argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Gay Conversion Therapy — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the Government as a result of the General Synod’s call to ban gay conversion therapy.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am obviously not responsible for the Government’s decision, but the General Synod voted clearly and unequivocally to ban gay conversion therapy. I can share some of the contents of the letter that the Minister wrote to me. The Government are strongly against the practice of so-called reparative or conversion therapy. They have no current plans to ban or restrict it through legislation, because existing voluntary registers already provide safeguards for the public, but I will certainly assist in the way that the right hon. Gentleman suggests by writing to the Minister.
Gay Conversion Therapy — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the Government as a result of the General Synod’s call to ban gay conversion therapy.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): The leadership of the Church of England could not be clearer on this point. Archbishop Justin managed to secure a commitment to stamp out homophobia throughout the Anglican communion, when all the bishops were convened here in London. It has been established unequivocally, from the top of the Church all the way down, that homophobia has no place in the Anglian communion.
Christians: Middle East — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Immigration
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is giving to Christian communities in the middle east as a result of attacks on those communities during Christmas 2017.; To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is giving to Christian communities in the middle east as a result of attacks on those communities during Christmas 2017.
Daniel Robert Kawczynski (Conservative, Centre-right): There is growing concern about the level and extent of the persecution of Christians throughout the middle east and north Africa. What representations is the Church of England making to the Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about the disproportionately low number of Christians who are identified for resettlement to western countries?
Christians: Middle East — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Immigration
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is giving to Christian communities in the middle east as a result of attacks on those communities during Christmas 2017.; To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is giving to Christian communities in the middle east as a result of attacks on those communities during Christmas 2017.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): We are in regular contact with both the Government and the UNHCR about the plight of persecuted Christians. We wanted to get to the bottom of why the percentage of Christians in refugee camps in a number of these countries is so low. In fact, the Christian diaspora is extensive, and Christians living in other countries where they can help to provide safe havens often enable their relatives to travel over. It is significant that, for example, 30% of Syrian refugees in America are Christian. Christians frequently choose to save themselves in such ways.
Counter-terrorism — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what counter-terrorism measures are in place to protect Church of England premises; and if she will make a statement.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Six cathedrals have received money from the programme launched in July 2016 as the places of worship security funding scheme, which became, in 2017, the vulnerable faith institutions scheme. To get funding, a place of worship has to show evidence that it is vulnerable, and cathedrals have been given up to £45,000 to assist with measures that they need to undertake.
Counter-terrorism — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what counter-terrorism measures are in place to protect Church of England premises; and if she will make a statement.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Unfortunately, I do not think it is possible retrospectively to reimburse the Minster for the measures it has taken, which I believe are in any event temporary at the moment, but may I share the good practice of the House of Commons, the parliamentary estate, Westminster Abbey and Westminster City Council, which work together to try to make these public spaces safer after the terrible events of last year? I will do everything I can to assist the hon. Lady in getting that kind of good partnership working around York.
Counter-terrorism — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what counter-terrorism measures are in place to protect Church of England premises; and if she will make a statement.
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that the Church of England is responsible for some iconic sites, the attention given to this work is welcome, but will my right hon. Friend reassure me that those wishing to meet the living God will not find a palisade fence separating them from His house?
Counter-terrorism — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what counter-terrorism measures are in place to protect Church of England premises; and if she will make a statement.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right: as Parliament does not wish to turn itself into a fortress because that would cut against what democracy stands for, no more does the Church want so to provide security measures that it becomes a less accessible place to meet with God. That balance has to be struck.
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission, what recent assessment the National Audit Office has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on its work programme.
Richard Michael Bacon (Conservative, Centre-right): The NAO has a remit to look at all UK public, taxpayers’ money and it has confirmed that it will scrutinise any financial settlement with the EU. The Comptroller and Auditor General has said his first report is due in the spring.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I will leave aside the soundbite that came at the end of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but the substance of his remarks is correct. The system is inadequate and needs to be strengthened and reformed, and I am delighted that Her Majesty’s official Opposition are taking an interest in the matter.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Other
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): Sadly, I agree with the hon. Gentleman. As a member of my Committee, he has been instrumental in drawing the Committee’s attention to these issues. I would almost describe him as the conscience of the Committee on the issue, and long may he continue to encourage us in this work. As he knows, it is not the practice of the Committee to prosecute individual cases, and we should resist that because it would divert attention from the substance of the work that we need to undertake. I am actually quite pleased about how obviously carefully drafted the Government’s response is to our report because the points we are making in our report are having a telling effect. We have a long way to go, however, and that is why the hon. Gentleman has been one of those encouraging the Committee to continue pursuing the subject with a further inquiry. I thank him for his work for the Committee.
Joint Enterprise — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to strongly support what the hon. Lady is saying about the judgment of the court in that case in respect of autism. I have read the case and, as a layman, I find the response of the court completely inexplicable.
