argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
James Wharton (Conservative, Centre-right): I hear what my hon. Friend says, but it remains the case that a council or group of councils can now, regardless of the Bill, ask the Secretary of State to implement a proposal for structural change through the traditional processes of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, even where not all councils agree or where there are competing proposals for different councils. He has those powers, but only as part of a convoluted and lengthy process. This is not about forcing unwanted change on areas just because we have the power to do so; it is about enabling the flexibility to deliver the right devolution deals for areas and in a timely and flexible way. I know that hon. Members have raised concerns, but there are none the less statutory tests that have to be satisfied in doing that. This place would need to approve any change, but the fast-track process, with its significant safeguards, is a welcome one The new process would still require the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament a report on the fast-track process, including on matters he has taken into account when deciding to use it, and I reiterate that it could not be used without Parliament’s approval. Having carefully considered and weighed the arguments; having listened to the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle and others; and having considered the need to ensure flexibility if we are to make devolution last, we have decided to support the amendment. We have tabled a manuscript amendment so that it is for a trial period and not something that would necessarily last in perpetuity; none the less we welcome the flexibility in the amendment.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher Robert Chope (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my hon. Friend confirm that the Secretary of State would not, under any circumstances, force change on a local authority against its will, and is really only interested in encouraging local authorities to talk to each other? He said, at the beginning of his remarks, that the starting point remains that change will not be forced on any one but suggested that ultimately the Government wished to have the power to force it.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
James Wharton (Conservative, Centre-right): I remind my hon. Friend of my earlier comments: those powers already exist. The Government’s intention is to find consensus, to build on the local desire for devolution and to deliver lasting devolution to areas that will benefit from it. Those powers are already there. This is about ensuring we can deliver, in a timely way, the devolution that local areas want, but I can absolutely reconfirm the Government’s commitment to seeking and building on consensus. That is how devolution will stand the test of time Amendments 16, 30 and 55 ensure that criminal liabilities of a public authority can be transferred to either a local government or combined authority on the same basis as other liabilities when public authority functions are conferred. Amendments 17 and 31 amend clauses 7 and 16 respectively and allow references in a transfer order or regulations to be made to a formal document, such as guidance, which can be amended from time to time Amendment 36 is a technical amendment substituting the original word "jointly" with the new word "concurrently". The change is necessary to ensure that certain transport functions being carried out by strategic transport bodies and local authorities can be undertaken concurrently rather than jointly. Amendment 3 would change how mayors for combined authorities should be elected. We have debated this matter at length. We believe that, where we are electing an individual to exercise significant executive power, the voting system for which we have made provision is the right one, and that therefore the amendment should be rejected. Finally, amendments 10, 37 to 43, 45 and 44 are necessary to bring the Bill into line with the arrangement in London. They provide clarity and consistency in respect of mayoral deputies with police and crime commissioner functions I hope that hon. Members will accept the Government amendments and reject Opposition amendments and that the House will continue broadly to support the delivery of devolution, on which there is so much consensus and support.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Alistair James Hendrie Burt (Conservative, Centre-right): I should not be, but I am tempted to respond. If that is the hon. Gentleman’s concern, why should the Secretary of State sign the order agreeing the devolution in the first place if it does not fit in with his masterplan? If he is going to take back the powers in due course, why would he give them away in the first place?
