argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2017-09-06
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander Gordon Martin (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister has said that she would be happy to do everything to stamp out the growth of knife crime. Does that include reversing the cuts in police officer numbers that we are seeing in constabularies around the country? In Suffolk, for instance, in one of the least policed areas in the country, the number of officers has been cut by 300 over the past 10 years.
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2017-09-06
Topic: Law and Crime
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): The Government have directly reduced funding for youth offending services and indirectly reduced funding for early intervention and family support through the cuts delivered to local government. This has become so severe that those working in youth offending services can no longer devote the time necessary to prevent young offenders from reoffending, so we are still seeing reoffending at extremely high levels. That is putting those young offenders at risk and risking future victims. Will the Government look again at these very short-sighted cuts which are not only causing such damage to young people’s futures, but will cost more in the long run because of the consequences of the crimes they commit?
Benefits Cap — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Frank Field (Labour, Centre-left): I support the Government’s strategy in this area, but does the Secretary of State accept that those who support it have concerns about what might be happening, certainly in the short run, to families so affected? What research is he carrying out to make sure that those who can move into work do so and that those who cannot do so are looked at sympathetically?
Mental Health: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): The Government’s laudable aspiration to halve the disability employment gap is completely meaningless without a date being attached to it. What is the Minister’s latest assessment of how long it will take to halve that gap?
Mental Health: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What are the Government doing to raise awareness of the Access to Work programme and the support it can offer to employers who want to make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities?
Neil Coyle (Labour, Centre-left): Many people with mental health problems pay the bedroom tax. Three months ago, the Government lost three cases in the Supreme Court that had been brought by disabled people over the bedroom tax. How has the Department identified other disabled people who should not be paying that tax, and when will disabled people in Bermondsey and Old Southwark and across the country stop having to pay it?
Mental Health: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: What are the Government doing to raise awareness of the Access to Work programme and the support it can offer to employers who want to make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities?; What are the Government doing to draw on the expertise of charities and other third sector organisations to help find the best way to support those most in need into the workplace, as many charities have much experience in supporting those with mental health conditions?
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): People with mental health conditions and autism whom I met recently in Bristol told me of the difficulties they face getting into work. They also told me about the issues relating to PIP, work capability assessments and sanctions. Those in the ESA support group fear that the Green Paper spells out that they will be targeted next after cuts to people on the ESA work-related activity group in April. How does the Minister justify ESA WRAG cuts, cuts to employment support, jobcentre closures and the liberal use of sanctions as helping disabled people into work when there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary?
Young People in Work — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): More young people are claiming benefits in Newcastle Central this year than they were last year, and the north-east has the overall highest unemployment rate in the country. Too many of our young people have to leave the region to find good jobs, so when will the Secretary of State make the northern powerhouse a reality for the north-east?
Young People in Work — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
David George Hanson (Labour, Centre-left): What would the Secretary of State say to areas such as mine, where youth unemployment has actually risen in the past month? Will he please look at working with colleagues in the northern powerhouse to ensure that the benefits of Government investment are shared across the north-west and north Wales as a whole?
Auto-enrolment — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the number of people saving into a pension scheme as a result of auto-enrolment.; What assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the number of people saving into a pension scheme as a result of auto-enrolment.
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): Ministers have been clear on the need for transparency in the pensions industry, including in master trusts dealing with auto-enrolment. In his Second Reading speech on the Pension Schemes Bill, the Secretary of State spoke of it. In a speech to the TUC, the Pensions Minister said: "We have to get transparency. It’s not an option to do nothing." On Report in the Lords, Lord Freud said: "We want pension scheme members to have sight of all costs and charges".—[Official Report, House of Lords, 19 December 2016; Vol. 777, c. 1528.] Despite those fine words, all the attempts to deliver on transparency in the Bill Committee were dismissed by the Government, so can the Minister tell the House what they mean by transparency in the pensions industry?
Learning Difficulties: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Education
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): The disabled students allowance has been a great help to students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia in gaining the qualifications they need to enter the world of work. Will the Minister not accept that the £200 fee is acting as a real deterrent to the uptake of this allowance and that it is unfairly penalising students who need that extra help?
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Elizabeth Anne McInnes (Labour, Centre-left): Yet again, one of my constituents has been to see me about a PIP assessment that has led to her Motability vehicle being taken away from her. She is currently appealing, and I have written to the Minister about the case. What reassurance can she give me and my constituent that this vehicle, which she needs, will be returned to her?
