argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Miriam Joy Cates (Conservative, Centre-right): I think most people understood that vaccination was the route back to normality. Despite the fact that 95% of adults in the UK now have antibodies—I accept that there may be some reduction in the protection from antibodies, but there is certainly no evidence for any reduction in T-cell protection—we are being asked to impose more restrictions on lives and livelihoods I have looked in detail at the modelling done by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. We need to be clear that they are models, as my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) said, not forecasts or predictions. They are based on some pretty major assumptions, such as that omicron causes the same severity of disease as delta and that the length of hospital stay is the same. Those assumptions are becoming more out of date by the day. There is no known benefit to the measures that we are trying to implement, but there will be inevitable harms On working from home, we saw research last week that suggests that those working from home are 11 times more likely to experience domestic abuse. Masks sound innocuous in their own right, but they send a signal across society, including in schools, that people should panic and fear. We have already seen schools close today and say that they may not return in the new year. That 100,000 ghost children have not returned to schools since lockdown should be a warning to us of the unintended consequences of potentially small measures I cannot support vaccine passports. As my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer) said, they are discriminatory and segregate people. We have a proud tradition in this country of standing up for minority views, even when we do not agree with them. In the rush to get jabs in arms, we should not throw that tolerance and respect to the wind I completely agree with my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham about the mandatory vaccination of NHS staff. It is about not the ideology of whether people should be vaccinated but the pragmatic reality that we will lose tens of thousands of staff at a time when we can least afford it This is no longer really a debate about whether masks work or who should have a vaccine. It is about who we are and what kind of society we are creating for our children. Do we really care about the freedoms that we all took for granted before 2020? People roll their eyes when Conservatives and libertarians start talking about civil liberties and freedoms, but freedom is not an abstract ideology Freedom is what enables my constituents to see their family, comfort the dying, go to school and go to work. That is what freedom looks like. After 20 months in and out of restrictions, we have to accept that there has been a permanent change in the understanding of what liberty is in this country, which is why I cannot support these measures. I urge the Government to return to a society of freedom and responsibility. Our constituents deserve that and they will rise to the challenge.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): Me? I am sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker, I could not hear you over the appreciation for the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Miriam Cates). I strongly support getting vaccinated. I had my booster jab two weeks ago. I thank all Islanders who are engaged in the vaccination process in my constituency. I congratulate the Government on an ambitious booster programme. When it comes to the vote tonight, I will accept and trust what they say on face masks and on the daily tests, which seem infinitely more sensible than locking people down in hotels. I will not support them on passports or mandatory jabs. Threatening the jobs of 73,000 NHS staff seems an odd way to support the NHS I want to raise a wider issue with those on the Front Bench, which has somewhat coloured my judgment. I have heard nothing to reassure me on the following points. I am fed up with dubious forecasts and ridiculous extrapolations the kind of which many hon. Members have talked about. Academics—I am not quoting myself—have talked about Imperial College London’s forecast being "hysterical", "inflated", "consistently over-confident", "lurid", "flawed" and "spectacularly wrong". What do the Government have to say about the incredibly questionable extrapolations that they have used I am tired of all the leaks. It was leaked that omicron could kill 75,000. It could, but it may not. All these doomsday forecasts, leaked at critical moments, erode public trust Thirdly, we are told we have to follow the science. Of course we have to follow the science, but it is a misleading statement as science is shaped by the inputs and by the desired outcome. For example, we had 70 pages of evidence from Scotland on vaccine passports, but there was no evidence to support their value for uptake, so why are we introducing them? We are doing so because of the precautionary principle. That is not science One of the most disturbing things is the lack of context for the statistics that have been used. Was that to increase knowledge or to increase fear? My right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne) said that between 500 and 1,000 people die each day in this country, and people die of flu all the time. It is about putting this information in context, and I fear that the result of too much of this has been to scare people, especially the old and now the young. They are petrified of covid without taking account of more genuine and potentially more damaging threats such as the appalling impact on education I will vote against the Government on two of the motions tonight, but my decision to do so has been coloured by the past 18 months of policy, which we need to improve.