argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): The Commonwealth Games will take place in July and August 2022 in Birmingham. It will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the city, featuring thousands of world-class athletes from across the Commonwealth and over 1 million spectators. It will be an opportunity for competitors and spectators from all over the Commonwealth to come to the United Kingdom and celebrate what should be a very happy and historic year.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree wholeheartedly with everything that the right reverend Prelate has said, and indeed, he did so earlier in Prayers before the Sitting of your Lordships’ House. He is absolutely right that the role of Her Majesty the Queen as Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England are central to her role as monarch, and she has taken that extremely seriously since her coronation. The Royal Household and Her Majesty’s Government are in discussions with the Church of England to ensure that that too is properly recognised in the Platinum Jubilee.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I thank my noble friend. She is right to say that walkways have been an important part of the Queen’s previous jubilee celebrations. Indeed, having walked around London rather more this year than I do in most, I have seen many of the plaques over recent months. I will certainly take that idea back to the department.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): The noble Lord is absolutely right. The Statement is being made now to give people advance notice, so that they can get planning to make the most of a truly important occasion and to make these celebrations to remember. We are working with the UK’s leading creative minds on exactly the sorts of things that the noble Lord mentioned, to make the Platinum Jubilee a weekend to remember.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree with the noble Lord. My family tell happy tales of celebrating Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee on the north side of the Tyne opposite the constituency which the noble Lord represented for many years. He is absolutely right: we want the celebrations to take place up and down the length of the United Kingdom and more broadly. We will be liaising with local authorities and elected representatives at every level.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Other
James Peter Hymers Mackay (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I believe that, as Lord Chancellor, I may have held the nominal title of Keeper of the Queen’s Conscience. Will thanks for the highly conscientious way in which Her Majesty has performed her duties form an important part of this very welcome platinum celebration?
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Other
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): Her Majesty’s conscience will have been in very safe keeping in my noble and learned friend’s hands in the decade that he served as one of her Lord Chancellors. He is absolutely right. This is a moment for a grateful nation to pay tribute to Her Majesty and to thank her not only for her years of service but for the great leadership that she shows as an individual in the qualities that she has brought and the shining example that she sets to everybody in public life.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Other
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): As the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, said on behalf of the Lord Speaker, as at the Diamond Jubilee, your Lordships’ House and the other place are joining together to think how best we as parliamentarians can celebrate Her Majesty’s jubilee, and, under the leadership of the right honourable Member for Northampton North, Michael Ellis MP, to think of a gift that we might be able to contribute towards. I would encourage the noble Lord to speak to the Lord Speaker about that and the other ways that Parliament can play its part in thanking Her Majesty at this important time.
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Other
Jonathan Caine (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, during the 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations I was privileged to be at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast for the historic handshake between Her Majesty the Queen and the late Martin McGuinness. Does my noble friend agree that such events demonstrate two of the defining characteristics of Her Majesty’s glorious reign: devotion to duty and an ability to bring people together from across our United Kingdom? Will my noble friend guarantee that Northern Ireland will play its full part in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations?
Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — House of Lords, 2020-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I wholeheartedly agree with my noble friend. I remember that occasion and indeed the state visit of 2012 to Ireland, in which I know he played a part working in government. He is absolutely right. All four nations of the United Kingdom will play an important part in celebrating the Platinum Jubilee.
Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic Support — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Joanna Penn (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the financial support that the Government provide to businesses is not limited to those in tier 3. We have the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund for those in the arts and the VAT cut to 5% for those in hospitality, and we have billions of pounds in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. In the Winter Economy Plan we said that we would extend the terms of those loans to halve monthly repayments for most of those who take them out, and of course, there will be no repayments and no interest for the first year while businesses struggle with their cash flow.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Sheila Masters (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I want to comment on three amendments in this group. First, on Amendment 81, I will echo some of what my noble friend Lord Lansley has said. As I understand it, the Board of Trade is composed only of privy counsellors, and I believe they are normally Cabinet Ministers. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, read out its full title, and I think embedded in there is "privy counsellor". It would be wholly inappropriate for Parliament ever to be involved in the appointment of privy counsellors to a body As we have heard, particularly from the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, what people are really upset about is the appointment of Tony Abbott. But he is, of course, an adviser to the Board of Trade, and I do not think there is any precedent for Parliament to be involved in the appointment of advisors or for the normal public appointment processes to apply necessarily to advisers. So I would not support Amendment 81 at all The noble Baroness, Lady Bowles of Berkhamsted, has said most of what I wanted to say in respect of Amendment 106. I would like to underscore that I do not think that boards of bodies such as the TRA should have representatives on them. The board is a place where the governance of the body is played out, which is why there is a majority, under the schedule, of non-executives. It is important to remember that it is not there to bring a particular point of view, but to make sure that the body is itself well managed and well governed. The issue about bringing stakeholder interests to bear should be covered either by committees —whether we need a special committee to be hard-wired into the schedule or the TRA can use its committee power in the schedule—or, more probably, by ensuring that there are proper mechanisms for consultation in the formulation of any policy. I do not believe we should be using the board in that way. I also note in passing that the representatives are to include each of the United Kingdom devolved Administrations, which leaves England out in the cold. There is no representation for England, which is often one of the failings of devolution—having representatives from the devolved Administrations but forgetting that England is also rather important Lastly, Amendment 107 would require the House of Commons, via its International Trade Committee, to consent to the appointment of non-executives to the body. Again, this is unprecedented. It is normal nowadays—although it used not to be—for the chairman to be put through a process, either pre or post-appointment, but I do not think that there is any precedent for the Commons to start approving individual members of public bodies. It is unnecessary and cumbersome to clog up committees by getting involved in the many kinds of individual appointments that are made to public bodies.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lucy Neville-Rolfe (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I support my noble friend Lady Noakes on these amendments. Their purport is to protect company data in line with government wishes, if the Explanatory Notes are to be believed—as I am sure they should be. In particular, it is claimed that the provision of data is to be wholly voluntary—that is the crux of the matter here—yet the provisions in the Bill are worryingly vague, as my noble friend explained so well. These amendments would define more closely what can be demanded, and I agree with them Data provided under the Act can be shared with other public and private bodies. Unfortunately, data provided to government is not always protected as well as it should be. In an earlier life, I represented Tesco in a competition inquiry. During the course of the inquiry, I was much surprised to be sent confidential data supplied to the competition authority by Morrisons. This was a mistake, of course, but the data was very interesting, as it informed me than Morrisons made more profit on food items than we did. Of course, I ought not to have received that information in the first place. I know of other similar examples of data supplied to government going astray, so I hope that the Minister will not seek to claim that serious mistakes in the distribution of data cannot occur. Since the amendments are fully compatible with the Government’s stated aims, I trust that they will be carefully considered.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Other
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I am most grateful to my noble friend Lady Noakes and the noble Lord, Lord Bassam of Brighton, for their amendments and their contributions to the discussions on the Bill and on these amendments. I will take Amendments 84, 85, 87 and 88 together as they are closely related. I hope I will be able to address most of the questions raised this afternoon in this very short debate, notably by my noble friend Lord Trenchard and the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester. If not, I will certainly do so in writing, in particular on the questions raised on the powers and constraints regarding data sharing.