argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Shale Gas Production — House of Commons, 2022-03-15
Topic: Energy
Samuel Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): There has been much hand-wringing in the House about the cost of energy, energy security and our reliance on outside sources, yet within our own country we have sufficient gas to do us for 50 years. Does the Minister think it is sensible to turn our back on the jobs and taxes and to spend money to buy gas overseas when we have an indigenous source, a pipeline across the United Kingdom and one of the richest and deepest shale gas seams in the world?
Legal Aid — House of Commons, 2022-03-15
Topic: Law and Crime
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Although it relates to England and Wales, I would like to see this being part of the work that the Northern Ireland Assembly is doing on policing and justice. While decent pay for lawyers, and thereby increased ability of the working poor to gain access to civil legal aid, is welcome, and while there seems to be the necessary movement towards that in what we have heard today, can the Secretary of State assure us that those who need help will now get it? Historically, that has not been the case.
Civil Servants: Return to the Office — House of Commons, 2022-02-24
Topic: Labor
Questions: What steps his Department is taking to support the return of civil servants to the office following the end of guidance to work from home during the covid-19 outbreak.; What steps his Department is taking to support the return of civil servants to the office following the end of guidance to work from home during the covid-19 outbreak.
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): It is very good to hear the Minister’s positive response. Has the Department considered encouraging staff by allowing flexible working for a short time to allow reduced staff to acclimatise to working closely with others again? Not only is there a benefit for the workers, but there is a benefit from the economic spin-off of having people in offices so that the shops can also continue to thrive.
Iran Detainees — House of Commons, 2022-03-16
Topic: International Affairs
Samuel Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I add my congratulations to the Foreign Secretary for her tenacity and determination in resolving these issues. I hope she shows the same tenacity and determination in her negotiations to resolve the issues affecting Northern Ireland as well. I did not know the families, but I met Nazanin’s husband once outside the Foreign Office when he was conducting his hunger strike. He told me of the ups and downs, with hopes being raised and dashed continually. I am sure that the work done by the Foreign Secretary and her officials has given great help to those families who now have their loved ones released and hope to those still looking forward to having their family members released. I know that she had to link the payment of money to the release of these hostages, but has she any concerns that linking those two things together might send out the wrong signal to criminal regimes across the world who have no hesitation in using humans in this way?
Cost of Living Increases — House of Commons, 2022-03-16
Topic: Energy
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I thank the Minister for what she is saying, and I welcome the £400 million that is going to Northern Ireland under the Barnett consequentials. The Republic of Ireland has suspended VAT on fuel in the short term to try to address the issue now. Can I ask the Minister whether any discussions have taken place with the Chancellor to see whether that could be done for us here in this great United Kingdom?
Ukraine: UK Military Support — House of Commons, 2022-05-11
Topic: International Affairs
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): From Saturday until yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to be in Poland and see some of the things that the Polish nation is doing for Ukrainian refugees. It is good that, whenever we speak to Foreign Ministers there, they tell us that the people of the United Kingdom and their Government have been exceptionally helpful. I want to put it on the record that that came straight from the ministerial Department In the light of the suggestion from US intelligence that Putin is bedding in for the long haul, will the Minister make it clear that our military aid, including anti-tank missiles and supplies from Belfast and my constituency of Strangford, will also be available for the long haul, along with the humanitarian aid that is very important for the victims of Putin’s oppression, aggression and violence?
Preventing Crime and Delivering Justice — House of Commons, 2022-05-11
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory Lloyd Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): My right hon. Friend has just mentioned the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead. Does he agree that she made an unfortunate reference yesterday that was inaccurate, in that she seemed to allude to the fact that we could have avoided this if we had backed her proposals, when in fact we would have been in exactly the same position had GB diverted from the EU regulations? That was very unfortunate, and we have an opportunity now to rectify that error.
Preventing Crime and Delivering Justice — House of Commons, 2022-05-11
Topic: Law and Crime
Samuel Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that stopping people blocking roads, sending criminals back to the country from which they come and ensuring that people are not enslaved to produce the goods that we consume are just common-sense measures that most people understand and agree with?
