argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: International Affairs
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I just do not accept that conception of how this works or, indeed, how the MLAT treaty would work. I am afraid it would not work in the way the hon. Lady suggests. The point I am making is about cases in which assurances were not secured. By the way, I totally agree with the Minister that the United States looms into view because of this treaty, but this is a framework for other treaties with countries all around the world, and the Opposition are simply saying that we should be embedding into it the idea that, in the event that those assurances are not forthcoming from whichever country it is—rare though those circumstances are—the data should not be handed over. It is as simple as that. By the way, that has been the position for decades.
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: International Affairs
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): Let me finish this point and then I will give way The Foreign Office officials were correct, and I wish that the Ministers had listened in the summer. As the Security Minister knows, this was the subject of an urgent question some months ago to which, I think, he responded.
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: International Affairs
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I am not disputing the outcome of the case; that is very clear. This goes back to the earlier point that I was making about new clause 1. It is clearly not currently set out in primary legislation that there is a duty to seek assurances. I am not questioning the genuine nature of what the Minister does or his decision making, but in that case and against that backdrop, no assurances were sought at all. The Minister has set out the reasons for that, but that is the brutal reality of what happened in that case, against the backdrop of the advice that I have read to the House More widely, Governments across the piece—this Government, the coalition Government and previous Labour Governments—have, on numerous occasions, sought to promote the UK’s opposition to the use of the death penalty around the world. There are multiple examples where Governments of all colours have sought to avoid any complicity with the use of capital punishment and have argued around the world for its abolition. In fact, the Prime Minister herself said in the House on 31 October last year: "Our long-standing position on the death penalty is well known: we call for its abolition globally."—[Official Report, 31 October 2018; Vol. 648, c. 911.] And the Opposition say the same There are a number of examples where this country has agreed that it is highly undesirable that drugs used by some states in the United States for the purposes of execution could have been sourced here. We have decided not to fund counter-narcotics operations in Iran because of the risk that they could lead to the use of the death penalty. When the Prime Minister was Home Secretary, she triggered a review of all security engagement when Pakistan resumed executions after a long moratorium. Back in October 2016 the Government withdrew a bid to provide offender management services to Saudi Arabian prisons, again over the issue around the death penalty. And of course the UK will not export products for use in capital punishment. That is the well-established position, as is the seeking and securing of assurances.
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): Clearly, I do think the safeguards in the Bill have been significantly improved, which is one reason why I am content to support it. Obviously that is not to say there might not be legal challenges to aspects of the Bill in due course—there may well be—but I am pleased and content with many of the improvements that have been made. Throughout my time in this role I have tried to work consensually with the Minister, as has been the case with this Bill and others, and that will continue in the years ahead I join the Minister in thanking the Bill team. I have spoken to different members of the team over the course of the Bill’s passage. People did not necessarily expect the Bill to end up in this place when it began as a non-consensual Bill in the House of Lords. I also thank their lordships, the Minister and all the members of the Committee who contributed to the Bill. The time has come to move forward and to try to put in place this mechanism to speed up the exchange of information, with appropriate safeguards for keeping our citizens safe.
Delay Repay: Great Eastern Main Line — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Transportation
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): The west coast main line is not as bad, but we often have cancellations, and people stand at Euston waiting but are not told the reason for the cancellation. There is an argument for new rolling stock, whether on the hon. Gentleman’s line or the west coast main line. I agree with his point about fares. The public have got so used to fares being increased that they feel helpless to do anything about it. Fares are far too high now.
Delay Repay: Great Eastern Main Line — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Gordon Martin (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this Adjournment debate, and I apologise for not being here for the start of his speech. I absolutely agree with the whole campaign, which is brilliant. Our passengers deserve this. Does he agree that any compensation scheme needs also to be easy to use and that Greater Anglia needs not only to introduce Delay Repay 15, but to make its current scheme more user friendly, so that when people try to claim compensation, they are not blocked from doing so?
Delay Repay: Great Eastern Main Line — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Gordon Martin (Labour, Centre-left): I believe in giving praise where it is due, and in this particular case I believe that we should give praise to Greater Anglia for the project that it is running—I believe in conjunction with Mind—to help staff to deal with these problems and to reduce the number of suicides on the railways. I really hope that that scheme will be successful as well.
Delay Repay: Great Eastern Main Line — House of Commons, 2019-01-30
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Gordon Martin (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Minister accept that although the regulated fares have gone up by something approaching 3%, there were unregulated fares that went up by very much more than that? Can he explain why, for instance, the Anglia rover ticket went up by something approaching 30%?
Universal Credit: Food Insecurity — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Sharon Hodgson (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State may be aware of the cross-party children’s future food inquiry that I am co-chairing. Over the past year, I have heard from charities, families and, most importantly, young people themselves about their experiences with food insecurity. The matter is complex, but they tell me that universal credit is making their situation worse. Will the Secretary of State join me in April for the launch of the report, and will she tackle children’s food insecurity as a matter of urgency?
