argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): When a home is sold under the current right-to-buy scheme, there are restrictions on what people can do for a period of time, and that will continue in the extended scheme. Ultimately, many years down the line, I absolutely defend the right of any homeowner to do with their home what any other homeowner can do, be it selling it or living in it, but there are protections for the first few years after purchase.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): I strongly support the right-to-buy approach and welcome what the Minister has had to say today. There are, however, concerns in Barnwell in my constituency relating to the replenishment of homes sold in rural areas, particularly given that a highly desirable new housing association development has just come on stream. What assurance can he give my constituents in Barnwell?
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I have two points to make to my hon. Friend. First, for every home sold an extra home will be built in that area. Secondly, depending on the particular details of the area, the rural exemptions may apply, too. At the very least there will be an extra home built for every home sold.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said earlier, I cannot speak for the Scottish Government, although I do encourage them to build more houses. [Hon. Members: "Northern Ireland!"] The whole point of this scheme is that, for every house that is sold, an extra home will be built. I say to the hon. Lady that the affordable house building scheme has delivered ahead of its targets, and we are now delivering at the fastest rate for more than two decades. I say to all Opposition Members that the Conservative-led coalition Government delivered more social council housing in five years than Labour did in 13 years.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously, rent changes are going through the House at the moment, but this right-to-buy scheme helps housing associations build more homes. It gives them access to more finance and a greater realisation of their assets, and I support that. With regard to the rent changes, bearing in mind the savings that are going on right across the public sector, looking for efficiencies of 1% a year from housing associations is not unreasonable. Many housing associations are embracing that idea.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): What I say to housing associations and generally is that we do need to ensure that we are efficient in our use of public funds and of tenants’ income. Housing associations should be looking at that and at whether they have the right mechanisms and structures in place. I cannot comment on particular housing associations, but right to buy will mean that there is more work for them to do in terms of building those extra homes that we want to see right across the country.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman keeps talking about replacements as if homes are disappearing, but they are not. When people buy their home through right to buy, they will be living in that home. The income from that in the area will be used to build extra homes. The simple answer is that we want extra homes to be built, and I should have thought the hon. Gentleman would want to support us and his local authority in seeing more homes built to support the homeownership aspiration of people in London.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone of his question, but he should bear in mind the fact that to have more homes available in London across the tenures, we need more homes to be built. Right to buy accesses finance to allow local authorities to build extra homes. More homes will be built—not just replacements —in London for Londoners.
Right to Buy — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure that I follow the hon. Lady’s exact point. For example, the chairman of the LGA is absolutely in favour of right to buy and supports the aspiration of people who wish to own their own home. The Government will continue to do that.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
Nicholas Soames (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I rise on a very serious matter indeed: to ask you whether you have had any request from the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) to seek your permission to make a personal statement apologising for the way in which he has so vilely traduced the late Lord Brittan, and further for him to have a chance to apologise to Lord Brittan’s dignified and courageous widow?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order. The short answer is that I have had no such request. It is incumbent on each Member to take responsibility for his or her statements within this House, and there is a wider obligation, of course, to comply with the expectations and requirements of the code of conduct that applies to all Members. However, the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) is signalling to me that he would like to respond to what has been said and it is right that he should have the opportunity to do so.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. This is not an occasion for a debate on this matter, and to be fair I do not think any Member would expect such. The right hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Sir Nicholas Soames) has perfectly properly raised his point of order—I thank him for the terms in which he has done so—and the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) has responded, and we must now leave it there and proceed with our next item of parliamentary business.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The hon. Gentleman must resume his seat. If he seeks to raise a totally unrelated point of order—that is to say, not related to anything that we have just covered and on which I have given a definitive ruling—I will hear him, but I rather suspect from the prevarication that it is not totally unrelated.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. Before the hon. Gentleman proceeds with his speech, I must inform the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis), and the rest of the House, that regrettably he is wrong. The hon. Gentleman will get to the end of his speech without taking interventions from every Member in the Chamber. That would simply be unfair, because 41 hon. Members have indicated to me that they wish to make a speech. I will impose an initial time limit of four minutes, but it is likely to be reduced to three minutes later in the debate, because there is another important debate to follow. If hon. Members think that the Chair will not notice if they make long interventions on the opening speaker, they are also wrong. I am watching very carefully, and if anyone thinks that they can make a long intervention now and then be called to make a speech later, I am afraid that they will have to think again.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Graham Charles Stuart (Conservative, Centre-right): Twenty-five per cent. of all businesses in England are based in rural areas—a greater proportion than that of the population—and yet companies such as Agenda Security Services in my constituency have had to invest tens of thousands of pounds to get any kind of usable service while their counterparts in cities have no such disadvantage.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely; the contrast is the most painful thing I would hope that greater transparency might come from BT, but it may come across all networks only with much tougher regulation. That transparency would also allow companies and councils to make a better case for putting state aid into areas where it is not currently permitted.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Simon James Hoare (Conservative, Centre-right): In the spirit of promotion, I am grateful to my right hon. and gallant and learned Friend for giving way. Setting aside philosophical ideas about competition and splitting up BT, does he agree that most of our constituents—this is certainly true of mine in North Dorset—are just keen to get the damned thing delivered as quickly and as cost effectively as possible, to allow them to grow their businesses? Would it not be sensible to park the governance discussion until a later date and to focus today on the delivery?
