argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Yemen — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: International Affairs
John Woodcock (Labour, Centre-left): During our visit to Saudi Arabia over the Easter recess, we were able to put the UK’s concerns about the humanitarian catastrophe to the King, and in detail to his Ministers and officials. Will the Minister update the House on the block on the funds that have been deposited by Saudi Arabia in the Central Bank of Yemen, which are much needed? May I also gently say to her that it surely did not aid the cause of peace that she did not mention Iran and its pernicious role in the conflict until she was asked by her Back Benchers?
Capita — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Government Operations
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): May I thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting the urgent question and congratulate the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) on securing it Capita is one of the strategic suppliers to the Government, providing services of particular strategic importance, yet, as we heard from its boss today, it had no strategy aside from mucking up the management of the dental register, leaving hundreds of dentists to stand idle; failing to maintain the primary care support service in England, which supervises GP and patient records; and failing on the Army recruitment contract, among many other failings. Members have been highlighting those and other failures to the Government over a period of years and will not be surprised at the latest news. I echo the call from the right hon. Member for Twickenham for the Minister to outline what contingency plans he has put in place to deal with a possible default on any one of those contracts The Government claim to be monitoring the situation and have a Crown representative in place, but do they even know what they are monitoring if they are not sure about the number of contracts Capita runs? I and other Members have asked for a list of Government contracts undertaken by Capita and have not been provided with one. Do the Government know how many contracts Capita undertakes across central Government and, indeed, across local government? Will they publish a list of all those contracts Will the Minister confirm what improvement plans have been agreed with Capita since its string of profit warnings or yesterday’s refinancing? What quality thresholds will be built into Government contracts to ensure that Capita and other privateers reach an acceptable standard of service delivery, particularly in view of their precarious financial situation This latest episode in the saga of outsourcing scandals again shows the public that the Government’s commitment to this practice is nothing more than ideological. Despite the danger to public services, along with the treats to Capita’s staff and subcontractors, the Government will not shift from their view that these giant multinational firms should make huge profits from the public purse, until the point when they fold, taking our public services with them. The Government act as though these firms should be allowed to privatise the profit of the public sector, while nationalising the risk to the British public. We need a change in direction now. Will the Minister use this latest episode involving Capita to finally introduce a presumption in favour of in-house provision of public services?
Capita — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Government Operations
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister makes great play of the 11% savings from contracting out, but it is no good making savings if core services are not being delivered well. Will he outline how many of the contracts he is concerned about—he has listed them a couple of times—and will he tell us how many contracts he is discussing with Capita with regard to whether their delivery should be reviewed? It is no good spending taxpayers’ money on a private company if it is not delivering the services that it is paid to deliver.
Capita — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): What assessment have the Government made of the impact on apprentices who are employed in Capita’s many workplaces? How many individual apprentices may be affected? Which regions of the UK are particularly exposed? What contingency plans are in place to protect potential losses to the apprenticeship programme, and what will be done to stop these failing business practices? I am fed up with having to listen to poor apprentices in other companies who have lost their roles as a result of failing business practices.
Capita — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): Capita employs hundreds of people in my constituency at a place called Preston Brook. What discussions have the Government had with recognised unions, such as the Communication Workers Union, about the job and pension security of those workers?
GKN — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): I would like to follow up on the point that the hon. Member for Telford (Lucy Allan) raised. Other countries have a rule that people must have been shareholders for a certain period before they can vote on a takeover deal. Some sort of financial transaction tax would also reduce short-term speculation in companies that leads to their being taken over in this fashion. I urge the Government to look again at the takeover code, particularly for businesses that are so integral to our industrial strategy and have received a lot of taxpayer funding, in this case for the R&D work that GKN has undertaken.
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I agree with what the hon. Gentleman is saying. Does he not think, therefore, that there is considerable merit in new clause 2, which promotes the idea of specific guidance for people in mid-life so that they get proper and clear advice on some of the decisions that they may have to make?
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman talks about a total pot in the trillions, but for the vast majority of people, particularly part-time workers, their pot, although better than nothing, will be relatively small. Does he agree that several groups are still excluded from auto-enrolment, and that the Government need to do something to bring them in?
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Frank Field (Labour, Centre-left): I wish to speak to amendments (b), (c) and (d) to new clause 9, which stand in my name. As the House might know, they arise from the work that the Work and Pensions Committee did on miners’ pensions. For most people, decisions about moving pension capital are made towards the end of their lives, but miners had to decide where they should safely put their pension savings as a result of the change in the ownership of their industry. Given the warning from the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Neil Gray) that we may not get on to the second set of amendments, I should mention that I have some amendments in that group to raise with the pensions Minister. Perhaps I may address two points to the Economic Secretary, but first I thank both Ministers for the way they have engaged with the Work and Pensions Committee for our report and in our meetings. We are immensely grateful to them. On some issues, I have joined my Front-Bench spokesmen because we have been pushing the same measures and interests I wish to raise two points that I hope the Economic Secretary will say will be added to the Bill. First, not only should cold calling become unlawful, but any information that arises from it should not be used for commercial purposes—that is, in respect of pension savings. Secondly, would it not be sensible to use the opportunity presented by this Bill to add the Financial Conduct Authority to the list of bodies in the Government’s policing arm to counter activities that unlawfully undermine people’s pension savings by trying to persuade them to move their assets in one way or another In the interests of getting on to the second set of amendments, I conclude my comments.
