argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, they certainly are. In each of the interventions that we have made over the course of the pandemic and will take in the future, we have taken this housing and health approach, in which we try to ensure that individuals are not merely brought off the streets and helped to live in better quality accommodation but given wraparound care so that we can begin to address substance misuse, mental health and other issues and reintegrate them into society. That is very much the strategy that I and my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will be taking forward.
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to Newcastle City Council, which has made great progress over the course of the year. Its snapshot shows that the numbers have almost halved compared with the prior year. The hon. Lady is right that we need a long-term strategy. That is why we have the rough sleeping initiative, which is now in its third year, and we are really starting to see the fruits of that work. I want to see that continue for many years. That is also why we have created the multi-year Move On accommodation programme, backed by £400 million, and of course I hope that there is a multi-year settlement across Government later this year and that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be able to continue that level of investment well into the future.
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Matthew Alexander Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): Brian and Stella Jones are two of the most incredible, compassionate, inspiring people you will ever meet. They set up the Moses Project in Stockton, which helps people who find themselves homeless as a result of addiction. Every day they are saving lives and giving people another chance. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the charity sector has a massive role to play in helping us to tackle rough sleeping once and for all?
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not like to disagree with the right hon. Lady, because she is right on many issues, but she is wrong on this one, I am afraid. Local councils have self-reported to my Department that they have spent around £1 billion less on covid-19 issues than we have given them, so we have overfunded local councils at the moment. We will do everything we can to make good on our promise to support them through the pandemic. We have increased the amount of funding for homelessness and rough sleeping, as I said earlier, by 60% year on year to £750 million I do not think that this issue is one of money today; it is about commitment, and it is about delivery. The right hon. Lady’s local council in Hull is actually one of the small number of local authorities that have seen an increase in rough sleepers, from six in the last count to 19 in this one, compared with the many good examples in the other direction that I have been able to report today on a cross-party basis. I think that further effort between my Department and her local council, perhaps with her support, is needed in the months ahead.
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises an important point. She has worked on that with the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate (Luke Hall), who is a parliamentary near neighbour of hers, in the Bristol area. We have taken forward research to see whether tighter regulation of supported housing is required, and we recently decided to extend those pilots and provide further funding for them, so that we can learn more before coming to a judgment as to whether we need to put in place legislative or other measures to protect people from poor-quality outcomes. I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss that further, if she would benefit from that.
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Nicola Jane Aiken (Conservative, Centre-right): I declare an interest, in that I remain a Westminster City councillor. I pay tribute to Westminster City Council for a 27% decrease in the number of rough sleepers on the streets of our capital today. Obviously we have more work to do, and part of the issue is the legislation that we are dealing with. The Vagrancy Act is 200 years out of date, and I am campaigning with Crisis, The Passage and St Mungo’s for repeal of the Act and to introduce legislation that will respond to the 21st-century reasons why people are still on the streets. Will my right hon. Friend agree to meet me and those organisations, to discuss how we can work together to repeal that legislation?
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): I join my hon. Friend in praising Westminster City Council, its officers, its brilliant leader Rachael Robathan, and its very good previous leader, both of whom have been extremely committed to that issue. I have spoken to her and to Rachael Robathan almost weekly about it and, as she says, Westminster has now experienced a 27% decrease in rough sleeping, which is a phenomenal achievement for all involved. I look forward to working with her and Rachael Robathan in the future We have reviewed the Vagrancy Act and will be saying more in the weeks ahead. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. It is my opinion that the Vagrancy Act should be repealed. It is an antiquated piece of legislation whose time has been and gone. We should consider carefully whether better, more modern legislation could be introduced to preserve some aspects of it, but the Act itself, I think, should be consigned to history.
Rough Sleeping — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Questions: 2020 saw the deaths of 976 rough sleepers on the streets of this country. That is a scandal, as indeed is any rough sleeping. Will the Minister look with more care at the reasons why people are sleeping rough, including unfair evictions in the private sector and inappropriate use of the “intentionally homeless” rules? Regarding those who are temporarily housed in hostels, does he understand the stress they feel from not knowing what the future will bring? A hostel is a roof over their head on a temporary basis; what we need is investment—big investment now—in council housing, so that move-on accommodation can give people a secure, permanent roof over their head. The best way of achieving that is through the construction of lifetime tenancy council housing at social rents. Will the Secretary of State commit this Government to building the council houses that are necessary all across this country?
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): I will look into the case that the hon. Gentleman raises. I have seen concerning evidence about some providers of supported housing. That is why we are doing the work at the moment to see what the true situation is, whether a tighter regulatory environment is required, and, if so, how we deliver that. I would be happy to take his advice as to how we move forward. I take the opportunity to praise his council in Birmingham for its hard work. Birmingham is one of the shining examples of success over the course of the last year, and its rough sleeping count, announced today, of just 17 individuals for a large city—England’s largest local authority—is a huge achievement.
Growing Back Better Report — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is a valiant supporter on the Committee, for his comments about our report and the way the Committee operates. He is absolutely right. This measure, when introduced last year, was a really positive signal that, of the Government’s manifesto commitment of more than £9 billion to invest in energy-efficiency improvements to buildings, £1.5 billion was to go towards owner-occupiers and the private rented sector, whereas the rest is likely to go to social housing and other types of public building However, the scheme has been suffering from very low take-up because of the extraordinary administrative burden that was imposed on accessing it; the lack of qualified tradesmen to undertake the work, because they have to go through a particular certification process that few companies have been prepared to secure; and the challenge of the duration of the scheme. It is difficult to persuade contractors to take on staff to do the work or even, frankly, to quote for the work if the scheme is coming to an end in a short period. It was initially a six-month scheme. Thankfully, it was extended to an 18-month scheme, running out only 13 months from now, but that is not enough. We think that this scheme should endure for the whole Parliament, and it should be supported and improved by the Government. We hear from newspaper reports that there is a risk of it being scrapped. That would be a retrograde step, particularly at a time when we have the eyes of the world on us for the schemes we are introducing to address some of the carbon emission challenges and the targets we have made.
