argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
English Regional Transport Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to provide my hon. Friend with that reassurance. The integrated rail plan is looking at various transport investments in the north, and we very much intend that still to report by the end of this year. On the dualling of the A64, I can assure him that that is now officially in the road investment strategy 3 pipeline, and it will be investigated carefully as we prepare to make decisions for the next strategy.
English Regional Transport Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): We are working closely with all the metro Mayors and the devolved mayoral combined authorities to get this policy right. It is incorrect to say that we have provided support only for Transport for London. As was talked about in Treasury questions, we have already provided significant support for things such as the Manchester Metrolink and other schemes. It is right to say, though, that we need to ensure that inclusive travel is at the forefront of this, and there is a huge amount of work under way in the Department to ensure that disabled people particularly, are able to return safely to work and use the public transport network that so many depend on.
Covid-19: Public Transport Workers and Key Worker Rail Users — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to all public transport drivers and workers, who have been working incredibly hard to ensure that those on the frontline can get to work. New safer transport guidance was published on 12 May, and we are working closely with transport operators across the sector on its implementation.
Covid-19: Public Transport Workers and Key Worker Rail Users — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The safety of public transport workers is of course paramount for the Government, and we have been working with operators to ensure that additional measures are put in place. These include risk assessments, looking at who should be at work, social distancing and face coverings, workforce planning, queue and passenger flow management, and the way that emergency incidents are dealt with, in addition to cleaning ventilation, communications and other forms of training.
Covid-19: Public Transport Workers and Key Worker Rail Users — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): We continue to work with the metro Mayors to look at these issues, and we work closely, in conjunction with Treasury Ministers, to ensure that the funding necessary is provided and that we can support public transport networks right across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.
LNER: Grimsby to London Service — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, I am sorry that you do not have a picture because the broadband in rural Lincolnshire is so bad. That is why it is even more important that we get our through train from Grimsby and Cleethorpes down to London, which we have been promised again and again. It is a huge catchment area. All the Government have to do is to kick-start this project. Given that they are spending £100 billion on HS2, if they just give us £1 million, LNER will give us the through train. Will the Government fulfil their promises and kick-start the through train to London from Grimsby and Cleethorpes?
LNER: Grimsby to London Service — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend has lobbied me on this several times already. I know that the rail Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris), is looking very closely at what my right hon. Friend says, and hopefully he may have some good news in due course.
Covid-19: Financial Loss to Rail Passengers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Gareth Alan Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): What discussions has the Minister had with rail operators such as Southeastern over season ticket holders who have just a couple of months left on their season ticket, and who, because of the virus, have been unable to travel but are ineligible for a refund? These commuters have suffered quite considerably and it would be welcome news if some assistance were available for them.
Covid-19: Financial Loss to Rail Passengers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Heaton-Harris (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have been talking to train operators throughout this whole process, as my hon. Friend would expect, but we do not have plans to extend season tickets. Season ticket holders are already entitled to request a refund in accordance with the National Rail conditions of travel. Over 100,000 season ticket holders have already claimed refunds totalling £150 million in the current covid travel restriction period.
Covid-19: Financial Loss to Rail Passengers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrea Marie Jenkyns (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, you may hear my toddler chuntering away in the background It is crucial that people who are doing the right thing and avoiding public transport are not left out of pocket. Will my hon. Friend therefore confirm that passengers in Morley and Outwood who have purchased their advance tickets—as well as those with season tickets, which he has already mentioned—will be able to receive a refund without any charge for any unused travel during the outbreak?
Covid-19: Financial Loss to Rail Passengers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Heaton-Harris (Conservative, Centre-right): We have worked with the rail industry to temporarily extend refunds to all ticket types. These changes reflect the exceptional circumstances and the Government’s advice to avoid unnecessary travel. Anytime off-peak and super off-peak tickets can be refunded as usual, and since 17 March all admin fees have been waived. Advance tickets purchased before 23 March for travel from that date onwards are eligible for a fee-free refund, whether the train is cancelled or not. Unused carnet tickets can be refunded or extended depending on the train operator, and season tickets, including station car park season tickets, are already refundable, so we have not changed that policy. A £10 admin fee remains for season ticket refunds.
Rail Services: West Sussex — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Heaton-Harris (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry, Mr Speaker—I was worried about my husband for a moment there. Problem or opportunity, whichever way you take it The Government are investing around £48 billion in maintaining and upgrading the rail network between 2019 to 2024, focused on increasing reliability and punctuality for passengers, including in West Sussex.
Rail Services: West Sussex — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Griffith (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his reply and for the significant extra investment that the Government are making in rail transport. As we seek to regrow the economy, may I ask him to consider the investment project known as the Arundel chord, which would enable trains to turn east near Arundel and travel directly to Horsham, significantly improving the resilience of rail services for my constituents in Arundel and South Downs?