Preventing Crime and Delivering Justice — House of Commons, 2022-05-11
Topic: Agriculture
Samuel Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Regardless of whether we are supportive of the Conservative or Labour parties, or the Liberal Democrats or whatever, a huge majority of people in the United Kingdom want these animal welfare issues to be addressed, but does the hon. Lady accept that one reason why it would be difficult to implement any such legislation is that Northern Ireland cannot be covered and will become the back door into the United Kingdom for anything we banned through legislation here?
UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Rural Areas — House of Commons, 2022-05-11
Topic: Agriculture
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. As the MP for the rural constituency of Strangford, this subject is close to my heart. I look forward to the Minister’s response Does the hon. Lady agree that many rural businesses would be successful online if only they had more support specifically designed to help those in rural areas and that some of the shared prosperity fund should be allocated for specialists in rural business to provide training and support?
National Resilience Strategy: Food Security — House of Commons, 2022-06-09
Topic: Agriculture
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Bearing in mind the need to secure knowledgeable farmers—I am very fortunate in my constituency to have many—what discussions has the Minister had with counterparts in the area of skills and learning on fostering a supportive route to farming and diversification to secure our food supplies at home?
Northern Ireland Protocol: First Treasury Counsel — House of Commons, 2022-06-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Is it not a disgrace that hon. Members cried for years that Northern Ireland should not be used as a pawn and that the Belfast agreement should be protected and applauded but, at their very first opportunity to Boris bash, they use Northern Ireland as a pawn to thinly veil their attacks on the Government? Northern Ireland needs support from every party in this House Is it not also the case that the UK’s proposals to remove trade friction between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, are in keeping with international trade law, and it is the EU, under the terms of the 2014 trade facilitation agreement, that is in breach of its international obligations to reduce trade friction between co-signees, which include both the EU and the UK? The fact is that the protocol is the worst example of a European Government or Governments trying to use red tape to destroy commerce in the United Kingdom.
Northern Ireland Protocol: First Treasury Counsel — House of Commons, 2022-06-09
Topic: International Affairs
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I thank the Minister for his responses. In another example this week of the damage caused by the Northern Ireland protocol, a photo framing business in my constituency coming to my office on Tuesday past told me that its supplier will no longer sell to it, as the time spent on paperwork outweighs the profit margin. With local businesses in Northern Ireland unable to access the VAT breaks for the UK and tensions within communities in Northern Ireland at boiling point, I find the desire of some to delay further action being taken to be parliamentarily unsound and physically potentially dangerous. Will the Minister assure us today that the Government will hold to their word, present a workable solution, and stop asking people from every part of Northern Ireland to grin and bear it, swallow the cost and watch their business crumble to pacify remainers in this Chamber, who will not accept democracy and are prepared to sacrifice peace in Northern Ireland just to play their own dangerous game?
Ofwat: Strategic Priorities — House of Commons, 2022-06-09
Topic: Environment
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Does the hon. Lady agree that rather than new technology, new data and new mindsets, what is needed to reduce the difficulties involving waterworks is a rehaul of the system to include communities and secure their buy-in? Does she agree that that would require a financial contribution from the water companies as well?
UK Gross Domestic Product — House of Commons, 2022-06-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I thank the Minister for his answers. In Strangford, small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our society. Some of them are crumbling at present due to high transport costs, which are heightened in Northern Ireland due to the Northern Ireland protocol. Can he confirm whether the Chancellor and the Treasury will follow other nations in substantially reducing fuel duty to aid transport costs as well as disposable incomes for families, so that money can go back into the local economy and everyone will gain?
Government Food Strategy — House of Commons, 2022-06-13
Topic: Agriculture
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Our farmland in my constituency of Strangford is highly productive so we greatly welcome the strategy, but the drive for rewilding is being discussed locally. I am concerned that the United Kingdom will be reforesting land that could and should be used to grow produce and thereby enhance our food security and self-sustainability. As farming is a devolved matter for all the regional Administrations, what safeguards are in place to ensure that good arable land is planted and that reforestation and rewilding are introduced only on land that is not appropriate for productive farming?
Metropolitan Police: Strip-search of Schoolgirl — House of Commons, 2022-03-21
Topic: Law and Crime
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I thank the hon. Member for Streatham (Bell Ribeiro-Addy) for bringing the urgent question forward. This serious incident has undoubtedly sent shockwaves to every parent and grandparent in this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Does the Minister not agree that there must be safeguarding in place to protect the child as well as the police officers? If we do not robustly enforce protections to the very highest standards, the hardest questions must be answered by those in the highest positions within the police as, ultimately, the buck stops with them.
