argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, before I make any comments about the amendment, I want to make it very clear that this Front Bench believes that it does not change the law on abortion. It is just about access to a safe and legal medicine, which is why we have encouraged our colleagues to vote for it. However, it has been made clear, both in the written Whip and verbally by me at our group meeting this afternoon, that any Liberal Democrat who feels that they have a conscience or ethical reason why they want to vote against this amendment is quite free to do so. That happens all the time on these Benches, actually; it is not unusual I have been keeping a little tally. Adding in the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, who has her name on this amendment, I calculate that 10 women and one man—I thank the noble Lord, Lord Duncan—have spoken in favour of it. On the other side, there are four men and four women. I think it is pretty clear that, of those in this House who felt strongly enough about the amendment to speak at this late hour—most of them briefly, thankfully—there is a majority of women who think that the availability of this medicine, which all the royal colleges have made clear they believe is safe and effective, should continue.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I accept that a lot of people have shown some self-discipline and resisted speaking, but the tally is 10 women in favour and four men and four women against—and the noble Lord, Lord Duncan, on the side I am on Despite what has been said, I still do not believe that this amendment changes the law on abortion. It is about access to medicine and, often, access for the most vulnerable women. I accept that it is difficult to speak at this time of night about an issue such as this but, quite honestly, if the Government had thought that this medicine was as dangerous as some noble Lords have suggested, it would have been very remiss of them to allow it to go on for the past two years. Indeed, as I have said, all the royal colleges believe that it is safe; it is also legal, of course, and very acceptable to women. I, for one, think that women should continue to have access to it; I hope that noble Lords will vote for that to happen The only reason why this amendment had to be brought in now is that something has changed, which is that the Government have said that they will take it away from women. That is why we have not had a previous opportunity to discuss it.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Sarah Virginia Brinton (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, who very carefully laid out the law on the Equality Act and how it fits in with the guidance The amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Nicholson, on same-sex accommodation in hospitals, returns to her concerns about the balance between the Equality Act and NHS guidance Delivering Same-Sex Accommodation. I note that the Minister said in Committee that "NHS England is currently reviewing the Delivering Same-Sex Accommodation guidance to ensure that it remains focused on privacy, safety and dignity for all patients. The NHS is committed to meeting its duties under the Equality Act".—[Official Report, 9/2/22; cols. 1724-25.] The current NHS guidance is already rooted in the Equality Act 2010 and includes guidance on accommodating trans people. That does not mean that women are excluded. The guidance was created in 2010 and updated as recently as 2019. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, said, it is very clear about the reasonable adjustments for trans people, but that does not remove the core principle that all patients should be safe and dignified Amendment 184ZBA seeks to create a false understanding of the ways in which this works. It would also revoke annexe B in its current form, but, frankly, that is unnecessary, because the Equality Act 2010 and the guidance already provide an effective mechanism for inclusion in the context of single-sex spaces. The whole point about annexe B is that it guides NHS staff in how to deliver same-sex accommodation for trans people, which is a very small number of patients, and probably most NHS staff have not had trans patients. It does not supersede the Equality Act. It is accompanied by the NHS safeguarding policies, underpinned by the Care Act, which set out how children and vulnerable adults will be protected from harm and abuse The problem is that the amendment would create a blanket policy against trans inclusion in NHS accommodation, resulting in trans women having to be accommodated in men’s NHS accommodation and trans men in women’s NHS accommodation. This would create an environment that was contrary to the dignity and well-being of patients. The amendment is therefore unnecessary and, frankly, harmful. It also goes against the careful NHS guidance and breaches the key element in the Equality Act, which the Minister reminded us of in Committee. He said: "This means that the rights and needs of women and trans women are equal in law".—[Official Report, 9/2/22; col. 1725.] Above all, there is no evidence to suggest that the status quo is not working. I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Nicholson, will withdraw her amendment.