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): The health of the nation has united this House over the past 22 months, but what we know about the impact of covid on the health of the nation has now changed, which has led to this debate. We know that the physical impact of covid is only part of the story, that mental health is a significant consideration and that the impact of covid on our hospitals has to be considered alongside the impact of cancelling non-covid treatments, too. Many hon. Members have referred to the impact on children of being schooled at home, and there is the impact on many people of working at home, which is not without its risks My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care set out very clearly his case for the measures before the House. The new omicron variant is more transmissible than the delta variant and, even if it has the same impact on our health as the delta variant, its high transmissibility means this new variant could have a more significant impact on the number of people who need urgent hospital treatment. Stopping the NHS being overwhelmed has been our objective from the start I commend the Government’s focus on ramping up the booster roll-out, which is a vital part of solving the problems we face, but these regulations are designed to take those actions a step further to help keep down transmission levels, which is why I support them. The nature of human activity means we will not have a perfect set of neat decisions. These regulations do what is possible, not what is perfect I have a couple of questions for the Minister, particularly on the importance of making sure we protect the education of our children. Will he provide an update to hon. Members next week on the number of hospitalisations, even if the House is not sitting? We cannot eliminate the risk of covid-19, but these time-limited measures will help to reduce the risks faced by our communities. If our NHS is overwhelmed, it will put at risk not only covid patients but anyone who needs emergency care through the winter months. We have to act with caution, which is why I will support these measures in totality. I commend the Government for putting the safety of the people we represent first, and I commend them for taking this approach.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): Throughout today’s debate, we have heard the sincere and heartfelt views of hon. and right hon. Members from across the House. I recognise the strength of feeling, and will turn to each of the statutory instruments for consideration before the House, but before I do, may I recognise the constructive approach taken by the Opposition Front Bench We are learning more about the omicron variant each day, but we already know that no variant of covid-19 has spread this quickly. It will become the dominant variant in London in the next 36 hours, and soon across the UK as a whole. It is right that we take a cautious approach to the arithmetic, alongside a strong communications campaign of the sort called for by my right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Dame Andrea Leadsom).
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): In a moment There is much that we still do not know about this virus, as there is a wide range of opinions on its severity. Hospitalisations and deaths always lag infections by about two to four weeks. We are not at the topping-out point in South Africa, so we do not know what the peak will be, but even a small percentage of widespread transmission will be significant—a point rightly made by the Opposition Front Bench, and the Secretary of State when he opened the debate. This is not, as some suggest, solely an issue for the NHS. Widespread infection and staff absences would have a wider economic impact on areas from our supply chains to our factories.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Health
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): Our reforms of the alcohol duty system usher in a system that is simpler, fairer and better for public health. I am not entirely sure that the hon. Lady has got the details right on this. In fact, for Scotch whisky, this is an improvement because we have levelled the playing field for higher-strength drinks, which the Scotch Whisky Association had been calling for. With regard to the differential between domestic and foreign producers, because English sparkling wine is produced to a lower alcohol content naturally than foreign sparkling wine, it will actually, for the first time, enjoy a tax advantage under the new system. Perhaps most relevant immediately, we also froze all alcohol duties—a half-a-billion-pound tax cut for British people this year.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Health
Questions: I thank the Chancellor for his hugely successful plan for jobs. I recently visited an organisation in Telford called Teach A Trade, which successfully trains long-term unemployed and older people changing careers to get gas and electrical qualifications, which are in short supply in my constituency. What is his Department doing to work with organisations such as Telford’s Teach A Trade to make these courses more accessible to more students? Can he please tell me what his Department can do to help Telford’s Teach A Trade so that it can expand the excellent work it is doing?; The recently announced coalition deal between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru contains a tourism tax, which is likely to do significant damage to Porthcawl, a seaside town in my Bridgend constituency. Does my right hon. Friend agree that imposing a new tax on a sector already hit hard by Welsh Government restrictions is further evidence that Labour-nationalist coalitions are bad for business, bad for the economy and bad for our United Kingdom?; New research from the TUC shows that 647,000 workers in sectors such as hospitality, retail and entertainment do not qualify for statutory sick pay. Before the Chancellor points to the Government’s temporary support scheme, 64% of people who apply for it are told that they do not qualify. The Government have been quick to hand massive contracts to their friends, so why can they not improve statutory sick pay for workers so that more people can afford to self-isolate and recover from illness when they need to?; The decay of NHS dentistry and indeed the cavity of NHS dentists across the country affects my constituents in Lancaster and Fleetwood, but I note that on 7 February 2018 the Chancellor spoke on his own website about the lack of NHS dentists in his constituency, too. Now that he is the Chancellor and holds the purse strings, how much longer do my constituents and his have to wait to find an NHS dentist? What financial support is he giving to ensure that NHS dentists are available to all our constituents?
