argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: RAF Valley trains fast jet pilots and helicopter crews, and it is the second largest employer in my constituency. Will the Secretary of State join me in praising the vital work that RAF Valley does in training and developing the next generation to keep our country safe, and could I invite him to visit Ynys Môn?; Will the Secretary of State confirm that Her Majesty’s Government will keep in active service both of the aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales which, as I know he will agree, are vital for Britain’s overseas interests?; When a service child moves to a new school, it is up to the old school to flag this on the student’s file, otherwise there could be a delay in receiving the service pupil premium. What discussions has the Minister had with the Education Secretary about the guidance provided to schools to ensure that every service child gets the education they deserve?; My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will recall the recruitment campaign that highlighted how many people—how many young men and women—born in Blyth Valley have made their careers in the armed forces. Can he tell me and the House what steps he has taken to ensure that the young men and women who put themselves forward to serve are retained and valued?; As my hon. Friend knows, Stafford is the proud home of the 22 Signal Regiment and the RAF Tactical Supply Wing. Will he commit to ensuring that our armed forces, including those in my constituency, continue to receive the funding they need to help to keep us safe?; My constituent, Tom, who is an ex-serviceman, needed his medical records from the Army Personnel Centre in order to apply for a hearing aid. When he got in touch last July, he was told that it would take six months to get his records, because the Army Personnel Centre could not meet demand and was putting in place measures to deal with the backlog. Will the Minister update the House on whether that waiting time has been reduced so that our veterans can access the support they need?; The ability of GCHQ to keep our country safe in cyber-space relies on it securing a pipeline of talent. In that spirit, will my right hon. Friend join me in wishing well all the girls who are participating in the CyberFirst Girls Competition at the National Cyber Security Centre—the semi-final is on 8 February—and encouraging them into a career in cyber-security?
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): The Veterans Minister and I finally get to meet next week, at a meeting originally promised with his predecessor about my constituent Tony Pitt, who was worried about funding life-saving treatment for a rare condition he contracted in the Army and feared he had only six months to live. It will just be me and his widow at the meeting. Does the Minister accept that the armed forces covenant promise to fund advanced medical care is just not working, given that my constituent died while waiting to meet him?
Wuhan Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Immigration
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): Merseyside is home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe, so I certainly associate myself with the remarks of the shadow Secretary of State. While some in the Wirral were surprised by the news, many of my constituents have been in touch to say that their first thoughts are with those currently experiencing quarantine, in what must be a distressing situation for them. Given that we will have many lessons learnt, will the Secretary of State commit to visiting the Wirral, so that he can thank Merseyside police and NHS staff, and all those who have helped, and understand the experience so that we can improve as necessary? No doubt at some point this will happen again.
Wuhan Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Immigration
Catherine Jane Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I put on record my thanks to all the officials who supported my 81-year-old constituent Veronica Theobald to make the journey from Wuhan to the Wirral. What lessons have been learned about the repatriation of older citizens or citizens with additional needs, who might be more vulnerable?
Streatham Incident — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Florence Eshalomi (Labour, Centre-left): The Lord Chancellor mentioned that he wants to protect the public and protect the people of Streatham. Is he aware that, on the back of some terrorist-related incidents, we see a spike in hate crime? On 1 January 2020, the North Brixton Islamic Cultural Centre in my constituency had an anti-Islamic hate slogan graffitied on the wall, and a number of our Muslim communities are now feeling quite scared about reprisals. Does he agree that all our communities have the right to go about their daily lives without any fear of physical or verbal abuse? Will he ensure that any consideration of new legislation will provide that additional reassurance for all our constituents?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Clive Anthony Lewis (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. You may have read this weekend that notices were placed in a tower block in my constituency referring to "Brexit day" and suggesting that non-English speakers are no longer welcome here and have "infected this once great island." How can we as a House make clear that that appalling, racist sentiment does not reflect the views of this country, whatever our arrangements after Brexit? How can I, as the Member for Norwich South, make clear that my constituents and I abhor and reject that racist statement? Finally, how can we ensure that the laws against hate speech are enforced not just in letter but in spirit?
