argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Education
Questions: In beautiful Hastings and Rye, we have two ancient fishing communities, one of which is the under-10 metre beach-launch fleet, which is, by its very nature, environmentally and ecologically responsive and sustainable. It is vital that this ancient fishing tradition be given room and opportunity to flourish. Can the Secretary of State confirm that specific attention will be given to our under-10 metre boats, so that they are given more autonomy and flexibility in a post-Brexit Britain?; For many decades, our creative industries and particularly our performing arts have been a major export of the UK. Will the Minister explain what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the impacts of Brexit—a hard no-deal Brexit, in particular—on the movement of our performing arts between here and Europe?; May I say how warming it is to be greeted by a fellow Lancastrian? Does my right hon. Friend agree that his Department should be commended for ensuring that this Government will deliver on the verdict and the will of the British people, in that we will leave the European Union on 31 January? With the closure of DExEU at the end of this month, perhaps he is a victim of his own success.; Will the Minister confirm whether EU citizens who work and pay taxes in the UK post Brexit will be liable for the immigration health surcharge? Does he envisage similar charges being introduced for UK citizens living and working in the EU?; Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the UK will remain an open, dynamic and welcoming place for EU citizens to study in our world-class universities, and that Britain continues to lead the way with the internationally recognised quality of our higher education?
James Philip Duddridge (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that question. The Government are clear that they wish to continue to attract students from the EU and the rest of the world to study here in the UK. The UK’s higher education institutions have long-established traditions of attracting the brightest minds at all stages of their education and research careers, as we saw yesterday with the alumna of the London School of Economics. This being our last oral questions, I thank civil servants for their support. I particularly thank my private office and Cara Phillips. They have been wonderful.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: In beautiful Hastings and Rye, we have two ancient fishing communities, one of which is the under-10 metre beach-launch fleet, which is, by its very nature, environmentally and ecologically responsive and sustainable. It is vital that this ancient fishing tradition be given room and opportunity to flourish. Can the Secretary of State confirm that specific attention will be given to our under-10 metre boats, so that they are given more autonomy and flexibility in a post-Brexit Britain?; For many decades, our creative industries and particularly our performing arts have been a major export of the UK. Will the Minister explain what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the impacts of Brexit—a hard no-deal Brexit, in particular—on the movement of our performing arts between here and Europe?; May I say how warming it is to be greeted by a fellow Lancastrian? Does my right hon. Friend agree that his Department should be commended for ensuring that this Government will deliver on the verdict and the will of the British people, in that we will leave the European Union on 31 January? With the closure of DExEU at the end of this month, perhaps he is a victim of his own success.; Will the Minister confirm whether EU citizens who work and pay taxes in the UK post Brexit will be liable for the immigration health surcharge? Does he envisage similar charges being introduced for UK citizens living and working in the EU?; Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the UK will remain an open, dynamic and welcoming place for EU citizens to study in our world-class universities, and that Britain continues to lead the way with the internationally recognised quality of our higher education?
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman correctly draws the House’s attention to an important issue, and one for the future negotiations. As he knows, however, in the political declaration there is scope for such participation. What was constructive and positive about the remarks of the President of the European Commission yesterday, which were reflected in the meeting with the Prime Minister, was the desire to build on that close partnership. The sort of areas where there will be detailed discussion will be on aircraft and other such sectors.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: In beautiful Hastings and Rye, we have two ancient fishing communities, one of which is the under-10 metre beach-launch fleet, which is, by its very nature, environmentally and ecologically responsive and sustainable. It is vital that this ancient fishing tradition be given room and opportunity to flourish. Can the Secretary of State confirm that specific attention will be given to our under-10 metre boats, so that they are given more autonomy and flexibility in a post-Brexit Britain?; For many decades, our creative industries and particularly our performing arts have been a major export of the UK. Will the Minister explain what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the impacts of Brexit—a hard no-deal Brexit, in particular—on the movement of our performing arts between here and Europe?; May I say how warming it is to be greeted by a fellow Lancastrian? Does my right hon. Friend agree that his Department should be commended for ensuring that this Government will deliver on the verdict and the will of the British people, in that we will leave the European Union on 31 January? With the closure of DExEU at the end of this month, perhaps he is a victim of his own success.; Will the Minister confirm whether EU citizens who work and pay taxes in the UK post Brexit will be liable for the immigration health surcharge? Does he envisage similar charges being introduced for UK citizens living and working in the EU?; Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the UK will remain an open, dynamic and welcoming place for EU citizens to study in our world-class universities, and that Britain continues to lead the way with the internationally recognised quality of our higher education?; Through the EU single market, our supermarkets lever enormous power on food supply chain prices. Leaving the single market is a huge opportunity for small farmers in this country. What steps will Her Majesty’s Government be taking to redress that imbalance and to ensure a fair price for our farmers, not only in West Dorset but across the United Kingdom? [R]
