argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Walking and Cycling — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): Active travel funding is one side of the equation, and a lot is starting to be achieved from that, but authorities in Greater Manchester also need to obtain powers to ensure that this new infrastructure and the roads generally can function well. One example is around moving traffic offences, giving Greater Manchester London-style enforcement powers to keep roads moving efficiently for all users. When will the Government commence the remaining elements of part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, as set out in the Department’s "Gear change" publication in July?
Walking and Cycling — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): I did not know MAMILs were a thing, but I have now been enlightened by my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane) As part of support for active travel, we ought to be supporting our UK bicycle manufacturers and retailers, but they have been hit by tariffs imposed as a result of the Boeing-Airbus dispute. I think the Minister will agree it is somewhat ironic that an aviation dispute leads to bicycle manufacturers being penalised. They are also facing the threat of anti-dumping duties being lifted and a flood of cheap Chinese imports. I know the Minister has written to his counterpart in the Department for International Trade about this. Was he as unhappy as I was with the reply, and can he release the figures showing that anti-dumping duties should not be lifted because they do represent more than 1% of the UK market?
Aviation Sector Employment: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Labor
Sharon Hodgson (Labour, Centre-left): Many hundreds of my constituents are reliant on jobs related to the aviation sector, so the Government’s financial support for businesses in this industry has been welcome. However, there are valid concerns surrounding the conditionality of that support, particularly among workers at Rolls-Royce, with their jobs at risk of being offshored. Will the Minister work to ensure that any financial support is translated into the protection of jobs here in the UK?
Maritime Freight Capacity: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Karl Turner (Labour, Centre-left): The loss of a critical element of UK freight capacity in P&O’s Hull to Zeebrugge route will not only be a devastating blow to jobs and trade in my constituency, but as it is one of the most direct routes between Pfizer’s Belgian factory and hard-hit areas in the north of England, that could have a severe impact on the rapid roll-out of the covid vaccine, which I am delighted to see has been approved for use this week. I wrote to the Secretary of State recently on this issue. What action are Ministers taking to ensure that P&O honours its commitments and that this vital route is maintained?
Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): With over 350,000 licensed taxi and private hire drivers, this is the biggest employment group in the transport sector. As we speak, in London, electric cabs, which we all welcome, are being handed back because of inflexible finance deals. In every constituency, there will be hundreds of drivers laying up their vehicles. There are private tragedies going on here. What impact assessment have the Government actually done and when are they going to act?
Rail Workers’ Pay — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Ian Lavery (Labour, Centre-left): It was the Transport Secretary himself who recently hailed the rail workers as "true heroes"—key workers who have done a phenomenal job during this pandemic. I think we all agree on that, but the private train companies that employ our rail workers are set to be paid a fee from the Government—taxpayers’ money—which will provide profit and shareholder dividends. If these taxpayer handouts are indeed acceptable, do the Minister and the Secretary of State not simply agree that these rail workers—true heroes, key workers—should be receiving a decent pay rise? And Minister, who makes these decisions? Who says whether they can have a pay rise or not? Is it the Government or the companies themselves?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Environment
Mathew Richard Allen Rodda (Labour, Centre-left): We face a climate emergency and urgent action is clearly needed to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. That is why the Prime Minister promised to invest in 4,000 zero-emission buses. Given the seriousness of the issue and, indeed, the Prime Minister’s promise, why has the Government’s own spending review reduced the number of buses to which they are committed to just 500?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Colleen Margaret Fletcher (Labour, Centre-left): Coventry’s plans to run a battery-powered very light rail transit system in the city are progressing well, thanks to the world-beating local skills and expertise. Will the Minister tell me what more the Government can do to support projects like that to ensure our future public transport systems are efficient, affordable and environmentally friendly?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Neil Coyle (Labour, Centre-left): Even when we have all had the covid vaccine, the country will still need an economic shot in the arm, and the Bakerloo line extension delivers just that, providing tens of thousands of new jobs and thousands of new homes, on top of all the amazing transport benefits, which is why it is so strongly supported by the public and by businesses and councils. The Prime Minister has said that we are firmly on track to get construction under way by 2024 and have it up and running by 2030, so can the Transport Secretary say what he is doing to ensure that construction begins on time?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): Three months ago, the Secretary of State said that he would take control of the repairs to Hammersmith bridge, and he set up a taskforce chaired by the Roads Minister. Yesterday, she boasted that the Government would commit £4 million, which is less than 3% of the total cost and a fifth of what Transport for London and Hammersmith and Fulham Council have already spent. The Secretary of State knows that only the Government can fund the reopening of what he calls this "key artery", and anywhere else in the country they would have already done so. Why not in London?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Transportation
Questions: 2002 Will the Minister confirm that the Government’s forthcoming consumer experience of public electric vehicle charging consultation will propose full roaming across public EV charging networks, to ensure that consumers can readily access these charge points anywhere across the UK?