Rail Services: West Sussex — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Heaton-Harris (Conservative, Centre-right): Network Rail has recently concluded a study of services in the West Sussex area, produced in consultation with local authorities and stakeholders. While the Arundel chord might have value as a diversionary route, its capacity would be limited and it would cause a negative impact on existing Arun Valley and West Coastway services. However, the study has suggested numerous beneficial changes involving train services and infrastructure, which my Department will take forward with Network Rail and which will benefit all my hon. Friend’s constituents.
Rural Mobility and Supported Bus Services Funds — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are providing significant funding for the bus industry at this time. Our covid-19 funding package for England’s buses totals £397 million. As part of this, local authorities have access to a £30 million supported bus services fund. To date, 46 bids have been received. No bids have yet been received for the rural mobility fund because the deadline is 4 June.
Rural Mobility and Supported Bus Services Funds — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we are focusing on new all-electric bus towns, which is an exciting part of the money that the Prime Minister has announced to support buses up and down the country, but it is not right to say that we are not focusing on hydrogen buses. We have actually allocated £4.36 million to hydrogen buses and supporting infrastructure.
Rural Mobility and Supported Bus Services Funds — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Jane Marion Hunt (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have recently published the safer transport guidance for operators, which is very welcome indeed, but I wonder whether the Minister could set out what steps are being taken to ensure the financial viability of bus services while maintaining social distancing.
Rural Mobility and Supported Bus Services Funds — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I can tell my hon. Friend that we are working urgently to provide further support to bus operators so that they can run service provision as people return to work and at the same time observe social distancing.
Covid-19: Active Travel (Local Authorities) — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): On 9 May, the Government announced a £2 billion package of support for active travel. This includes £250 million of funding this financial year to support people to take up cycling and to enable local authorities to make their roads and pavements safer.
Covid-19: Active Travel (Local Authorities) — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise that the hon. Lady is a really keen cyclist. We want to boost cycling across the country. The schemes that she refers to are being worked at, and we can provide further details of those in due course.
Covid-19: Food Delivery Drivers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course the Government would be concerned by the incidents that the hon. Gentleman mentions. Ensuring the safety of drivers making deliveries is of paramount importance, and the Government do not want anyone to feel unsafe or unsure about whether they have the necessary equipment to work safely. That is why detailed guidance has been issued to all transport workers, in conjunction with our colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
British Airways — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Labor
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand that it is a worrying time for airline staff and their families. I have been speaking regularly with companies across the sector to encourage them to draw down on the unprecedented support package. Terms and conditions of employment are for negotiation between the employee and the employer, but we in the Department stand ready to support any workers affected.
Gosport Ferry Service — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, although I missed his last point. Absolutely, the Gosport ferry provides an important service for the local community to navigate their way around the peninsula. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I met the council leaders. We have spoken to the organisation, and my officials are working with the councils to find a suitable support package for the operator in order to maintain that service.
UK Aviation Sector — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): The aviation sector is so important for the UK economy, which is why it has been able to draw down on an unprecedented support package. The Department and I have set up a restart and recovery unit to work with industry, including unions, ground handlers, airlines and airports, in order to come up strong measures to aid the recovery and restart of the aviation sector.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): That is an incredibly important question, and one of the purposes of the £600 million extra that we are putting into the social care system and that will go direct to the frontline—local authorities are not allowed to use it for other purposes—is to ensure that when social care staff need to be away from work for infection control purposes, they are not penalised for doing so.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Lee Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): Care homes in Ashfield such as Wren Hall, with an outstanding rating, and Sutton Manor, which is in the top 20 care homes in the east midlands, face a difficult future. With empty beds due to covid-19 comes a dramatic loss of income, which has a significant impact on their business. Could my right hon. Friend advise me what safeguards are in place to ensure that our care homes are supported to keep their doors open and continue to provide this exceptional level of care?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We absolutely did a throw a protective ring around social care, not least with the £3.2 billion-worth of funding we put in right at the start, topped up with £600 million-worth of funding on Friday. Further to that, the hon. Lady does know, I think, that testing has been carried out in care homes throughout. Of course there is always more that we should and will do, but we have been working very hard and closely with the adult social care sector. Towards the start of this crisis, I was meeting the leaders of adult social care in Downing Street with the Prime Minister. We have been working very hard to tie together our response in what is a very diverse sector.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Government Operations
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): On the contrary, one of things that we have learned in this crisis, as a nation, is that things are best delivered with people working together in the public and private sectors. I think this crisis has ended for good the idea that the public sector alone should deliver certain services. Actually, teamwork is the best option.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): May I return to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) and ask my right hon. Friend whether it is possible to give any specific support to care homes facing financial difficulties due to unusually high vacancy rates?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The answer that I tried to give at the end of my answer—perhaps too long an answer—to my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) is that, yes, that is something on which I am working. It is not something that I am able to announce today, but I do recognise the concerns and the challenges that the social care sector faces.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Education