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Sheila Masters (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, first, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this short debate. I am grateful to my noble friend for confirming positively that the regulation-making power in Clause 7(4) cannot be used to compel the provision of information and that HMRC would not be able to impose penalties—that is exactly the assurance I was seeking However, I have to say that I am not entirely sure that I followed everything my noble friend said in relation to Clause 8. I did not follow what he said about why, if the words "among other things" were to be deleted from subsection (2), that would impede the use of information for trade purposes. I will read carefully in Hansard what he said, but I put him on notice now that it did not quite ring true when I heard him say it for the first time I have to say that I remain concerned about HMRC being regarded as a "safeguard" for information. If my noble friend the Minister listened to what some other noble Lords said in this short debate, he will have heard that people are concerned about what HMRC sometimes does. So to say that HMRC is one of the safeguards in this does not quite meet the point. That is why I asked my noble friend specifically to say what safeguards there are and what oversight there is of the use by HMRC of this kind of power, because it is very significant to authorise the disclosure of information other than for trade purposes. I hope that my noble friend will reflect on that and possibly come back to explain how we will oversee how HMRC uses its power here, effectively to override the provision of information only for trade purposes, and how that will be effective. But for today, obviously, I am happy to withdraw the amendment.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Civil Rights
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I will deal with Amendments 85A and 89A, in the name of my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering, together, as they are closely related. My noble friend has written half my speech, because it echoes her remarks. Both amendments concern legal professional privilege, which, as noble Lords know, is a long-standing principle that protects the confidentiality of communications between lawyers and their lay clients, and vice versa. It enables lawyers to consult and advise their clients, without clients fearing that information will have to be disclosed later As a matter of general interest, any person who wishes to consult a lawyer must be free to do so under conditions which ensure uninhibited discussion. I do not believe it has been mentioned in this debate that this principle is recognised and protected under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. I can therefore provide an absolute assurance to the Committee that the Government have no intention, either now or in the future, of using these powers to seek or share information that is protected by legal professional privilege For Clause 7, the information being requested from exporters will be provided voluntarily. This has already been said by me and other noble Lords. That the information is being provided voluntarily is, perhaps, an indication of the Government’s position on minimising burdens and, therefore, not requiring privileged information to be disclosed As part of this short debate, it is crucial to make this point: Clause 8 allows for the sharing of data that is already held by HMRC for its administrative functions. Such information cannot, therefore, be subject to legal professional privilege, as it has already been provided to HMRC. However, I understand your Lordships’ concerns about data sharing, and I reassure the Committee about the safeguards we have put in place around the collection, handling and processing of information collected under this clause. In response to the winding-up speech of my noble friend Lady Noakes, who raised concerns despite my remarks, I take this opportunity to confirm that I will write to her and all noble Lords, and put a copy in the Library of both Houses, concerning those reassurances The data-sharing powers in this clause are permissive, so all instances of data sharing must be approved by HMRC. Criminal penalties for any unauthorised sharing of data will apply under the existing Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. Nothing in the clause permits the disclosure of information that is not otherwise permitted in data protection law, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. A lot of this was said in the remarks on the previous amendment. I hope that this provides the reassurance that my noble friend Lady McIntosh seeks on this point, and that she will withdraw her amendment.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Anne McIntosh (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I am grateful to those who have contributed and for the support expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, and the noble Lord, Lord Bassam. I am slightly concerned by the response of my noble friend Lord Younger. I understand that Conservatives support, and have enshrined in this and other legislation, the European Convention on Human Rights, but it begs the question of what would happen if a future Government were to resile, so they were no longer a signatory to it. This is not beyond the realms of possibility as we leave the European Union. I realise that the Council of Europe is a separate organisation, but it begs the question As my noble friend Lord Younger so clearly said in summing up, legal professional privilege exists so that information can be communicated between lawyer and client. I am sure he recognises that many UK statutes already give express protection of legal professional privilege and that it is protected vigorously by the courts. The noble Lord, Lord Bassam, was absolutely right that this is a probing amendment, but my concern is only that, if we do not insert something like this, my noble friend and the Government may face future court cases, in the event of a breach of legal professional privilege. Having expressed these concerns, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment at this stage.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Other
Anne McIntosh (Conservative, Centre-right): We find ourselves in strange circumstances and I find it a little disconcerting. I have asked one specific question to which I would like a reply before the government amendments are adopted. Once they leave here, they become part of the Bill and we cannot come back on Report.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2020-10-15
Topic: Other
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I am listening to the various comments from around the House. I am surprised that the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester rose to suggest that he was against us moving the amendments. However, bearing in mind the mood of the Committee, we will withdraw this amendment.