Agriculture Bill — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Other
Luke Pollard (Labour, Centre-left): I agree entirely. Sometimes there is a temptation to believe that, just because a dodgy socialist at a Dispatch Box said it, it must be untrue, but apparently there are an awful lot of dodgy socialists out there now.
Agriculture Bill — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): There are a lot of maiden speeches tonight, and I know that a lot of colleagues have come into the Chamber to hear those maiden speeches, but there is also a debate going on, so I would ask people to listen to the other speeches as well, without too much chattering.
Agriculture Bill — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Janet Jessica Daby (Labour, Centre-left): It is an honour and a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby), who represents a part of the country that I have been to with my family and that we very much enjoyed. More importantly, it has been really helpful to learn how to eat scones, making sure that we do the cream first. I am sure that she will continue to make excellent contributions for her constituency in this place I welcome the changes made to the Bill relating to the importance of soil and the plans to assist farmers, but the Bill is not robust enough and remains vague on key areas of importance. It provides many powers but very few duties for the Secretary of State to take action, and for a Bill on food production it remains remarkably vague on food. It is silent on action to reduce food poverty and there are no provisions to promote healthy foods. It is also a missed opportunity to provide a much clearer priority in respect of food sustainability. In the world’s sixth richest country, no one should be going hungry. Food is a basic human right, but the Government’s welfare policies have seen food bank usage rise, and continue to rise. The climate crisis and reckless post-Brexit trade deals could make food insecurity even worse I pay tribute to the volunteers who work so hard for the food banks in my constituency, including the Trussell Trust and the Whitefoot and Downham Community Food+ Project, which I founded to meet the increasing demand for food in my community. It is shocking that there are now more food banks than ever throughout the country. The latest figures from the Trussell Trust show that in 2018-19 there was an 18.8% increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed, compared with the previous year. That is shocking. It is shocking that there are now more food banks than ever before across our country and in particular that children are in food poverty. Clause 17 requires a five-yearly report on food poverty, but the first report is, coincidentally, timed to be after the next election. That is not good enough. We do not need more talk and inaction. We need a robust plan to tackle food poverty head-on and to end food banks completely.
Netflix: Tax Affairs — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Margaret Eve Hodge (Labour, Centre-left): Not only should they be making their fair contribution, but they use the services that other people’s tax pays for Netflix creates its content here, supported by grants that it receives here through our tax credit system, yet it pays tax on the profit that it makes here in the USA. Frankly, I say to the Minister: you couldn’t make it up. The situation is scandalous, intolerable and unfair. It is the sort of behaviour that really winds up the British public, most of whom are law-abiding taxpayers who never try to avoid their duty to pay taxes Let me explain the Netflix situation in detail. Netflix is the world’s biggest video-streaming service, with 167 million subscribers. The California-based company is the online home of popular shows such as "The Crown" and "House of Cards" and films such as "Marriage Story" and "The Irishman", but while we all binge-watch Olivia Colman’s portrayal of the Queen Netflix has deliberately constructed a devious financial structure that has no other purpose than to avoid paying its tax The Netflix strategy is to be the biggest player in the online video streaming market, to buy out or undercut any rivals and to release a sea of content to attract a truly global subscriber base. For many years, the service ran at a loss to secure this dominant market position, but it is now operating in the black. Netflix’s global operating profit rose by an enormous 61% last year to £2 billion. By 2019, Netflix had 11.62 million UK subscribers, who generated a £1.08 billion income for the company, but under the ruse it employs any UK citizen who subscribes to Netflix is billed not in the UK but from a subsidiary company in the Netherlands The most recently published Netflix accounts for 2018—the only earnings declared here—amount to a very small proportion of its billion-dollar UK revenue. Money declared by Netflix in the UK is paid by the Dutch subsidiary to a much smaller subsidiary based in Britain, which makes up just a trivial proportion of the services the company provides. Tax Watch UK estimates that the actual profit Netflix made in the UK was close to £70 million in 2018, so the company should have paid over £13 million in corporation tax.