Universal Credit: Food Insecurity — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State is, no doubt, right that delays in payment were part of the problem, but does she recognise that the fact that people are not entitled to any money for the first five weeks makes a big contribution to the problems that we are seeing?
Universal Credit Roll-out — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Emma Ann Hardy (Labour, Centre-left): As the Minister knows, universal credit has now been rolled out in Hull. A constituent, who has had an incredibly troubled life, came to see me on Friday. During his time he has suffered from addiction, he has been sleeping on the street and he has had convictions. The good news is that, not long ago, he walked through the doors of the Jubilee Church in Hull, and people there have been giving him support. He is now on an 18-month rehabilitation course. However, he has been told that, at the same time, he has to actively look for work. Surely the Minister would agree that while this young man is on a rehabilitation course—an opportunity for him to turn his life around—he should not also have to prove that he is actively searching for work.
Universal Credit: Fluctuating Income — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Mohammad Yasin (Labour, Centre-left): My constituent who works for the NHS is paid a day outside her assessment period, meaning that she has to borrow money to pay the bills when she loses the benefits she is entitled to. Why, despite the High Court’s ruling, are this Government still making the lives of single working parents as difficult as possible?
Universal Credit: Fluctuating Income — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Government Operations
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): My constituents in this situation are still being harassed by the Department. Is the Minister going to make the change in line with the High Court judgment from 11 January or for all claims that fall into this category from the very beginning?
PIP Reassessments: Lifelong Disabilities — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Anna Catherine Turley (Labour, Centre-left): I appreciate the Secretary of State’s response, but will her Department review the cases of those who have already had decisions overturned? For example, I had a constituent with three brain tumours. She was awarded the highest rate of daily living and mobility allowance in 2016, but then reassessed in 2018 and not awarded anything. We had to appeal that decision, the appeal was of course successful, and she received a backdated payment of £5,000. I am sure the Secretary of State would agree that that was cruel and inhumane for someone at my constituent’s point of life. Is the Department going to look back at how many people slipped through the net over the past few years, before the Secretary of State made changes?
PIP Reassessments: Lifelong Disabilities — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): Since 2013, nearly 8,000 disabled people have died within six months of being found ineligible for personal independence payments—yet more evidence that the assessment process is not fit for purpose. If the Secretary of State is not prepared to scrap this inhumane process, will she at least support the Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon), which would remove the arbitrary and cruel six-month time limit for people with a terminal illness?
People with Learning Disabilities and Autism: Celebrating Achievements — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Labor
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): I support the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman). Is it not true that, because of their recruitment processes, many employers are missing out on the talent and the enrichment that employing someone with autism would bring? People do not even get that first opportunity. What more can the Minister do to support employers to think again about the way they go about recruiting people and to give the opportunity to a wider range of people to get that first chance?
Universal Credit: Social Security Advisory Committee — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendation of the Social Security Advisory Committee on alternatives to claiming universal credit online.
Danielle Rowley (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State told Sky News that she will ensure that no deflection script strategy is used by the universal credit helpline in the future. Is she therefore admitting that a deflection script has been in use, and that there has been a culture of rushing people off the phone and diverting them online? If so, will she now apologise for the Department having denied this tactic?
Employment Level — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
David George Hanson (Labour, Centre-left): Unemployment in my constituency has actually risen by 30% over the past 12 months. Given today’s economic figures, which show very low economic growth over the last seven years, and given the impending doom of no deal, what contingency plans is the Secretary of State making so that unemployment does not rise still further?
Employment Level — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Labor
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies) asked about employment trends, but one trend that he did not mention is that zero-hours contracts have quadrupled since 2010. This week is HeartUnions Week, so will the Secretary of State join me, the TUC and the Labour party in pledging to ban these disgraceful contracts?
Universal Credit: Debt Repayments — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): Why does the Minister not stop universal credit until such time as the Government get the result of the pilot scheme? Anywhere else, if people have a pilot scheme, they wait to implement it and learn the results from it before rolling the system out. You would do that in the private sector. Why not do it here?
Care Leavers: Employment Opportunities — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): Given that care leavers are, by definition, vulnerable and have a host of challenges, including in housing, getting into work, and skills and training, what discussions is the DWP having with local authorities so that rather than drip-dripping a few special projects the Government actually address the chronic underfunding of local government that has let care leavers down, among many others?
Care Leavers: Employment Opportunities — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): The Government deserve some credit for the care leaver covenant. What specific joint work is being undertaken with the Children and Families Minister the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), to ensure that every young person leaving local authority care leaves with a specific offer of a job, apprenticeship or further training? Have the Government considered making that a legal obligation?
In-work Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Louise Margaret Haigh (Labour, Centre-left): Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that the real-terms cut in social security is the single biggest driver of in-work poverty, leaving those struggling to make ends meet on poverty pay losing hundreds of pounds a year. If the Secretary of State is looking forward to the benefits cut not being extended, as she told Sky News, why do the Government not end it now, rather than wait to review it in 2020?
