argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Fishing and the EU — House of Commons, 2016-03-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I commend the Minister, who is obviously walking a very careful line today. He knows, however, that we had foreign trawlers operating in British waters before we were in the UK—[Interruption.]—sorry, before we joined the European Union, and that would remain the case if we were to leave. How many bilateral arrangements would be necessary if we were to leave the European Union? Can the Minister tell the fishermen in my constituency how the crucially important EU-Norway negotiations, which have a tremendous direct impact on us every year, would be conducted?
Restoration and Renewal — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Public Lands
Questions: What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.; What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sure that the Joint Committee and the Leader of the House will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s comments and will want to respond positively. It is worth underlining the fact that we have neglected the upkeep of this building for many decades and that we do need to make investment in what is, after all, a world heritage building.
Restoration and Renewal — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.; What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I do not want to pre-empt what the Joint Committee will come up with, but I am sure it will carefully consider that matter. I think that every Member of the House will agree that it would be a completely missed opportunity if these works did not also ensure that the Palace is fully accessible to anyone with disabilities.
Restoration and Renewal — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.; What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. Clearly, a project on this scale will require the participation of small, medium and large businesses from all over the country. When the project comes forward, I hope that the initiatives used to promote opportunities for businesses in the run-up to the Olympics will be deployed for the restoration of the Palace.
Restoration and Renewal — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Other
Questions: What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.; What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Again, I cannot speak for the Joint Committee, but the Leader of the House, who is one of its big players, will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s point and I am sure will want to give it due consideration.
Restoration and Renewal — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.; What steps the Commission plans to take to ensure public and parliamentary scrutiny of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster after a decision on the options for that project has been made.
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am not in a position to give the hon. Gentleman that reassurance because it is for the Joint Committee to decide what it recommends as a way forward. I think that everyone in this place knows that this work must be undertaken, and it is in our interest and that of the taxpayer that it is pursued vigorously. The longer we delay, the greater the costs associated with the works.
Gender Equality — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Equality, diversity and inclusion are core to the way in which the House of Commons service works. The Commission agreed a diversity and inclusion strategy that promotes gender equality, and receives regular updates on its delivery. Key measures include targets for the number of women in the senior pay bands, fair and open recruitment, and promotion of flexible working.
Gender Equality — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Again, the appropriate authorities will have heard the hon. Lady’s question. Like her, I think it is important that we recognise the very important role that women have played, and continue to play, in politics, and I hope that will be reflected in what is on offer in the bookstores.
Gender Equality — House of Commons, 2016-01-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Independent assessments are carried out of how Parliament addresses the issue of equality. For instance, members of the public could look at Stonewall’s assessment. That puts Parliament nearly in the top quarter, so progress is being made. More still could be done, but that is a very good way for members of the public to assess the progress we are making.
EU-Turkey Agreement — House of Commons, 2016-03-09
Topic: Immigration
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I wish to associate the Liberal Democrats with the comments on free speech and also with those we have just heard about the very troubling one-for-one refugee agreement, which raises both practical and moral concerns. The Minister is a very honourable man; surely he cannot be comfortable with an agreement that requires refugees to risk their lives travelling to the EU in return for another refugee, but only one from Syria, to get safe passage. That is entirely unacceptable.
Enterprise Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-03-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I will not take up too much of the House’s time. Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to debate the important new clause 10 and amendment 20, so I wish to put a few words on record, especially as the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise is in the Chamber. I gently say that ours is a strange system whereby automatically Opposition amendments are dropped and Government amendments go through, especially because, as we have just seen with the amendment on Sunday trading, that does not always reflect what happens in the House. I strongly believe that new clause 10 would have had the support of a majority of MPs. It was not my intention to press it, however, because I had hoped to hear from the Minister that she accepted its terms. It was tabled to deal with a disgraceful loophole whereby tenants of large pub companies taking the all-important market rent-only option would have to surrender their existing lease and accept a shorter five-year lease, which would be wholly unacceptable Clauses 39 and 40 deal with the pubs code and the adjudicator, and I thank the ministerial team for listening to concerns about paragraph 8.12 of the draft code and dealing with them. The matter is being addressed in the Bill because of concerns about the draft code and the unacceptable nature of some of its provisions. I can tell the Minister that tenant groups are reporting some quite disgraceful behaviour from pub companies as an attempt to both game and circumvent the forthcoming pubs code, which comes in on 1 June. The Bill was the only opportunity to amend primary legislation that could then affect the content of the pubs code. Now it is a question of working with the Minister and her team to try to deal with some of these issues.
Enterprise Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-03-09
Topic: Other
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the right hon. Lady for her comments and their tone. The answer on both counts is yes, absolutely. I presume that the Minister’s news is hot off the press because I certainly had not heard anything about the adjudicator. It is huge news.