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): With the mothballing of Crossrail 2, the four-tracking of routes out of London, through the innovation corridor, up to Stansted and Cambridge is at risk. Will the Minister look at separating out some of those schemes to ensure that we get the kind of reliability we need on those lines?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): Research from the Education Policy Institute, among others, on the performance of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities suggests that they can be particularly vulnerable to being underestimated in assessments. Given that some of those pupils might also, for health reasons and owing to shielding, have had more disruption to their education, how can we be confident that any new system introduced for next year will take their needs into account?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State rightly says that he wants to boost fairness and support students, but he will be aware that just last week a million students were not able to be in school. In one school in my constituency of Warwick and Leamington, only 63% were present, which is a massive disparity. On 21 October, he said he would deliver 500,000 laptops, but only 200,000 have so far been delivered. Does he accept that there is a massive gap in delivering the fairness he promises? Should priority be given to teachers to be vaccinated to ensure they can stay in school?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome this announcement, but let us talk about regional disparities, because I share the concerns of my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western). More than 12% of children in Greater Manchester were impacted by covid-19, meaning that they could not attend school. That compares with 5% nationally. Information technology poverty affects up to 18% of the student population, and the learning conditions at home affect many more. How will this announcement help mitigate the impact on those pupils? How do we make it fair for them?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): I have heard from teachers, school leaders and young people across Luton North, all saying that we need alternatives to standard exams next year. Students from Luton sixth forms and the Luton youth council wrote to me with a comprehensive list of options last month, and I urge the Secretary of State to hear their concerns. The headteacher of the fantastic Lealands High School summed it up perfectly when he wrote to me sharing concerns not just for children’s future, but for their mental health: "It has become apparent that the disparity in experience of Year 11 students across the country is vast and those who are suffering the most have not control over this... There are many ways to assess what young people know, understand and can do." Will the Secretary of State listen to teachers, parents and students and avoid any unnecessary unfairness of exams, or does he just think he knows better?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Social Welfare
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck (Labour, Centre-left): We have had yet another statement from the Secretary of State that did not mention children in care or children with special educational needs and disability. That is not surprising, since just last week the Court of Appeal found that he acted unlawfully in scrapping critical safeguards for those very children. Will he apologise and outline what support he is providing to them so that they are as exam-ready as every other child?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Jeffrey Smith (Labour, Centre-left): In Manchester, some year 11 pupils are now in their fifth period of isolation. Most have lost at least 10% of class time because of isolation and many of those pupils do not have decent digital access to enable home learning. The deputy head at my local high school told me this morning: "The system he is putting in place will serve to widen the disadvantage gap. He repeats that exams are the fairest means of assessment and all the studies point to that; however those studies were not undertaken in a global pandemic." May I plead with the Secretary of State to think again about what more he can do to help those pupils who have been disproportionately affected by isolation? That does not need to include keeping all examinations, because, on exams, making the playing field slightly smaller for everybody is not creating a level playing field for those disadvantaged pupils.
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, I met headteachers from across Gateshead who talked about this very issue of unfairness. Today’s statement covers the issue across the whole cohort, but, as many other colleagues have said, what measures will the Secretary of State take to ensure that those who have been through isolation—there are many of those in the north-east and in my constituency—and do not have access to technology are really able to make up that difference and are able to be tested fairly in that system?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Rebecca Long-Bailey (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State’s statement sadly does little to address the disadvantage that pupils, particularly from northern schools, have faced compared with those in other areas less affected by the virus. Alarmingly, a survey of National Education Union members found that nearly 80% felt that they would not be able, in the time available and with repeated pupil absences, to teach the whole syllabus. At the very least, will he accept that to give pupils a real chance, he must release those topics that will be on exam papers now and not wait until the end of January?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): Around 80% of Ealing schools have had covid cases, leaving gaps in learning and holes in budgets. Some have demolished walls to accommodate distancing, and now they have huge staff absence bills—all at London prices. Can the Secretary of State compensate all those in full and prioritise vaccinating not just teaching staff, but the admin lot, who have worked non-stop throughout all this? The Chancellor seems to have given them all an effective pay cut last week.
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Stephanie Louise Peacock (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State referred to remote provision in his statement, and yet last half-term school laptop allocations were cut by 80%. That decision affects the most disadvantaged pupils the greatest, so will he reconsider the decision and commit to delivering the laptop provision that schools were originally promised?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): Some regions of our country, including my constituency, have been especially hard hit by the pandemic. Slough schools have faced several outbreaks and huge disruption as a result. There is also the huge issue of the digital divide experienced by many of our more disadvantaged and less well-off communities. So, in addition to the Secretary of State’s announcement today on exam changes, surely he should consider regionally targeted measures to support those areas that have lost out the most.
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): I still do not get how these proposals mitigate the effects of extended absence of teaching and learning. It is not just about the differential in lost schooling, which still is not resolved, but the differential impact that missing school has on some children—those unable to access learning, unable to cope, unable to engage and unable to thrive. The loss of six months and counting has massively widened the gap. Simply making the grades more generous for everyone equally does not deal with the widening and widened gap. Is it not the case that the Secretary of State’s dogmatic fixation with exams has blinkered him to solutions that would more effectively deal with the growing and widening gap and the impact of school absence?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Karl Turner (Labour, Centre-left): As you know, Mr Speaker, east Hull has been one of the hardest hit areas by the pandemic, and our schools have faced massive disruption. I thank my school leaders, teachers and support staff for performing what has been a near miracle in keeping schools going, but the support from the Government has been derisory up to now. What regionally targeted measures will the Secretary of State be implementing to make sure that areas such as mine are not left behind?