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises an important point. Of course, we delivered a record settlement for the Department of Health and Social Care at the recent spending review. That budget will rise to £177.4 billion in 2024-25. NHS dentistry is a top priority of that spend.
Ukraine — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Defense
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK and our allies are providing a range of support to Ukraine, including through work that is enhancing Ukraine’s defence capability. It is really important that we continue to reiterate that the support is fundamentally defensive in nature and that neither NATO nor Ukraine pose any aggressive threat to Russia.
Ukraine — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Defense
Stuart Paul Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): As we see the build-up of troops on the Ukraine-Russian border, I would be keen to know whether the grey zone sub-threshold attacks, such as cyber and disinformation, are also increasing at the same pace. What do the Government have in place to deal with those attacks to ensure that we control the threat?
Ukraine — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Defense
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): I am obviously not able to comment on particular projects from the Dispatch Box today, but as I have said, we stand by the people of Ukraine. We are already providing a range of support to Ukraine to help it to enhance its defence capability, and we will continue to assess that situation alongside our NATO allies.
Prisons Strategy — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Health
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to say that we must learn to live with covid within the prison estate, as we do outside prison walls. We are working with NHS local services to roll out the vaccine in custody, and clearly we encourage everyone to be vaccinated, not just inside but outside prison. That will be key to our consideration of further removing the national framework. Of course, we must be led by the evidence and the data.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Defense
Andrew Richard Rosindell (Conservative, Centre-right): I rise to speak to new clause 4, which would secure the right of abode of the brave and loyal servicemen who served Queen and country in the British military, in the Hong Kong Military Service Corps and the Hong Kong royal naval service corps, until 1997. They were servants of the Crown and I believe they should be treated equally to all those who have served in Her Majesty’s armed forces.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Defense
Andrew Richard Rosindell (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes a superb point, and he is of course completely correct. These ex-servicemen in Hong Kong are not demanding the right to come here straightaway, but they want that option should there ever be a need for them to leave Hong Kong—if they felt unsafe or their families were under threat. Surely, in such a situation, Her Majesty’s Government should support those who have served Her Majesty’s armed forces.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-07
Topic: Defense
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): I have given way twice, and have already gained a couple more minutes, so I will not give way on this point I will briefly speak to new clause 4, which my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) spoke in favour of. It is superb, and I hope that the Government have listened. Those Hongkongers who have given military or police service should be at the front of the queue, and the Government should look to my hon. Friend’s new clause and support it, because it is exactly what the Bill is about: looking after the good people, protecting those who have done good things and given service to our country, and keeping out the bad ones. That is why I support it.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Health
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I have said what I have said about No. 10 and the events of 12 months ago, but since the right hon. and learned Gentleman asks about what we are asking the country to do this year, which I think is a more relevant consideration, let me say that the important thing to do is not only to follow the guidance that we have set out but, when it comes to dealing with the omicron variant, to make sure that—as we have said, Mr Speaker—you wear a mask on public transport and in shops, and that you self-isolate if you come into contact with somebody who has omicron. Above all, what we are doing is strengthening our measures at the borders. But in particular, Mr Speaker—and I think that this is very valuable for everybody to hear—get your booster I know that the right hon. and learned Gentleman is eligible for his booster. I am not going to ask him, Mr Speaker, as I am forbidden to ask him questions, but I hope very much that he has had it.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Health