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to seize the opportunities that Brexit offers, and that is particularly the case in agriculture. He well knows that the bureaucracy of the common agricultural policy was an area of deep frustration, with things such as the three-crop rule dictating to farmers who farm more than 30 hectares what they can and cannot grow. We should be setting farmers free and giving them those opportunities. Through the agriculture Bill, we will have the chance to seize those opportunities, and I know that my hon. Friend will be at the forefront of that for his constituents in West Dorset.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, the hon. Member asked about climate change. On that, the most important thing is that we are going to be chairing COP26, so we have ambitious climate change targets for all countries going forward. When I go on trips to other countries, I am looking forward to asking all of them how ambitious they are going to be. On money, specifically, we are increasing our international climate finance offer from £8.5 billion between 2016 and 2020 to £11.6 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, in order to help developing countries take action.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great pleasure to see you in your place, Madam Deputy Speaker. I welcome the Minister’s statement and I am very grateful that the Prime Minister has made the offer to his opposite number Scott Morrison. I also welcome the partnership the Minister has spoken of, but is there more we could do? I ask that because the Foreign Office has such excellent links with the Australian Administration—indeed, we were one and the same until about the 1960s. We have several members of the Commonwealth of Australia sitting on these Benches, and it is a pleasure to have them here. Can we look at co-operating with regional partners, bringing together an alliance of others not just to engage in Australia but to deal with the forest fires we are seeing around the world?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is perhaps soon again to be the Chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. [Interruption.] I said "perhaps". One thing that was really helpful when Lord Ahmad was out in Australia was the fact that we hold the Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth at the moment. One thing we are doing as part of the Commonwealth is getting member states to work together on this matter, through initiatives such as the Blue Charter and the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. So we are there as a group promoting environmental protection across the world.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady: our hearts go out to her friends and family in Australia. Sometimes in the Chamber, speeches and questions are quite difficult to make and ask, but it is great that she is here to give that extra oomph We have the chair of COP 26 with Italy, so we are absolutely taking climate change as the No. 1 priority. In every embassy around the world, every ambassador and every high commissioner has it as their No.1 priority to talk to other Governments and encourage greater and more ambitious targets for those countries. In particular, we will continue with the Paris agreement and make sure that those commitments are guaranteed going forward. President Claire O’Neill, late of this parish as the Member for Devizes, recently met other energy Ministers at COP25 in Madrid to bang the drum and make clear that this is our No.1 priority In respect of any changes to financial matters, I am afraid the hon. Lady will have to wait for the Chancellor’s Budget, but that is not very far away in March On the roll-out of electric charging points, I am proud to have two charging points in Swadlincote in South Derbyshire, and £4 million has been put to one side for councils to bid for so that they can have charging points.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend—who is a very good friend—for that question. Interestingly, sometimes in times of adversity really nasty people come out of the woodwork. I do not want any help that the British people give via charities in Australia or whatever other method to be affected by scammers, so if British citizens want to give or help in any way, will they please double-check that any charity they give money to is registered with the Australian Charity Commission? It would be a tragedy if the good will of people in this country was abused.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): Please forgive me for suggesting that talk is cheap. Australia is a signatory to the Paris agreement and is committed to a 26% to 28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on 2005 levels by 2030. In addition—because there are intelligent people in this room—a number of Australian states have already committed to net zero by 2050. Ahead of COP 26, we will look forward to working with all Paris agreement signatories to increase global climate ambition in line with that agreement.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Oliver Heald (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome you back to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker Does the Minister agree that this is the time not to be criticising Australia but to be helping them? Does she agree that we need to see close allies such as ourselves, the Americans, the Canadians and the New Zealanders coming together to give Australia the package of help that it desperately needs? Does she also agree that individual citizens who want to help can look at the appeals by the Salvation Army in Australia and by the Australian rural fire service, and make donations to them rather than the sort of dubious organisations that may emerge?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): It is great to hear of how much work is going on behind the scenes in Parliament, but I stress again that is a No.1 Government priority and all our embassies are on it. It is a great honour to host COP 26 with our Italian friends, and it will be the success that it needs to be.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Energy
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome you back to your place, Madam Deputy Speaker We should remember that on new year’s day National Grid announced that this country just had the first ever year in which the energy from zero-carbon sources exceeded fossil fuels—it is the first time in our history—so we are doing our bit. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should not be lecturing Australia when it is in the middle of a national emergency if it is not yet doing the same? As she rightly says, we should be giving it all the support we can. Will she confirm that if the fires worsen, we stand ready to provide whatever help is needed, should the Australians request it?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): Those are wise words from my hon. Friend. The UK policy on climate change has been dramatic: we are setting out legally binding targets to eliminate climate change by 2050; we have been the fastest in the G20 to decarbonise since 2000; and since 1990 we have reduced our emissions by more than 40% while growing our economy by two thirds. We can get the message out to other countries that it can be done and it does not affect the economy. Exactly as my hon. Friend said, National Grid’s use of energy from renewable sources is leading the way as a great example to others.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): It is good to see you back in your place, Madam Deputy Speaker. The upcoming foreign policy review is important. Can the Minister confirm that climate change will feature in that review? If it is not going to, may I suggest that the Foreign and Commonwealth Officer consider it as part of its global review?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend—a candidate to be Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee—for that interesting question. As I have tried to stress and am more than happy to say again, climate change is the No. 1 priority for all our embassies across the world, and is part of our plans now and going forward.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Energy
