argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): At the weekend, I got to enjoy some amazing St Austell bay mussels, which I get to watch being harvested by the sea regularly through my window. However, that exceptional produce, along with Cornish scallops and Cornish oysters, currently cannot be enjoyed by people in France or across Europe because of the change in policy by the European Commission. The Secretary of State will know what a devastating impact that is having on the Cornish fishing industry and how urgently action is required. What discussions has he had with the European Commission about its change in policy, and what hope can he give us of progress being made in the coming days?
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend does indeed have some fantastic mussels grown at St Austell; I visited one of the mussel farms there myself. We have written to Commissioner Kyriakides today, but my officials and the chief veterinary officer have been in regular dialogue with officials in the Commission over the last couple of weeks on this matter and, as I said, a change in position manifested itself just last week. We are in regular dialogue, and in my letter to the commissioner I requested an urgent discussion on this matter.
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): It is the case that people seeking to export all fish or products of animal origin will now require an export health certificate. It is also the case that the design of the forms that the EU prescribes in the schedule to its animal health regulation is sometimes a little clunky and not particularly user-friendly. We have had many suggestions from industry about how the form could be improved, particularly from businesses that are experienced in exporting around the world to other developed countries, many of which do this far better than the European Union. We will obviously seek to learn the lessons from that and try to encourage the European Union to change the nature of its forms.
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
James Oliver Wild (Conservative, Centre-right): This arbitrary action by the European Commission is causing real concern in fishing communities that have already suffered losses from export disruption, and I urge the Secretary of State to confirm details of the compensation scheme. While I strongly support his efforts to have this ban lifted, will he also put in place contingency arrangements to support fishing firms in King’s Lynn and elsewhere, with grants for purification facilities?
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): As well as seeking to unblock this problem with the Commission and resume the trade, which is obviously our first and most important objective, we are considering other options and other interventions to help the industry to adapt should the EU permanently change its position.
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said in my opening remarks, we realise that this situation is devastating for many sections of the mollusc industry. We recognise that a large proportion of bivalve molluscs—in some cases up to 80%—are exported, which is why we are working so hard to get the Commission to revisit its decision. We have indeed had conversations about the fisheries disruption fund. It is a UK-wide scheme and will be open to anybody, including those from Wales, who attempted to export and ran into difficulties.
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Selaine Rachel Saxby (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his letter to the EU Commission that addressed these issues, but what is being done to ensure that generations of fishermen, such as those in Ilfracombe in my North Devon constituency, can return their fleets to the waters and do not moor up forever? Will my right hon. Friend assure desperate fishermen who have had no income all year that they can rapidly access the announced £23 million and the £100 million fund, to give them hope for the future?
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): We will shortly announce further details on and open the fisheries disruption fund for those exporters who encountered difficulties in January. I assure my hon. Friend that we recognise the impact of the European Union’s change of heart on the bivalve-mollusc industry, which is why we are working to unblock the problem. This particular step by the European Union does not affect the wider shellfish industry, including not only most scallop producers in the catching sector but those doing crabs and lobsters, but we recognise that some of those producers nevertheless encountered difficulties in January, and the fisheries disruption fund is there to support them.
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative, Centre-right): I associate myself with the comments of colleagues and send my condolences to the family of the fisherman who was lost this weekend I thank my right hon. Friend for his work to resolve this matter. I reiterate that it is vital that the cash assistance reaches not only the affected shellfish exporters but the smallest boats on the Fal estuary, which are currently tied up and facing serious difficulties. What is my right hon. Friend’s assessment of the opinion of some in the industry that its French market was, in fact, intact and profitable, despite restaurants in France having been closed in November and December, but is now non-existent, which adds to the current issues?
UK Shellfish Exports — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU ban on UK shellfish exports.
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend and neighbouring MP has an important heritage oyster fishery in the Fal. I have been on board one of the vessels and seen its work at first hand. The export market will of course be important for some oyster fisheries, including the farmed oyster sector. As I have said, we are working very hard to try to get the position resolved. There will be a good future for our fishing industry once we can resolve these particular issues.
Armed Forces Bill — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I apologise for intervening so early, but I wanted to do so while the Minister was mentioning justice. In this Bill, he deals with justice to our armed services and forces, but we are still waiting for protection against vexatious allegations in cases from Northern Ireland where people have already been tried and found innocent. I served there back at that same time, and many people I know live in fear that they are going to be called for something that they thought was over, done and gone. When is that legislation going to come in front of the House?
