argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Living Standards — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a slightly odd question, because through the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom, it is Scottish jobs that have been protected through the furlough, it is Scottish businesses that have been supported through the self-employment income support scheme and it is the block grant that has provided additional funding to the Scottish Government. The oddity is that they are choosing not to use those uplifts in the Scottish grant to prioritise the things that they come down to Westminster and say they care about.
Living Standards — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): It may be helpful for me to remind the House of the uplift in funding that the Scottish Government have received as a result of the ability of the UK Government to act across the UK. Baseline funding of £28 billion last year with an additional £8.6 billion of funding—that is £36.6 billion in total—has increased to £40.9 billion this year, so the Scottish Government are getting additional funding. As a result of covid, they have received an additional £14.5 billion, but they are choosing not to prioritise that extra money or to use the additional powers they have on tax or welfare to target the issues they say they care about.
Living Standards — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Anthony Howe Browne (Conservative, Centre-right): At the beginning of this pandemic, like most people I was really worried that unemployment would rise by millions, and I am delighted that it has peaked 2 million below what most people forecast. Unemployment, at 4.7%, is now at historic lows. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way to raise living standards is to get those without jobs into jobs and, for those who already have jobs, to give them the training and skills they need so that they can get higher-paid jobs? That is exactly what the Government are doing.
Living Standards — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much agree with my hon. Friend. It is as a result of those measures that unemployment has now fallen for six months in a row and that the OBR is forecasting a peak of 5% to 6%, compared with the previous forecast of 12%. As he rightly says, the peak will be 2 million fewer. It is not just about those who are being helped back into work, however; it is also about the programme of apprenticeships, traineeships, jobs support and the doubling of work coaches that will then help people in work to get into the better jobs that they deserve.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Environment
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): I am afraid I do not think that is what the report has said. What I will say is that we will be releasing many publications this autumn around net zero, not least the net zero review. This final report will be published in advance of COP26. The report will inform sectoral decarbonisation strategies and the net zero strategy, and work on those will continue to develop at pace across Whitehall.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: International Affairs
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): I will ask my counterparts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to answer the hon. Lady’s question directly—they are responsible for aid. What I will tell her is that there is a lot of stuff we are doing within our remit on international climate finance action, not least on the taskforce on nature-related financial disclosures.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Virginia Ann Crosbie (Conservative, Centre-right): Time and again, I speak with companies that want a freeport on Anglesey. I want a freeport on Anglesey, and local people want the jobs and local investment that will come with a freeport, but the Welsh Government say and do nothing. Will the Minister please urge the Welsh Government to work with me to deliver this game changer in my constituency of Ynys Môn?
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for her letters and her continued campaigning for her constituency. We are working closely with the Welsh Government and remain committed to establishing at least one freeport in Wales as soon as possible. I encourage them to work closely with constituency MPs on that. As in England, specific locations will be chosen in a fair, open and transparent allocation process.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Environment
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have used the Green Book to mandate that policies must be developed and assessed against how well they deliver on our long-term policy aims, including net zero. We did that at spending review 2020, where guidance required Departments to include the greenhouse emissions of bids and their impact on meeting carbon budgets and net zero, and allocations to Departments were informed by that information. That is how we will continue to carry out consideration of climate impacts in fiscal policy.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Energy
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said, the report will be published in advance of COP26, but we have published other things that the hon. Member does not seem to have heard of or read. We have set out ambitious plans about the net zero target and published the energy White Paper, the industrial decarbonisation strategy, the transport decarbonisation plan, which has not happened anywhere else in the world—we are the first country to do a transport decarbonisation plan—and a hydrogen strategy. We will publish the heat and building strategy in due course. The Government have been busy setting out plans on net zero, and we would appreciate it if Opposition parties took some time to read them.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Environment
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): We will put affordability and fairness at the heart of our reforms to reach net zero. Our latest estimates put the costs of net zero at under 2% of GDP—broadly similar to when we legislated for it two years ago—with scope for costs of low-carbon technologies to fall faster than expected. Most of those represent increased investment in growth markets of the future. However, I take my hon. Friend’s point. All I would say is that he should wait until the net zero review is published.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Energy
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on hydrogen, may I take this opportunity to welcome the Government’s world-leading comprehensive hydrogen strategy, backed up by £105 million of public funding to unlock £4 billion of private investment by 2030? Does the Minister agree with me that this is how we will build back better and create more jobs in places such as Teesside?