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady asks a very intelligent question. The answer is that I cannot give her that assurance right now. We have green finance deals and ocean deals. We are so committed to helping countries around the world to move on to renewable energy projects, and I think that is the way forward.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Steven John Baker (Conservative, Centre-right): Congratulations on your return to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker I strongly welcome the UK Government’s enduring commitment to support Australia, but will my hon. Friend tell us for specifically how long the experts who are currently there plan to remain in the country?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): It is my pleasure to try to answer my hon. Friend. They are there for a five-day period, meeting all the experts in the region with three sessions covering the three different areas that they are visiting. They will then do a rapid assessment of the assistance that Australia is asking for, and we are ready to assist in any way we can.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Agriculture
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman asks a good question. We know that of the animals affected a number are cows that produce milk. That will obviously affect Australia’s economy and is an absolute tragedy for the local farmers. We do have expertise in this area; whatever help Australia asks for in which we have expertise, we will help if we can.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Pauline Elizabeth Latham (Conservative, Centre-right): It is great to see you back as part of the Speaker’s team, Madam Deputy Speaker Would the Minister and her Department work with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association? Prime Ministers come and go—as we know in this country—but, as the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West) said, parliamentarians tend not to. Could we urge the CPA to work closely with Australian Members of Parliament to make them much more aware of the problems of climate change in their country, as well as in the world?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend—my Derbyshire friend—makes an interesting suggestion. We have great ties with the CPA. Lord Tariq Ahmad in the other place looks after the Commonwealth side of things, and I am sure he will gladly take her suggestion forward.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman—I hope I may also call him my friend—for his question. Interestingly, because the UK is chair in office at the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth has actually been a long-standing champion for environmental protection and climate action since its first official mention in the Commonwealth Langkawi declaration on the environment in 1989. We will take this matter seriously and it will be on the agenda for CHOGM.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): My sympathies are with the hon. and learned Lady’s friends who are out there right now. It is without doubt clear that the UK and Australia have their own approaches to climate change. As chair of COP 26, the UK looks forward to continued discussions in the run-up to that conference. We hope to work with Australia and others to increase their ambition in line with the Paris principles. I stress again that, because of Australia’s federal system, there is a really interesting dynamic there right now, whereby states are already saying that they will be decarbonise by 2050—the same as us—so all is not necessarily painted as black as we think.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): Congratulations on your re-election, Madam Deputy Speaker Australia is a vast country that is suffering a terrible tragedy, and I have two nephews who live in different parts of that country. Large numbers of UK citizens will go on tours of Australia over the coming weeks and months that might be disrupted because they might be going to areas of danger. Will the Minister update the House on what advice the FCO is giving to travel companies and individuals?
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope that my hon. Friend’s nephews in different parts of Australia stay safe. I am glad he asks his question. UK nationals should follow the FCO travel advice. It was updated on 30 December and we will continue to keep it under review. We have not advised against going to Australia for tourism, to visit family or for business, but we do request that visitors pay close attention to the updated advice from local authorities. One of the great things that has happened through our connections with all the different groups, as well as the embassy and the consulate general, is that really good local advice is being offered. We ask people to keep abreast of that advice as well as with the FCO’s advice.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: International Affairs
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope that the hon. Gentleman’s wife’s family are safe. I am sure he is in constant contact The hon. Gentleman makes a really interesting suggestion. Interestingly, DFID official development assistance money is being used particularly in Brazil to look at decarbonising its energy production. We cannot use ODA money for Australia because obviously it is a first-world nation, but perhaps we can find another way through the prosperity fund or something like that. We will take that idea away. We are always happy to receive good ideas.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Agriculture
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his up-to-date information, he having visited so recently. I have asked the same question myself, particularly about veterinary support but also agricultural support afterwards. Part of the brief for our specialists on the team that has been deployed is to ask what Australia would like us to do.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Energy
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): That is absolutely key. As has been alluded to, COP25 was perhaps not as successful as it might have been—[Interruption.] Well, we have to be kind. We therefore have every incentive to make COP26 a success. Part of that will be using the expertise that we have in emerging countries to help them to make the step change to renewable energies and decarbonising. It is a really exciting time for this country to take those measures to help other countries. Exactly as the hon. Gentleman says, this is the No. 1 priority for all our embassies around the world.
Australian Bushfires — House of Commons, 2020-01-09
Topic: Environment
Heather Kay Wheeler (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. I cannot thank the hon. Gentleman enough for that very good question. We all know that we need to have that canopy of trees to help with decarbonising for the whole of the world, so it is important to give any assistance we can with that. I am sure that my civil servants are now going to blanch, because he has given me a good idea. We have great relationships with Kew, which has world experts in planting, seeds and whatever else might be needed. I will to ask to see what connections and suggestions Kew might have, subject to Australia asking for such help. That was a great question and I thank the hon. Gentleman.