Joint Enterprise — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right that the Committee will want to pursue that point. However, there is nothing to stop the Government themselves asking the Law Commission to carry out a review, as has happened a number of times in the past.
Joint Enterprise — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Other
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): It was unforgivably remiss of me earlier, Madam Deputy Speaker, not to welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Lucy Frazer) to her first outing on the Government Front Bench. The whole House will wish her well in what will undoubtedly be the start of a long and distinguished ministerial career.
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Matthew James Offord (Conservative, Centre-right): Is the right hon. Lady aware of the ComRes poll showing that 81% of the public want Hezbollah proscribed in its entirety, and does she agree—I see that there are some very honourable Members on the Opposition Benches—that the Labour Front-Bench team has got this wrong and should agree with the motion, not oppose it?
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Zac Goldsmith (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is making a very powerful speech. It is also worth pointing out that the march was led by the director of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, who, during his speech, blamed the Grenfell Tower tragedy on the Zionists. As we all know, the word "Zionists" is a euphemism for Jews. The whole enterprise was just entirely bonkers, as well as being anti-Semitic.
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Hezbollah is appalling and I would very much like to see it banned. Only one argument might say that it should not be: the security services might be—we will never know this—advising the Minister that it is better to keep it where we can see it rather than send it underground. That might be the only argument against a ban.
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Matthew James Offord (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not in favour of banning things, I have to say. But the hurt, resentment, agitation and general disruption that this annual march causes—not only to the Metropolitan police, but to the people of London—should in itself lead to its being banned. This year, I called again on the Metropolitan police not to allow the march to go ahead. Infuriatingly, days after the Grenfell Tower fire, with the police massively stretched by the tragedy, the organisers insisted on going ahead with the march even though the Met did not have the resources to police it. That was reprehensible on the part of the IHRC This year, the march was led by a director of the IHRC, Nazim Ali, who in a speech, as my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) mentioned, blamed the Grenfell fire tragedy on "the Zionist supporters of the Tory Party" He also accused the Israel Defence Forces of being a "terrorist organisation that murdered Palestinians, Jews and British soldiers." Participants in the rally called for the destruction of Israel and waved slogans, including one stating "We are all Hezbollah". Shockingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, the Leader of the Opposition has spoken at the annual event in the past. I take this opportunity to call on him not to do so again in future As we have heard, senior Hezbollah officials have repeatedly said that Hezbollah is a single entity, proudly stating that "resistance" is their "priority", and even publicly mocking the UK and other European countries for distinguishing between the two wings.
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Matthew James Offord (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Lady has made a really good point, and I want to respond; I am grateful that she took my intervention earlier. She is absolutely right—there is an issue with not only Labour Front Benchers but Government Front Benchers. I certainly hope that they hear what I am saying today. This is not about one party or another. I do not seek to make this a party political issue, but when I see the shadow Home Secretary rolling her eyes at some of the comments made by Labour Back Benchers, that makes me think that her heart is not really in this issue and that she is not as concerned as many Government Members—or, indeed, many Opposition Members According to Home Office guidance, "Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary may proscribe an organisation if she believes it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do. For the purposes of the Act, this means that the organisation: commits or participates in acts of terrorism; prepares for terrorism; promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism); or is otherwise concerned in terrorism". It is worth reiterating that senior Hezbollah officials have openly and repeatedly stated that no substantive separation exists between so-called "political" and "military" wings. Given that fact, I believe that Hezbollah meets the criteria for full proscription under the Terrorism Act It is not just the Jewish community in this country who are distressed by Hezbollah’s overt presence in the UK; it also distresses those of us who deplore terrorism and hate all kinds of bigotry and those of us who want this country to be a welcoming and safe place for our many diverse communities A number of Members are unable to be here today because they have returned to their constituencies. No doubt they will be attending this weekend’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations. However, we must not underestimate the strength of feeling among the British public in favour of rooting out anti-Semitism and hatred wherever it occurs. Anti-Semitism is rising throughout Europe, and as we commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on Saturday, we must be the ones to say, "Enough is enough." It is in the best interests of us all to proscribe Hezbollah in full Let us demonstrate our commitment to tackling extremism by finally putting aside the mistaken belief that Hezbollah has a political wing. It quite simply does not exist. My constituents think we should not wait any longer before admitting that, and so do I.
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: To ask about what would have happened had the whole organisation been proscribed is clearly counterfactual. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that that is entirely hypothetical.
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend says that it is not the view of every country and every security service that Hezbollah is indivisible. Is not his difficulty that it is Hezbollah’s own view that it is indivisible, and considers itself a single organisation?
Proscription of Hezbollah — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: To ask about what would have happened had the whole organisation been proscribed is clearly counterfactual. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that that is entirely hypothetical.
