argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Council Tax: Government’s Proposed Increase — House of Commons, 2021-01-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Zarah Sultana (Labour, Centre-left): When the pandemic first hit, the Government brought back an old phrase. "We are all in it together", they said, but that is not how it has turned out. A report published today by Oxfam shows that the 10 richest individuals in the world have seen their wealth rise by more than £400 billion since March. Friends and donors of the Conservatives have been handed fortunes in deeply questionable covid contracts. Private companies have seen it as an opportunity to open up the NHS to further privatisation. But the vast majority of the public? More than 750,000 jobs lost and 6 million families now on universal credit. In poorer, working-class communities, people are at twice the risk of dying from covid compared with those in the richest. BAME communities are at between 10% and 50% higher risk of dying. Just like when the greed of bankers caused the financial crisis and the working class paid with a decade of austerity, here again, the working class are being hit the hardest by a crisis not of their making. That is the background to the Government’s plans, forcing councils to raise council tax to help plug the gap of the £15 billion cut from central Government funds in the last decade. It is a move that can mean a rise of nearly £100 on average for band D households, breaking the Government’s promise to "do whatever is necessary to support councils" It does not stop there. In addition to the Government’s plans to cut universal credit by £1,000 a year, they plan to rip up workers’ rights, endangering everything from holiday pay entitlement to the 48-hour working week. They have already cut corners on free school meals and forced a cruel public sector pay freeze on key workers, even as their labour is what is getting us through this crisis Before the pandemic hit, Britain was rigged: rigged in the interests of the rich and the powerful by a Tory party funded by the rich and the powerful. That rigged society has meant that this pandemic has hit much harder than it needed to: workers who cannot afford to self-isolate, families who are crammed into overcrowded housing, services privatised and run for profit, not public health, and now the highest death toll in Europe, the worst death rate in the world and the deepest recession of any major economy. There should be no going back to that. So, far from increasing council tax for ordinary people or freezing pay for key workers, we should instead crack down on the £90 billion dodged in tax every year, making the super-rich and big businesses pay their fair share, and giving key workers the pay rise they deserve, councils the funding they need and our public services the resources to serve us all.
Fire Safety: Buildings under 18 Metres — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Janet Jessica Daby (Labour, Centre-left): No one needs reminding that we are nearly at the four-year anniversary of the Grenfell disaster, yet many of my constituents remain trapped in dangerous homes and, because of this Government’s arbitrary decision to only help those in buildings above 18 metres, they feel hopeless and invisible. Does the Secretary of State agree that no leaseholder should have to pay for fire safety problems that are simply not their fault, and that people should not be required to pay even £50 or less a month, regardless of whether their building is 7 metres, 18 metres or even lower?
Fire Safety: Buildings under 18 Metres — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Rushanara Ali (Labour, Centre-left): Many leaseholders have spent their third lockdown stuck in buildings with serious safety defects and are unsure when the works will be completed. The Minister talks about providing a generous scheme for blocks of 18 metres or less. Can he explain to the House how generous that programme is, how much is being committed and when our constituents can expect the works to be completed—both for blocks under 18 metres and blocks over 18 metres that require remedial works—so that people do not have to continue to live in potential death traps?
Fire Safety: Buildings under 18 Metres — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): Can the Minister explain why three quarters of cladding systems on new medium-rise buildings have used combustible insulation materials despite a proposed Government ban on them? That is 51 out of 66 residential blocks of 11 to 18 metres in height built in 2019 and 2020 that are now liable for the imposition of unwanted Government loans. There is the nightmare of EWS1 forms, inflated insurance premium costs, service charges and much, much more. At what stage are the ministerial team going to get a grip of this chaos?
UK Shared Prosperity Fund — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jessica Elizabeth Morden (Labour, Centre-left): Wales received £375 million a year under the EU structural funds but this Government’s levelling-up fund is giving Wales only £30 million a year, while the community renewal fund’s pilot projects split £220 million across the four nations. Can the Minister see why my constituents are already sceptical that this Government will fulfil their promise that Wales will receive "not a penny less"?
