argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-04-23
Topic: Defense
Questions: Will the Minister inform the House of how the new veterans gateway is rolling out the provision of support to those calling the helpline, now that it has been running for a year?; Given the historical and continuing defence ties between the United Kingdom and Korea, will Ministers do all they can to encourage the remarkable peace process that is gathering pace and the aim of ridding the entire peninsula of nuclear weapons?; In addition to the 20,000 MOD personnel in Scotland and the £1.6 billion spent by the Department with Scottish industries, supporting 10,500 private sector jobs, we have had the Secretary of State cutting turf at RAF Lossiemouth. Will he confirm that the new Poseidon submarine hunters will play a vital strategic role for the UK and NATO alliance?; All of us in this Chamber, across all parties, respect those who are willing to put their life on the line for our nation. I had a meeting a week or so ago with a homeless former veteran who had come down from the north of England to Eastbourne. Clearly, this man had served our country for many, many years and, sadly, he also had mental health issues. My office and I are trying to support him as best we can. I want to ask the Secretary of State, first, whether there is something within the MOD and the armed services that allows people in this situation to go directly for support. Secondly, is this tracked in any way, so that the MOD would know these individuals and their issues?; Although ships are no longer built in the north-east, many companies in the engineering supply chain are based there. What steps will the Government take to ensure that work comes to the north-east in future defence contracts?; In their future partnership paper, the Government said:“The UK will remain a committed partner and ally to its friends across the continent”. Does the Secretary of State think that the decision to withdraw the offer of leadership of the EU battlegroup reinforces or undermines that statement?
Kirstene Janette Hair (Conservative, Centre-right): I was delighted to welcome the Secretary of State to RM Condor in my constituency last week to see the fantastic work of the Royal Marines. I was equally delighted at his recent announcement about trying to mitigate the tax from the SNP Government in Scotland that is unfairly put on our brave service personnel. Can my right hon. Friend give me an update on progress in that area?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-04-23
Topic: Defense
Questions: Will the Minister inform the House of how the new veterans gateway is rolling out the provision of support to those calling the helpline, now that it has been running for a year?; Given the historical and continuing defence ties between the United Kingdom and Korea, will Ministers do all they can to encourage the remarkable peace process that is gathering pace and the aim of ridding the entire peninsula of nuclear weapons?; In addition to the 20,000 MOD personnel in Scotland and the £1.6 billion spent by the Department with Scottish industries, supporting 10,500 private sector jobs, we have had the Secretary of State cutting turf at RAF Lossiemouth. Will he confirm that the new Poseidon submarine hunters will play a vital strategic role for the UK and NATO alliance?; All of us in this Chamber, across all parties, respect those who are willing to put their life on the line for our nation. I had a meeting a week or so ago with a homeless former veteran who had come down from the north of England to Eastbourne. Clearly, this man had served our country for many, many years and, sadly, he also had mental health issues. My office and I are trying to support him as best we can. I want to ask the Secretary of State, first, whether there is something within the MOD and the armed services that allows people in this situation to go directly for support. Secondly, is this tracked in any way, so that the MOD would know these individuals and their issues?; Although ships are no longer built in the north-east, many companies in the engineering supply chain are based there. What steps will the Government take to ensure that work comes to the north-east in future defence contracts?; In their future partnership paper, the Government said:“The UK will remain a committed partner and ally to its friends across the continent”. Does the Secretary of State think that the decision to withdraw the offer of leadership of the EU battlegroup reinforces or undermines that statement?