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. Even the hon. Gentleman, who makes extremely good arguments, must make them quicker and briefer than that. We will never get through this debate if people keep making long interventions. It simply is not fair.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. Many hon. Members have talked about the problems experienced in urban and suburban areas. Villages such as Northney in my constituency are both rural and coastal. Can he assure me that in his work and engagement with Ministers those communities will not be forgotten?
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The House will be aware that most speeches have not taken four minutes. That is perfectly fine as there have been interventions. A debate is supposed to have interventions as they are what makes it lively and worth while, but after the next speaker, I will have to reduce the time limit to three minutes. The last speaker with four minutes is Mr Richard Drax.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Lucy Allan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Matt Warman) for securing the debate and I also thank the Minister, who has listened to the voices from constituencies up and down the country I represent a new town and want to make one simple point, which I will definitely make within my three minutes. We have significant areas of new build property in Telford, so this is not just a rural issue. People come to Telford to buy the dream, but they get their value-for-money new build housing and suddenly discover when they arrive that they have been sold a pup. When I moved to Telford in 2013, I just assumed that broadband and mobile coverage would be a given—a normal expectation of everyday life—yet in parts of Telford, in modern fast-growing areas such as Lightmoor, Lawley and Trench Lock, that investment in basic infrastructure was not there. Similarly, in the Ironbridge gorge, a world heritage centre that is a mecca for tourism and leisure, there is no mobile coverage at all. Businesses and residents alike struggle with the daily frustrations that that creates In 2012, the Labour-controlled local council turned down Government funding to tackle the problem, saying that "in an ideal world we would like to invest in broadband but we do not live in an ideal world" So the council said, " No thank you, Government. We do not want the money and do not want to invest in broadband." Online community champions such as Telford Live and Lightmoor Life, along with the Shropshire Star, campaigned for change and, fortunately, three years on, Telford and Wrekin Council has changed its mind—we are now in an ideal world—and a deal with BT and Broadband Delivery UK has been signed. I am looking forward to 2017, when it will all be absolutely fine, but it could have happened a lot earlier if we had had a co-operative council—and I do not mean that in the sense that Labour would mean it Let us remember that new homes need infrastructure. They cannot be built in a void, as though they have just landed from Mars. Basic infrastructure in the 21st century means fast broadband and mobile coverage. Connecting Telford, as well as many other constituencies across the country, is vital for business, jobs and growth. I thank the Minister for his patience. I know that it has been very frustrating for him to have to listen to all these gripes, but I am so glad that he is in the Chamber to do so.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anne Marie Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that an additional challenge is to ask the Government to review those parts of the country included in the commercial roll-out and to include some of them back in the BDUK project for phases 2 and 3?
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Johanna Peta Churchill (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a valid point about using what resources we have in a much more intelligent way We need to ensure that at the planning stage there is communication between deliverers and providers and that we lay service ducts for broadband as housing and commercial developments are built, a point that several Members have alluded to. The Government are demanding digital platforms for most services, including tourism and education, so we need these things to be happening The word "rural" has been repeated in this Chamber time and again today. We should not be disfranchised simply because we have the pleasure of living in England’s beautiful counties. It is right and proper that our cities should have high-speed broadband, but it is not right that we should not.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): As we look at planning reforms, particularly to extend mobile coverage, I hope that my hon. Friend will support me if we make it easier for mobile phone companies to put up masts in rural areas.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Housing
Simon James Hoare (Conservative, Centre-right): I apologise to the House if I am banging on about local government today. Does my hon. Friend agree that if satellite is to be successful in a lot of our very pretty villages with listed buildings, conservation areas and so on, we will be looking to our planning authorities to show a degree of leniency instead of stopping the charge towards satellite by saying, "This is a very important building and you can’t have a satellite dish there"? We cannot have this held up for those reasons.
Stormont — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. We are extremely grateful to the hon. Lady. Unfortunately there will not be time for a Back-Bench winding-up speech. The opening contribution was substantial, for which we are grateful, but we now need to wind up the debate with the Front-Bench speeches.
Civilians in Syria — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
Tobias Martin Ellwood (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not give way, no. The hon. Gentleman is not going to tease me at this last moment. I invite and encourage a wider debate that lasts longer than 30 minutes, which I would very much welcome—
Civilians in Syria — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The business managers can perfectly well facilitate such a debate, and at whatever hour of the night it took place I should be very happy to be in my place. Obviously a lot of people have things to say and would like to do so Question put and agreed to.
