argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Social Security and Pensions — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent contribution. Universal credit was uplifted in response to the covid crisis. The situation for the poorest in our society has not improved over this period, and in fact, going into this cost of living crisis, it is getting worse and worse. Does he therefore agree that it is a completely unsustainable position to remove that £20 uplift in universal credit, and that the correct response, among the many responses, should be to restore that with immediate effect?
Social Security and Pensions — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Member is making an excellent point about the assessment that would be needed. Does he think that, in an assessment of adequacy, it would be relevant to factor in the consequences of underpayment in terms of monetising demand on other services that people go to? There is a cost to poverty and usually it is extraordinarily expensive not just for the person suffering from it but in regard to the demand on other governmental services.
Social Security and Pensions — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: Social Welfare
John Martin McDonnell (Labour, Centre-left): I resent the premise of this debate. I resent the Government bringing forward an unamendable order on such a significant issue, because that leads to the conclusion, as the hon. Members for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills) and for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) said, that if we reject the order there will be no increase whatsoever. We should not allow Parliament to be blackmailed in that way. The response is fairly straightforward: on the issue of poverty in this country, there has to come a time when this House rises up. We have heard example after example. We can all give examples from our own constituencies—the heartbreaking stories of how people are suffering at the moment. So we should not accept the Government bringing forward an unamendable order and expecting us either to go through the Lobby like sheep and vote for it, or to abstain.
Social Security and Pensions — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): Does my right hon. Friend agree that this country is facing a crisis that is being visited on the poor, and that to put this House in the position of simply having to accept it is absolutely reprehensible? We should be demanding that this order be taken away and that we get a proper settlement and a proper increase for the people most in need. Surely that is the duty of this Parliament.
Social Security and Pensions — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister and I have shared many train journeys to and from the north-west, but I want to pick him up on what he has just said. He has said that what is being provided is "substantial", but all the evidence from all of us, on both sides of the House—including his own side—has shown that it is anything but substantial. It will not cover, for instance, the cost of living crisis and the increase in inflation, and it is not sufficient in the context of the last 12 years. Please can you think again? This is just not adequate for my constituents or for yours.
Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: International Affairs
Peter John Kyle (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful for the service to the people of Northern Ireland that my hon. Friend has given from the Labour Front Bench over the years. He makes a very pertinent point. I was flabbergasted, on a Friday during a real crisis in Northern Ireland, to see the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland tweeting about "Game of Thrones" and not the situation that was unfolding. That was a negligent approach to the situation and to the responsibility that the Northern Ireland Secretary has to be present. There are several Secretaries of State with responsibility for negotiating, commenting on and making policy that has a profound impact on the people and politics of Northern Ireland. The fact that none of them has come to this place to answer questions in recent days is negligent.
Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: Government Operations
Peter John Kyle (Labour, Centre-left): The consensus that needs building is between political parties in Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister has now been revealed as having been making promises and pledges to parties in Northern Ireland and failing to meet them, which I think is what underpins the failure we see in Northern Ireland at this time.
Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill — House of Commons, 2022-02-07
Topic: International Affairs
Peter John Kyle (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; your protection is always welcome. I try my best to defend myself and to embrace as many interventions as possible, while bearing in mind that other Members from Northern Ireland also need to speak in the debate Power sharing is a fundamental outcome of the peace process. The Belfast/Good Friday agreement is not an abstract. Strand 1 details the envisioned day-to-day functioning of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive The support for power sharing among the public in Northern Ireland is resolute. As Professor Tonge said in an evidence session on this Bill: "Devolved power sharing is overwhelmingly a preferred option that comes back from each of those surveys—never larger, it should be said, than in 2019, which might be seen as remarkable given the hiatus in devolution from January 2017 until just after the election in December 2019. So the public have never lost faith with devolved power sharing. They have continued to support it."––[Official Report, Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Public Bill Committee, 29 June 2021; c. 7-8.] People in Northern Ireland are now emerging from a profound health crisis. Constituents in all parts of the United Kingdom are facing a cost of living crisis and huge public service challenges—multiple crises. For all political leaders in Northern Ireland, these are priorities that people want to be addressed in the coming weeks, in addition to valid constitutional issues, which must be resolved, as a result of the protocol that this Government negotiated and signed Lords amendments 1 and 2 allow the Bill to have an immediate commencement and for its provisions to apply if it receives Royal Assent during the seven-day Executive formation period following a First Minister or Deputy First Minister resignation. The Labour party fully supports the Lords amendments, but it is disappointing that the optimism of the New Decade, New Approach deal has not been realised.
