barbara Mary Keeley (Labour, Centre-left): It has been reported that the Prime Minister is in favour of finally implementing the cap on care costs legislated for in 2014. While that would be welcome, it would do nothing to support working age adults with a disability to live independently, nothing for the 1.9 million older people with unmet needs and nothing to improve pay and conditions for care staff. Does the Minister recognise that a cap on care costs alone does not go far enough, and can she confirm that further measures to deal with these other needs will be part of any reforms?
Fire and Rehire — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Labor
Ian Lavery (Labour, Centre-left): While Members across the House were munching away this morning at the country’s favourite breakfast cereal, Weetabix, they will have been blissfully unaware that Post Holdings, which owns Weetabix, has turned its guns on its workforce with fire and rehire. Employees at Weetabix are set to lose £5,000 per annum, and of course if they refuse they will lose their jobs. That is quite simply not good enough. Minister after Minister, including the Prime Minister, has stood at the Dispatch Box saying how abhorrent fire and rehire is. Will the Minister please tell the House what he intends to do about fire and rehire? Can he confirm that the Government will support the Second Reading of the Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill—the private Member’s Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner)—on 22 October?
Fire and Rehire — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Labor
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): We hear lots of talk of levelling up from Ministers at the Dispatch Box, do we not? Well, here is a genuine opportunity to improve terms and conditions for employees up and down the land, including at Weetabix, and legislate through the private Member’s Bill. Stop the reviews, get on with it and legislate!
World Leadership in Science, Research and Innovation — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Environment
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): Time and again I have raised with the Government the opportunity to invest in BioYorkshire, which will create 4,000 jobs for my constituents, upskill 25,000 people, and deliver £5 billion in gross value added to the Government. Will the Minister meet me to discuss it? COP26 is just six weeks away, and not pursuing projects like this is holding back the improvements that we can make to our environment.
Automotive Battery Manufacturers — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Energy
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the Minister to his position The Prime Minister’s climate change spokeswoman recently announced that she would not be buying an electric car because of the lack of charging infrastructure and battery capacity. In 2018 the UK produced a quarter of Europe’s electric vehicles, but that is set to fall to just 4% by 2030. Motor manufacturers predict that tens of thousands of good jobs will be lost Will the Minister confirm that even if he meets his own targets, by 2025 the UK will have only 7% of the battery production capacity of Germany? Germans receive grants of up to €9,000 to buy an electric car, three times what he is offering. What will he do to deliver the battery capacity that is needed to secure British jobs, and make electric cars affordable? Does he understand what affordable means?
Neonatal Care: Statutory Leave and Pay — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Labor
Questions: What plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals on an entitlement to statutory leave and pay for parents of babies requiring neonatal care.
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): Millions of workers are denied maternity pay and parental leave, as well as other basic rights and protections, because the Government allow only some workers to have full rights, and only after two years in the job. Is it not the case that working people are paying the price for the Government’s broken promise to bring in an employment Bill? Does the Minister not agree that all workers should have full rights from day one on the job?
Net Zero Emissions by 2050 — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Energy
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): Experts have concluded that to reach net zero by 2050, there should be no new oil and gas fields approved for development and no new coalmines or mine extensions from the end of this year. Does the Minister agree with that assessment by the experts, and if so, does he agree that the Cumbrian coalmine and the Cambo oilfield surely cannot go ahead?
Net Zero Emissions by 2050 — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Energy
Anna Rhiannon McMorrin (Labour, Centre-left): Soaring gas prices have plummeted the UK into an energy crisis, with fears for vulnerable households and for the wave of energy firms folding. We have relied far too heavily on gas most recently, and it did not have to be this way; the Government could have foreseen it. We see that countries that have prioritised low-carbon energy are far more insulated from shocks such as this, and protect those vulnerable families as we head into winter, and meet climate objectives, which we know the Government are failing on. So will the Secretary of State commit to demanding that the Chancellor this autumn delivers a Budget that can ensure that we in the UK deliver an efficient, diverse, secure green energy sector, at speed?
Net Zero Emissions by 2050 — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Environment
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister has talked a lot about what is going to happen ahead of COP in respect of net zero, but will he look back at the green homes grant voucher scheme that was delivered in September last year? It was set up in 12 weeks, from announcement to delivery, and was axed six months later without having delivered the jobs or the green homes measures. What is the Minister’s Department doing to reflect on that? Is he thinking about longer-term planning to the benefit of both the industry and our net zero targets?