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Mark Richard Tami (Labour, Centre-left): On the British Steel pension scheme, does the hon. Gentleman agree that the FCA has been very slow to react, when it was clear in certain locations that there were many problems with the way some people were advising people to get out of the scheme?
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Gareth Craig Snell (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, but does he agree that the disclosure of such data would highlight the hotspots in communities such as the ones that we represent, and would therefore allow the Department for Work and Pensions to put in the necessary resources so that jobcentres and other advice bureaux can act as a preventive measure so that we do not see more of our constituents with little chance of getting out of the vicious circle of high-cost borrowing?
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): I want to speak to amendments 8 and 9, which, unlike new clause 4, would lead to an outright ban on cold calling by claims management companies Claims management companies make and send around 51 million personal injury-related calls and texts each year. Such calls are not only a nuisance; they exploit vulnerable people. It is worth reiterating that solicitors are already banned from cold calling in personal injury claims, but the fact that claims management companies are not risks bringing the sector into disrepute. Cold calling can generate the false perception that obtaining compensation is easy, even where there is no injury. It can put pressure on people to pursue unmeritorious or, at the worst, fraudulent claims, which they otherwise may not do. It may never have been someone’s intention to make a claim, but if they receive a text promising them thousands of pounds, it might seem very tempting There is an important context. The Government are proposing to reform compensation rules for whiplash claims and to increase the small claims limit in road traffic accidents from £1,000 to £5,000, and in public liability and employers’ liability claims from £1,000 to £2,000. The Government say that that is to cut down on fraudulent claims and to bring down insurance premiums. However, many, including myself, are concerned that that will have a significant impact on access to justice, with people not being able to access proper legal advice in such claims.
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): In the spirit of being able to get on to the next group, we welcome the ban on pension cold calling. We have sought to extend that ban to all cold calling. If the Minister is prepared to have discussions at the next stages, and before the Bill concludes its passage through Parliament, we would be prepared not to oppose Government amendment 11 or to move our amendments 8 and 9.
Financial Guidance and Claims Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Labor
Frank Field (Labour, Centre-left): We may not get a chance to discuss the amendments supported by the Work and Pensions Committee, so will the Minister give the same undertaking that he will introduce secondary legislation if our worries prove valid?
Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Bill (Money) — House of Commons, 2018-04-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the Government and the Minister on bringing forward the money resolution this evening. We have been anticipating it for a few weeks, so it is a great pleasure and slight relief to have it before the Chamber The resolution will allow the Committee to complete its work in the morning and take forward this important social reform, which we hope will make a big difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our country—people who are living with mental ill health and should not face extreme forms, or indeed other forms, of restraint, which can cause serious injury or even death, as we saw in the case of Seni Lewis. I thank the Minister for her commitment to seeing this through Question put and agreed to.
Universal Credit: 2017 Budget Changes — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): The modest changes in the Budget were welcome, but I wonder whether the Secretary of State has seen the recent research showing that food bank demand is growing much faster in areas where universal credit has been fully rolled out than it is elsewhere. Does she have substantial proposals to solve the very serious problems with this new benefit?
Universal Credit: 2017 Budget Changes — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Labor
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The Department for Work and Pensions has been forced recently to reveal that a fifth of universal credit claims are being turned down because claimants are not managing to negotiate the complex application process, meaning that thousands of people are falling out of the system. Claims must be made and managed online, even though, according to an OECD study, 40% of unemployed adults in England have low basic skills. Meanwhile, one in 10 jobcentres are being closed, removing face-to-face support from communities, and the Government are speeding up the roll-out of the full service yet again. What action are the Government taking to identify the factors leading to such a high level of failure?
Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit: Two-child Limit — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What estimate she has made of the number of families affected by the two-child limit for child tax credits and universal credit since April 2017.
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): The High Court recently found that the ordering restriction on the two-child limit for children in kinship care was unlawful. When are the Government going to introduce regulations to make sure that the law is in line with the Court judgment?
Youth Employment — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Labor
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Secretary of State commit to raising the minimum wage for young people so that they are not subject to lower rates of pay, and to enacting a real living wage, as Labour will, so that this Government’s promise of making work pay is not an empty one?
Youth Employment — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Labor
Questions: The all-party parliamentary group for youth employment, together with some other APPGs, are hearing evidence as to how the hospitality industry can help to boost employment for young people, as well as be a career option. Once the report is written, will the Secretary of State, or perhaps one of her Ministers, accept an invitation to hear from the group?
