argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that we need to look at what is included in the wider package that people receive, whether that is support for their pension, additional flexibilities or additional elements of pay and training, because training and progression are extremely important. I remember visiting Chelmsford prison in her constituency, which was looking at training opportunities for prison officers. We are looking at that throughout the public sector, because job satisfaction derives from many things, and although pay is of course important—I would not deny that—job satisfaction is also about working conditions and about people on the frontline feeling empowered to do their jobs well and knowing that they are making a contribution. Being a public servant is incredibly important, and we need to show that we are giving people on the frontline the ability to make decisions and really improve people’s lives for the better.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I would answer the hon. Gentleman by saying that my pay has gone both up and down since 2010, but my pay is set independently. The important point is that the pay of public sector workers is determined by the pay review bodies, whose recommendations I take very seriously, and that is how we should approach this issue. Rather than trying to politicise the issue and saying that we should have a blanket approach, we have set public sector pay review bodies the remit to make such decisions themselves.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher Robert Chope (Conservative, Centre-right): When will the Government introduce the £95,000 cap on exit payments for public sector workers? The legislation is on the statute book, but it has not been implemented. Will it be implemented soon so that we do not have any more payments such as the £390,000 paid earlier this year to the chief executive of Bournemouth Borough Council to leave?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We need to look not only at the important issue of fairness for public sector workers and the issue of recruitment and retention, but at the overall health of the British economy, so that we can make sure we carry on having low unemployment rates and growth in our economy and carry on dealing with the debt that is a result of the great depression that we suffered as a country. We need to pay down the debt and get the deficit further down so that we can continue to enjoy high-quality public services.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Maria Colette Caulfield (Conservative, Centre-right): As someone who has worked as a nurse during the period of the pay cap and pay freeze, may I just say that that is very difficult to do as a public sector worker? The issue is greater than just a pay rise; it is also about the pay structure. When Labour introduced the "Agenda for Change" system, it created an increment system under which people have to wait five, six or seven years to get the pay they actually deserve. The increment system is not working, and it also gives trusts the opportunity to downgrade people, with a sister in one hospital on band 7 while another somewhere else is on band 5. The pay structure is not working, and that needs to be looked at as urgently as the pay cap.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend’s great expertise as a former nurse is shown by the detailed question she has asked. We need to make sure that we reform public services and give people the opportunity to progress and be trained in the roles they fill. One of the roles of the pay review body is to look at such structures, as well as at rates of pay. During the processes they go through, those bodies certainly take evidence from frontline workers, unions and experts in the area, and I hope that they will take such issues into consideration.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We need to ensure a continual balance in being fair to the people working in public services—giving them the training and opportunities they deserve, and paying them fairly—while at the same time making sure that they will be able to continue to work in those public services in the future. If we look at what happened in Greece when the deficit got out of control, we can see that there was a 36% reduction in spending on the health service. [Interruption.] Members on the Opposition Front Bench may groan, but they should look at the facts about what happens when unfunded spending commitments are made. Let us be clear: the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that Labour’s spending plans would lead to the highest levels of taxation we have ever seen in peacetime Britain. Theirs are not moderate but extreme proposals that would lead to people losing their jobs.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We care about how well our public services are serving the public, and we want to have highly motivated people working in our public services who feel valued and properly remunerated. That is why such decisions are made by independent bodies.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Neil John O'Brien (Conservative, Centre-right): Members on both side of the House want strong wage increases for those at the bottom end, whatever sector they are in. Will the Chief Secretary tell us what our new national living wage will do to the incomes of those at the bottom end, and will she confirm that it will give us one of the strongest minimum wages in the world?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right and I congratulate him on the role he had in that policy. We are raising wages for those on the lowest incomes and taking more people out of tax. Basic rate taxpayers have seen a £1,000 reduction in their tax bill. That is important in dealing with the cost of living and in making sure that it always pays for people to go into work.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated that Labour’s proposal would cost £9 billion a year, which is more than double the amount the party estimated in its manifesto. That would involve significant borrowing. Our interest bill is £50 billion a year. Does the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agree that that is £50 billion less to invest in our public services?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): That is right. Future generations will pay for the services that we are enjoying today, and that is wrong. We need to live within our means and make sure that people are properly rewarded. We need to make sure that things are fair between the public and private sectors. That is what the Government’s balanced policy is achieving.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I have already said that our policy balances the need to make sure that people are remunerated properly—that is what the pay review bodies look at—and the need to make sure that public services are sustainable in the long term, because as well as making sure that people are paid properly and that the wider package is as good as possible, we need to make sure that those jobs are protected and secure in the long term.