Education Settings: Safe Learning — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): Safety includes warmth. What will the Minister say to schools such as the one that contacted me this morning to say that, due to its £30,000 energy bill, it will not be able to manage its budget this year? It is very worried about what it can spend on fruit, books, salaries and all the other things that a small primary school needs. What urgent action will he take?
Education Settings: Safe Learning — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, want children to be taught in safe spaces. That brings me yet again to the plight of Russell Scott Primary School in Denton, where, as the Minister knows, a botched £2.7 million refurbishment by Carillion has left the school with wrecked footings; a leaking roof; defective fire safety measures; inadequate drainage that floods the school with raw sewage; and playing fields that still resemble the Somme. It needs £5 million for that to be put right, or a new build. Baroness Barran wrote to me last week and basically said, "Tough—there’s no money." That is not acceptable, is it? This is not levelling up. Let us get the purse strings opened and rebuild Russell Scott.
Low-quality University Courses — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): Parents and families are rightly proud of a child or family member who secures a place at our world-class universities, yet last week many will have seen the Minister belittle their courses and hard work. Her new proposal to fine universities if they do not meet universal thresholds risks punishing universities with more disadvantaged, black and ethnic minority or mature students, who are more likely to take different routes through to higher education. Why is she putting barriers in the way of universities seeking to widen access to higher education?
Student and Graduate Finance: Cost of Living — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) student and (b) graduate finance in the context of the cost of living.; What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) student and (b) graduate finance in the context of the cost of living.
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): Surely the ministerial team realise that student finance is in a terrible mess, with many students struggling to pay money back and many students refused a mortgage because of their student debt. This is a serious situation. The Government have got to get a handle on it and do something about what is going on, particularly in relation to the weak and enfeebled Office for Students.
Supporting Young People into High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): Apprenticeships are the best way to support young people into high-quality jobs, but Government data shows the total number of apprenticeships fell by almost a quarter from 2001 to 2019, even before the pandemic. The levy has been described by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development as having failed by every measure and that it shuts out small businesses and young people. Is the Minister really satisfied with this failure? Can she explain why no reforms to apprenticeships are proposed in the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill?
Supporting Young People into High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Minister realise that many of the routes into quality jobs are in those very universities that she has been disparaging through her tax on so-called low-value courses? Does she agree that we need a much better metric than salary outcomes? Just because someone is not very well paid does not mean that they are no value.
Lifelong Learning and Skills Development — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Daniel Owen Jarvis (Labour, Centre-left): The truly outstanding Northern College in Barnsley is the only adult residential college in the north of England. Can the Minister assure us that it will continue to receive its residential uplift funding in future years?
Technical Qualifications: Strengthening their Value — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Karen Patricia Buck (Labour, Centre-left): More than a quarter of a million students are studying BTECs, but the Government are rushing ahead with a set of changes about which parents and schools and colleges are very concerned, especially as BTECs are taken up disproportionately by the most disadvantaged families in the most disadvantaged communities. One of the issues that have been raised with me is the limited number of opportunities and qualifications that will be available under T-levels, in comparison with BTECs. Can the Minister explain how a levelling-up agenda is being advanced by a reduction in the range of opportunities available to such students?