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): The Tory party launched yet another policy group this morning. Is it not about time that these groups were given some serious work about how we really tackle youth unemployment, how we get more kids into real apprenticeships, and how we tackle child poverty, which is not going down?
PIP: Back-payments — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Frank Field (Labour, Centre-left): As PIP is the entrance to mobility allowance, will the Government join the Treasury Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee in asking for a full National Audit Office inquiry into what is ostensibly a really good benefit?
PIP: Back-payments — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Emma Elizabeth Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): I have been helping identical twins who have the same genetic condition, which involves learning disabilities and associated health problems. Both were assessed for PIP at different times by different assessors. One was granted PIP and one was rejected. The case has now been resolved, but can the Minister not see that the system is totally unfit for purpose and needs overhauling?
PIP: Back-payments — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): As a result of the incorrect guidance produced by Independent Assessment Services, formerly Atos, in relation to daily living activity 6—help with dressing—will the Minister tell the House how she proposes to estimate the number of claimants who have been incorrectly assessed for PIP, and to identify the claimants affected, provide a correct assessment and pay all the arrears due?
PIP: Back-payments — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): But does the Minister not accept that the wording of the correspondence that was produced by Independent Assessment Services—sent to her by a number of voluntary organisations, including the RNIB—suggests that the guidance has potentially been widely circulated among assessors, and that for contracted assessors to produce independent guidance on social security law without the Department’s knowledge suggests a serious problem with contract management?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Education
Gareth Craig Snell (Labour, Centre-left): In Stoke-on-Trent, one of the best ways of achieving social mobility is through our wonderful further education system, so will the Secretary of State please impress upon her colleagues at the Department for Education that properly funded further education, whether that be sixth-form colleges or other establishments, is needed and that they must make sure it is provided?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): One of the hardest-to-reach groups of children are those living in kinship care with chaotic family relationships: one moment they might be with their real parents, the next they might be being looked after. What discussions is the Secretary of State having with the children’s Minister to make sure they do not slip through the net?
Universal Credit: Victims of Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the ability of victims of domestic violence to claim benefits.
Joanne Marie Platt (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful for the Minister’s response, but the Government have still not committed to assessing the operation of split payments or collecting data. Will they commit to looking at specific areas of new universal credit roll-out, such as Leigh, which has also been highlighted as a hotspot by the local police, to ensure that we are adequately safeguarding victims?
Attendance Allowance: Eligibility Criteria — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Graham Peter Jones (Labour, Centre-left): Before Christmas, I raised with the Prime Minister the case of Mr Walker from Great Harwood, in my constituency. Mr Walker was a fit and able pensioner until, at the age of 69, he was run over by a drunk driver. He is now quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck down. He and his wife are struggling, and their Ford Fiesta is of no use whatsoever. He has been released from hospital, and he is not being given the help that he needs. Why is a previously fit and healthy 69-year-old man not entitled to the disability help that he needs—such as a Motability car—because of his age?
PIP Assessors: Mental Health Awareness — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi (Labour, Centre-left): Some 75% of claimants in Wales who appealed against decisions to reduce or stop PIP were successful; that is 8,000 people in Wales who have needlessly worried about having payments stopped. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales were unavailable to comment on this at the Welsh Conservative conference on Friday, but can the Minister tell the House when the Government are going to get a grip on this situation?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Labor
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has said that the pensions regulator had concerns about Carillion pension scheme deficits in 2014 but failed to act. The Government went on letting contracts to Carillion, despite repeated profit warnings, and failed to act. Do the Government recognise that the consequences of their failure to act include the biggest-ever hit on the Pension Protection Fund—£800 million—and many thousands of pensioners losing out on their pensions?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-21
Topic: Labor
Questions: Universal credit is scheduled to be introduced in Crawley on 6 June. What support will be offered to my constituents who will be affected?; Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the record levels of employment that this Government have delivered in office have predominantly involved full-time and higher-skilled roles?; People with progressive conditions are meant to be exempt from ESA reassessments, although my constituent Glenn, who has multiple sclerosis, has one coming up, but they will not be exempt from a PIP reassessment. Will the Minister commit to removing that cruel and unnecessary burden on people living with progressive conditions?; With 1,000 more people in jobs in Harlow than in 2010, and with 5,000 more apprentices over the same time, will my hon. Friend congratulate Harlow College and Harlow’s jobcentre?; Recently, two constituents with serious and deteriorating cerebral palsy both scored zero points on their PIP assessments. Both require round-the-clock care, but both were forced to appeal the decisions. Is it acceptable that people with serious and deteriorating disabilities are being forced to go through the courts to get the support that they deserve?
Laura Pidcock (Labour, Centre-left): Dupuytren’s contracture, or miner’s claw, as it is commonly known, is a progressive condition that causes the fingers gradually to curl up, occasionally requiring amputation. It is a very common disease among former miners, and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has made it clear to the DWP that there is a link between the use of percussive tools and miner’s claw. Why has the Secretary of State chosen to ignore that expert advice, and will she explain why the condition has not been added to the industrial injuries disablement benefit list of conditions?