Enterprise Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-03-09
Topic: Housing
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): That is marvellous. That appointment is now public, and it is a very significant announcement. I do indeed look forward to meeting Paul in my role as chair of the British Pub Confederation I take the Minister at her word about sticking to the clear commitments that were made in both Houses. However, there is a need within the pubs code to deal with what is happening now. The purpose of amendment 20 was to stop the gaming, the use of section 25, and the use of bribes as well as bullying to try to force tenants to sign up now. Pub companies are making desperate attempts to try to carry on the exploitation of the beer tie, which is what the Government have rightly legislated to stop. That behaviour now needs to be stopped, because lots of tenants will otherwise find that they are forced, bullied or bribed into signing up to new agreements that do not have the market rent-only option I look forward to discussing those issues with the Minister and to presenting the evidence to her and her team that is drafting the pubs code. I urge her to learn the lessons of the beer orders and not to give in to industry lobbying, or to allow loopholes that are then exploited and gamed by large companies. If that happens, the code will simply not do the very things that she has talked about and her team have signed up to. I look forward to speaking further with her about that Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed, with amendments.
The FCO and the Spending Review 2015 — House of Commons, 2016-03-01
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister has mentioned mainstreaming the issue in the FCO, but, as I said earlier, there are 240 people working on human rights, versus 2,900 people working on prosperity. Does he expect that ratio to change significantly?
Educational Attainment: Yorkshire and the Humber — House of Commons, 2016-04-18
Topic: Other
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank and pay tribute to the hon. Member for Batley and Spen (Jo Cox) for securing the debate. Along with the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers), I am happy to support her in this important debate. Indeed, it is good to see in their places colleagues of all parties representing our proud region I think you would probably agree, Mr Deputy Speaker, that it is unusual to have a group of Yorkshire MPs debating something where Yorkshire is not performing well. We just have to think of the last Olympics, and just yesterday the Yorkshire pudding was crowned the best regional food in Britain. I gently say to Mr Deputy Speaker, a friend and colleague on the all-party group on rugby league, that the Lancashire hotpot came only 10th, which I think is rather unfair.
Modern Slavery Act — House of Commons, 2016-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: Further to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy), will my right hon. Friend set out in more detail the importance of the transparency in supply chains provision in the Modern Slavery Act, and how it will be monitored?
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): May I make the right hon. Lady aware of the excellent work of the Palm Cove Society in Headingley, in my constituency? I was shocked to hear about the extent of modern slavery in this country. Does she think that people are sufficiently aware of that, and what more can she do to highlight it?
Emergency Tug Vessels (West Coast of Scotland) — House of Commons, 2016-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister is to be congratulated on this announcement. It is clearly not the end of the story, but it is a significant act of good faith. I thank him for taking this step this evening. Will he take away from the House the message that came from the stakeholder engagement meeting on 10 February, which was that this work has to be done again and it has to be done properly? The standard and content of the risk assessment is not good enough. He has given us time. Will that time be used to do the work properly?
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2016-04-12
Topic: Other
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister has explained that many people will benefit, but will there also be losers? If there are, will she write to confirm how much they will lose by and how many people will be involved?
Humanitarian Crisis: Greece — House of Commons, 2016-03-02
Topic: Immigration
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Secretary of State is absolutely right. Solving this crisis will require a co-ordinated approach across Europe. Surely, however, it is now apparent that to get that co-ordinated approach, we have to have some acts of political leadership? Last year, 90,000 unaccompanied children registered and applied for asylum in Europe. Does that not demonstrate the modesty of the call for this country to take 3,000? Surely this is a time when the Government should say yes to that very modest call for political leadership.
Flooding — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Public Lands
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for an advance copy of her statement, and for her activities and efforts, and those of her Ministers, over the Christmas period. They have not gone unnoticed. In paying tribute to the emergency services and voluntary outfits across the country, in particular mountain rescue services, we in Cumbria stand in solidarity and sympathy with all those in Yorkshire, Scotland and Lancashire who have suffered the brunt of this flooding It is a month today since Storm Desmond hit Cumbria, and there are many unresolved issues on which I wish to press the Secretary of State. The A591 north of Grasmere to Keswick remains closed, destroyed and impassable. Will she make this a national strategic priority and ensure that it is reopened as quickly as is humanly possible? The cost to Cumbria of infrastructure loss will be £500 million. Will the Government commit to fund every penny of that to make sure we get back on our feet? Will she commit to whole-system flood prevention measures, including the restoration of the River Kent flood defence scheme, which is currently shelved?