Exams and Accountability 2021 — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Education
Holly Jamie Walker-Lynch (Labour, Centre-left): I asked headteachers in my constituency for suggested questions to the Secretary of State and had to rule out at least one on the basis that it would have been unparliamentary. I stress again on behalf of all headteachers that the disparities in the disruption to schools are significant in areas like mine, where we have had higher than average infections and restrictions for much longer than other places. Communities with higher proportions of black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils have been particularly affected. How will the Secretary of State ensure that his proposals reflect those serious differences?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely agree with the Lord Chancellor that an efficient court process is fundamental not simply for individual justice but for our democracy as we want to know it. However, cuts have had an impact on the courts service. He rightly refers to victims—particularly child victims—of sexual violence, and I welcome his words on that. Nothing can be more painful or traumatic than the long-drawn-out process we saw in the past, so I welcome his assurance that such trials are early-listed relative to others, but he knows that in some cases where trials are adjourned, they can still run on not simply for weeks and months but for years. That is painful and absolutely traumatic. Does he agree that we must set targets and ensure that we do not have repetition of delay on delay in those most traumatic and most human of cases?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Holly Jamie Walker-Lynch (Labour, Centre-left): As my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) has already spelt out, Halifax county and family court and Calderdale magistrates court were two of the 86 courts that were closed under this Government in 2016 alone. We were promised video links and a technological revolution in access to justice, but four years later, we have had absolutely none of that. The pressures were just transferred to other regional courts, which now face intolerable backlogs because of the virus. Those court buildings are still standing empty, so why not reopen some of them to get the justice system moving again?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): Safety for security guards in courts was a massive concern well before the pandemic, but, as we try to clear the huge backlog, safety concerns have been raised with me around personal protective equipment and the ability to physically distance given the large numbers of people in courts. What is being done to ensure that covid safety guidance is actually enacted, and what does the Secretary of State have to say to the court staff who do not feel safe?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I do not know whether the Justice Secretary has ever had a family member who has been diagnosed with dementia and has then had to go to the Court of Protection to be able to take over their relative’s concerns, but thousands and thousands of families have had to do that this year. Covid has meant that more families have been brought into that circle, at a time when delays in the Court of Protection are quite extraordinary. When I rang earlier this year, I was told than an emergency case would not be heard until "next Easter" at the earliest. That is real pain and suffering for families that are already going through a tough time. If he has not got the figures now, will he write to me to tell us how we will get this backlog back down to normal?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Environment
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): As I understand it, the independent review of administrative law panel was due to report this year. I hope the Secretary of State can give us an update on that and on whether it has looked at the fact that the number of successful environmental claims for judicial review fell by two thirds from 2016 to 2019, despite a tougher test for granted permission to proceed to the final stage. Does he agree that it is really important that access to judicial review is protected, even during difficult times like these?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Ruth Lorraine Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The people of Newport West are concerned that the courts recovery plan comes alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s public sector pay freeze—a freeze that will hit court and tribunal staff very hard in their pockets. Can the Lord Chancellor explain to the people of Newport West why he thinks it is okay for the hidden heroes working in our justice system to do their very best to clear the backlog of cases without being given the fair and decent pay rise that they need and deserve?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): The biggest crime of all, of course, is the scale we see of criminal cases committed in the first place, which the failure in the court system is just exposing. Delaying justice is delaying restitution to victims and their families and denying defendants access to rehabilitation. What additional resources is the Lord Chancellor bringing forward to support victims over this time, but also defendants, particularly with their mental health?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the statement, but we have seen reports of trials being listed for 2023 and, in some cases, court dates not given indefinitely. Does the Lord Chancellor agree with me that justice delayed is justice denied, and will he commit to working to reduce the backlog so that no case must wait more than a year, let alone until 2023?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): We have 30% fewer criminal legal aid firms than in 2010, and a quarter of those have disappeared in the past year alone. The criminal legal aid review is not due to be published until the end of next year. How many firms is the right hon. and learned Gentleman prepared to see disappear before he acts?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): In 2016, the Conservatives pledged 10,000 extra prison places by 2020. They have managed only 200. Unsurprisingly, they recycled that old pledge last year by promising another 10,000, but the Ministry of Justice has informed us that the business case has not even been approved yet, so why should anyone believe this latest announcement that the Government will provide 18,000 new prison places?
Courts and Tribunals: Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): The statement had the air of the Lord Chancellor congratulating himself in case no one else remembered to, but that may be somewhat premature. The criminal courts recovery plan claimed that 266 trials a week would be completed in October, but the actual figure was 160. The Justice Committee was told this week that we will not be getting back to pre-covid backlog figures at any time soon, nor should we be. Does not that sound more like complacency than competence?