Climate Change Committee: 2021 Annual Progress Report — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Energy
Jeffrey Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Well, it needs to, because the report was pretty damning. The Environmental Audit Committee recently made a number of recommendations to support community energy projects such as Greater Manchester Community Renewables in my constituency. Will the Minister emphasise the importance of community energy in the upcoming net zero strategy, as recommended specifically by the Committee, and put in place some practical measures to harness the potential of community energy, including support to enable groups to get investment for energy transition projects?
Supply Chains — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Transportation
Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Minister join me in congratulating companies such as Cardon Energy and Maritime Transport in my constituency on keeping the country fed, fuelled and supplied? However, they tell me that there is a tsunami of HGV drivers reaching retirement. Unite the Union says that terms and conditions are not good enough and lengthening the working day will not improve that. NG Transport has offered to resettle six Afghanistan families with the requisite skills. Will the Minister not stand in the way of companies trying to innovate to plug the gaps while we tackle these structural problems?
Supply Chains — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Environment
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): For months, the Government have ignored warnings about supply chain issues from the Food and Drink Federation, UKHospitality and other businesses. August saw Nando’s temporarily close 50 stores. McDonald’s ran out of milkshakes and now the HGV shortage has been compounded by a CO2 crisis that the Government should have foreseen. With Iceland warning of food shortages in days, jobs at risk as businesses deal with this utter chaos, and looming costs for consumers who are now paying the price, will the Minister now tell the Chancellor that universal credit must not be cut? Is Professor Haszeldine not right to say today that, with only two to three days’ of methane stored rather than months’ of supply that other countries have, we should have been far better prepared?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Energy
Clive James Charles Betts (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker; for a minute, I thought you were going to miss me out I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State launched the Government’s hydrogen strategy in my constituency at ITM Power, which is a leading green hydrogen producer. The German strategy is totally committed to green hydrogen alone, and of course the Germans have put substantially more funding in than we have into this country’s strategy. The Government have an aspiration to replace all fossil fuel boilers in this country by the 2030s. That ambition is important for reducing carbon emissions and for the security of our energy supplies. Does the Secretary of State agree that we can deliver on that ambition only with a much more significant commitment from the Government to develop and install green hydrogen boilers across the country?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Labor
Questions: I recently held an event for leading Worcestershire businesses on the journey to COP26 and net zero, and was impressed with their plans for investment. Will the Secretary of State reassure the House that now that one in six cars purchased in this country are electric, the grid will be strengthened in rural areas to ensure the widespread adoption of this new technology?; The space sector presents us with huge opportunities for the future prosperity of this country. What plans is my right hon. Friend developing with regard to the implementation, ownership, governance and funding of key elements of the national space strategy?; I was privileged to meet the international legend Doddie Weir before leading a debate on the petition he created on motor neurone disease in support of the targeted £50 million expenditure. I have certainly been convinced by his arguments, and we have heard cross-party support here today. Will the Secretary of State now commit to support this spending review bid?; Cornish Lithium, alongside Geothermal Engineering Ltd, will play a vital role in levelling up across Cornwall with the economic and job opportunities that they can provide. Will the Secretary of State, or a Minister, commit to visiting Cornish Lithium and GEL with me in the near future so that we can show him why their project very much deserves to have continued support from Government?; With gas prices soaring, as we have heard, will the Secretary of State please turbocharge plans for home insulation schemes not only to help bring down household bills but to make people’s homes greener?; Retail accounts for 5% of our economy but pays 25% of all business rates. Yesterday, the British Retail Consortium published a report showing that 83% of retailers feel it is likely they will have to close stores should the burden not be reduced. Will my hon. Friend confirm that we remain committed to a fundamental review of business rates, and when we might hear more about that?
Gareth Thomas (Labour, Centre-left): Many people applying for jobs have to jump through a series of stages in the recruitment process before they find out what the salary would be were they to be successful. Is it not time that Ministers sat down with job application platforms such as LinkedIn and told them to require minimum salary levels in adverts?
Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck (Labour, Centre-left): This is another in a long line of serious errors regarding the Government’s Afghan relocations that will cost lives. Can the Secretary of State please advise us how many of the 260 interpreters the Government have been unable to make direct contact with since the breach?
Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: International Affairs
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): I have been contacted about the harrowing case of a man who worked as a UK contractor on a UK project for many years and had a specific directed threat from a senior Taliban official. He fled his home with his family, but when his wife returned to the house to collect some belongings a few days ago, the Taliban arrived and she was shot in the head. She died a couple of days later. The man applied twice for the ARAP scheme and has still not had a reply. Please could the Secretary of State make sure that this case is pursued? Could he also make sure that everyone who has applied gets a personal response? Will he confirm that contractors on UK projects whose families and who themselves are at mortal danger from the Taliban are eligible for the ARAP scheme?
Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Technology
Kim Marie Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): This is the fourth data breach this year. Does the Secretary of State agree that his Department has a systemic problem with data security? What steps will he take to fix the issues and ensure the safety of the thousands still waiting to be evacuated? What assurances can he give to the families in my Liverpool, Riverside constituency who are very concerned about the safety of their loved ones who are still waiting to be evacuated?
Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Technology
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): Asking people simply to change their email address seems woefully inadequate, given that names can be extracted from email addresses. What additional security advice has the Secretary of State given to the interpreters on the email list and their families?
Salisbury Incident 2018: Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Law and Crime
John Derek Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. We now know that not one, not two, but three Russian agents were able to get into this country by basically just walking into the airport. In the statement, the Home Secretary talked about "new powers to enable the police to stop, question, search, and detain individuals…to determine whether they are spies or otherwise" Does she believe that those new powers would have prevented the three individuals from getting into this country?
Salisbury Incident 2018: Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Law and Crime
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): I join the Home Secretary in extending our gratitude to all those who responded to this terrible crime, to all those who are working to keep our country and its citizens safe and, of course, to those who are seeking to bring those responsible to justice It is clearly essential that we do everything possible to respond to the investigations and learn from the attack. Will the Home Secretary say a little more about the progress that has been made and outline how many of the recommendations in the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Russia report have already been implemented?
Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): Thirty-seven per cent. of children in Lewisham are growing up in poverty. That is the stark reality of the cost of living crisis. Rather than addressing the issue, the Government are cutting those people’s universal credit and putting up their taxes. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is not the way to treat hard-working families and their children? Should not the Government keep the £20 uplift, cancel the cut and think again about the tax rises?
Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is frankly indefensible. We knew that poverty was already beginning to rise before the pandemic even hit, and we know the impact that the cut to universal credit will have on family and household budgets, and on child poverty. It is bad enough to be taking money out of people’s pockets as the recovery falters, but as price after price goes up for working people, this is unforgivable—because prices are up, and they are up sharply. Madam Deputy Speaker, "August saw the largest rise in annual inflation month on month since the series was introduced almost a quarter of a century ago." Those are not my words, but the words of the Office for National Statistics. Alongside the most recent GDP figures, that is a powerful signal of how fragile our recovery remains Rising food prices have been driving upward pressure on the inflation rate, but this week, of course, it is energy prices that are the focus of our attention. That rise is taking money out of household budgets directly, but it will also be taking money out indirectly. Higher prices for energy mean higher prices for industry, and that means higher prices for goods. Already factories are being shuttered by higher prices and already that is driving further problems, such as knocking out the carbon dioxide supplies that keep meat fresh along our supply chains Ministers are always keen to blame other people, the weather or bad luck, and to claim that all of Europe has the same problems. That is not good enough and the public know it. To assert that other Governments have faults is not to excuse our own. What we are seeing and what we have seen over the last decade is a chronic failure to take responsibility, and it is hard-working families and struggling businesses who will pay the price.
Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Social Welfare
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): On Saturday, I met a care worker on Erdington high street who was close to tears. "I’ve got two kids, Jack", she said, "I’m on universal credit. I can’t work any longer hours. Now I’m facing a £1,000 a year cut and a tax increase. Why? I worked so hard throughout the dreadful covid crisis to care for the desperate, sometimes the dying. Why are they doing this? I’ve worked so hard over so many years. I feel that they just do not begin to understand people like me and the pain that I will endure at the next stages." Is it not the simple reality that the Government seem to be utterly oblivious to the consequences of their actions for the poorest in our country?
Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): Like my hon. Friend, I have heard from care workers and many others in my constituency about the anger that they feel. The average care worker is set to lose more than £1,000 in tax rises and universal credit cuts. Of course, the Government’s much trumpeted so-called plan for social care will do absolutely nothing to help the very care workers my hon. Friend describes Let us remember the exact timing of the soaring energy prices: exactly as the cut in universal credit bites. It is about choices. The Government choose not to protect working people. We would choose differently.
Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Tulip Rizwana Siddiq (Labour, Centre-left): A recent report by Pregnant Then Screwed showed that nine in 10 working families believe that the cost of childcare is severely impacting on their living standards. This is not surprising considering that childcare costs have been rising three times as quickly as wages in the past decade. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government urgently need to put in targeted support for these working families, right now, rather than cruelly withdrawing the universal credit uplift?
Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Margaret Eve Hodge (Labour, Centre-left): I have listened very carefully to my hon. Friend’s really excellent exposition of a whole raft of issues that have challenged living standards, and what is interesting is that not one Government Member has got up to challenge any of the assertions that she has made. Does she agree that that demonstrates that they have nothing to say and that the slogans they use to try to describe their actions belie the truth of the increased division and poverty that they are creating?