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, given the hour, I shall be extremely brief. As a long-standing supporter of single-sex wards and single-sex provision, I raised the issue of the wording of annexe B and the status of its review in Committee. Tonight, I am continuing to attempt to get answers to questions raised in Committee and in correspondence with the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Kamall It seems clear that the current review of annexe B is not the review promised by the Secretary of State, Sajid Javid, last August. We tried to get to the bottom of this in correspondence. I hope that the Minister, when she responds today, will be able to say exactly what the status of that review is. We have been informed that it is a scheduled, standard internal review—whatever that is—but there seem to be no terms of reference, there does not appear to be any analysis of how well the current provision of same-sex accommodation is working, the review has not been publicised internally, the review team is not independent, and the review seems largely to have been conducted behind closed doors. At the very last moment, certain organisations from which evidence was recommended to be taken did indeed give evidence, in a one-hour Zoom session—and that was about it. So it is a totally unsatisfactory form of review and evidence-taking, and it seems to be moving in a particular direction without any transparency at all I very much hope that the Minister will be able to give us much more information about the review, its purpose and whether it is indeed the one the Secretary of State promised; and, if it is not, whether terms of reference will be published publicly so that we can actually have a discussion about how they should be formulated I would say, in passing, that it is vital as part of this review that the Government publish what their view about the legality of single-sex wards is. We have already had two interpretations of Schedule 3 to the Equality Act 2010. I tend to agree more with that of the noble Lord, Lord Farmer: paragraphs 26, 27 and 28 seem to me to be utterly clear in permitting single-sex wards in the NHS, and I cannot see how the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, has come to the conclusions that he has. But let us see what the Department of Health’s interpretation is and whether annexe B really does conform to the Equality Act. Let us get down to the basics. It is really important Finally, I would simply say that it seems to me that there is no way that annexe B can conform to the Equality Act currently. It says: "Non-binary individuals, who do not identify as being male or female, should also be asked discreetly about their preferences, and allocated to the male or female ward according to their choice." Being non-binary is not a protected characteristic, so what on earth is it doing in annexe B?
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Elizabeth Barker (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I too have spent many hours in your Lordships’ House discussing the subject of single-sex wards in hospitals. There is a continuing discussion to be had about single-sex provision in healthcare, but I do not think this debate is about that at all. I think this is a proxy debate for a campaign that is largely the one that was set out by the noble Baroness, Lady Nicholson. It is a campaign which seeks to drive differences between trans people and other women.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Other
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I sense that the House would like to move to the Front-Bench speeches. I should like to say first that I have not been briefed by Stonewall. My views are my own and not influenced by any lobbying group. I am a woman and I am not going to support the amendment for the reasons that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, and my noble friend Lady Brinton have made clear: it offers a solution to a problem that does not exist. However, when the Minister comes to reply, I hope that she will give my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones some answers to his questions about the review, because they are legitimate.
National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-30
Topic: Other
Susan Kramer (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I join in those words from the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe. We did not need to meet the Minister because, at this point, everything was looking very straightforward, but she made a very kind offer and it was appreciated.
Homes for Ukraine: Visa Application Centres — House of Lords, 2022-04-28
Topic: Immigration
Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, a brief answer from the Minister would be appreciated. Initially, the Home Office said that Ukrainian refugees had to have a visa because of concerns that Russian agents would pretend to be refugees. The Home Office then changed its mind and said that Ukrainian refugees had to have a visa because of concerns, as the Minister has said, about trafficking. Yet, all other European nations have accepted Ukrainian refugees visa free because the Ukrainians put systems in place to protect vulnerable people, and so did the countries receiving them. A Home Office whistleblower told the Guardian on Saturday that the system was "designed to fail". Is that not nearer the truth?
Homes for Ukraine: Visa Application Centres — House of Lords, 2022-04-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Kishwer Falkner (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. I endorse the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Paddick: as many people as possible want to get in on this, and I will be very brief indeed. Will the Minister please ensure that local authorities respect Section 149 of the Equality Act and enforce their obligations under the public sector equality duty in order to ensure that Ukrainians are not discriminated against as they resettle here?