Covid-19: Transmission in Schools — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies advised the Government to improve ventilation in schools in May 2020. It warned the Government to prepare for winter in July 2020. More than 10 million days of in-person teaching were lost last term. More than 400,000 children were out of school with covid last week. A quarter of schools faced teacher absences of 15% or more. Air cleaning devices are more than 18 months late, and are being offered to fewer than one in 30 classrooms. Why did Ministers ignore the advice about the importance of ventilation in schools for so long?
Future Funding — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Social Welfare
Helen Elizabeth Hayes (Labour, Centre-left): Taxpayer-subsidised childcare is increasingly being taken over by large for-profit companies quartered overseas, according to new research by University College London and the Nuffield Foundation. These companies have growing debts and charge high fees to parents while having among the lowest levels of staff qualifications and pay. They are reinvesting little in childcare provision. Does the Minister believe that repaying corporate debt represents value for money for taxpayers while families across the country struggle to access childcare that they can afford?
Children with SEND: Access to Specialist Support — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): The National Autistic Society ran a survey of parents and carers last summer, and it found that a quarter of parents waited more than three years to receive support for their child. Urgent reforms are needed for the 160,000 autistic pupils in schools in England to address the issues that have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Can the Minister confirm that the upcoming SEND review will include robust proposals to tackle the crisis that disabled children and their families are facing?
School Staff Absences — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Rebecca Long-Bailey (Labour, Centre-left): On 20 January, more than 415,000 pupils were off school and 15% of teachers were absent, but only 9,000 air purifiers have been promised, for approximately 300,000 classrooms. The Minister lauds the Government response, yet Germany has promised to subsidise 80% of the cost of air cleaning equipment in all schools to ensure that education is not disrupted. Why is he failing to ensure that our pupils have similar levels of protection?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Rachel Louise Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): The most deprived schools have seen the largest cuts over the past decade, with a 14% real-terms fall in per-pupil spending between 2009-10 and 2019-20, compared with a drop of only 9% for the least deprived schools. That is not levelling up. Is the Minister content that her Government are funnelling money away from the schools and communities that need it the most?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Questions: The Secretary of State is sadly unable to be with us today, but will one of his Ministers commit him to meet me to discuss the universal accreditation scheme proposed in my recently published “Poverty Trapped” paper? It would mean that universities and colleges could give credit for knowledge and skills gained not just in formal education but in work or informal settings, to make it easier, cheaper and faster to switch careers and to level up opportunities so that everyone has a better chance to succeed.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): Today, I send my love to the family of Jack Dromey, who will be deeply missed by us all. Through you, Mr Speaker, I also send to the Secretary of State my best wishes for a swift recovery According to the most recent figures, the number of children who are out of school because of covid has risen by 34%. In the light of that, do Ministers not regret all the time and energy they have wasted on defending the Prime Minister rather than prioritising our children’s learning?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Education
Questions: The Secretary of State is sadly unable to be with us today, but will one of his Ministers commit him to meet me to discuss the universal accreditation scheme proposed in my recently published “Poverty Trapped” paper? It would mean that universities and colleges could give credit for knowledge and skills gained not just in formal education but in work or informal settings, to make it easier, cheaper and faster to switch careers and to level up opportunities so that everyone has a better chance to succeed.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): If only that were true. It is a year this week since the Prime Minister appointed Sir Kevan Collins "to oversee a comprehensive programme of catch-up", only for Sir Kevan later to resign in protest because, in his words, the Government’s plans risked "failing hundreds of thousands of pupils." We can all see covid’s impact on children’s learning and wellbeing. Labour’s "Children’s Recovery Plan" meets the scale of the challenge we face, so when will the Minister finally put children first and match Labour’s ambition for their future?