Flooding — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Public Lands
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): It was heartbreaking to see homes, businesses and farms along the Aire and Wharfe valley flooded, especially at Christmas time. I praise the responses from the emergency services and council workers, but, in particular, the magnificent response from the local volunteers who came out to help, and who have raised money as well. I hope that the Government will match all those funds. However, may I ask the Secretary of State to admit that it was a false economy to cancel the £250 million Leeds flood defence scheme? Will she now consider allowing the full amount to be spent, and will she also discuss with me the possibility of flood defences for Otley and Lower Wharfedale?
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am particularly grateful to have given way to my dad’s MP. On affordability, we all started somewhere. We might be fortunate enough to be homeowners, but people who are only just a bit younger than me belong to a generation where the average earner cannot afford to buy a home of any kind, so a starter home is a great blessing wherever it may be. I am not arguing against starter homes, but against a narrow definition whereby they are built at the cost of a larger number of genuinely affordable homes across the country. That is what my amendment seeks to address.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am in favour of those things too, but our understanding is that the starter homes initiative comes at the expense of—displaces—a larger number of homes built under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 through other forms of planning gain. That is what the Government have stated since the election and since this Bill became a subject of discussion I am not somebody who ideologically takes a view in favour of private or publicly provided housing; in fact, my great problem is that too many people in this debate do take an ideological view one way or the other. I want to solve the crippling housing crisis in this country. That means building 3 million homes over the next 10 years, and to achieve that, the majority will have to be what we would refer to as affordable homes—social rented homes, shared ownership homes, and other homes with some form of restriction that allows them to be affordable to people on average incomes.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Gentleman preaches to the converted. It is about supply and demand, but it is not as simple as that. House prices have tripled or quadrupled over the past generations while incomes have not, so it cannot be merely about supply and demand: we need to do something else as well. That is why it is wise to be involved in the marketplace in a way that does not just allow the market to rule. If we are to go through a process of setting up new starter homes, which the Government may build themselves according to the Chancellor’s statement earlier this week—I would welcome that—we have to recognise that unless we put restrictions on the value of those homes we will simply kick the problem five years down the road.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Gentleman makes a fine and correct point. I do not blame the developers, either. In a market situation, they sell what they can at the price they can get. In my community, one in seven homes are not lived in. I am talking not about holiday lets, but about second homes bought by people away from the area who earn significant incomes and can afford to buy several properties as investments or boltholes, and good luck to them. In such a marketplace, it is blindingly obvious that there needs to be intervention. That is why there is a role for social rented housing and why our amendment to improve the Government’s starter homes proposals is completely wise.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): If I thought there was no merit whatsoever in the proposal, I would have tabled an amendment to scrap it altogether. The point, however, is that in different parts of the country, including in the north of England—not just Cumbria, but Northumberland and parts of the Yorkshire dales—in the west country and in London, which are significant proportions of the country, the homes are unlikely to be affordable to anybody on anything like an average wage. They may be affordable in other parts of the country, in which case the Government have nothing to fear from accepting my amendment In moving towards a conclusion, I am genuinely deeply concerned about the effect this Bill will have not just on those areas I have mentioned, but on others as well, particularly with regard to right to buy.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Indeed, and I have a great aspiration for the 1.6 million people in this country who are rotting on a social housing waiting list, and that number will grow larger as the years go on. I want to bring down house prices so that they are affordable to people, but this is a displacement proposal that will help better-off private renters and will not help a much larger number of people who are in a much worse situation.
Housing and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2016-01-05
Topic: Housing
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I have already given my view on that—it is blindingly obvious, really. Supply and demand play a significant and critical part, which is one of the reasons I am very proud that my council in South Lakeland has already built 1,000 affordable homes and has plans to build another 5,000. Why do things other than supply and demand have an impact? The answer is that property is a clear investment and people with enough money will buy more than one. Indeed, my constituency is strewn with such properties In conclusion, my worry is that in 10 years’ time, the housing crisis will be even worse, with thousands of affordable homes having been sold off, some converted to buy-to-let properties and very few replaced, at the same time as waiting lists for homes soar and homelessness rises. Poor housing is a barrier to success in life, and that impacts not only on individuals, but on communities and wider society. That is why it is essential for families across Britain—and, indeed, for our economic ambitions as a country—that we ensure that everyone has a decent and affordable place to live in It is often said in polite society that the most stressful thing in life is moving home, because of the insecurity, the uncertainty and the cost. Well, welcome to the reality of everyday life for millions of people in Britain who do not, and cannot aspire to, own their own home. Millions of families live with the financial, psychological and emotional burdens that inadequate, insecure and unaffordable housing brings. The Bill deliberately misses the opportunity to help those people in order to settle old ideological scores and ride some pretty ropey old hobby horses. Doing nothing in the face of this housing crisis would be bad enough, but by actively promoting a Bill that will make the crisis worse, the Government are ensuring that their legacy will be scorned by the future generations that the Bill betrays.