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christopher Fox (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): This has piqued my interest; how does this exercise relate to the Bill? This process of dealing with the online acquisition of unsafe products would seem to be what the Bill is doing front and centre, so what is that process? How do the two connect?
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christopher Fox (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sorry to keep popping up; being a practical person, I will try to give the Minister a scenario and, if he cannot answer straightaway, he can write. I have bought a product through an online auction that turns out to be unsafe; I go back to the auction site, which tells me, "Not my problem. You have to return to the international manufacturer which made this product", which turns out to be a brick wall and nothing comes back. First, is that online auction site correct in handing me over to the international manufacturer, which turns out to be a dead end? Secondly, if that site is correct, to whom do I go? Do I go to my local council trading officer or to the person who, under Clause 27, has been mysteriously made the enforcer for the Bill? I may or may not know who they are. How do I seek redress, and from whom?
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christopher Fox (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I hope that the Minister will take some time to read my speech in Hansard and address the issues that I have raised, because there are some specific points that have not been touched A lot of this has come from Which? whom I thank for its help. Which? is an extraordinarily experienced organisation, with some of the country’s most experienced consumer lawyers dealing with the sharp end of customer consumer problems. The fact that it has gone to the trouble of raising these issues should raise a red flag. It is not doing it out of mischief or political intrigue, but because it cares about the future of consumers. For that reason, the department needs to take this seriously If the Minister requires a meeting with Which? I am sure that I, the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, or the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, will be very happy to broker one. We could then go through some of these consumer issues. This is an organisation dedicated to protecting the needs of consumers. It has gone to the trouble of flagging up this and several other issues. For that reason, for the future of this Bill, it would be very sensible to take Which? seriously That said, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 14.
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Christopher Fox (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, this amendment is countersigned by my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones. I know he will be very disappointed not to be able to speak to this, because it is an issue he feels particularly strongly about, as do I. Also in their absence are the auras of the noble Lords, Lord Vaizey and Lord Holmes, who spoke at Second Reading on this issue—it is a shame they are not here, but I think they have been ably replaced by the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Jones, and the noble Earl, in their speeches. I will try not to duplicate the points that have been made by the three speakers before me. At the heart of this, as the noble Baroness confirmed, is the need to address the UK’s outdated Computer Misuse Act to create fit-for-purpose cybercrime legislation to protect national security. Clearly, that is not easy, as she pointed out, but that does not mean we should not do it at some point The Computer Misuse Act, as we know, was created to criminalise unauthorised access to computer systems or illegal hacking. It entered into force in 1990, before the cybersecurity industry as we know it today had really developed in the UK. Now, 32 years later, many modern cybersecurity practices involve actions for which explicit authorisation is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. As a result, the Computer Misuse Act now criminalises at least some of the cybervulnerability and threat intelligence research and investigation that UK-based cybersecurity professionals in the private and academic sectors are capable of carrying out. This creates a perverse situation where the cybersecurity professionals, acting in the public interest to prevent and detect crime, are held back by the legislation that seeks to protect the computer systems: it is an anomaly As noble Lords will know, under the guidance that will be introduced following the passage of the Bill, manufacturers of consumer-connectable products will be required to provide a public point of contact to report vulnerabilities. This could be an important step forward in ensuring that vulnerability disclosures by cybersecurity researchers are encouraged, leading to improved cyber resilience across these technologies, systems and devices.