UK Shared Prosperity Fund — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Catherine Malloy Hollern (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for recognising when I met him last week that the UK shared prosperity fund will need to be more transparent in a way that the towns fund clearly was not. If he intends to keep this promise of more transparency, when will he consult on the UK shared prosperity fund that his Department committed to three years ago, and will his Department publish how much funding English regions will get?
Housing Market: First-time Buyers — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Karen Patricia Buck (Labour, Centre-left): For many first-time buyers, especially in cities, the options are mainly new-build and leasehold properties, but many of them are walking into a new nightmare of costs. Inside Housing is today reporting on purchasers buying properties as safe only to discover almost immediately that the ratings are changing, leaving them with huge bills for waking watch, and unsaleable properties. Does the Minister know how many first-time buyers are affected by this, and why is the only truly blameless party, the purchaser, the one who is still left carrying the can and the risk?
Housing Market: First-time Buyers — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (Labour, Centre-left): That was quite staggering. I do not know whether the Minister was listening to my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck). He avoided answering her, and he previously avoided answering my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale (Mike Amesbury), so I will give him another go. Will the Minister please tell us what on earth the justification is for allowing new buildings to be built with dangerous cladding and other fire safety defects? What will he do to ensure that the number of first-time buyers moving into homes with dangerous cladding is zero?
Covid-19: Hospitality Venues and High Streets — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Naseem Akhtar Shah (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State’s Department is bringing forward further permitted development rights that will allow gyms, crèches and offices, as well as shops, banks and restaurants, to be converted into homes without going through planning permission. Has the Department conducted an impact assessment of how many cafés, pharmacies and corner shops will be lost from our high streets, never to return?
Social Housing — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): Many of my constituents cannot afford to buy a house of their own and are finding that private sector landlords are using various devices to block access to that market as well, such as through guarantees and bond requirements, so council housing or social housing is the only option, but demand is outstripping supply, and, according to the Chartered Institute of Housing, outside London only a third of all the social housing needed will actually be built in the next five years. So what does the Minister say to my constituents who find themselves with no housing options at all at the moment?
Covid-19: Support for Local Authorities — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Clive James Charles Betts (Labour, Centre-left): On 11 November, I and other representatives from Sheffield met the Minister to express concern that the loss of income to leisure centres in Sheffield was not being refunded to the council because the centres are managed by an arm’s length trust. I understand now from the council that the Government have recognised that the extra expenditure given from the council to the leisure trust to compensate for loss of income has been refunded —at least significantly—by the Government. I thank the Minister for that and for the help that he has given. Unfortunately, locally the Lib Dems have tried to claim that some of this money has gone from the council to the trust not to fund services in Sheffield, but to fund leisure centres in Scarborough. Will the Minister reassure me and residents in Sheffield that the money that he has given to Sheffield City Council has gone properly to fund services in Sheffield and nowhere else, and indeed, as the chair of the trust has confirmed, that all the money given to the trust by Sheffield City Council is funding leisure centres in Sheffield and nowhere else?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): There has been a 400% increase in donations to the Conservative party from developers under the current Prime Minister. In the interests of transparency, and to allay growing concerns about sleaze at the heart of government, will the Secretary of State publish notes of all the meetings that he, his advisers or representatives of No. 10 have held with any of those developers about changing the planning system and what they asked for?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): The Campaign to Protect Rural England, the National Trust, the Town and Country Planning Association, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Town Planning Institute and others have all condemned the Secretary of State’s planning reforms for handing too much control to developers and blocking communities from objecting to individual applications in areas zoned for growth or for renewal. Given their increased donations to the Conservative party, is he paying back developers by selling out communities?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Labour, Centre-left): Last month, the Secretary of State appointed two news members of his departmental board. Dame Alison Nimmo is a director at Berkeley Group—accused of endangering the health of thousands in my constituency with the Southall gasworks development. How can I, or my constituents, have confidence in his Department’s ability to regulate the Berkeley Group when, in the words of the Cabinet Office, one of its own advisers leads that Department?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Housing