Armed Forces Bill — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
John Luther Mercer (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is very knowledgeable and learned in this space. The issue is a lot more complicated than it is made out to be by a lot of people who contribute to this debate. There is no evidence, essentially, of vexatious prosecutions per se. It is the investigations that are the trouble. There are elements of this Bill that address how we investigate. There are elements not in this Bill that are being brought into the Department, such as a serious crime unit, to ensure that these things can never happen again. Let me be clear that if we were to invent a system that essentially said, "We will not investigate", that would be the equivalent of an amnesty, and this Government are not committed to going down that route either. This is a difficult area and it is a delicate balance, but the strategic objective has been set by the Prime Minister; it is one that I and many Members in the House have campaigned on for years, and we will deliver on it. It is a tough ask and a tough battle, but we will win it. I urge patience while we get to the end of this battle.
Armed Forces Bill — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: International Affairs
John Luther Mercer (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and it is a fair point. However, I would just say that we have had 18 months since that election, but this challenge has existed for 40 years—for 40 years—and our predecessors have not dealt with it. It is unrealistic to expect the Northern Ireland Office and the Prime Minister to have delivered on this by now, but they have made that commitment. I would slightly push back on this idea that the Northern Ireland Secretary is the roadblock, as my right hon. Friend has put to me before. That is not my experience, and I am engaged in this every day and I think on this matter every day. That is not fact; what is fact is that this is extremely difficult, but this Government will get it over the line. I am going to make progress now.
Armed Forces Bill — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Tobias Martin Ellwood (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. May I thank Justice Lyons for his contribution in putting together the service justice review, which happened on my watch, as my hon. Friend’s predecessor? I see that the Defence Secretary is in his place. Will he use the opportunity to clarify why certain types of offences—the most serious offences—could not, as per the recommendation, be moved across to the civilian courts which, it was argued, had better experience to deal with these matters?
Armed Forces Bill — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
John Luther Mercer (Conservative, Centre-right): First, we cannot reject a recommendation that did not exist. That was not the recommendation of the Lyons review, as the right hon. Gentleman well knows. Secondly, I have given a justification a number of times: this decision was made because we want to see more integrity and resilience in the system and agree a protocol between prosecuting jurisdictions to ensure that the system works better for everyone. What was advised was Attorney General’s consent. We have gone for better than that, and this will achieve better outcomes for our people.
Nightingale Courts — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Coronavirus has had an enormous effect globally and on public services in this country, which is why this year we have invested an extra quarter of a billion pounds to facilitate court recovery. As an important part of that we have already, as of today, opened up 40 additional Nightingale courtrooms, with a further 20 to open by the end of March.
Nightingale Courts — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): In relation to criminal cases, I am pleased to report to the House that since August last year, every single month, relentlessly, the number of disposals in the magistrates court has exceeded receipts, so the outstanding caseload in magistrates courts has been declining relentlessly since August, as the system has recovered. We now have more than 290 effective Crown court jury trials, which is more than we had before the pandemic, and just before Christmas disposals exceeded receipts for the first time during the pandemic. That quarter-of-a-billion-pound investment is working and we are getting the justice system back on its feet following the very substantial and understandable challenges that coronavirus has presented.
Nightingale Courts — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): On the question of investment, I have already said that in the current financial year we have spent an extra quarter of a billion pounds on justice recovery. We are hiring an extra 1,600 HMCTS staff and we have more Crown court jury trial rooms operating than we did before the pandemic. I am, of course, carefully studying the proposals for Nightingale courts in Nottingham and look forward to a conversation with the hon. Member on that topic in the near future In terms of speeding up the system, even before coronavirus hit us we had increased expenditure on the Crown Prosecution Service by £85 million a year, hiring an extra 400 prosecutors, and we are on track to hire an extra 20,000 police officers. Our commitment not only to dealing with coronavirus but to speeding up the justice system more generally is clear for all to see.
Nightingale Courts — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): The extra investment is important and should be recognised, and Nightingale courts can make an important addition to court capacity, but does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that most Nightingale courts are not equipped to handle custody cases and therefore many of the most serious trials? Is not the long-term solution sustained investment, over a period of months and years, to make sure that all available physical Crown courts sit the maximum number of days that they can safely sit, and to ensure that there are resources in terms of judiciary, support staff and a safe environment for court users, to make sure that that can be done? Is that not the top priority?
Nightingale Courts — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): As he is so often, my hon. Friend the Chair of the Justice Committee is correct. Often when a Nightingale court is set up, it does not have the required custody facilities, but it does free up space in our existing Crown court estate, which does have custody facilities, and allow more Crown court or jury trials in which the defendant is remanded to take place in existing facilities Crown court sitting days are very important. We have been clear that in the current financial year Crown court sitting days should not impose any constraints on listing and sitting cases. The situation for the coming financial year, starting in April, is the subject of discussions between my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, but it is fair to say that we are expecting a substantial increase in Crown court sitting days.