Netflix: Tax Affairs — House of Commons, 2020-02-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Eve Hodge (Labour, Centre-left): I am all for encouraging Netflix’s growth here, but I am afraid that that in no way mitigates its refusal to pay its fair share of tax Where Netflix’s UK profits do end up is a complete mystery. It uses a shady system of subsidiaries and shell companies based in tax havens to shift its profits and avoid paying its fair share in many jurisdictions. From the publicly available data and translating that data into pounds sterling, it looks as if between £251 million and £329 million of non-US profit was shifted into tax havens from the Netherlands. Netflix did pay some tax on profits. Ironically, over 90% was paid by the Netherlands-based company and went to Brazil, where the authorities use a withholding tax to extract money. Is it not astounding that Brazil is more efficient at collecting tax from digital companies than we are? If Brazil can tax Netflix, why can’t we The UK makes up 14% of Netflix’s non-US market. We provide a vital consumer base for Netflix, and much of its content is created here, so the intellectual property on Netflix’s product is developed here in the UK. Google always argued in the past with me that it should not pay tax in the UK because its intellectual property was developed in California. If that argument has any credibility, given that much of Netflix’s intellectual property is created here and funded in part by the taxpayer through tax credits, the case for taxing it here in the UK is irresistible.
Speaker’s Statement — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Many powerful speeches were made in the debate on this subject last Thursday, highlighting the personal stories of those terrible events. We remember the millions of people murdered during the holocaust under Nazi persecution and in the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur I remind hon. Members that the deadline for nominations for Select Committee Chairs is today at 4 pm. Nominations must be handed in to the Table Office.
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Housing
Questions: What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): Anyone who has visited a food bank or has met homeless people on their streets will know that welfare policy is the No.1 reason for the appalling rate of homelessness in our towns. As a simple starting point, if the housing element of universal credit were paid to landlords, we could make a start towards ending the appalling problem of homelessness that welfare policy is currently inflicting on our streets.
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Housing
Questions: What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): One of the real concerns in my constituency is the inability of people who want to rent to do so privately with the money that is available. Will the Secretary of State look at local housing allowance rates to ensure that families who could be living in the private sector—because they cannot obtain social housing—are not living in single hostel rooms, as many of my constituents have been for many years?
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.; What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): Would the Minister consider using all the orphan funds swilling around in pension funds to create a new fund that could do something about this issue? On Wednesday night, I counted 15 people sleeping rough right outside our door in the tube station. Has she been to ask those men and women what brought them there? Could we not use orphan funds for that purpose and for fighting climate change?
In-Work Poverty — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Zarah Sultana (Labour, Centre-left): Just 33 working hours into January this year, FTSE 100 bosses had already earned more than the average worker makes over the entire year. Since the Conservative party came into power, wages have faced their biggest peacetime squeeze since the Napoleonic era, and more than 4 million people are now in work but none the less still in poverty. It should be no surprise that the economy works for the super-rich and fails for everyone else, when the Conservative party is funded by a third of UK billionaires. Given that shameful record, why should my constituents believe a word that this Government say about tackling the scourge of poverty pay?
Universal Credit Roll-out — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Immigration
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The Government pushed through regulations on the managed migration of universal credit pilot only days before the summer recess without giving Members of this House a vote, as promised. In October, the Secretary of State said she was "surprised" by the small number of people who transferred in the pilot. How many claims have now been processed, and how can a pilot of up to 10,000 households possibly give a realistic picture of how transferring more than 2 million people could work?
Benefits: Administrative Errors — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What assessment she has made of trends in the level of administrative errors made in the processing of applications during the roll-out of (a) universal credit and (b) personal independence payment in Hartlepool constituency.