In-work Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): Crash-era debt was owed to commercial lenders and stemmed from lifestyle desires, but Turn2us reports that the bulk of its 9,000 users in Ealing are in-work adults who are struggling to meet the bare basics—their debts are to council housing departments, energy providers and water companies. If the Government will not unfreeze the benefits cap now and end the scandal of zero-hours contracts, what are they doing about that worrying trend, noted by the London School of Economics, the National Audit Office and Citizens Advice?
Social Security Benefits: Disabled People — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): A year ago I wrote, with 100 MPs from across the House, to the then Secretary of State to highlight what was really faced by so many disabled people, which is a hostile environment in trying to access payments. It now transpires that seven reviews are being undertaken by the DWP into the serious administrative mistakes that have been made, including why 4,600 disabled people have wrongly had their personal independence payments stopped. Will the Minister update us about what progress has been made on those seven reviews and, indeed, about what learnings are going to be taken forward?
Social Security Benefits: Disabled People — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What steps is the Department taking to improve the general assessment process and the oversight of individual assessors to reduce the rate of cases going to appeal?
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): Under schedule 2 to the Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018, the compensation for severely disabled people who have moved on to universal credit for the loss of premiums is a flat rate of £80 per month if they have been placed in the limited capability for work group. This is considerably less than the actual loss of income, which is approximately £180 per month. Will the Minister give a full breakdown of how that figure was reached, and will she listen to Labour’s demands and commit to ensuring that the compensation reflects the real loss of those premiums?
Social Security Benefits: Disabled People — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What steps is the Department taking to improve the general assessment process and the oversight of individual assessors to reduce the rate of cases going to appeal?
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): Under universal credit, for working disabled people to qualify for in-work support, such as the work allowance, one must be found unfit for work under the work capability assessment. This is unlike the legacy social security system, under which a disabled person will qualify for in-work support, such as the disability element of working tax credit, by being in receipt of disability living allowance or PIP. Does the Minister agree with me that it is absurd that a disabled worker must be found unfit for work to qualify for in-work support, and will she commit today to reviewing this?
Breathing Space Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): That is very good to hear, but both the Treasury Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee have said that Departments take a disproportionate and often aggressive approach to the recovery of debt. A single person over 25 claiming universal credit could have £127 deducted from their benefits each month to pay existing debts. If the Government are determined, as the Minister says, to help people manage their debts, why is his own Department making deductions that push claimants further into poverty?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Eleanor Patricia Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I have many female constituents who are self-employed or on zero-hours contracts. They do not have a set regular monthly wage, yet the DWP insists on a four-week assessment period to assess their earnings and determine their benefits. Those women are being forced into hardship by sudden cuts to their benefit payment and a lengthy appeals process, which can take up to three to four months. Why can the DWP not recognise the situation that those on fluctuating incomes are put in and revise its guidelines accordingly?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: I join the Secretary of State in welcoming the fantastic news that 10 million people are involved in auto-enrolment. Could she tell us a little bit more about the measures the Government will be taking to enable them to increase their savings once they are in auto-enrolment?
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): Social security sanctions can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of claimants, and, in extreme cases, push people into destitution. The Government’s response to the Work and Pensions Committee report was shocking. Apparently, they are only prepared to consider increasing the length of sanctions, not reducing them. What has happened to the concept of compassion? Will the Secretary of State end the Government’s cruel and counterproductive sanctions regime?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: I join the Secretary of State in welcoming the fantastic news that 10 million people are involved in auto-enrolment. Could she tell us a little bit more about the measures the Government will be taking to enable them to increase their savings once they are in auto-enrolment?; How will the Government ensure that the roll-out of universal credit continues to support the benefits of being in work, while providing the required flexibility for people who are often moving through life-changing circumstances as we support them back into the workplace?; European Union citizens who have worked in this country primarily through agencies are at risk of failing the habitual residence test although they have lived here for many years, because their employment might not have been continuous. Will the Minister meet me to outline what protections are available for those EU citizens?; Last week, I was interviewed on Bolton FM—[Interruption.] Last week, I was interviewed on Bolton FM by a group of young carers who make an immense contribution, but who are concerned about the level of support they receive. Will my right hon. Friend outline what support is available?; Oxford & District Action on Child Poverty recently met me to discuss the devastating impact of the two-child limit on working families in Oxford. It said, “You literally could not have designed a better policy to increase child poverty than this one,” with estimates suggesting that over a quarter of a million children will be pushed into poverty as a result. Will the Minister listen and not just tweak, but scrap this punitive policy in its entirety?; The three-year benefit freeze, on top of three years of capped increases, has caused financial hardship for too many and for too long. Surely enough is enough, and the benefit freeze must be brought to an end in the forthcoming financial year.; The Minister referred earlier to record levels of employment, but is it not a fact that this is only because the Tories are running a slave economy, with 4 million people on bogus self-employment, zero-hours contracts and agency work, waiting to know whether they are going to be working from one day to the next?; Will the Government commit to footing the bill for free TV licences for over-75s if the BBC decides it cannot afford to continue funding them?
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): On 2 November, my constituent won his ESA appeal—the DWP did not even bother to attend—but three months on, it is still arguing about whether he should get the full back pay. At what point did the Department become above the law?