Matthew James Offord (Conservative, Centre-right): That is all very well about Lebanon, but my concern is the constituents of Hendon, when they cannot go into central London and the police are overstretched, when they are spat at and called Nazis and when people are vile and anti-Semitic towards them. My concern is the people of Hendon—the people of this country.
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Housing
Michael Jon Wood (Conservative, Centre-right): Given the serious questions that have been raised about the disposal of council land in Sandwell, does my hon. Friend agree that the council should also investigate the case of my constituent, Patricia Barlow? Her late mother repeatedly tried to buy a piece of land next to her house, only to find out—after years of asking—that the council had disposed of that land to another business without even notifying her. Should the council look at the price at which that land was sold, and at whether it was all above board?
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The right hon. Gentleman cannot speak in this debate. In order to do so, he would need the permission, sought previously, of the hon. Member whose debate it is and of the Minister, and the Chair would also expect to know, and that is not the situation in which we find ourselves, so I am afraid that it is not in order for the right hon. Gentleman to speak.
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council — House of Commons, 2018-01-25
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The Minister is not giving way. The right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar) is normally an extremely well-behaved Member of this House, and I hope that he will revert to that within the next few seconds.
Leaving the EU: The Union — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues, as I am always happy to talk to the elected representatives of Northern Ireland constituencies here. It is important that we find a way to mark that centenary appropriately and do so in a way that is genuinely inclusive and recognises the sensitivities associated with many centenary anniversaries affecting the island of Ireland that have fallen in recent years.
Electoral Fraud — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): Electoral fraud is unacceptable at any level, and vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to continue to undermine the integrity of our democracy, so the Cabinet Office is working with five local authorities to pilot voter identification and with three others to pilot measures to improve the integrity of the postal and proxy vote processes.
Electoral Fraud — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): We entrust electoral registration officers to do that task, and we think it is very important that they do so. Electoral registration officers have the ability to make nationality checks where they believe it is appropriate. Indeed, this House also recently agreed to changes to the registration forms to emphasise to would-be voters that such checks will be made, and we think that is important.
Electoral Fraud — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): These pilots are, in fact, very important. They allow us, as a country, to begin to be sure that the people voting in any given election are eligible to do so. I continue to be disappointed that the Labour party seems to think that that is not necessary. Each local authority involved in these pilots has clear plans, first, to be able to communicate with voters to instruct them on what to do on the day and, secondly, to help anybody who might find themselves unable to produce the required ID. Nobody will be left behind in these pilots.
Women and Political Office — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government Equalities Office has commissioned a review to identify barriers that limit women’s participation in national Government, the aim being to provide political parties with a range of solutions to draw on. We will also launch a consultation this summer on the introduction of a new electoral offence to tackle the intimidation of parliamentary candidates and campaigners.
Women and Political Office — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very important point, and he is right. Sadly, it is noticeable that abuse on social media is particularly directed at women. We recently enacted the Digital Economy Act 2017 to help ensure that online abuse is effectively tackled through a robust code; but ultimately, as political parties, we have our bit to do to make sure we give people protection online—robust debate but with respect—and it is very sad that the Labour party has failed to live up to that by bringing forward its own respect pledge.
Women and Political Office — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. Again, my right hon. Friend makes a good observation. It is important that we encourage people from all backgrounds, including women and young people, to feel that they can get involved and that there are opportunities to get involved, participate and contribute to public life. To do that, they need to feel safe in that environment, and that is largely down to the political parties delivering it.
Women and Political Office — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the key things to having more women involved in local government is political parties encouraging more women to get involved. Conservative Members will certainly be doing that, and I hope the hon. Lady will join me in calling for these local elections to have a respect pledge—the Labour party should step up and do that—to make sure that people feel they can have robust debate, but with respect. The Labour party has simply failed to do that.
Women and Political Office — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Antoinette Geraldine Sherratt (Sandbach) (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly, it is important to use the centenary of women’s suffrage this year to encourage participation events across the country, including in my constituency and the north-west. What funding does the Minister have available to ensure that those types of events happen?
Women and Political Office — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a good point. It is right in this year that we take the opportunity to continue to highlight why it is important that we see more people, particularly women, getting involved in public life. There is £5 million available, and I am sure that the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), will be happy to liaise with her on that. Again, I have to say that we all need to play a part in encouraging more people from diverse backgrounds to get involved and to feel free to get involved in politics.
Political Parties: Donations and Loans — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said in answer to a previous question, all donations are registered in accordance with the law. I appreciate that in recent days some points have been raised; indeed, some were raised in the Chamber yesterday, after your decision to grant an emergency debate, Mr Speaker. There are a lot of allegations in the air at the moment, but what the Government have to do is deal with the law as it stands and allow the correct bodies to carry out their investigations.