argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Insecure Work — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Labor
Questions: The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers continues to receive evidence of seafarer pay as low as £3.60 an hour, including on UK-registered vessels. Employers in the ferry sector are continuing to reflag their ships. When will the Government take action to ensure that the national minimum wage provides a basic safety net for seafarers’ pay, including on international routes?
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns. In the last few weeks, I have been discussing with the trade unions how any loopholes that might be being exploited should be closed. It is the intention of everyone across the House that the law should be obeyed and that workers should be paid a fair rate for their work.
Insecure Work — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Labor
Questions: The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers continues to receive evidence of seafarer pay as low as £3.60 an hour, including on UK-registered vessels. Employers in the ferry sector are continuing to reflag their ships. When will the Government take action to ensure that the national minimum wage provides a basic safety net for seafarers’ pay, including on international routes?
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I do indeed expect this to continue. Many of the rights that we have introduced—including, for example, the right to request a stable contract—were pioneered in this country, and are only now being taken up by other European countries.
Insecure Work — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Labor
Questions: The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers continues to receive evidence of seafarer pay as low as £3.60 an hour, including on UK-registered vessels. Employers in the ferry sector are continuing to reflag their ships. When will the Government take action to ensure that the national minimum wage provides a basic safety net for seafarers’ pay, including on international routes?
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I value very highly the work of all the staff in my Department. I met some of the staff she has mentioned, who were affected. I asked my officials to review the comparable levels of pay that such staff receive, and those pay rates have been increased as a result. It was a good and constructive discussion with my much valued colleagues.
Leaving the EU: Businesses in Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Labor
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): The best chance for Scotland to enjoy prosperity in the future is to stay in the United Kingdom, and I hope the hon. Gentleman would support that. I am very surprised that he would mention jobs in the Scotland when, under the SNP, jobs growth in Scotland has been far behind the good statistics that I was able to give for the whole country. Indeed, if Scotland had matched the rate of job creation in England, there would now be nearly 200,000 more Scots with a job.
Leaving the EU: Businesses in Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
David Michael Davis (Conservative, Centre-right): In Scotland, as in the rest of the United Kingdom, there are grants of up to £1,050 per employee for training employees, and up to £200,000 for new IT systems for dealing with new customs arrangements. Given the importance of this, why is it not more widely advertised both in Scotland and in the United Kingdom?
Leaving the EU: Businesses in Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Labor
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. As he knows from the industrial strategy—he was closely involved in its construction—grants and assistance for training, especially for employees whose jobs change as a result of technological change, is a very important contribution that we can make, and I am glad that he has brought it to the attention of the House.
Leaving the EU: Businesses in Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Stephen Charles Kerr (Conservative, Centre-right): What discussions has my right hon. Friend had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about making sure that the UK shared prosperity fund is UK-wide and allows the UK Government to work with public and private partners across the whole of the Union?
Leaving the EU: Businesses in Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.; What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses based in Scotland making preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. That is absolutely the intention. The fund will be UK-wide and continue the progress that has been made, not least through the city deals programme. All the major cities of Scotland have benefited from a city deal that embraces the UK Government, the Scottish Government, and local authorities. That is a good model that is working and is successful.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Environment
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend knows, I am very pleased to discuss our leadership position in this area. We have led the G7 in cutting emissions while growing our national income. Since 2000, we have topped the global leader board of the G20 in reducing our annual carbon intensity. I set out, a couple of years ago now, how the clean growth strategy will take that progress forward and, indeed, accelerate it. The recent offshore wind sector deal was a fantastic example of how we can work with industry to advance our decarbonisation but also to create jobs right across the UK.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
David James Duguid (Conservative, Centre-right): The growth of offshore wind is providing great opportunities for coastal communities around the United Kingdom, including the port of Fraserburgh in my constituency, which is set to host an operations and maintenance base for the Moray East wind farm project. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the new offshore wind sector deal will help more ports like Fraserburgh to benefit from this key aspect of our future energy sector?
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): Most certainly. In an uncertain world, to go and stand on the docks of Lowestoft and visit Great Yarmouth and see the wind turbines and feel the wind is actually to see the future—this incredible opportunity. We have the best conditions for offshore wind generation in the world, and that will create jobs right across the UK—we estimate over 27,000 by 2030. We are world-leading in this: very few countries have even started to install. We reckon that exports of up to £2.6 billion will be available, and of course the benefits from that will flow to coastal communities right across the UK.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): The offshore wind sector deal was a gift that kept on giving, because the hon. Lady and I had the great pleasure of discussing that with the Prime Minister on the Friday after the launch and seeing the incredible opportunities already flowing to the wonderful port of Grimsby, which she represents very well. I would love to congratulate that local firm and work with her on this groundbreaking sector deal.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Environment
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): I enjoyed what might be the last ever meeting of EU Energy Ministers last week, where it was clear that our leadership, which has been so important in the EU, will continue unabated. Countries look to us and want to work with us. The hon. Gentleman will know that we are in the process of bidding to host the 2020 climate change talks here in the UK. To me, that is the most seminal moment since the Paris talks, as we will have to show our national contributions and see whether we are on track. I would love to get his support for that bid.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): More than 60 of the UK’s onshore wind farms are set to reach the end of their support deals in the next five years. How will the Government ensure that we do not lose our onshore wind capacity as those plants reach the end of their lives?