P&O Ferries and Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2022-03-21
Topic: Labor
Samuel Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I hope that the whole House can agree on this motion tonight. No matter where we are on the political spectrum, no one can defend what we saw happening last Thursday morning. Rather than being a picture of what should happen in the 21st century, it was like something out of a Charles Dickens novel. My constituents came into Larne harbour expecting a turnaround of their ship and then to head off again to Cairnryan. They found that too many buses had arrived, one with a replacement crew and one with a crew to put them off the ship. That is by no stretch of the imagination the way in which workers should be treated in the 21st century. The company has simply ignored all the requirements of law—consultation with workers, replacing workers they say they are making redundant, giving redundancy payments—while it has been planning for weeks and recruiting around the world for replacements. No one can describe that as abiding by the law Then the company brought in workers who will be operating at a fraction of the salary of the previous workers. The odd thing about that is that the company says that it was losing £100 million a year and had to deal with that, but it will not overcome that deficit by sacking 800 workers. Those workers were not getting paid £125,000 a year. One has to ask what else this company has in its plan for doing away with its deficit and at the same time supplying a vital service It is not only its workers that the company has treated with contempt; it has treated its customers with contempt, too. Those companies that relied on P&O were told, as the lorries were heading towards Larne harbour, "You’d better go elsewhere." There was no notice given, because they had, of course, operated in secrecy. Larne harbour is owned by P&O and is a strategic point of entry into Northern Ireland. P&O is the only operator from that harbour and it carries 60% of the trade for Northern Ireland, and yet it was closed down summarily. It treated those people who rely on that strategic asset with contempt I accept what the Minister has said today and appreciate the work he has done to get extra capacity for Belfast through Stena. Over the past number of days, however, queuing at Cairnryan every day, Asda has had six lorries of fresh food, which cannot be held up, and 14 lorries of food that could stay for a while, although requirements do need to be fulfilled. All that has been held up I want three things from this debate. First, pressure must be put on P&O and DP World to ensure that they do not do this again. Secondly, we have to ensure that those workers who have lost their jobs are reinstated. Thirdly, action must be taken to address the issues and weaknesses that we now know about in the law, to punish this company and also to send a message.
P&O Ferries and Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2022-03-21
Topic: Labor
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I only want to take a few moments to express my solidarity with the workers given the disgraceful way in which they have been treated, and we can all agree with much of what has been said about that across the House. There has been a great temptation to transfer guilt this evening. Some want to blame the Government and others want to blame the unions, but that allows P&O to get away in the dark. We cannot allow that to happen. Let us keep the focus on this company and keep the punishment where it needs to be. Otherwise, P&O will get away with it, and the workers will lose even more I have several questions for the Government. Are they going to challenge the decision legally? If so, how? What do they have to say about the issues affecting various ports across the United Kingdom? My right hon. Friend the Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) spoke of P&O’s monopoly over Larne, which he represents. Indeed, it has a strategic impact on goods coming in and out of Ulster, so I wait patiently to hear what the Government have to say about that. What will happen to freeports? Will P&O get control? It has put in bids for several ports, but will it then control these strategic lines in and out of our island nation? How will the Government respond Finally, I thank the employers in my constituency, in East Antrim and in other parts of her country who have indicated that if workers are in need of immediate employment, they will step up to the mark and offer it, especially those in the hospitality sector and other sectors where there are vacancies. In the teeth of being made redundant in such an awful and brutal way, that will show the workers that there is solidarity across the community, that people are appalled by what P&O has done and the manner in which it was done, and that they want to help.
Cost of Living Increases: Pensioners — House of Commons, 2022-03-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): To back up the right hon. Gentleman’s comments, I point out that 300,000 pensioners and people in Northern Ireland—18% of the population—are in absolute poverty. That is reflected right across the whole of the United Kingdom. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that this situation has swept across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to such an extent that people now, as he rightly says, have to decide whether to eat or heat?