Charalambos Charalambous (Labour, Centre-left): Homelessness is a big factor in ex-prisoners, particularly women, reoffending. In January, the Ministry of Justice announced £20 million for five pilot schemes of temporary accommodation; over three months on, there is still no evidence of how the service will account for the complex and specific needs of vulnerable women leaving prison. How will the Department work with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that support services for women in impermanent accommodation on their release last more than 12 weeks?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): I am sorry to the Members who did not get in, but unfortunately the questions seem to have taken a long time to answer. I am now suspending the House for a few minutes to enable the necessary arrangements for the next business.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): This session is supposed to finish in three minutes’ time, but we have 12 more questioners. I would like to be able to get everybody in, and a fair number are in the Chamber. I am sure that everyone will be co-operative in keeping their questions very short, and I ask the Secretary of State to be equally brief with his responses.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Charalambos Charalambous (Labour, Centre-left): Face coverings are likely to remain a feature to protect against covid-19, but people with hidden disabilities who cannot wear such coverings will face abuse. Despite raising the matter on previous occasions, including once with the Prime Minister, and having been promised an awareness campaign, nothing has happened. Will the Secretary of State tell me when that campaign will happen?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for his clear statement. It was not that long ago that I watched my club, Manchester City, which I now represent, beat Gillingham in the second division playoff final. We are now in what might be called our glory days, but those of us who remember the Gillingham game know that the glory days do not always last. Does the Secretary of State agree that a closed-shop league, where there are no bad days and no glory days, is no league at all and has no place in our national game? British football fans are rightly outraged by that notion, which goes against our deeply held culture of fair and open competition and backing the underdog. It is an American export that we just do not want.
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Ian Robert Byrne (Labour, Centre-left): In the light of the shocking news that six of our national football clubs—it is heartbreaking to see Liverpool football club among them—are looking to break away from the football pyramid in England at a time when, collectively, we should be working together to rebuild our football communities from the ravages of covid, the anger across the country is palpable. I welcome the long overdue fan-led review, but can the Secretary of State outline how the Government will act to stop capitalism and corporate greed destroying a game that millions in this country love, and economically many communities rely on?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): Newcastle United fans have long suffered from the greed and self-interest that drive premiership owners, but this attempt to turn our national game into the cash cow of a narrow elite shows just how morally bankrupt the premiership has become and how little Government care. There seem to be more rules to prevent the removal of a window frame in a listed building than the wholesale destruction of this jewel of working-class culture. Can the Secretary of State believe that the owners of these six clubs meet the fit and proper person test?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): People like my own father, who was one of those who supported Manchester United in the ’20s and the ’30s, would not have recognised the stranglehold that the corporate greedy have got around the windpipe of football already. The words that the Secretary of State has spoken today are very helpful, but the corporate greedy have corporate lawyers, and he needs to guarantee that they will not tie the Government —and, in the end, football and its supporters—in knots, so we need to see action from him quickly if legislation is needed. Is he talking to his opposite numbers in Spain and in Italy, because it is important that we have not just a global response but a European response to what is not simply an English or a British problem?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Alexandra Mary Davies-Jones (Labour, Centre-left): As a football fan and a usually proud Liverpool supporter, I am now ashamed of my club and heartbroken at this outrageous European super league proposal, which is just another example of the fundamental structural flaws at the heart of our beautiful game. It is clear from contributions here today that our country’s proud and rich history and love of the game cut across the political divide, and I am gutted that we find ourselves coming together to push the Secretary of State, once again, for some urgent answers. It is also concerning to note that we have heard nothing from the Government on the potential impact of these proposals on the women’s game. The strength of feeling across the House and across the country could not be clearer. Time and again, this Government have failed football fans. Will the Secretary of State do whatever it takes to stop the European super league from going ahead?