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Environment
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I do agree with him: building back better and building back greener are at the heart of this Government’s strategy. I thank him for raising those points, which will benefit Teesside and the north-east in general.
Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Environment
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): I will tell the hon. Lady what the Treasury is doing. We are issuing £15 billion of green bonds over the next year, and launching a world-first green savings bond ahead of COP26 to help finance the Government’s green projects. We set up the UK Infrastructure Bank to invest in net zero, backed by £12 billion of capital, which will also help to unlock more than £40 billion of overall investment in infrastructure. We are committing £11.6 billion in international climate finance over the next five years to help developing countries tackle climate change. The Budget also announced three UK-wide competitions that are part of the £1 billion net zero innovation portfolio. We have the towns deal, which is helping people create new green spaces, build back greener, create sustainable transport routes and repurpose empty shops. The fact is that the Treasury is doing everything it can to support the transition to net zero.
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): It is absolutely right that we remain relentlessly focused on helping young people into work, and our plan for jobs does exactly that with a range of initiatives. I would just draw colleagues’ attention to the fantastic youth offer that our jobcentres are rolling out, providing 13 weeks of intensive tailored support for those young people who enter universal credit and creating 140 dedicated youth hubs across the country.
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
James Barry Daly (Conservative, Centre-right): In Bury, Ramsbottom and Tottington, the Government’s plan for jobs is working, saving jobs and getting people back into employment. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on youth employment, may I ask my right hon. Friend to update the House specifically on how schemes such as kickstart are helping young people with employment and training opportunities throughout the country?
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he does as chair of the APPG on youth employment, and I thank him and his colleagues for their advice as we have developed these initiatives. He is right to highlight kickstart. This is a signature initiative of this Government, providing Government-funded, high-quality jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. It has got off to a fantastic start, with 50,000 kickstarters already having started and thousands more to come.
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Karl McCartney (Conservative, Centre-right): That initial response is helpful, and of course I commend the Chancellor and his Treasury colleagues for their financial support to some businesses over the last 18 months, and I realise important announcements from the Treasury and the Prime Minister are imminent. However, in a city such as Lincoln with such a vibrant hospitality sector, the cumulative impact of successive lockdowns has hit my constituents hard, especially young people, and my right hon. Friend knows that they are disproportionately employed in those businesses that are forced to close. Does the Chancellor agree that we must do everything possible to keep the economy open so that instead of paying young people not to work, we focus on creating well-paid jobs for them?
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the importance of hospitality in employing young people, which is why, together with our VAT cut for that sector and indeed £16 billion of business rates reductions, we have helped support all those jobs. He should also know that employers do not pay employers national insurance on those young people under the age of 21, nor on most apprentices up to the age of 25, demonstrating our support to those employers to keep young people in work.
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Education
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I point the hon. Lady to the Prime Minister’s speech on skills last year when he unveiled this Government’s lifetime skills guarantee, which delivers exactly what she is asking for. Those 10 million adults without a level 3 qualification, who she is absolutely right to highlight, will, for the first time, be able to get one, fully funded by this Government. That is a Conservative Government delivering for people, giving them the skills and opportunities they need.
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The combination of the furlough scheme, the kickstart scheme and the youth offer the Chancellor has just discussed shows that his efforts are leading to the UK having one of the fastest economic recoveries in the world. Will he commit to working globally to ensure that the confidence and opportunities this brings are available globally as they increasingly are in the UK?
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I want to thank him for two things. First, when he was a Minister he created traineeships, and he will be pleased to know that this Government are tripling the number of them to give young people the best possible start in life, finding new skills and opportunities. Most importantly, this year, because of his success in making sure this country had the fastest roll-out of a vaccine anywhere in the world, we are enjoying the fastest opening up and the fastest economic recovery, and I pay tribute to him for that.
Helping Young People into Work: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am always happy to look at what more we can do to improve the transparency of our statistics. However, with regard to kickstart in aggregate, I would just say that there have been 50,000 starts and, when compared with previous versions of similar schemes such as the future jobs fund under the last Labour Government, kickstart is delivering more young people into more jobs at a much faster pace and, importantly, many more of those jobs are in the private sector, not just the public sector.
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister is rightly ushering in an infrastructure revolution because infrastructure drives growth and productivity and creates jobs. We are doing that with over £100 billion of investment this year and, thanks to the efforts of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, a world-leading UK Infrastructure Bank created and set up in Leeds.