Onshore Wind Power: Planning — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman could learn a lot from the leader of the Western Isles Council, who is keen to have confirmation that the Scottish Government will devolve responsibility for the Crown Estate to the Western Isles—a measure that he, as MP for the Western Isles, does not appear to support. [Interruption.]
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Other
Questions: What discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on reforming the estimates process to take account of the changes made to the Standing Orders of the House to implement English votes for English laws.
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): The changes to Standing Orders do not make any difference to the estimates process. When my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House challenged hon. Members to provide examples of where there would be difficulties, no examples could be provided.
Health Spending — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): I note that the hon. Gentleman has raised the issue of English votes for English laws, and that he gets very worked up about it. Let me remind him and the House that, just a year ago, he said that English votes for English laws was "an issue that the Scottish people could not care less about" That does not seem to be his approach any more.
Anti-Semitism — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Civil Rights
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): Recorded incidents of anti-Semitism in Scotland are thankfully low, but I am not complacent. I echo the Prime Minister’s view that tackling anti-Semitism goes right to the heart of what we stand for as a country. Whatever our politics and whatever our faith, we must seek to defeat it.
Anti-Semitism — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Civil Rights
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly will, and I am very happy to do so. I should also say to the hon. Gentleman that, despite the many robust exchanges that we have in the Chamber, all MPs from Scotland are united in the view that we cannot tolerate anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitism — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Civil Rights
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely, and I commend the hon. Lady for the extent to which, during her short time as a Member of Parliament, she has already engaged with that important Jewish community in Scotland. I also commend the work of the Scottish Government in that regard. As I said earlier, this is a matter on which we are all united, supporting Jewish communities and not accepting anti-Semitism.
Abortion Legislation — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Civil Rights
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): The Smith commission recommended that abortion law be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but recognised that the issue needed to be handled sensitively by the UK and Scottish Governments. Following ministerial discussion between Scotland’s two Governments, I confirmed that abortion would be devolved in the Scotland Bill, and wrote to interested parties. As I have already confirmed, there will be ongoing engagement with women’s groups as the matter is taken forward.
Abortion Legislation — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Civil Rights
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I think it would be helpful if I confirmed that because abortion law is being devolved, that does not mean that there will be any change. The existing arrangements will continue to apply in Scotland until they are changed by the Scottish Parliament. I am very pleased to note that the First Minister of Scotland has confirmed that she has no plans at all to change the existing abortion law in Scotland.
Abortion Legislation — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Civil Rights
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise, of course, the concerns the right hon. Lady raises, but the Scottish Parliament already has responsibility for criminal justice and health issues, and it has dealt with some very sensitive issues extremely well in my view. I have spoken to women’s groups in Scotland such as Engender, Abortion Rights Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid. They believe that the devolution can take place but want to be consulted about that, and they will be.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The Leader of the Opposition is entitled to ask questions without a barrage of noise, and the Prime Minister is entitled to answer questions without a barrage of noise. That is what the public are entitled to expect.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: The UK’s internet economy is by far the largest of the G20 nations, at 12.4% of our GDP. But as consumers move online, so do criminals. Does the Prime Minister therefore agree that the investigatory powers Bill must give our security services the powers they need to keep us safe, while ensuring that proper controls exist on how we use those powers?; Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the town of Prestatyn in my constituency, which is a finalist in the Department for Communities and Local Government’s great British high street awards? Will he confirm whether the UK Government will be holding discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government about the devolution of business rates to councils in Wales so that other town centres in my constituency, such as Rhyl, have a better opportunity to regenerate?
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating Prestatyn. I do not know whether Prestatyn is in the same category for this prize as my home town of Chipping Norton, which has also been nominated, so I might have some conflicts of interest. Obviously, in Wales, business rates are a devolved issue, but it is open to the Welsh Government, should they choose, to take the approach that we are taking of devolving that business rate income directly to local councils, so that local councils have a better connection between the money that they raise and the decisions that they take to attract business, investment and industry to their area.
Draft Investigatory Powers Bill — House of Commons, 2015-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman says that there was some confused briefing. Different reports appeared in newspapers, but that is not necessarily the result of briefing. The situation on the Bill is what I have set out today in my statement—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown) says that I went on TV. I said on TV exactly what I am about to say to the House in relation to the difference between the Bill and the draft Communications Data Bill, which is that some of the more contentious elements are not in the current Bill. For example, the requirement for UK communications service providers to retain and access third-party data from overseas providers is not in the Bill, nor is the web browsing provision, to which the right hon. Gentleman referred, and nor is the provision that would have placed on US and overseas providers the same data retention requirements and obligations that apply to UK service providers On judicial authorisation, the double lock provides both judicial independence, but also, crucially, public accountability. That is what we get through membership of the House The right hon. Gentleman mentioned retrospective data. I put to him the case of the abducted child. We want to see who that child or young person was in contact with before they were abducted. We can do that through telephone records, but we cannot do it if they were using a social media app. That is what the intercept communications records enable us to do.