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): Is not the fundamental point that the Bill that we are about to pass may remain on the statute book for many years? The current Secretary of State may be fully committed to devolving these powers, but a future Secretary of State might wish to suck all of them back to Whitehall.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is seeking to be very helpful. The difficulty that exists is that the safeguards he proposes apply at the moment of devolution. My concern is that a reconfiguration might happen when a power has been devolved, which might not be in the interests of one of the constituent parts of a conurbation. What can be done at that point is what is crucial.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Alistair James Hendrie Burt (Conservative, Centre-right): I believe that that assurance is present in existing legislation. If it is not, we will make sure in the House of Lords that it is. I would also query why my hon. Friend’s local authority has given up this right in the first place to the combined authority, because it if wants to retain that right, perhaps it might want to take it back from the combined authority.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister has to understand that this is endemic in the nature of the process. It will become more and more commonplace as we see more powers being transferred from the local authorities to combined authority level, and the new arrangements will become entrenched. That is why it is so important that we ensure that the safeguards are in place at this point—
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Alistair James Hendrie Burt (Conservative, Centre-right): I rest my case with my hon. Friend: I believe that legislation currently provides the reassurance that he seeks. However, I undertake that, before the matter is concluded in the House of Lords, we will ensure that that assurance is there so that he is covered. He is absolutely right to make sure that his local authority has the opportunity to make representations when it needs to. I am sure that the legislation does that, but we will make doubly certain that it does.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I will indeed. My hon. Friend raises an important point. The whole process by which we have operated and negotiated with places has recognised that the best ideas come from local places themselves. Previous local government Bills have attempted, with unhappy consequences, to impose a Government view of how local government should be organised on reluctant local authorities. This Bill does not do that and the amendment that he mentions will not be used for that purpose either. Rather, it will bring local communities and local authorities into a discussion about what is best for their area.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State, as usual, is handling difficult issues in a consensual and careful way. As I understand it, he wants to use amendment 56 to encourage a discussion. Discussions are fine, but, for the want of argument, if a county council wanted to use amendment 56 to drive for a unitary authority against the wishes of one or more district council, I take it that the county council could not use it to override the district councils.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Julian Charles Sturdy (Conservative, Centre-right): Like many on the Government Benches, I praise my right hon. Friend for all his work bringing the Bill to the House, but does he accept that some areas might need more time to come to the right devolution deal, rather than rushing a bad deal? Will he assure those areas that they will not be penalised for taking their time over what might be, for certain areas, quite a difficult decision to get the right conclusion?
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I can certainly give that assurance to my hon. Friend, who has played an active role in talking to his local authorities and businesses to build a consensus. It is clear that different places will proceed at different paces, as they have done already, but I and my hon. Friends are completely committed to inviting every part of the country to put forward and negotiate a deal that is right for them. We invite all parts of the country to propose that which would make the biggest difference to local areas. To paraphrase Disraeli, the Bill exists to show areas their riches to themselves. We can, with the Bill, unleash the growth, the jobs, the homes and the futures that everyone across the country has a right to hope for, and because of that, I commend it to the House.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher Robert Chope (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the thoughtful way in which he responded to the concerns that were expressed about amendment 56. I think that what he said will be very helpful in ensuring that the Bill is not just about devolution but evolution, and that changes happen gradually and work with the grain of what the people want locally, rather than being imposed top-down and from the centre What concerns people about local government—apart from the level of local taxes—is their wish to have some control over the way in which their own communities develop, and to control planning in particular rather than its being controlled by much more remote communities. For a short time I was a member of the Inner London Education Authority, which purported to make decisions on education matters throughout the inner-London boroughs. Most of its members had never ventured outside their own local authority areas, let alone visited all the other parts of London that were covered by ILEA. The danger with very large authorities is that they can lose touch with the sensitive issues that cause the greatest concern to our constituents and to local residents. I hope that as we evolve different administrative and representational models for local government we will bear in mind the need to retain the very powerful local involvement in planning. I speak on behalf of the people of Christchurch, an ancient borough with a priory church that goes back over 900 years where people enjoy the opportunity to elect their own local mayor. One of the downsides of some of the proposals is that they could result in people losing the power to be able to elect their own local mayor for their council—the person who could speak on behalf of the town. Councillor Spreadbury, who, sadly, died about a year ago, had the privilege of being the mayor of Christchurch in five successive decades, having welcomed Her Majesty in 1966 and then had four successive terms. He was typical of a local person brought up in the area and truly representing what the community felt Why not retain the distinctions between the different parts of our country? Why try and merge and homogenise the New Forest with Christchurch or Christchurch with East Dorset? A lot of change could be achieved by allowing back office services to be worked out together and by having single chief executives instead of multiple chief executives, but we must not lose sight of the fact that ultimately local government is for most people the body to which they look to take decisions in the best interests of the local citizens Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed, with amendments.
House of Commons Members’ Fund — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher Robert Chope (Conservative, Centre-right): This gives us an opportunity to ask the Leader of the House: whither the House of Commons Members’ Fund and the trustees whom we are appointing this evening? A number of us feel the members’ fund and the statute that set it up has slightly lost touch with today’s reality. I hope my right hon. Friend will be able to say, in a very brief response to this debate, that he is minded to have a look at the future constitution of the members’ fund and whether it might evolve into a House of Commons benevolent fund to look after the dependants of former Members of this House. At the moment, the benevolent fund aspect of the members’ fund plays too small a part and I think there is something to be said for establishing a proper benevolent fund that could then take over some of the responsibilities of the current members’ fund.