Knife Crime — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statistical bulletin by the Office for National Statistics Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2020, published on 17 July, which reported that the incidence of knife crime is at a record high, what action they are taking to address the rise of knife crime in England and Wales.
James Peter Hymers Mackay (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, it has just been said that stop and search is an important part of the police system for dealing with this matter. Is there anything that can be done to remove the fact that its use appears to be strongly biased against black people?
Knife Crime — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statistical bulletin by the Office for National Statistics Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2020, published on 17 July, which reported that the incidence of knife crime is at a record high, what action they are taking to address the rise of knife crime in England and Wales.
Patience Wheatcroft (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, one of the early interventions that has been shown to be very effective is sport. Young people belonging to sporting teams, rather than gangs, can turn their lives around. Will my noble friend the Minister commit to encouraging more charities and sports organisations to create after-school clubs and other community clubs where these young people can belong to positive teams, rather than gangs?
Knife Crime — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statistical bulletin by the Office for National Statistics Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2020, published on 17 July, which reported that the incidence of knife crime is at a record high, what action they are taking to address the rise of knife crime in England and Wales.
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): I most wholeheartedly agree with my noble friend. I can even cite examples, although I will not at the Dispatch Box, where I have seen people whose lives have literally been turned around by their engagement in sport, rather than activity that will lead to a life of crime.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michael Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I support Amendment 130. In my years in business I have run a few businesses in the rural area: principally some forestry in Herefordshire, a little horticulture—down to a very small amount now—a small amount of viticulture, and just 40 acres of woodland registered with the Forestry Commission. I have led a number of large businesses, in India, Sri Lanka and the UK. One of the key determinants of a successful business is not to have a review too long after you start out on a big project such as this one. In my judgment, seven years is far too long when there are quite so many variables. We have only to listen to noble Lords as we debate the Bill. We hear of variables that were anticipated and of those that nobody ever expected to happen. In addition, there are new problems due to the fact that we will be an independent nation. There are variables caused by climate change—how many of those have we had in the last seven years? There are variables due to Brexit, and due to the Environment Bill, which we have yet to debate. There are variables that will come from the penetration of 5G across the rural parts of the United Kingdom. Broadband is absolutely vital to rural communities Finally, one of the key problems at the moment is that a significant number of the staff who serve us as civil servants, and do it so well, are still working from home—is it 90% of them? Can my noble friend tell me how many or what percentage of Defra staff are currently back in the office?
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Other
Malcolm Sinclair (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend the Minister for his response. I have two questions. He said the RPA would do the trial next year, then he came to a full stop. Does that mean his mind is open and that another body could be responsible for implementing the ELMS in future? Secondly, he referred to the autumn announcement. Can he be more specific on the timing of the autumn announcement and whether we will get that before Report?
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Eric Gardiner (Conservative, Centre-right): I cannot give my noble friend the precise date. I know noble Lords would like that announcement to be as soon as possible—I will take that away—but I am afraid I cannot give your Lordships a precise date. In fact, I do not know the precise date, but it will be in autumn. I am fully seized of the importance of that As to whether the delivery body is the RPA in the long term, I believe it is well placed. I cannot give a direct answer as to whether the RPA will in fact do all the ELM. I suspect it may, but that is obviously a matter we will consider.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Anne McIntosh (Conservative, Centre-right): I was not going to pursue this, but my noble friend’s answer has perplexed me. He said the Government wish to phase out direct payments as they provide poor value for money. The whole thrust of the debate on Amendment 143 this afternoon is that if whatever will replace direct payments is not in position, is it wise to start phasing out direct payments at that time? Can my noble friend not permit himself a degree of flexibility in this regard?