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Marie Elizabeth Rimmer (Labour, Centre-left): At present, 65% of all claimants have their PIP appeal upheld by tribunal—an all-time high. It should be a source of huge embarrassment to the Government that, even after the introduction of mandatory reconsideration before appeal, the majority of claimants who go to tribunal win their case. How does the Minister justify forcing vulnerable claimants to navigate the complex and gruelling process that the appeal system demands, often with little or no support? Will she now get a grip and reform this clearly broken system?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Labour, Centre-left): A single parent working full time on universal credit will be up to £3,000 worse off than someone in the same situation on tax credits, as a result of this Government’s cuts. Does the Minister accept that those cuts are creating an unjustified disparity in the in-work support received by people in similar circumstances?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, DWP informed Members of Parliament that our constituents would have to give specific and precise explicit consent if we are to help them with full universal credit claims with which they have difficulty. I think that that will significantly inhibit our ability to assist our constituents. Will the Minister reassure the House that measures will be put in place to ensure that MPs can support our constituents effectively?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): Currently, families have to wait at least six weeks to receive universal credit after they have made a claim, which is leading to some people being in rent arrears and at risk of eviction. Research by the Child Poverty Action Group and the Trussell Trust found that about 30% of food bank users were waiting for the outcome of a benefit claim. What urgent action will the Government take to cut the delay at the start of universal credit claims?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): Many families on tax credits and universal credit will lose out when the two-child limit comes into force in April. The Institute for Fiscal Studies projects a 50% rise in child poverty by 2020—the biggest in a generation—and it says that a key reason will be the impact of tax and benefit changes on families with three or more children. Do the Government think that some children matter more than others?
Jobcentre Plus (Closures) — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: For what reason his Department did not carry out an impact assessment prior to the announcement of the proposed closure of Jobcentre Plus estates on 26 January 2017.
Louise Margaret Haigh (Labour, Centre-left): Following the Minister’s advice, I went to see the regional manager of my jobcentres last week, but she had absolutely no information on the number of employment and support allowance or income support claimants that will be affected by the proposed closure in my constituency; the plans for outreach in relation to what will replace my jobcentre after its closure; the amount saved by that closure; the necessary spend on increased capacity at the alternative centre; or projections of footfall at the centre destined for closure. I hope that such work has been undertaken internally, so will the Minister commit to publishing all that information not only before a decision has to made, but preferably before the end of the consultation period?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) on universal credit inquiries on behalf of constituents, does the Secretary of State not accept that putting in this extra hurdle is disadvantaging people who are in a very vulnerable situation and flies in the face of Information Commissioner guidance?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): In April, the Government’s two-child policy will mean that a woman who has a third child after being raped will have to prove that fact if they are to get child tax support. At the same time, the Government are cutting widowed parent’s allowance by an average of £17,000 for each bereaved family. In 2015, that benefited 40,000 children who had lost at least one parent. Will the Secretary of State please think again about these punitive measures?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?; Does the Minister agree that it was important to introduce the cap on out-of-work benefits to deal with the excesses of a system that used to see a single household being given £100,000 a year in housing benefit?; New recipients of support who are in the work-related activity group will cease to receive the work-related activity component payment as of this April. As we have only a short six weeks until those claimants are hit by this change in policy, can the Minister tell us exactly what additional support they will receive?; As part of the Government’s welcome proposal to halve the disability employment gap, will the Minister ensure that a work support plan is in place before a disabled person is made a job offer, thus increasing the chances of success and reducing the risk of wrongly applied sanctions or accusations that the person does not want a job?; Of the 17,000 sanctions on benefit claimants in Bradford West in the past six and a half years, how many could have been avoided if the Government had the yellow card warning system in place? Why has it not been rolled out nationally, following a successful trial in 2016, and when are this Government going to get it done?; Will the Minister look at the assessment of people with long-term progressive conditions who are applying for PIP, in the light of some of the issues that have been raised? Would she consider removing the need for continued assessment of people with long-term progressive conditions when, by the nature of those conditions, they are getting worse and not improving day by day?; Brixton jobcentre, which serves many of my constituents, is situated in one of the most deprived areas of London. How can the Minister justify deciding to close Brixton jobcentre and dozens of others across the country before any assessment of the equalities impact has been undertaken and without any consultation with the public?
Siobhain Ann McDonagh (Labour, Centre-left): On behalf of my constituent, Miss Leslie, may I ask the Secretary of State to get personally involved in her case? The victim of a house fire when she was 12 weeks old, she has no hands and has multiple physical problems. In the migration from DLA to PIP, she could not open the envelope telling her to go for her assessment. On 1 February, all her benefits ceased, and on 10 February, her Motability car was taken away. This cannot be right; please help.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?; Does the Minister agree that it was important to introduce the cap on out-of-work benefits to deal with the excesses of a system that used to see a single household being given £100,000 a year in housing benefit?; New recipients of support who are in the work-related activity group will cease to receive the work-related activity component payment as of this April. As we have only a short six weeks until those claimants are hit by this change in policy, can the Minister tell us exactly what additional support they will receive?; As part of the Government’s welcome proposal to halve the disability employment gap, will the Minister ensure that a work support plan is in place before a disabled person is made a job offer, thus increasing the chances of success and reducing the risk of wrongly applied sanctions or accusations that the person does not want a job?; Of the 17,000 sanctions on benefit claimants in Bradford West in the past six and a half years, how many could have been avoided if the Government had the yellow card warning system in place? Why has it not been rolled out nationally, following a successful trial in 2016, and when are this Government going to get it done?; Will the Minister look at the assessment of people with long-term progressive conditions who are applying for PIP, in the light of some of the issues that have been raised? Would she consider removing the need for continued assessment of people with long-term progressive conditions when, by the nature of those conditions, they are getting worse and not improving day by day?; Brixton jobcentre, which serves many of my constituents, is situated in one of the most deprived areas of London. How can the Minister justify deciding to close Brixton jobcentre and dozens of others across the country before any assessment of the equalities impact has been undertaken and without any consultation with the public?