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Kevin Denis Brennan (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), who is my constituency neighbour, can always come next door and support Cardiff City if she wants a real club This super league proposal is the sporting equivalent of a billionaires’ gated community, with a football favela for everyone else on the other side of the fence. Could the very robust response that the Secretary of State says he wants from the Government include the Prime Minister ringing up, or perhaps even texting, the former No. 10 spin doctor Katie Perrior, who also worked on his mayoral campaign and whose public affairs agency is promoting the super league launch? Will the Prime Minister tell her that this is one occasion when insider connections will not win any traction with the Government, and that this betrayal of football fans and the ethos of fair competition in sport will be blocked by the UK Government using urgent legislation in the forthcoming Queen’s Speech?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Jeffrey Smith (Labour, Centre-left): My 50-plus years of watching Man City has brought me a lot of emotions—pain, despair, misery and, more recently, a lot of elation and joy—but always pride, whatever tier we were in, until last night, when the overriding emotion was shame and anger at my club being part of this. In, in effect, ending competition by merit at the top of the pyramid, this ends hope for clubs throughout the pyramid, and it is absolute anathema to the values of a lot of sport in this country. So I welcome the tone of the Secretary of State’s statement, and I want to ask him three things. When he speaks to the clubs, will he try to convey the anger in this Parliament and across the country at this proposal? When he speaks to the Premier League, will he encourage it to take the strongest possible action against these clubs, including my beloved Man City? Finally, a review will take time, but does he recognise that there is a will in this Parliament to take strong action quickly, if necessary?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): Interestingly, only one of these six clubs has always been in the top division in English football, and now they want permanent status. The Secretary of State’s announcement of a review is welcome, if slightly overdue, but, frankly, has been met by contemptuously indifference by these arrogant oligarchs. The only thing they understand is power, and the Government should be using the power of the state with full force and co-ordinating with other countries. Will he rapidly refer them to the competition authorities, cut them off from any further public funds and look at the tax status of image rights—just for a start—and, quite frankly, drive these sharks out of British football?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): Football’s governing bodies must stand firm against this European super league, and I welcome the statement from the Secretary of State that he is not going to leave any stone unturned in assisting with that. We now control our own borders, having left the European Union, so this will be a major test for our new powers over our borders, whereby we can prevent people from entering the country if they are not playing matches sanctioned by the sport’s governing bodies. On the fans’ review, will the fans be able to lead it wherever they wish to go—for instance, on the right to buy shares at a time of transfer of ownership or on fans being elected to the boards of football clubs? Will the fans really be able to lead and to go where they want to go with this review?
European Football Proposal — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): Before I ask the Clerk to read the title of the Bill, I should explain that in these exceptional circumstances although the Chair of the Committee would normally sit in the Clerk’s Chair during Committee stage, in order to comply with social distancing requirements I will remain in the Speaker’s Chair, even though I will be carrying out the role not of Deputy Speaker but of Chairman of the Committee. We should be addressed as Chairs of the Committee, rather than as Deputy Speakers.
UK Steel Producers: Level Trading Field — House of Commons, 2021-04-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Nathan Kinnock (Labour, Centre-left): Our steelworkers make the best steel that money can buy but, thanks to the indifference of successive Conservative Governments since 2010, they are constantly being made to compete with one hand tied behind their back. They are already dealing with the highest industrial energy prices in Europe and a Government procurement policy that fails the patriotism test, and now they face the possibility that, in June, steel safeguards that guard against import surges will be removed. Does the Minister agree that, if the Government were to remove those safeguards, it would add insult to injury and again undermine the ability of our steel industry to compete on a level playing field?
Trade Sanctions on Exports from Xinjiang — House of Commons, 2021-04-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): The Magnitsky-style sanctions against China are only the first step. While we welcome them, trade relations cannot be left out. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that UK consumers are not buying goods made with forced labour, and will the UK follow the US in banning imports of cotton from China’s Xinjiang region?
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — House of Commons, 2021-04-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): As my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) said, there are at least 238 questions that the Secretary of State has to address on the subject of this agreement, and I look forward to receiving her answers soon, but today I want to ask her one simple one: can she guarantee that this Parliament will have as much time to scrutinise the proposed terms of accession to CPTPP before a vote on whether or not to approve them as the Australia, Canada and New Zealand Parliaments had before their respective votes?