argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend says that it is not about taking rights away from children, but one of the scenarios is the abolition of independent reviewing officers, who absolutely can be the only voice independently standing up for vulnerable looked-after children in local authorities. If they go under the proposals, how is that not taking away the rights of children, particularly vulnerable children?
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): This is not about abolishing any statutory responsibilities. My hon. Friend should wait to see the amendments tabled in Committee. I am sure that he will want to talk about his concerns in more detail with the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families, who will take them very seriously indeed, particularly given my hon. Friend’s background and experience.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not give way to the right hon. Gentleman because he was not here at the beginning of my speech, when I set out a lot of the basic principles surrounding the Bill As I said, those changes will be in addition to amendments the Government tabled in the other place about the scrutiny process that accompanies the power and ruling out the use of the provision for profit. The Government are committed to working with the sector. The changes we have made are the result of significant consultation and we believe that these clauses are the safest possible way to test new approaches. My hon. Friend the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families is very keen to meet any colleagues who have concerns to discuss these provisions further This is a Bill for the welfare and prospects of vulnerable children and young people. All its measures are designed to improve the services that so many of them rely on, and I commend it to the House.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Neil Carmichael (Conservative, Centre-right): The Bill is a very good one. It has been amended in the House of Lords, and we will need to consider the implications of that in due course. The central points of the Bill are well founded. I am particularly impressed with the theme of reflecting the work of the Munro report and improving the capacity of social workers to use their own judgment, rather than simply rely on box ticking. That is an appropriate theme for the Bill and it explains why the regulatory structure introduced by the Bill will help. It is through such a regulatory system that the ability to make judgments will be made easier It is important for social workers to have a clear eye on what professional regulation is all about. The profession should be operating, of course, at arm’s length, which is usefully stressed in the Bill. A register of social workers makes a lot of sense, because one of the things that we must do is enhance professionalism in social work. That is where I have some difference with the Government, in that I think that ultimately we should have a professional body for social workers. The Education Select Committee made it clear in a recent report that it thought there was a strong case for such a body, and I think there is an appetite for that beyond the Chamber. I urge the Government to have an open mind, and I suggest that they continue to send signals that they would like a professional body to be established. I also think that an independent review of proceedings in five years’ time makes a huge amount of sense, because that is a realistic timescale There is, however, one area in which I think the Bill needs some additions, or at least some recognitions. Given that more than 70,000 children are effectively children of the state and that so many more children are subjected to sexual abuse, and given the historical sexual abuse that has taken place, our failure to place the issue of sex and relationships education front and centre is becoming increasingly obvious. The Government must embark on a full consultation to provide reassurance that something will be done about this most important matter. I ask the Minister to confirm that there will be a realistic and meaningful consultation on the introduction of statutory SRE.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests I welcome most parts of the Bill, and I particularly welcome the fact that it is now without certain parts, as I said earlier. It is good to have this opportunity to discuss child protection and social workers. We spend far too little time in the House highlighting the excellent practices that we expect our social workers to achieve in highly adverse conditions. I have always referred to social workers as our fourth emergency service, and I am proud to be a patron of the Social Worker of the Year awards, along with the hon. Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell-Buck). I attended the awards dinner just over a week ago, at which fantastic examples of dedication, hard work, skill and expertise were on display. Alas, none of that made it into the mainstream media, as is so often the case.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
David John Barrington Burrowes (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously, the primary focus and concern is the duty of care to children, but there is also the issue of mothers who might well end up having successive children who end up in care. The local authority needs to have a responsibility for those vulnerable women, who may well be victims of a coercive relationship and have complex needs as a result. The sooner there is intervention and therapeutic care, the better, to avoid subsequent issues—maybe subsequent children and subsequent costs and concerns for all.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Anthony Edward Timpson (Conservative, Centre-right): I can reassure my hon. Friend that the new Social Work England regulatory body will not be an Executive agency; it will be a non-departmental public body, so it will be at arm’s length from the Government and provide the independence that people called for and that I think is right.