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Robert Butler (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that all parts of the country can benefit from investment in infrastructure, and that an excellent way of achieving that in my constituency, in support of the substantial housing development there, would be to approve funding for the Aylesbury link of East West Rail, which would also help to achieve our target of net zero?
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to focus on making sure that our investment reaches every part of the country, including his constituency. I am pleased to tell him that £760 million has been allocated by the Chief Secretary and the Transport Secretary to deliver East West Rail, and I understand that the Department for Transport is currently working with the East West Rail Company to figure out the best possible way to serve Aylesbury. I hope that my hon. Friend will engage with that process.
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gareth Mark Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): The Infrastructure Forum recently published a report that showed clearly that the super deduction is already having an impact, accelerating investment by businesses. Will my right hon. Friend join me in encouraging businesses across Grantham and Stamford to take up the relief, and does he agree that this is exactly the kind of investment that will boost jobs and level up our country?
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): From the Office for Budget Responsibility to the Bank of England, many people have described the super deduction as doing exactly what my hon. Friend has said, and that is why we know it is working. I recently visited BT, for example, which, because of the super deduction, is now increasing the speed of its roll-out to millions more houses and creating thousands of new jobs in the process. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I encourage his businesses to take up the super deduction, and, indeed, we see that; a Deloitte survey recently showed that business intentions to invest in this country are the highest they have been in years.
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My entire team meet the regional Mayors all the time, and of course we will do so in the run-up to the spending review and the Budget. I agree with the hon. Lady that intra-city transportation is important. Unlocking the economic potential of our cities is important to driving our economic recovery. That is why last year, in my first Budget, we announced £4.2 billion for intra-city transport settlements for our largest several cities outside London so that they enjoy the same long-term funding as London and can invest in exactly the types of schemes that she describes.
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure that I entirely recognise the aggregate picture that the hon. Gentleman presents. Rail investment over the course of this Parliament is at record levels, under CP5—control period 5—and then CP6, to give the technical terms. I am very happy to take away the specific schemes. He will understand that those are a matter for the Welsh Government, but I am happy to facilitate with the Department for Transport as required.
New Infrastructure Investment — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. He has previously highlighted the importance of unlocking pension fund capital to invest in long-term assets such as infrastructure in the UK. He will know that the Prime Minister and I wrote to pension funds just recently discussing that, and my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary is actively working on creating a long-term asset fund, a new vehicle to unlock exactly the investment that my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond) wants in exactly the type of infrastructure that this country needs.
End of Universal Credit Uplift — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Questions: What recent discussions his Department has had with the (a) Department for Work and Pensions and (b) Welsh Government on the impact of the end of the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients of that benefit.; What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.; What discussions he plans to have with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.; What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have always been clear that the £20 increase to universal credit was a temporary measure, much like furlough and our other interventions to support this country through the acute phases of this crisis, but we are not done supporting those who need our help. This Government will always be on their side, and that is why we have created our plan for jobs. On the Government side of the House, we know that the best way to help people is to give them the skills and the opportunities they need to find high-quality work, and that is what the plan for jobs is delivering.
End of Universal Credit Uplift — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What recent discussions his Department has had with the (a) Department for Work and Pensions and (b) Welsh Government on the impact of the end of the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients of that benefit.; What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.; What discussions he plans to have with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.; What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman talks about those in poverty. The statistics most recently published show that 200,000 fewer people are living in absolute poverty in the United Kingdom than when this Government came into office. With regard to the economic impacts, I think all colleagues in the House can see the strength in our labour market: the need for businesses to find people and the fact that this Government are giving them the skills they need to get those jobs. That is the right strategy to help people and that is the economic strategy this Government are pursuing.
End of Universal Credit Uplift — House of Commons, 2021-09-07
Topic: Labor
Questions: What recent discussions his Department has had with the (a) Department for Work and Pensions and (b) Welsh Government on the impact of the end of the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients of that benefit.; What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.; What discussions he plans to have with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.; What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the impact on the Exchequer of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not accept that people will be forced into poverty, because we know, and all the evidence and history tells us, that the best way to take people out of poverty is to find them high quality work. We are creating jobs at a rapid rate, with eight months of continuous growth in employment supported by this Government: traineeships, sector-based work academies, apprenticeships, kickstart. You name it, we are delivering it to help those people in Liverpool to get the skills and the jobs they need to help support their families.