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker. As a result of Labour’s economic mismanagement in 2008 to 2009, average private sector pay fell significantly, while public sector pay remained stable. Does the Chief Secretary agree that it is important, when we look at the pay review bodies’ recommendations, to recognise the challenges faced by small businesses when they are outpaced by public sector earnings? Given that small businesses, as employers, create the majority of the jobs in this country, will she ensure that the pay review bodies take into account the views of small business people?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We have got to the position where public sector pay is comparable with private sector pay, and public sector workers often have pension entitlements on top of that. It is fair to get to a position where pay is comparable, for the skills people have. That is fair for the businesses that we need to create wealth in our country, so that we can fund public services. It is fair for workers in both the private sector and the public sector. Nothing is more important than getting people into work and giving them a sense of pride and responsibility, and the ability to earn for themselves and their family that come with it. The Government should be proud of what we have achieved: the lowest level of unemployment since 1975. The idea that we should put that at risk by making our public finances unsustainable or by pricing small businesses out of the market is very dangerous.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are taking action on energy costs. We are also making sure that public sector workers receive increments in addition to the 1% that the right hon. Gentleman mentioned. We are taking action as a Government to raise the tax threshold, so that people on the basic rate are now paying £1,000 less tax. He needs to take account of the whole package; I think that he is cherry-picking some bits.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Education
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): It is great to have one of my Scottish colleagues pointing out the facts about what is happening in Scotland. The Scottish National party has failed to deliver. We see worse performance in the Scottish NHS, and school standards in Scotland are falling, which is a huge shame. [Interruption.]
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I should say to my fellow Norfolk MP that we are seeing improved public services in Norfolk, both in the health service and in our local schools. That is a result of the Government reforming services and investing in them, and ensuring that people receive pay that helps to retain and recruit the best possible staff.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The answer is that the Government set the remit for the pay bodies last year. Those reports have all been submitted. We have responded to some of them, and we will respond to others in due course. Later this year, we will set the remit for the 2018-19 pay bodies.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): It is worth remembering what would have happened had the Labour party won the first general election after the great recession: its 2010 manifesto committed to tough action on pay, including a 1% cap on public sector pay. Does my right hon. Friend think that that was because Labour does not value public sector workers, or because it understood the reality of the country’s position as a result of its mismanagement of public borrowing and bank regulation?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady talks about the recommendations of the pay review bodies. We have accepted all of the recommendations that we have reported on so far this year. They are able to make the recommendations they see fit. The Government set a remit, but the bodies are independent in what they advise us, and they have to take account of areas such as retention and recruitment.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Antoinette Geraldine Sherratt (Sandbach) (Conservative, Centre-right): Unemployment has fallen by 63% in my constituency since 2010. I have many nurses and teachers working in my constituency, but I also have careworkers, all of whom have benefited from tax changes introduced by the Government that mean they have an extra £1,000 in their pockets and in their take-home pay. Does the Chief Secretary agree that tax changes do not discriminate between private and public sector workers?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): Both private and public sector workers have a vital part to play in the economy of this country. By taking people out of tax, we have reduced the tax bills of basic rate taxpayers by £1,000. The Opposition propose the highest levels of taxation in this country’s peacetime history. Who would that fall on? It would fall on precisely the people whom we have been talking about in today’s debate.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): As with people who are under the purview of the pay review bodies, we need to ensure that we retain and recruit the best possible civil servants. At the same time, we need to ensure that that is affordable for the public purse.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): As the shadow Chancellor knows perfectly well, the former Prime Minister did not say that it was selfish for dedicated public sector workers to ask for a pay rise. He argued—I would agree—that it is selfish and immoral for politicians to offer benefits to the voters of today to be paid for by the voters of tomorrow. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, for her children and mine, it is important to balance fair treatment of the public sector with handing on a strong country not saddled by excess debt?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We need to ensure that our public finances are properly sustainable, so that we can fund those public services in future, and so that we do not burden the next generation.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the hon. Lady is aware that all documentation from this year’s pay process will be published. She will be able to see the research the bodies have looked at and the people they have interviewed in coming to their determination. In due course, I will be writing to the pay review bodies for their remit for the following year.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Robert Henry Halfon (Conservative, Centre-right): Public sector workers are the guardians of our nation in terms of our security, health, education and infrastructure, so we clearly have to do something, in particular for the lower paid. May I suggest to my right hon. Friend that, given revenue from corporation tax receipts increased by 21% in the past year, can we not have a special redistribution fund to use that increased revenue to at least help the lowest paid public sector workers?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend will be aware that the flexibility we give to pay review bodies is such that they can decide to give higher rises to those on the lowest incomes in the public sector. I would also point out that those on the lowest incomes have benefited most from the raising of the personal allowance. There are various ways of ensuring support for those on the lowest levels of pay.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Labor