Cost of Living Increases: Pensioners — House of Commons, 2022-03-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I was doing some research beforehand and I see that there is an older people’s commissioner for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland, but not one for England. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree with the Age UK campaign for an older people’s commissioner for England? Does he think the Minister should do that? It would help older people in England, so does he think the Government should do it?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Questions: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said earlier, thousands of electric charging points are being installed across the country, including some in Basingstoke town centre, but what support is available to give people who do not have off-street parking access to charging points in residential areas?; [R] For more than two months my constituency has been gridlocked while the Conservative-led council and Network Rail have been painting a bridge. Drivers are fuming, and firms have lost between 25% and 75% of their business. Ahead of the Commonwealth games and additional works in our towns, will the Minister agree to meet me to ensure that there is no repeat of this event?; The Government’s proposal to move the headquarters of the Great British Railways out of London is a great levelling-up proposal. Clearly the headquarters will have to be in the east midlands, which is the poorest region in the country, and I would guess that they will have to be in a town whose rail history goes back to 1850, whose railway has probably been newly electrified and which has a station island where there could be a development, and whose council has welcomed the proposal. May I save the Secretary of State a lot of time, worry and energy by suggesting that he should simply announce today that the headquarters will be in Wellingborough?; The Secretary of State talked about electric buses earlier, but there is also the option of hydrogen. We have a groundbreaking hydrogen industry, while the Chinese have a real grip on electric bus technology. The West Midlands wants to buy hydrogen buses, and Northern Ireland wants to build them. The blockage seems to be the negative attitude of the officials in the Department. Can the Secretary of State sort that out, not only to help the environment in the west midlands but to give a much-needed boost to an emerging British industry?; When will the superb canopy restoration work be completed at Kettering railway station, and what other refurbishment and improvement works are planned for the station?
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Ministers will be well aware of today’s announcement by P&O Ferries that there will be no sailings. I understand that 40% of its holdings are owned by a Russian company. This has left some of my constituents in Cairnryan unable to get home to Larne, and it has left people in Larne unable to get to Cairnryan. What can be done about this urgently? Will there be an opportunity to have a statement in the Chamber as soon as possible?
DWP Estate: Office Closures — House of Commons, 2022-03-17
Topic: Labor
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): On the impact of job losses, the Minister has clearly said that, in his opinion, there will be no impact on the offices and the delivery of the service, but I suggest that there is always an impact when jobs are lost. People who live in rural constituencies who have to travel by bus or do not have a car can be sanctioned if they do not attend their appointments. Can he assure the House that the benefit entitlements of constituents of MPs present, and not present, will not be affected by the changes in the offices?
Irish Diaspora in Britain — House of Commons, 2022-03-17
Topic: International Affairs
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I could not be here for this debate because I had a debate in Westminster Hall that I had sponsored. I want to add my support for the hon. Member for Rochdale (Tony Lloyd) and the others who have spoken in the debate and for what they are trying to achieve. I am pleased to be supporting it through this intervention. Could I also ask a question? Would the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn) support the request that I and others have made for the Republic of Ireland to join the Commonwealth?
DWP Office Closures — House of Commons, 2022-06-23
Topic: Government Operations
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): Adjournment debates do not usually come this early in the day, Madam Deputy Speaker, as you and I know, but none the less we are very pleased, and I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on coming forward with it. He is assiduous when it comes to these issues, and I thank him for that. I think the whole House should thank him for it, by the way Coming from a rural constituency, with intermittent public transport as well as an intermittent internet and mobile service, I know that centralisation or closure of services is never a good suggestion for people in isolated areas. I know the hon. Gentleman is referring to towns, but does he agree and will he call on the Minister to consider, where this is possible, the suggestion of having satellite offices in rural areas such as where I live as well as in the centralised urban areas he has mentioned?
Russia Sanctions Legislation — House of Commons, 2022-02-10
Topic: International Affairs
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I thank the Minister for his answers. Has he had communications with other NATO leaders regarding Macron’s lone-wolf approach to Putin and ensuing comments that demonstrate a shift from standing NATO policy towards reaction to potential attack? Will he reaffirm the Government’s commitment to NATO’s approach against Russian aggression?
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Review — House of Commons, 2022-03-29
Topic: Education
Richard James Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): I thank the Secretary of State for his positive statement. Covid-19 has been a big burden on pupils, and especially pupils with SEND. It is estimated that 25% of children are in that category. Our education system is incredible, but today’s statement is only the first step. Will the Secretary of State give a confirmed date for a review of the money put in to achieve the goal of giving that extra bit of help and, if necessary, a different way of working and delivering? Will the extra moneys, £2.6 billion plus £1 billion, be subject to the Barnett formula?