John Robert Cryer (Labour, Centre-left): Leytonstone jobcentre, in my constituency, is threatened with closure, which has spread alarm and despondency among some of the most vulnerable people whom I represent. The nearest jobcentre, in Walthamstow, is more than 3 miles away, which breaks the Minister’s own guidelines. Will he undertake a proper impact assessment and publish the results?
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Foreign Trade
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for his response and for the helpful way in which he has kept me and other interested parties informed as matters have unfolded. As he said, not only are thousands employed directly at the plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton, but there are tens of thousands of other people working in the associated supply chain and sales network I want to make it clear that Vauxhall is a British success story. The plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton benefit from dedicated and highly skilled staff, who are among the most efficient anywhere in Europe. If this takeover does go ahead, we need to get the message out that risking the closure of either facility would be a retrograde step not just for the UK economy, but also for the new owners. Will the Secretary of State confirm that the Government stand ready to use all the tools at their disposal to safeguard British jobs at Vauxhall Of course, this is a worrying time for everyone affected, but it is not a new experience. There have been threats to the plants in the past, but they have been seen off by industry-leading collaborations between unions, workforce, management and Government. I want that to carry on, so can the Secretary of State confirm that he will continue to work closely with everybody at every stage Although it would be an over-simplification to characterise the proposed deal as being entirely down to Brexit, there are understandable concerns about Brexit’s potential impact, particularly if tariffs were imposed. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the future of the automotive sector is put front and centre of our negotiations and that a red line will be that there will be no deal that imposes tariffs—not just on the finished product, but on components in the supply chain We are very proud of our automotive sector in Ellesmere Port and Neston, but we know we cannot take it for granted. I will do everything I possibly can to fight for the future of Vauxhall, and I expect nothing less from the Government.
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Foreign Trade
Iain David Wright (Labour, Centre-left): In an earlier answer, the Secretary of State said that this will not become entangled in Brexit, but the concern will be that the issue of this important company’s future in Britain will become collateral damage in wider negotiations and deals on Brexit. In the face of elections in France and Germany this year, does he think that nations will have to engage in an ever-rising bidding game in order to maintain production facilities in their countries? If so, what will he do for British manufacturing?
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): I commend the Secretary of State for his fast action in meeting all the parties. I represent people who work in the Ellesmere Port factory. We local MPs are all justifiably proud of the work that has been done there to keep the production process as one of the most efficient in the world. We bow to no one in the world when it comes to efficiency and productivity at the Ellesmere Port plant. Nevertheless, given that it is effectively much cheaper to get rid of British workers, because of the nature of employment rights in this country compared with those in France and Germany, what can the Secretary of State do to ensure that, when it comes to possible cost cutting, the equation is evened up so that we can support British production and British jobs?
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): A number of my constituents work for Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Unilever in Port Sunlight. If there are Members who think that everything in our economy is rosy, I invite them to come to Wirral South this weekend and say that. When it comes to the high-value manufacturing that the Secretary of State has talked about, does he realise the importance of the customs union, and has he made a great and important contribution to the Prime Minister’s strategy on Brexit with regard to keeping us inside the customs union?
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): Many of the thousands of people employed at Vauxhall Ellesmere Port live in Wirral and they are understandably concerned about the future of their jobs following the announcement of PSA Group’s acquisition of Opel. Some 80% of the cars made at Vauxhall Ellesmere Port are exported directly to EU states, and 75% of the value of each car is imported. The Prime Minister is reported to have received a meeting request from the chief executive of the PSA Group, which Downing Street has said will take place "in principle, subject to diary availability" Will the Secretary of State suggest that the Prime Minister make a space in her diary as a matter of urgency?
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Anne McInnes (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Secretary of State agree that the weaker protections against dismissal that are afforded to UK workers make them more vulnerable than their European counterparts? Given the Conservative party’s supposed recent conversion into a party of the workers, what plans does he have to strengthen protections for UK workers?
Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Foreign Trade
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State approaches this issue with great calm and carefulness. I am sure that he has looked at the impact on the firm of being inside or outside the customs union. He wants a zero-tariff regime with Europe, but we have heard that a high proportion of the components are imported. Would the Vauxhall cars that are exported meet the threshold for being made in the UK under the rules of origin?