Michael Robert Hill (Labour, Centre-left): My constituency was a pilot and trial area for UC, and my office is still receiving complaints about simple administrative errors that have resulted in constituents losing money. When will the Department get its act together on this?
Universal Credit: Personal Finances — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Yvonne Helen Fovargue (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, a report from the debt charity StepChange found that 65% of clients said that universal credit had made it harder for them to budget and manage their finances. Given the DWP’s oversight of the UK financial wellbeing strategy, what will the Department do to ensure that universal credit helps people to recover from debt and does not make the problem worse?
Contracted-out Health Assessments — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) efficiency of contracted out health assessments for (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payment.
Mary Theresa Glindon (Labour, Centre-left): Atos, Capita and Maximus constantly fail to meet their targets for acceptable standards of assessment, and many claimants in North Tyneside have suffered as a result. Will the Minister tell my constituents how his Department will remedy such failures and explain why the Government have seen fit to reward those companies with extended multimillion-pound contracts?
5G Network and Huawei — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Graham Eric Stringer (Labour, Centre-left): Huawei bought its way into the 2G, 3G and 4G networks by bidding to sell at only a quarter of the price of its competitors. Clearly, that was China trying to take control of the market. Where is the Minister’s scepticism? Not only will our security be at risk from a hostile power if Huawei is allowed into the network, some of which it could switch off even if it was not spying; it wants to control the commercial market as well. Where is his scepticism?
Automated Facial Recognition Surveillance — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Civil Rights
Geraint Richard Davies (Labour, Centre-left): We are aware that facial recognition is used in Xinjiang in China for mass oppression through mass surveillance. People who oppose war or the climate crisis are concerned that their assembly will be systematically recorded and used, or misused, against them—that liberty will be oppressed in the name of security. What assurances can the Minister give to people who want legally to participate in such assemblies that we will not go down the road of mass surveillance and oppression under a new, more authoritarian regime?
Automated Facial Recognition Surveillance — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Civil Rights
Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour, Centre-left): Congratulations on your election to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker Has the Minister seen the concerns raised by the think-tank Future Advocacy that the deployment of this technology may infringe upon the rights of Muslim women who wear the niqab, and wider concerns about technology being less accurate, particularly with women and ethnic minorities?
NHS Funding Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-27
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I am aware that a large number of right hon. and hon. Members have come into the Chamber to hear the maiden speeches, quite rightly, but it is important that we also listen to other contributions. There was a bit of chatter going on before, so it would be very respectful if we all listened to each other’s speeches.
EU Single Market Access: Manufacturing and the Economy — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What assessment the Government have made of the potential effect on the (a) manufacturing sector and (b) economy of the UK not having access to the EU single market.
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): The Chancellor will be aware that the CBI has spoken out and claimed that business is not ready for Brexit, which has already cost businesses billions of pounds in planning. But the advice is unclear. I spoke to the Federation of Small Businesses and to several small businesses last night, and they are extremely concerned that neither the infrastructure, nor the advice, are in place.
Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christopher James Evans (Labour, Centre-left): Most businesses in my constituency are microbusinesses employing one or two people. The biggest problem they have is larger firms not paying their bills on time. What measures can be put in place to ensure that larger companies pay small companies on time so that they can continue with their business?
Off-payroll Working Rules Review — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What progress his Department is making on its review of the implementation of changes to the off-payroll working rules; and if he will make a statement.
Jessica Elizabeth Morden (Labour, Centre-left): With the roll-out of IR35 in the private sector fast approaching, there is already concern that companies are making blanket determinations, forcing genuine contractors into contracts that tax them as employees but with no employment rights. Ahead of the protest here tomorrow, will the Government listen, pause the process and work with the industry to do a proper review?
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Housing
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): In addition to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has the Chief Secretary had any discussions with the representatives of Hyndburn, Burnley, Leigh, Blackpool South, Colne Valley, Durham North, Keighley, Stoke-on-Trent Central and North or Workington concerning the adequacy of the funding for the councils covering their constituencies?