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my colleagues who have campaigned so hard to highlight the fact that 70% of service personnel based in Scotland will be worse off as a result of the Scottish Government’s "Nat tax", which they are placing on our brave service personnel. We hope to be able to report back on the conclusions to that in the next six weeks. We do not want anyone who serves in our armed forces to be worse off as a result of the taxes being placed on them by the SNP.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-04-23
Topic: Defense
Questions: Will the Minister inform the House of how the new veterans gateway is rolling out the provision of support to those calling the helpline, now that it has been running for a year?; Given the historical and continuing defence ties between the United Kingdom and Korea, will Ministers do all they can to encourage the remarkable peace process that is gathering pace and the aim of ridding the entire peninsula of nuclear weapons?; In addition to the 20,000 MOD personnel in Scotland and the £1.6 billion spent by the Department with Scottish industries, supporting 10,500 private sector jobs, we have had the Secretary of State cutting turf at RAF Lossiemouth. Will he confirm that the new Poseidon submarine hunters will play a vital strategic role for the UK and NATO alliance?; All of us in this Chamber, across all parties, respect those who are willing to put their life on the line for our nation. I had a meeting a week or so ago with a homeless former veteran who had come down from the north of England to Eastbourne. Clearly, this man had served our country for many, many years and, sadly, he also had mental health issues. My office and I are trying to support him as best we can. I want to ask the Secretary of State, first, whether there is something within the MOD and the armed services that allows people in this situation to go directly for support. Secondly, is this tracked in any way, so that the MOD would know these individuals and their issues?; Although ships are no longer built in the north-east, many companies in the engineering supply chain are based there. What steps will the Government take to ensure that work comes to the north-east in future defence contracts?; In their future partnership paper, the Government said:“The UK will remain a committed partner and ally to its friends across the continent”. Does the Secretary of State think that the decision to withdraw the offer of leadership of the EU battlegroup reinforces or undermines that statement?
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): If it turns out to be a genuine point of order, I would have to imagine, albeit wrongly in this case, that it was a leap year, but we will have a go, if it flows directly, as I am advised, from Defence questions and is in no sense a cheeky continuation of existing argument, but is a genuine search for a ruling from the Chair on a procedural matter.
Patient Transport Volunteer Drivers — House of Commons, 2018-04-23
Topic: Health
Alister William Jack (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that without proper reimbursement for volunteer patient transport drivers, we are at risk of having a deeply unfair postcode lottery in which people in rural and remote areas lack the access to the healthcare that they are entitled to?
Speaker’s Statement — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Defense
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): On today’s Order Paper it is noted that on 18 October 1918 the hon. Charles Henry Lyell, Royal Garrison Artillery, Member for South Edinburgh from 1910 to 1917, died while serving as Assistant Military Attaché in Washington, USA. We remember him today.
Recycling — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Health
Questions: I was hoping we would get to question 7, but thank you very much, Mr Speaker. In July this year, the National Audit Office produced a report that was very critical of DEFRA’s oversight of the scheme, which sends half of all our mostly plastic recycling material abroad, mainly to China. With China indicating that it intends to stop the importation of solid and plastic waste, what is DEFRA going to do? How is it going to massively reduce plastic waste in this country, and when will we see the resources and waste strategy?
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): Disposable nappies have become a consumer convenience. I am very pleased that Procter & Gamble has invested in technology, which we see in Italy. We are encouraging it to bring it here, not only for disposable nappies but other forms of absorbent hygiene products. We can do something about this, but I am not convinced that we will be seeing an end to the disposable nappy any time soon.
Churchyards: Community Use — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Health
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): This year, the Church Urban Fund showed that mental health and loneliness are a growing issue in our local communities. Parishes are being encouraged to use their churchyards and green spaces to support community gardening projects to promote wellbeing, caring for their community’s mind, body and spirit. The Church of England is working with the Church Times, the Guild of Health and St Raphael, and the Conservation Foundation to launch the Green Health awards to showcase best practice.
First World War Centenary — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Defense
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): The home front was a very important part of the great war and we should remember, as we do, not just the lives laid down in conflict but the sacrifices made by so many. May I use this opportunity to remind hon. Members present that the Parliament choir will be singing jointly with the choir of the German Parliament in the event to mark the centenary of the Armistice on the evening of Wednesday 31 October? As I understand it, every seat in Westminster Hall has now been sold, but there is always an opportunity for returns, if hon. Members have not thought to come to that event. I think and hope that it will be a very special occasion.