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We have set out the five tests that need to be met before relaxation. We will only do that cautiously and carefully. I would sign up to it only if it were safe to do so. The hon. Lady raises the issue of schools. It is very clear that the number of children who are badly affected by this disease is very, very, very small. It is a tiny proportion of the overall total. This disease reserves its power and its risk mostly for the elderly. The proposals that we have made for schools are safe and they are sensible. There clearly needs to be collaborative work to ensure that they can happen, because there are also risks to children, especially some of the most vulnerable children, of not going to school.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Education
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We have taken a cautious, balanced and safety-first approach to restarting schools. That is why we have we taken the approach of just three years being proposed for return in the first instance, to ensure that there can be more social distancing at schools. Of course, as the father of three small children I get that that is more challenging than among adults, but it is necessary. The approach that we propose is safe and is signed off by medical advisers as safe. Of course, because there is hardly any impact on children of this disease—a very small number of children are badly affected—that means that parents can be confident that if they send their child to school, it is a safe environment for them.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: International Affairs
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We are working on a four nations approach, and trying to make sure that the approach that we have to international travel is aligned across all four nations, including with the Assembly Government in Edinburgh. We have, of course, based those decisions on scientific advice, and we will make sure that, as and when that advice is updated as we move through this pandemic, so the decisions continue to be based on that advice.
Economic Prospects — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): While the Northern Ireland economy does have its challenges, as we do across the United Kingdom as we come out of covid-19, I am confident that Northern Ireland has a promising economic future as we recover from this crisis. We will continue to work with business, the Executive and local partners to make sure we do everything we can to get the economy not just back up and running, but turbocharged as it moves forward, laying the foundations for a stable and sustainable economic future.
Economic Prospects — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Laurence Anthony Robertson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Secretary of State for that response. Does he agree with me that the much talked about reduction in corporation tax in Northern Ireland to 12.5% would be a major boost to the economy of the Province? If one or two parties in Northern Ireland are not keen on that idea, would the Government consider introducing it once we are free of the shackles of the European Union in that respect?
Economic Prospects — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I think we are all looking forward to being completely free of the shackles of the European Union. We in the UK Government remain committed to supporting the Executive to achieve the devolution of corporation tax, so that they will have the power to make the decision that my hon. Friend has outlined. In the Stormont House and subsequent "Fresh Start" agreements, we made it clear that these powers would be devolved and provided, subject to the Executive demonstrating that their finances are on a sustainable footing for the long term. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to take the steps necessary to place those finances on a sustainable footing, such as by putting in place the fiscal council, which I hope they will do very swiftly.
Covid-19: Co-ordinated Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): Throughout the covid-19 outbreak, the UK Government have continued to meet regularly with the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister, as well as other Executive Ministers, to co-ordinate the response and, importantly, to take steps together towards a healthy and full economic recovery.
Covid-19: Co-ordinated Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: International Affairs
David Anthony Andrew Amess (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to learn about the positive relationship that exists between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government during this unprecedented crisis. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, as the Northern Ireland Executive face some critical challenges in the near future, the spirit of co-operation, which will benefit not only Northern Ireland but the whole of the United Kingdom, should continue?
Covid-19: Co-ordinated Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: International Affairs
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very good point. It has been a really positive period of working together, across all the devolved parts of the United Kingdom, with the UK Government. I have had regular weekly meetings with both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, apart from the wider Government meetings that they and their Ministers have been involved with. That is a positive sign of how we have been able to work together for the best interests of everybody in all communities in Northern Ireland. I hope that that will continue in the weeks, months and period ahead.
Covid-19: Co-ordinated Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: International Affairs
Felicity Christiana Buchan (Conservative, Centre-right): I also welcome the positive way in which the Northern Ireland Executive have worked with the UK Government during this crisis. Does my right hon. Friend share my hope that this positive spirit of co-operation continues?
Covid-19: Co-ordinated Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: International Affairs
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. There has been an absolute unity of purpose in dealing with covid over the period from all parts, and the relationships—east-west, and of the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland and the UK Government—have been very positive. We have worked together and met regularly and, as I say, I think that has been a positive sign for what we can achieve in the future.
Business Support: Transition Period — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Foreign Trade
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): We will not be extending the transition period; we have made that clear. On the wider point, we will set out more detailed plans for extensive support from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for Northern Ireland businesses that will be engaging in the new administrative processes, and we will issue that guidance this summer. I shall be clear, as I have been previously at this Dispatch Box: Northern Ireland businesses trading with the rest of the UK are part of the UK customs territory. They will have unfettered access.