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-21
Topic: Housing
Christopher Fox (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I say to the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, we are coming to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The residential security of rent control caused a seizing up of the private rented sector for the next 25 years. This is something that the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 avoided doing in the business sector by providing security of tenure, but on market rental terms. The word of warning here from the noble Earl is that Government should be careful what they wish for and how they go about any significant transition in dealing with human sentiment against actuarial robotics, and be aware of whose voices they lend their ears to There are apparently three routes to lease renewal: the 1954 Act, which the noble Earl believes is effectively overwritten in some instances by the 2017 code revision; the immediate pre-2017 code for non-LTA leases; and the situation that pertains for agreements following the 2017 changes. This seems a recipe for confusion, and if the noble Earl is confused, where does that leave the rest of us There is a lot of detail in quite a short amendment, but this is an issue. I understand, and I think my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones and the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, understand, that there needs to be some clarity over which measures apply where, and whether the Government really want to sanction wholesale renegotiations of the nature that the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, has set out. I think that is a law of unintended consequence, and it will slow down the implementation of what we want to be implemented rather than allow it to happen more quickly.
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-21
Topic: Housing
Christopher Fox (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Minister for his response, during which he said that the department is of a view. When I was speaking for my part, rather than for the noble Earl, I made it clear that there were quite strong opinions that that view might not be correct. Three cases are to be judged tomorrow, before this Bill is enacted, so although it may have some relevance, it will potentially —and in the views of the people we have spoken to, almost certainly will—end up back in the courts We share the objective of the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, that the rollout be accelerated, not inhibited. We also share the view, as expressed in the not very veiled threat in the part of my speech on behalf of the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, about what the 1963 rent Act did, which was clog up the system. We do not want to do that—we cannot afford to clog up the rollout. There are strong suspicions that, without giving the legal certainty we need to avoid getting tangled up in the courts, we will be back there again, notwithstanding the judgments of tomorrow. That said, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 17.
Jim Fitton: Detention in Iraq — House of Lords, 2022-05-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Jeremy Purvis (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, this is a worrying case, not least because under Iraqi law it is a capital crime. I am glad that the Minister has conveyed to the House that representations have been made about the death penalty, but Ministers have refused to engage with my colleague Wera Hobhouse MP, who represents Mr Fitton. On 27 April I wrote to the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, in his capacity as Human Rights Minister, about the death sentence for this British citizen. I have yet to receive a reply, which is of significant concern given the urgency of this case. I know that the Minister engages with the Front Benches in this House. Will he please meet me and Wera Hobhouse, who represents Mr Fitton? The trial is days away and ministerial representations for the elected representative of Mr Fitton are highly appropriate.
Elections Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-10
Topic: Other
Paul Scriven (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I point out to the Minister that he has just spent 10 minutes doing exactly what he has told noble Lords not to do. Now that we are in Committee, will he come to the substance of these amendments?
Home Office Visas for Ukrainians — House of Lords, 2022-03-10
Topic: Immigration
Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, those seeking sanctuary in the UK crossing the channel in small boats, many of whom do not have passports, undergo biometrics and security checks in the UK. Why can Ukrainians, without family in the UK or passports, and nationals of other countries fleeing Putin’s war, not do the same? In particular, women, children and the elderly are unlikely to present security threats to the UK, so what is stopping the Government lifting visa requirements, as EU states have done?
Home Office Visas for Ukrainians — House of Lords, 2022-03-10
Topic: Immigration
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the noble Baroness is very bold in giving assurances about the robustness of the IT, which I was going to ask about. As well as information being available in the correct language, will she explain more broadly how information will be disseminated and made available to all those at the border who must be very uncertain and have great difficulty in finding that information?
Elections Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-10
Topic: Other
Paul Scriven (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): If noble Lords will allow me, the point I was raising was the basis on which the noble Baroness said that it was a strategic five-year statement and therefore the noble Lord, Lord Collins, had got the concept wrong. If it is a five-year statement that gives a long-term vision for the commission, the Secretary of State should not have sole power to revise without consultation. That is the point that I was making. It is in the Bill.
Elections Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-10
Topic: Mixed Topics
Paul Scriven (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Could the noble Lord answer the second point: why, regardless of any change, would you wish to change something without any consultation? That is a key issue. What would stop consultation taking place on an issue that a Minister decided to change in a strategy?