World Menopause Day — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Health
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you so much, Madam Deputy Speaker. You speak so much truth and I am glad that you have put those words on the record from your position—they will carry a lot of weight I pay tribute to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Martin Whitfield), who gave an absolutely brilliant and heartfelt speech that I know will resonate with all the women throughout the country and around the world who are watching this debate. They will be so happy that he, as a man, is championing this issue. If only every man was as warm, empathetic and well informed as he is, we would not be having this debate. I look forward to working assiduously with him and colleagues from all parties to reach that position, which I very much believe we will As has been said, we have already tackled many taboos in this place and in our society, and this is genuinely one of the last taboos. It is now okay to talk about mental health, and that is a really good thing. A lot of celebrities now talk about their mental health. It is all over social media, in the press and on the television. People are backing that, and people are coming forward to say, "It’s okay not to be okay." Somehow, however, menopause is still left out, and this debate is a fantastic chance to put that right I started on this journey pretty much as the hon. Member for Lothian East described—
World Menopause Day — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Health
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): East Lothian—I am so sorry. Please forgive me I was 50 when I was elected, so I was of course well within that perimenopausal/menopausal age myself. I did not conform to the menopause stereotypes, as I shall touch on later in my speech. There is so much ignorance out there. It is generally believed that someone has to suffer from the key symptoms, such as hot flushes and night sweats—that that is basically all that menopause is—but menopause is so much more than that. It is not just hot flushes and night sweats, and I am living proof of that. I have never had a hot flush or a night sweat, but I am most definitely menopausal. My symptoms revolve around quite debilitating migraines, sometimes on an almost daily basis when I am not able to manage the stress of this job. As was rightly said, this is an incredibly stressful job and an incredibly stressful workplace, and we cannot just take a day off and go and lie down in a dark room to sleep off a migraine, much as we all might like to, even if we are not menopausal. Many women working in other walks of life who are perhaps at the peak of their careers, or who work in any stressful environment, are not able to get the support that they need We saw a shocking demonstration of the ignorance in society from no less a figure than the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who not long ago compared the economy with the menopause. He said that we are suffering a menopausal economy. He came back and defended that, saying that he did not mean it or whatever, but his casual use of those words demonstrated a fundamental lack of awareness of a leading figure in our country. It is not right. With that phrase, he made me so angry—and not only me but many other people. That made me think that I could not sit there and not be a voice for all the women out there who do not have the privilege of being able to raise the issue in this place So, I had my personal journey, and I started to look on social media and do some more research to educate myself. As the hon. Member for East—[Hon. Members: "Lothian."] I will get there in the end!
World Menopause Day — House of Commons, 2018-10-18
Topic: Health
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend the hon. Lady’s bravery in speaking from the heart and from her personal experience. She is talking about the psychological impact of the menopause. Does she agree that women sometimes report that they do not feel like themselves at all—that they experience depression and anxiety, and often feel effects on their memory, making it very difficult to perform in the workplace and often leading to their leaving work early?
PIP: Early Assessments — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Health
Sarah Louise Newton (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman has written to me about a particular constituency case and I very much look forward to sitting down with him to discuss that. Generally, we start the review period around a year ahead to make sure that everybody has the time that they need to provide all the necessary information and so that we can go back to doctors or medical professionals. Sometimes, people’s situation sadly deteriorates and we need to make sure that they get the level of help that they need.
Assisted Technology — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Health
Sarah Louise Newton (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises an important point. As part of our continuous improvement of PIP, we work closely with healthcare professionals so that we can speed up the process and make sure that we get all the right information to make the best possible decision the first time around.
Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Defense
Kenneth Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): We need robust and effective intelligence services to protect our national security, and I am sure we are all grateful to those who carry out this work and do it for us. I welcome the Minister’s reiteration of our opposition to torture and our acceptance that good but robust standards must be maintained. In the light of that, however, I would like to know why the Intelligence and Security Committee was stopped from completing the report, on which he himself had been working, when it had already uncovered the unacceptable situation of a large number of cases of British complicity in torture, mistreatment and hijacking of people to Guantanamo Bay and to Libya The Committee reached the stage at which it wished to call witnesses directly involved. As it makes clear in its own report, it reached the stage at which it wanted "to examine certain matters in detail, which could only be done by taking evidence from those who had been on the ground" The Government denied that, and the Committee felt it had no alternative but to stop its work. Why was that done, and what are we trying to cover up of what was done during the time of the Blair Government The judge-led inquiry was set up in 2010, to wide welcome, and Sir Peter Gibson produced a report that established more than 20 important questions that we all agreed should be answered. The inquiry had to be suspended—brought to an end—in 2012 while we waited for the police investigations on Libya to finish. As Justice Secretary at the time, I announced the delay to the House. I said: "It will then be possible for the Government to take a final view as to whether a further judicial inquiry still remains necessary to add any further information of value to future policy making and the national interest."—[Official Report, 19 December 2013; Vol. 572, c. 916.] We had actually guaranteed earlier that the inquiry would be resumed, which was welcomed across the House. It was suspended so that the ISC could start, and then the suspension was put in place, under the terms I have just read out It is quite obvious that, as the ISC had not finished its work under the previous coalition Government—I spoke with the full authority of the then Prime Minister and the whole Government, including the current Prime Minister, who was then Home Secretary—we would have considered it necessary to appoint a fresh judge-led inquiry, as the ISC has been frustrated from going any further. Therefore, what reputable reasons do the Government have for not holding an inquiry? I am glad that the Minister has said that a judge-led inquiry is still being considered, and I hope that a prompt announcement will be made that such an inquiry will now follow.
Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Defense
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): I listened very carefully to what the right hon. Lady said and I would be grateful if she thought again about the words she used when she accused officials in our agencies—I think that I quote accurately—of being "involved in torture". They were not involved in torture, so I really think the right hon. Lady may want to come back to the House and say that, actually, that is an inaccurate accusation These were very unique times. The twin towers had been blown up in the biggest terrorist attack we have seen. It went right to the heart of the United States psyche, and there was inevitably going to be a very strong and strict response. We are, of course, very close allies of the United States and work very closely with them on intelligence matters. What the response led to was a lot of officers being asked to do things that they had not been trained for and had never encountered before. It took time to understand that there were certain practices going on which required new rules. Perhaps, if there is a fault, it is the time it took for that appreciation to dawn. But once it did, I think it is of credit to this country and our intelligence agencies that they reviewed their practices, revised them and adjusted as best they could to the new world in which they were working The right hon. Lady says that I should listen to the ISC. I can say that I have done so, as I was on the Committee. Not only did I listen to it, but many of those interviewed also had to listen to me. The inquisition and witness sessions of the Committee, chaired by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve), were very robust indeed. I also say to her that Adrian Fulford is part of a structured and formal apparatus. The fact that the Prime Minister has said that he should look at the consolidated guidance in the way that she has is, I think, addressing some of the outstanding issues, which, quite rightly, the House would like to see studied.
Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Defense
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government, apologised unreservedly to Mr Belhaj and his wife in May this year, saying that we were profoundly sorry for the ordeal that they had suffered and for the role that we had played in it. As we said at the time, the UK Government have learnt many lessons from this period, and I believe that those lessons have now been converted into much-enhanced practices which are built into the DNA of our intelligence agencies and all who work for them. The consolidated guidance that forms the bedrock of this will be studied further by Sir Adrian Fulford. I hope that, taken together, all that will satisfy and reassure the House that we both set the highest standards and meet them.
Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Defense
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): I slightly take issue with the hon. Gentleman, in that I think our intelligence services enjoy massive public confidence, and they deserve to do so. They put their own lives in danger sometimes, and they work to the highest standards of decency and democratic values that anyone could ask for. Instead of saying that they lack public confidence, I would like to take this opportunity to say that they enjoy enormous public confidence and they deserve to do so. I hope that that will continue.
Saddleworth Moor and Tameside: Ongoing Fire — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Defense
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his approach and for the gratitude that he articulated, which will be shared across the House, for the extraordinary work done not just by the firefighters, but by volunteers, the military and all the agencies involved in this heroic task. I send my commiserations to his constituents who have been directly affected and displaced. Their fortitude and patience have drawn wide admiration from across the country Turning to the hon. Gentleman’s central concerns, the Government are fully engaged, as he would expect during an incident of this size. As I said in my opening answer, I have spoken to both fire chiefs, and the Home Secretary has spoken to the Mayor. Our message has been simple: "Have you got what you need? If you haven’t, ask and we will provide." That has been the case so far and will be the approach going forward. I share the hon. Gentleman’s hope that normal service will be resumed in terms of the weather over Manchester, but we will provide all the support and resources that the effort will require, because it looks like it will have to continue for some time. The teams will have the support that they need.
Saddleworth Moor and Tameside: Ongoing Fire — House of Commons, 2018-07-02
Topic: Defense
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): I join you, Mr Speaker, in recognising the presence of Mr Deputy Speaker, to whom I spoke on the phone yesterday. He is concerned, as ever, for his constituents, and I join my hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Mr Evans) in saluting the work of firefighters from across the country who have stepped into this heroic, protracted task On the use of drones, there is no clearer message than that issued by the Lancashire fire brigade: don’t. If people are considering going to take some photographs of the fire, don’t. Just get out of the way and let the fire service do its job. Do not get in the fire service’s way.