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Government Operations
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): They have spent weeks fraying the bond of trust between the Government and the public, eroding our democracy and the rule of law Margaret Thatcher once said: "The first duty of Government is to uphold the law. If it tries to bob and weave and duck around that duty when its inconvenient…then so will the governed" To govern this country is an honour, not a birthright. It is an act of service to the British people, not the keys to a court to parade to friends. It requires honesty, integrity and moral authority. I cannot tell hon. Members how many times people have said to me that this Prime Minister’s lack of integrity is somehow "priced in"—that his behaviour and character do not matter. I have never accepted that and I never will Whatever people’s politics, whatever party they vote for, honesty and decency matter. Our great democracy depends on them. Cherishing and nurturing British democracy is what it means to be patriotic. There are Conservative Members who know that, and they know that the Prime Minister is incapable of it. The question that they must now ask themselves is what they are going to do about it Conservative Members can heap their reputation, the reputation of their party, and the reputation of this country on the bonfire that is the Prime Minister’s leadership, or they can spare the country a Prime Minister totally unworthy of his responsibilities. It is their duty to do so. They know better than anyone how unsuitable he is for high office. Many of them knew in their hearts that we would inevitably come to this one day and they know that, as night follows day, continuing his leadership will mean further misconduct, cover-up and deceit. Only they can end this farce. The eyes of the country are upon them. They will be judged by the decisions they take now.
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Government Operations
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister told us: "I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no covid rules were broken."—[Official Report, 8 December 2021; Vol. 705, c. 372.] We now know that 12 of the 16 parties are subject to a police investigation, and that of the remaining four, the Sue Gray report states that she has seen a "serious failure" to observe the high standards at No. 10. She has seen "failures of leadership" and of judgment, yet the Prime Minister thinks that is fine. Just how bad do things have to be before he takes personal responsibility, does what everybody in the country wants him to do, and resigns?
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: International Affairs
George Edward Howarth (Labour, Centre-left): Yesterday, at the local Tesco store in my constituency, a constituent asked me in a tone more in sorrow than in anger, "Why doesn’t the Prime Minister realise that as every day goes by, he damages the reputation of our country abroad, around the world?" How would the Prime Minister respond to that constituent?
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Law and Crime
Karl Turner (Labour, Centre-left): We now know that there is a criminal investigation into the party that took place on 13 November 2020 in the Prime Minister’s flat to celebrate the exit of Mr Cummings. On 8 December last year, the Prime Minister came to that Dispatch Box and flatly denied the very idea that any such party had taken place—[Interruption.] He is shaking his head. In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West), he said that it had not happened. He has inadvertently misled the House, so the very least he should do is get to that Dispatch Box and correct the record.
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): The thing is, this is who the Prime Minister is: "a serious failure to observe…high standards…failures of leadership and judgment…excessive consumption of alcohol…in a professional workplace" "gatherings" that "should not have been" able "to take place"; staff too frightened to raise concerns; parties in his own private flat. A leopard does not change its spots, does it? Every single one who defends this will face this again and again and again, because he still will not even admit to the House that when he came to us and said, of 13 November, that "the guidance…and the rules were followed at all times"—[Official Report, 8 December 2021; Vol. 705, c. 379]— and, on 1 December, that all the guidelines were observed, those things simply were not true. If he will not correct the record today, there is nothing accidental about this, is there? It is deliberate.
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Government Operations
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): As the Prime Minister will recall, during Prime Minister’s Question Time on 8 December, I asked "whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November".—[Official Report, 8 December 2021; Vol. 705, c. 379.] Now the report says, as one of the bullet points on the first page, that there was "a gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat" and "a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser" Did the Prime Minister inadvertently mislead this House? Will he put us all out of our agony, and stop dragging democracy through the mud?
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: International Affairs
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): Just to summarise, we have had, "I didn’t know there was a party", "There wasn’t a party, it was a work meeting" and, "There was a party but I wasn’t there". The Prime Minister mentioned international negotiations. Why should anybody—any country, any Government—with whom we enter into negotiations deal at all with, and take any kind of word from, a Government who clearly act with mendacity aforethought from the start?
Sue Gray Report — House of Commons, 2022-01-31
Topic: Government Operations
Maria Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister has just said that he accepts the findings of the report. One of them says: "There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times." He provides the political leadership and the political judgment at No. 10. Does he accept his own personal wrongdoing and failings in this regard?