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure that my hon. Friend, like me, welcomes the fact that we already have more than 13 GW of onshore wind installed. As she says, much of that is reaching the end of its life. Those plants can be repowered to generate more energy, and we expect them to be, but any application must be consistent with what local people want, so I expect developers to work closely with local communities to deliver that.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman needs to understand that we welcome the fact that we have a diverse energy supply. As we have discussed, there are thousands of jobs to be created from renewables but also from our world-leading nuclear installations. We need a low-carbon, reliable, low-cost energy system, and thanks to the work we are doing, we think that over 70% of the UK’s energy supply will be zero-carbon in just 11 years.
Clean Growth — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): I just cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman. He might make good headlines, but he knows that we should pride ourselves on having a diverse, low-cost energy system. We have to deliver energy security, and those thousands of highly skilled nuclear jobs, which are increasingly going to women, are a really good thing for the UK.
UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Technology
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): In the past month we have invested £18 million in the OneWeb satellite constellation to deliver global 5G communications, which I announced at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands. Last week we announced £7 million for the SMILE—Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer—mission. In addition, we announced £25 million for the PLATO—planetary transits and oscillations of stars—observatory mission, and last week we signed the Square Kilometre Array treaty, which will see £180 million invested in the world’s largest telescope.
UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Technology
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that answer, but will he confirm that the Government remain positive about the potential of a horizontal-launch spaceport at Cornwall airport Newquay? Will he continue to work to provide the support needed to move that development forward, which would be of such benefit to the Cornish economy? Will he also come to Cornwall and see for himself the potential of the site?
UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Technology
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question; we had a positive meeting with the spaceport team last week. I am keen to do what I can to progress the hard work that has been done to put together an exciting project. The Government are investing £50 million to kick-start operations for a UK spaceport, including a £2 million fund for spaceports planning to host air-launched rockets and sub-orbital space planes. I will come down to Cornwall next month.
UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Technology
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have committed £92 million to developing options for a domestic alternative to Galileo. The UK Space Agency is leading work with the full support of the Ministry of Defence. Contracts are being let with UK companies. Around 50 have made expressions of interest in the process, which will help to keep important skills and expertise in satellite navigation.
UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Technology
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): When we look at our space industry, we see that it is truly part of the United Kingdom, right across every place. I went to Northern Ireland to see Thales and the work that it is doing on some of the satellite applications. Up in Sutherland in Scotland, we have a £31.5 million investment in vertical space launch. We want to ensure that our space industry—one of the fastest-growing industries in all of business—covers the whole of the UK.
Marine Renewable Electricity Generation — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): It was a pleasure to meet the right hon. Gentleman and a cross-party group of colleagues only last month to discuss this matter. I commend the Marine Energy Council for the work that it has done, and indeed I see that it has published some interesting analysis today. We have provided £175 million of innovation funding to the sector. We all want it to succeed. We have the first pre-commercial array deployed off Caithness and, of course, we have the European Marine Energy Centre in his constituency.
Marine Renewable Electricity Generation — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not want to pre-empt the White Paper, but I think that one thing we will show in it is how the ongoing attempts to be technology-neutral can work across the piece to generate low-cost, low-carbon energy, and highly competitive technologies will be part of that. We remain interested in marine and tidal, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. Of course, we need to discuss with the Treasury any revenue support mechanisms, but I want to continue to engage with the sector on a long-term basis.
Marine Renewable Electricity Generation — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Stephen Crabb (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister will be aware that the proposed Swansea Bay city deal would include a strong marine energy component centred on Pembroke Dock. She will also be aware that the growth deal is beset with concerns and questions about its progress, so will the Minister, along with Welsh Ministers, please look into the marine renewables part of the project to ensure that progress is made and opportunities are not lost?
Marine Renewable Electricity Generation — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, it is striking that we had the very interesting Swansea tidal bid, which would have been the most expensive power station in the UK had we built it, and that that project has now come forward in a different form not requiring Government subsidy. There is huge potential to continue to work with the communities of Swansea and across Wales, and I will be delighted to keep working with them.
Marine Renewable Electricity Generation — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): I will attempt to do that, Mr Speaker. The hon. Gentleman will know, of course, that all these technologies basically started off in the same place. Arguably, marine and tidal have received more innovation funding. They have not been able to demonstrate a cost reduction pathway commensurate with, for example, offshore wind, but he is right to say that we need to look at ways to try to bring these technologies forward and we will continue to do so.