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful, and gratefully reassured, and I look forward to being able to support that provision, as opposed to some others that I am not so reassured about In clause 31, one of the overarching objectives of Social Work England is "to promote and maintain public confidence in social workers in England", and that is quite right. However, that is also the job of the chief social worker. One disappointment to me is that when we set up the chief social worker—originally, it was to be one chief social worker covering the elderly and children, but then it was split into a child social worker and an adult care social worker—the point was for them to be a high-profile face of social work, particularly for the public, and a reassuring face of child protection for the public in times of high-profile tragedies and disasters involving safeguarding issues. Therefore, while the current chief social worker for children said recently: "I don’t pretend I am the voice of the profession. I am a civil servant and I see my role" as "offering advice to ministers based on what other people tell me about a the system", I think there is more to the role. This person must not just be a civil servant. They need to work closely alongside Ministers and civil servants, but equally—in action out on the street—to work alongside social workers, consultant social workers and practitioners at the sharp end. We need to revisit the balance that we currently have in that regard. I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker, for going on at length. This is a subject that interests me enormously. I have spent most of my career in Parliament involved with child safeguarding and child protection. I am very proud of the progress that has been made over years, but very worried that we still have a long way to go. Most of this Bill will help in that journey, but certain parts will not. I hope that when scrutinising the Bill in Committee and on Report, the Government reflect a little more before they rush to do some things that clearly are not in the best interests of vulnerable children.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David John Barrington Burrowes (Conservative, Centre-right): I was with the hon. Lady on the Dubs II amendment. Perhaps the link with her proposed amendments is that we can agree on the outcomes, but the question is how we achieve them. If we will the ends, is a prescribed piece of statute needed or are there other means to achieve what we want? We will debate amendments about SRE at a later stage, but the issue with her proposals about safeguarding is the practical implementation. We saw with the Dubs amendment that we need to pay careful attention to practical implementation. Prescribed legislation is not always required, but we need to hold the Minister to account and ensure that he stays true to the good words in his statement.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Education
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am closely following what my right hon. Friend is saying and agree with much of it. As is the wont of speeches on Bills concerning children, hers is straying into a number of subjects that relate to children but are not dealt with in the Bill, but I support her on this subject. Does she agree that one way of securing the better-quality PHSE and SRE that we desperately need would be to bring in experts from outside schools, especially young experts such as youth workers? They could empathise with young people who would listen to them, take notice of them and act on their advice. Would that not be better than giving the task to Mrs Miggins the geography teacher who just happens to have a couple of free periods on a Thursday afternoon?
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Education
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Expertise is necessary when it comes to teaching those subjects. However, as I have said, I have raised this issue because if we are to tackle the welfare of children, we must ensure that we do so effectively. It is no good leaving children out of the equation; we must tackle their welfare head on. While I do not disagree with my hon. Friend’s point that undertrained teachers will not provide effective sex and relationships education, I think that all teachers—whether they are Mrs Miggins teaching geography or anyone else—need to understand how they can stop the sexual harassment and sexual violence that too many young people told the Committee they took for granted in their everyday school lives, and which we would never take for granted as adults. All teachers should have some sort of training in this sphere because they are responsible for the wellbeing of children while they are at school.
Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Education
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her helpful intervention We sometimes worry about raising the issue of sex and relationships in the House because we feel that we are taking away a primary function of parents, but that is not the way parents see it. Research conducted by YouGov shows that 90% of parents want compulsory SRE because they understand the pressures that their children are under. Those pressures have the potential to undermine the welfare of those children, especially when they are at school. Teachers understand that, too. They understand the importance of helping young people to navigate, in an appropriate way, the pressures of being a teenager in the internet world. There is overwhelming evidence of the need for change and I make no apology for underlining it today for the Minister’s benefit. Five Select Committee Chairs have made the same point as a result of work that their Committees have done, and the Department for Education itself told the Education Committee that good PSHE underpins good academic achievement. We know that children who have received sex and relationships education and PSHE more broadly are less likely to engage in risky behaviour and much more likely to seek help when things go wrong. Children need to be able to recognise abuse, grooming and predatory behaviour. As Alison Hadley of the University of Bedfordshire told the Education Committee, if children have no "ammunition to understand these things, no wonder they are ending up in very dangerous situations." Educating children about this is not an optional extra; it needs to be mandatory and an integral part of the Government’s safeguarding strategy In January 2014, in response to the Education Committee’s report, the Government said that they would work to ensure that all schools deliver high-quality PSHE, but 40% still do not. In November 2014, the Government established an expert group for PSHE, which recommended that PSHE should be a statutory entitlement for all pupils. Two years on, can the Minister update the House on the progress that has been made on the issue, which 90% of parents want action on, and which Girlguiding, End Violence Against Women, the NSPCC and Barnardo’s—the list goes on—are calling for action on I call on the Minister to put in place a timetable for action, including a comprehensive consultation to ensure that we get this right. No one is calling for rushed measures but, as Members have said, the issue of making SRE compulsory has been ongoing for some time. Of course the education should be age-relevant in all cases, and any proposal should be implemented in a way that brings the whole House together, because that is always the best way to handle such important cross-party issues.