Nightingale Courts — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): A range of other measures are being used, not least the roll-out of the cloud video platform, which led last week to more than 20,000 remote hearings across all jurisdictions, and, as I have said, 290 jury court rooms, which is more than we had before. The right hon. Gentleman asked about the past, but he rather conveniently skated over the fact that the outstanding caseload in the Crown court before the pandemic in 2020 was 39,000, whereas in 2010, under the last Labour Government, it was 47,000. He asked about the number of cases and the number of cases being disposed of, but he neglected to mention that crime, according to the crime survey—the only Office for National Statistics-certified source of statistics—had fallen from 9.5 million cases in 2010 to 5.6 million in 2020 under a Conservative Government delivering reductions in crime. I notice that, last week, the shadow Justice Secretary talked about wartime juries of seven. I also noticed that, in June of last year, writing in The Guardian newspaper—
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We are committed to cutting crime and reducing reoffending. A total of 80% of people in our prisons have reoffended, so if we want to cut crime we absolutely need to stop reoffending. In the past two weeks, we have announced a transformative cross-governmental package to address the underlying causes of reoffending: £80 million to increase the number of drug treatment places for prison leavers; and £70 million investment to cut reoffending by supporting people from prison into accommodation.
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question and, indeed, for the superb work that he has done in introducing the Homelessness Reduction Act. I commend him for his work in this area. He is right to reiterate the £70 million that we have put in to ensure that prisoners do not end up on the streets. That builds on what we have been doing throughout the pandemic: we have been operating an £11.5 million scheme to get people into accommodation from prison. That and other measures will continue to ensure that we cut crime and that people do not reoffend.
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): It is important to support former prisoners, who sadly include ex-armed forces personnel, to ensure that they do not reoffend. Can my hon. and learned Friend please reassure me that her Department is committed to supporting probation services and the fine work that they do?
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very pleased to commend the work of the probation service, which has been doing important work at this time. We are supporting it with the finances that it needs, with increased funding of an additional £155 million per year, making a total of more than £1 billion for our probation services. That will enable us to recruit 1,500 additional probation officers next year. The investment will also allow us to help people from custody into the community and create specialist short-sentence teams so that prisoners get help before and after they go through the gate.
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): All too often, we see the same people committing the same crimes. In Redcar town, we have a specific issue where the same people are willing to steal from garages or to steal cars, sometimes just for a couple of quid. Our Conservative candidate for police and crime commissioner, Steve Turner, wants to crack down on these repeat offenders by using technology and tagging, if he is elected in May. Will the Minister outline what more the justice system can do to stop reoffenders committing these so-called low-value crimes?
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The measures to which my hon. Friend refers—those which his prospective candidate is interested in—are exactly the measures that we are rolling out. We are looking at shortly rolling out tags for persistent offenders, and expanding and refreshing our integrated offender management tools to ensure that the police crack down on neighbourhood crime.
Reoffending — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Daniel Rayne Kruger (Conservative, Centre-right): I declare an interest as the founder and chairman of a prisoner rehabilitation charity. I very much welcome the announcement of a new package to support the reduction in reoffending that my hon. and learned Friend just mentioned. Does she agree that the dynamic framework for probation contracts should have an explicit objective of enabling small frontline charities and social enterprises to play a full role, with full cost recovery, in the delivery of rehabilitation services?
Supporting Ex-Offenders into Work — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Labor
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We know that offenders are 9% less likely to reoffend if they have a job, which is why we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the number of work coaches to ensure that ex-offenders have the support they need to enter into the workplace. That is in addition to the work that we are doing in the Ministry of Justice to build up the New Futures Network, which continues to broker partnerships between prisons and employers to improve employment opportunities for prisoners and prison leavers.
Supporting Ex-Offenders into Work — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Stephen Crabb (Conservative, Centre-right): Getting information and opportunities to prison leavers as early as possible is key to helping them to build a new life on the outside, so does the Minister agree that the Government’s excellent kickstart programme should be available to suitable offenders under the age of 25, and that ideally they need to get connected to the scheme before they leave the care of the Prison Service?
Supporting Ex-Offenders into Work — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Labor
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree. It is appropriate that the work programmes that are available in the community are available to prison leavers. That is why I am working closely with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on this issue, including by delivering on our manifesto commitment to increase the number of prison work coaches, who will further support prison leavers. It is those work coaches who will enable us to connect to those long-term Government programmes.
Human Rights Act 1998 — House of Commons, 2021-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with the noble Lord that the Act has played an important part in helping many applicants with important cases that have been brought before the courts. However, I can reassure the hon. Lady that the review is all about the framework of the Act itself, not about the scope of the convention rights that are scheduled within it, and the two issues should not be confused, either accidentally or intentionally.