Industrial Strategy: High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Richard Harrington (Conservative, Centre-right): The industrial strategy is based on increasing the number of high-quality and well-paid jobs because it invests in skills, infrastructure and innovation, as well as building long-term strategic partnerships with businesses through sector deals between the Government and industry.
Industrial Strategy: High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Foreign Trade
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend will be aware, we often talk about our being the fifth largest economy, but by GDP per head we are ranked about 23rd or 24th, according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Does he agree that greater export penetration into growing markets overseas will help to raise that GDP per head and that an independent trade policy could boost that endeavour?
Industrial Strategy: High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Foreign Trade
Richard Harrington (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend. In his own constituency, six companies have received the Queen’s award for international trade. He understands the importance of exports. I agree that the UK needs to deploy all the tools at its disposal to support UK exporters, and a key part of that is tailoring our trade policy to the strengths and requirements of our economy and supporting the delivery of the industrial strategy.
Industrial Strategy: High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Jeremy John Elton Lefroy (Conservative, Centre-right): General Electric in Stafford—and indeed in Rugby—provides excellent, high-quality and well-paid jobs through its investment in energy, particularly good energy. Can I invite the Minister or his colleague the Energy Minister to come and see what world-leading technology is being developed in Stafford?
Industrial Strategy: High-quality Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Labor
Richard Harrington (Conservative, Centre-right): We gave our answer in our response to the Taylor review, but the Government have also published a good work plan, in which we commit to ways of delivering better jobs for everyone in the British economy.
Carbon Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Environment
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): The right measure is to look at carbon dioxide reduction as a unit of national income—the carbon intensity measure—and BEIS will publish its own numbers at the end of May and then make the assessment. I am sure that, like me, the hon. Gentleman welcomes the fact that we have been decarbonising faster than any other G7 or G20 economy and that in the last year for which we have data our decarbonisation rate—on the intensity measure—was minus 4.7%. We know we have to do more, but I hope he welcomes the measures on hard-to-reach sectors, such as decarbonising the heating grid. We should be proud of what we have achieved.
Carbon Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Environment
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): Far from it. I do not recognise those numbers. I have got into trouble before for saying I probably would have been out there with those kids several years ago—I recognise the admirable passion and urgency with which they have raised this matter, although we need their skills to solve this problem. The best way to solve the climate problem is to create a generation of geo-engineers, climate scientists and technologists, and they have to learn those skills in the classroom We are absolutely not coasting, but we need strong cross-party support to deliver this change. It is striking that when we debate our relationship with the earth’s climate for the next 40 years, this place is half empty, but when we debate our relationship with the EU for the next three years, it is jam-crammed. We need to get beyond Brexit and start focusing on the future.
Carbon Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister is rightly encouraging the use of electric vehicles, but, as she will appreciate, in the commercial sector there is, on occasion, inadequate supply in the grid. Will she recognise the valuable role played by Off Grid Energy in my constituency, which has storage technology, and whose latest project for the Oxford Bus Company involves capturing energy from solar panels and storing it so that the buses can be charged up overnight?
Carbon Emissions — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend—whose constituency is known for its engineering excellence—is absolutely right. As is clear from the smart systems plan for the future and the smart export guarantee, decentralised energy generation storage is one of the ways in which we can maximise the value of electric vehicle roll-out and its contribution to solving the generation and storage problem.
Skilled Green Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Environment
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): I always admire the hon. Lady’s enthusiasm, but committing themselves to a target that we have already achieved is perhaps not the most stretching thing that the Opposition could do. However, I welcome Lewisham Council’s declaration of a climate emergency. My local authority, Wiltshire County Council, has done the same I am struck by the sense of urgency in schools and local authorities, and among people throughout the United Kingdom, but we must ensure that the plans we come up with are deliverable and not pie in the sky. Many people have criticised the Opposition’s rather fanciful projections, which they say will never be delivered. I am in the business of delivering policies that add up, can be delivered, and stand the test of time.
Skilled Green Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): Jaguar Land Rover is moving to the production of electric cars, but one of the issues that holds back purchasing is range and the time that it takes to recharge their batteries. What can the Government do to improve battery technology?
Skilled Green Jobs — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): Range anxiety is diminishing as battery technology improves. My hon. Friend will know of the Faraday challenge, a cross-Government and industry commitment to not only improving battery manufacturing and technology, but creating some of that value here in the UK.
Energy Mix — House of Commons, 2019-03-19
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK is leading the world in decarbonising our energy supplies while driving down the cost of clean power. The proportion of our electricity coming from renewables has increased fourfold since 2010, and the cost of clean power is falling fast. The price of offshore wind has fallen by 50% in the last couple of years.