Terminal Illness: Support — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): I am getting towards the end of my speaking time, so I will finish by answering that as best I can. Of course money matters, and every process works better if there is plenty of money for it. The facts of the matter are that both adult social care and the NHS are under cost pressures. To be honest, that will always be the case in every system, and I just gently say to the hon. Lady that she may be surprised to know that we spend about a third more on adult social care, which is a particular responsibility of mine, than either France or Germany.
Terminal Illness: Support — House of Commons, 2016-12-05
Topic: Social Welfare
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): This is not the autumn statement, and I cannot make commitments on funding other than to say that many Members on both sides of this Chamber would like to see, when the time is right, more funding for our vital public services. I again just gently make the point to the hon. Lady that we spend considerably more on adult social care than countries such as France and Germany, those it would be reasonable to compare us with, and it is not just about money in terms of the delayed transfers of care performance of different councils—it is hugely different Let us agree that what really is important is that over the next few years we implement the choice review: what is important is the Government’s commitment to implement that and our clear intent, as signalled by Bruce Keogh leading the implementation board, that we will be held accountable for it. I will be held accountable for it, and I will report back to the House in due course on that I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue Question put and agreed to.
Devolution of Power and Resources: Local Communities — House of Commons, 2016-12-01
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady invites me to visit Newcastle. In fact, I do intend to visit it, and I look forward to seeing her and local government leaders there. I must point out that this Government are making huge strides towards rebalancing the economy and empowering local government through the devolution of powers away from Whitehall. At the autumn statement, the Government signalled their intention to go further, including exploring devolution to cities such as London and Greater Manchester and to the west midlands, and offering greater flexibility for mayoral combined authorities to borrow for their new functions.
Devolution of Power and Resources: Local Communities — House of Commons, 2016-12-01
Topic: Transportation
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government set out a clear plan at the autumn statement for our strategic framework for the northern powerhouse. We are spending £13 billion on transport in the north, establishing Transport for the North and ensuring a statutory status. Investment in the north is very substantial indeed, and that is borne out by the improving—and, indeed, record—levels of employment in the north.
Devolution of Power and Resources: Local Communities — House of Commons, 2016-12-01
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; My right hon. Friend can afford to be generous and let local government spend these sums because they are trifling compared with the bonanza available to us all as a consequence of lifting the common external tariff.
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I am glad that my right hon. Friend is so supportive of Government policy in this regard. He is absolutely right. Frankly, Opposition Members would do well to be more positive about the benefits of Brexit, rather than constantly seeking to talk down the economy.
Devolution of Power and Resources: Local Communities — House of Commons, 2016-12-01
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; My right hon. Friend can afford to be generous and let local government spend these sums because they are trifling compared with the bonanza available to us all as a consequence of lifting the common external tariff.
James Philip Duddridge (Conservative, Centre-right): I fully approve of more money going to the frontline, but can the Minister give me some reassurance that he will not be funding the "regions"—a pernicious invention of people who wanted to break up the United Kingdom into various parts that were not contiguous with any historical links to our communities?
Devolution of Power and Resources: Local Communities — House of Commons, 2016-12-01
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; My right hon. Friend can afford to be generous and let local government spend these sums because they are trifling compared with the bonanza available to us all as a consequence of lifting the common external tariff.; The Lord Advocate has delivered his advice, in which he said clearly that if the great repeal Bill were to pass, Scotland’s legislative consent motion would be required from the Scottish Parliament. Why does the Secretary of State disagree with Scotland’s senior Law Officer?
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my right hon. Friend point out to those who are moaning about the potential loss of EU funding that it is our money in the first place, and that for every £1 we get from the European Union, we have to pay £2 to achieve it?
Devolution of Power and Resources: Local Communities — House of Commons, 2016-12-01
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on further devolution of power and resources from Whitehall to local communities as part of his Department’s preparations for the UK exiting the EU.; My right hon. Friend can afford to be generous and let local government spend these sums because they are trifling compared with the bonanza available to us all as a consequence of lifting the common external tariff.; The Lord Advocate has delivered his advice, in which he said clearly that if the great repeal Bill were to pass, Scotland’s legislative consent motion would be required from the Scottish Parliament. Why does the Secretary of State disagree with Scotland’s senior Law Officer?
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will be pleased when article 50 is triggered before the end of March. On the issue of local government in the north, all I can say is that there is huge enthusiasm in northern local authorities for directly elected Mayors.