William Grant (Conservative, Centre-right): I am quite close to this debate. I served Strathclyde fire and rescue service for 31 years, so I am familiar with the good work that my colleagues continue to do; and I have two daughters in nursing. One is a nursing sister, or a senior charge nurse as she is determined today, and one is an auxiliary nurse and a single parent. I do not hear from them what I am hearing from Opposition Members, who are painting a dark picture. My daughters seem to enjoy their work. They work very, very hard, and there is no doubt that my colleagues in the fire and rescue service work very hard, too. My fear, if we continue to increase wages in the public sector, is the risk of a spiral, with inflation and mortgages going up. The point is the value of the take-home pay in your pay packet and what influences the buying power of public workers’ take-home pay.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend points out the impact on the overall economy of unsustainable increases. We need to look at the overall package for public sector workers, including the reduced taxes that most public sector workers are paying and improvements in areas such as training, and we need to ensure that any pay raises are sustainable.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not recognise that figure. I outlined the increments we have seen in areas such as teaching, nursing and the armed forces. We need to make sure we have a balance between fairness and affordability, and I outlined that earlier, too. That is what we have been doing and that is why we have been able to sustain high-quality public services at the same time as reducing the deficit and seeing the lowest unemployment for 40 years. The fact is that unsustainable increases in public spending would lead to higher taxes, higher interest rates and a much worse outcome for working people.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The Labour Government left us with a huge deficit and a huge debt, which we have had to deal with over the last Parliament. It continues to hang over us, which is why the only path is the sustainable path of making sure we grow our economy, so we can enjoy even better public services and see people’s pay rise across the board.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We have good rates of pay across the civil service. We need to make sure that that is sustainable, so we can carry on making sure that we have good services in both the civil service and the wider public sector.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Alexander Courts (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Chief Secretary confirm that new Government 10-year gilts are paid at 1%, and will she confirm that if the markets lose confidence in our deficit reduction plan the interest rate is likely to rise, as is the cost to the country, which will mean less money for our public services?
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the macroeconomic picture, and to point out that if we do not have a confident deficit reduction plan such as the one that the Government have pursued for the last seven years, the financial markets will lose confidence, and the effect on working people will be a rise in interest rates, a rise in housing costs, and problems for the Government in respect of our borrowing.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): That is one of the factors that the pay review bodies consider, along with issues such as recruitment and retention and ensuring that the pay settlement is affordable. They have the responsibility of speaking to people like my hon. Friend’s wife who work in the public services, hearing what they have to say, and making a determination. There are different issues in different public services, and I think it wrong to suggest that there is a "one size fits all" solution.
Public Sector Pay Cap — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): The shadow Chancellor mentioned inequality. In fact, income inequality has fallen since 2010, and now the top 1% will pay 27% of all income tax, a higher proportion than was ever paid under Labour. Does that not show that the Labour party tries to talk tough when it comes to inequality, but it is left to the Conservatives to deliver?
Grenfell Rehousing — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her acknowledgement that Ministers have been updating the House regularly. That is exactly what we should be doing, particularly at this time. She asked about hotel rooms. I appreciate that in the initial stages there were concerns that some people were being asked to move at very short notice. I believe that that has been rectified, and that people will be given much more notice. We will try to keep people in the hotels that they have become familiar with, so long as they are happy to be there. I have had individual conversations relating to hotel accommodation with some of the families, and I think that we have managed to fix this The hon. Lady asked about money. When people have lost absolutely everything, we need to ensure that funds are readily available so that they can replace things. We have the discretionary fund: 249 payments of £500 have been made so far to those in Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk, and 112 grants of £5,000 have been made to households. Another 840 discretionary payments have been made to others in the wider area who have been affected. The total spend from the discretionary fund is £2.5 million, but we will ensure that funding is made available where it is required The hon. Lady also asked about the public inquiry. Sir Martin Moore-Bick has been appointed, and he has already met victims, survivors and members of the local community. Although the House already knows this, I want to make it clear again that legal support for victims will be provided so that they can play a full part in the inquiry. Clearly it is up to the judge to determine the scope of the inquiry, but I am sure that he will have heard that people want as full an inquiry as possible.
Grenfell Rehousing — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: International Affairs
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I am keen to accommodate the level of interest in this extremely serious matter, about which there will, I suspect, be many statements in the weeks to come, but I must advise the House that both subsequent debates are well subscribed, especially the debate on Israel and Palestine, which is very heavily subscribed. I must leave time for that, so what is now required in each case is a short, preferably single-sentence question.
Grenfell Rehousing — House of Commons, 2017-07-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to return to the point that the pace at which things happen has to be determined by the families, but I accept that lack of trust is an issue. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written letters directly to the affected families, setting out clearly what we are offering, but we must continue to build that trust.