Growing Back Better Report — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Housing
Joy Inboden Morrissey (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for this report, which highlights the importance of maintaining our net zero target while focusing on our economic recovery. What steps does the report highlight to improve the shortcomings found in the green homes grant?
Growing Back Better Report — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her contribution to our Committee and her characteristically robust portrayal of some of our recommendations. I touched on the Bank of England in my remarks. The pace at which it seeks to adjust its portfolio is a matter for the Bank, but it has agreed to look at this in the response from the Governor, and that is a very good start. The Bank of England has led the way internationally in many of its approaches towards climate change, and COP26 provides it with an opportunity to do more. In relation to the green homes grant scheme, I completely agree that it must be turned into a multi-year scheme to provide confidence to installers up and down the country.
Education Route Map: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. There is a problem; I have to stop the right hon. Gentleman, as we have a technical hitch. It must be a serious one, because Mr Halfon clearly cannot hear me and cannot see that I am standing up. I hope that something is being done behind the scenes to try to get through to him. I think we must have a two-way problem, as we cannot hear him and he cannot hear me. As he is introducing the debate, this does give us a little difficulty, so I am taking the decision to suspend the House for three minutes until we can sort out the technical problem.
Education Route Map: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I am afraid we have another problem. I am so sorry. Once again, the right hon. Member cannot hear me. I am going to stop him immediately. Instead, I am going to ask the hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine), to whom the right hon. Member for Harlow has just paid tribute for his support, to open the debate—with no notice whatever.
Education Route Map: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his impromptu opening of the debate. We will now have a three-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches, and I am afraid that not everyone who is on the call list will be called this afternoon.
Welsh Affairs — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I also say how very saddened I was to learn of the death of Hywel Francis, who was quite simply a dear, much-loved friend The coronavirus pandemic, of course, is the background to today’s Saint David’s Day debate and indeed, it has dominated life in Wales for much of the past 12 months. Times have been difficult, but the impressive efficiency of the vaccination programme means that at last we are now able to see the prospect of returning to a life that approaches normality The financial support given by the Government to our citizens during this worrying time has been outstanding, and I know from many discussions with constituents just how much it is appreciated, but as we see the increasing positive impact of the vaccine, it is important to consider how people’s livelihoods will continue to be secured after we emerge from lockdown. In north Wales, tourism and hospitality are the mainstay of our economy, worth a remarkable £3.6 billion, employing over 46,500 full-time equivalent jobs and bringing in 29 million visitors. The 2020 season was severely disrupted, with a drop in income of an estimated £2.17 billion. It is therefore crucial that as much clarity as possible is given to hospitality business operators as to when and how they may recommence operations in 2021 In England the Government have set out a clear, though cautious, road map for exiting lockdown. Indeed, one senior representative of the north Wales tourism sector, told me only yesterday that the Prime Minister’s statement on Monday amounted to what he called light at the end of a very dark tunnel, which, unfortunately, is not being replicated in Wales. If the virus suppression programme proceeds as we all hope, hospitality should reopen in England by mid-May. Sadly, no clarity of the sort given by the Westminster Government has been provided in Wales, and this is a huge concern to north Wales tourism business operators. It is likely that more UK citizens will be taking their holidays domestically this year as a consequence of the disruption of air travel. Families are making their bookings now, but if there is no clarity as to when Wales will be open for business again, they will go to Cornwall, the Lake District or some other part of the country where there is sufficient clarity I therefore urge my right hon. Friend and the Government to work closely with the Welsh Government to agree a joint strategy for the reopening of the entire UK hospitality sector. If that is not done, I very much fear that there will be another bleak holiday season in north Wales, with consequent business failures and redundancies, and that is something that none of us wants to see.
Welsh Affairs — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I am sorry to cut you short—I do apologise, and I apologise to all the other Members who did not get in because of time constraints—but we have to go to the wind-ups. I call Nia Griffith.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): You have done that supremely well. Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus i chi gyd—happy St David’s Day to you all Along with all other Members, I too pass on my deepest condolences on behalf of Mr Speaker and all the friends of Dr Hywel Francis here in Parliament to his family. As the Secretary of State for Wales said, Hywel was one of those Members who, irrespective of party divide, would reach out and become a friend. He was instrumental—pushing, as he did—in me getting an honorary degree from Swansea University, for which I will be eternally grateful. He reached out to me, a Conservative. That was the mark of Hywel Francis, and I send our condolences to his family once again.
Alcohol Duty — House of Commons, 2021-02-25
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): I did not suspend the House after the Welsh affairs debate because both contributors to this Adjournment debate are coming via video link, but we have sanitised the Dispatch Box in the unlikely event that the video link goes down and we need to use it.
International Travel: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-04-29
Topic: Mixed Topics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): The global travel taskforce report clearly sets out how, when the time is right, we will be able to restart international travel, without putting our hard-won progress against the virus at risk. We will confirm by early May whether non-essential international travel can resume from 17 May.
International Travel: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2021-04-29
Topic: Immigration
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): I should remind the hon. Gentleman and the House that people should not be travelling right now. In fact, they cannot travel right now without a very exceptional reason indeed, because people have to stay at home—stay domestically. However, it is the case that Border Force is checking every single person who enters the country to make sure that they have completed the pre-departure test and the locator form to say where they will be. I am afraid that, at the moment, that inevitably creates some queues. As we move towards the unlocking of international travel, we will be addressing this issue not least through beginning to automate the e-gates with the pre-departure form.