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): No. The right hon. and learned Gentleman plays politics and asks frivolous questions, but we are getting on with delivering on the people’s priorities. We are making record investments in the NHS, on top of the £34 billion with which we began, and then the £97 billion that we put in to fight covid. We are helping to build another 40 new hospitals with an injection of £36 billion of investment, which that party voted against.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Health
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): What we are doing is not only building 40 new hospitals—and it is incredible that we have been able to keep going throughout the pandemic—[Interruption.] Yes, it is. We are not only building those hospitals, but making record investments in our NHS. We have more doctors and more nurses working in our NHS than at any time in the history of that magnificent organisation. Rather than running down what they are trying to do and casting doubt on their efforts, the right hon. and learned Gentleman should get behind them and, in particular, he should support our booster campaign.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Health
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): You obviously do not always go around building on greenfield sites. You rebuild hospitals, and that is what we have said for the last two and a half years. It is the biggest programme of hospital building this country has ever undertaken. It has been made possible by this people’s Government, and it is in addition to what we are doing with the community diagnostics hubs and in addition to what we are doing in investing in our NHS. I have said it once and I will say it again: the Opposition had the opportunity to vote for that £36 billion but they turned it down. We are getting on with the people’s priorities; they are playing politics.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Health
Questions: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister will know that we will not be able to stop the endless waves of illegal migrants crossing the English channel until we break free from the constraints of the European convention on human rights, which impedes our ability to tackle this tragic situation and protects even the most violent criminals from being deported. Does he agree that it is time to take back control and fulfil our 2015 manifesto commitment to get rid of Labour’s Human Rights Act and bring in a British Bill of Rights?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course we want to work closely with the right hon. Gentleman. There will be abundant opportunities today and in the weeks ahead to concert our activity, but he is simply wrong in what he says about the steps the Government have taken to prevent the seeding of this variant from abroad. This country was actually the first to respond to the 10 countries that are most likely to seed the new omicron variant in this country. We put them on the red list, so people not only have pre-departure tests but they are quarantined. He is not right in what he says, and every other country in the world—[Interruption.] I do not mind if the right hon. Gentleman shouts. I tell him very calmly and quietly that 100% of passengers arriving from every other country in the world must take a PCR test, and they cannot get out of quarantine unless they test negative. Those balanced and proportionate measures are designed to protect the British people from the omicron variant, and that is the right approach to take.
Adult Social Care — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Health
Gillian Keegan (Conservative, Centre-right): It is not a laughing matter—it certainly is not. Of course, calling for something is much different from delivering something. We are taking steps to fix social care. We are grappling with this challenge, and we will meet it. In 13 years, what did Labour do? Two Green Papers, one royal commission, one spending review—and the result? Absolutely nothing. They are good at calling for things, but they are not very good at delivering things The hon. Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall) mentioned immediate pressures. It is right to say that there are immediate pressures on all our workforces as we bounce back from the pandemic, but in particular on our health and social care workforces. We have always said that. We have challenges across the winter, and we know that we need to meet those challenges. That is why we put a winter plan in place, and it is why we have given additional funding to the sector. We have given additional funding to the sector all the way through the pandemic. We have given an extra £2.5 billion For the workforce specifically, we gave £120 million for January to March this year. That resulted in 7.5 million extra hours in the sector and 39,000 new recruits. As that was a successful intervention, we have repeated it for this period. In fact, that money—£162.5 million—has just started landing in councils’ bank accounts, and that is to take them up to March. We know there are pressures, and we know there is a lot of competition for labour, but we hope that that will be as successful as the previous interventions. Of course, this is a 10-year vision, and we have to start with that vision. [Interruption.] I know that the hon. Lady and Opposition Members will look forward to reading the White Paper and seeing the vision.