House of Commons Members’ Fund — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point, and this issue is currently being pursued by our hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford). We do have to bear it in mind that one of the reasons this support has existed over the years is that for those unfortunate enough to lose their seats in this place at a general election, there can often be an immensely difficult transition. Often it is not as easy as some outside might think for them to move into employment, and of course they may run into difficulties later on in their careers This place has had a long and right tradition of paying due attention to, and looking after, those who have served this country and this House but who have ultimately found themselves in need. My hon. Friend’s point about the need for this to be a benevolent fund in the future is well worth serious consideration. I understand the point he is making. We have three excellent appointments in the new trustees who are joining the fund, and they could play an active role in that I should also like to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Richard Harrington), who has done first-class work in this role and has now moved on, thanks to his recent appointment as the Minister with responsibility for Syrian refugees My hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch has made an important point, and I will make sure that his comments are drawn to the attention of the trustees. I encourage him to talk to my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley, but I will also ensure that the matter is put on to the agenda of the House of Commons Commission, to be discussed at a meeting in the near future. This is an area in which the House has always done the right thing in the past, and there is good reason for us to carry on doing so in the future Question put and agreed to.
Domestic Oil Purchasing Syndicates — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Energy
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr Williams). This is an important debate and I am interested to hear about Club Cosy and the initiatives in his constituency. As I am also off-grid, I, too, participate in an oil buying group, which has been of great personal benefit to me The debate is a welcome opportunity to discuss the importance of domestic oil purchasing syndicates. My priority is keeping all energy bills low for hard-working families and businesses, as well as keeping the lights on and moving towards a green energy future. Heating oil is a small but significant part of the energy sector. About 1.5 million households are dependent on heating oil to heat their homes and typically they are among the 4 million not connected to the gas grid in the UK. The Office of Fair Trading noted in its off-gas grid market study in 2011 a large variation between the four nations of the UK, with 80% of homes in Northern Ireland off the gas grid compared with 12% in England, 21% in Scotland and 19% in Wales. Proportionally, more off-gas grid households are single occupancy and/or house a person over the age of 60, so the hon. Gentleman is right to point out the effect on elderly people who are also among the fuel-poor Last year, nearly 4 billion litres of heating oil, which is primarily used for heating, was delivered into the UK market. As the hon. Gentleman said, heating oil is brought to consumers by a local distributor company from the refiners and importers. Some distributors have their own storage where they can keep a few days’ supply, while those that do not have storage collect oil from a wholesale terminal and deliver it directly to their customers. The price they charge is dependent on how much they had to pay for the oil, the volume required, and the cost of delivery. DECC analysis suggests that on average, at national level crude oil price changes are fully passed through into heating oil prices within a month. At times, the wholesale price for heating oil may also be influenced by local supply and demand issues. The average cost of heating oil is currently 34.51 pence per litre, which is down 18p from its peak in September 2014. I have been clear to the oil companies that we expect them to continue passing on any future oil price falls, bringing benefits to consumers and the wider economy.
Domestic Oil Purchasing Syndicates — House of Commons, 2015-12-07
Topic: Energy
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I will certainly take that away and look seriously at what the hon. Gentleman says. Only recently, we conducted a small campaign in social media and in the general media to try to encourage people who are part of oil buying syndicates, and people who are not, to buy early in preparation for the winter and to try to grab prices while they are relatively low I hope that this debate has been helpful to the hon. Gentleman—and to the hon. Member for Strangford—and I sincerely congratulate him on raising it Question put and agreed to.
Renewables Obligation — House of Commons, 2015-09-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: What assessment she has made of the relative net financial benefit to the public purse of early closure of the renewables obligation using different cost methodologies.
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): May I start by welcoming the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) to her Front-Bench role? We estimate that closing the renewables obligation early to large and small-scale solar PV projects will reduce costs to the levy control framework by between £180 million and £280 million per year. The estimated saving of closing the RO early to new onshore wind is up to £270 million per year. The details of those cost estimates are published in impact assessments that are available on DECC’s webpage.
Renewables Obligation — House of Commons, 2015-09-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: What assessment she has made of the relative net financial benefit to the public purse of early closure of the renewables obligation using different cost methodologies.
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): What the hon. Gentleman fails to address in his question and does not seem to absorb from the steps that we have taken to address the costs is that at the centre of everything this Government do is the impact on consumer bills. We had a commitment to limit the levy control framework to £7.6 billion by 2020. When it became apparent that we were way in excess of that, but were still meeting our renewables targets, it was right to limit the amount of money we were spending. That is why we took action quickly to do so.
Renewables Obligation — House of Commons, 2015-09-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: What assessment she has made of the relative net financial benefit to the public purse of early closure of the renewables obligation using different cost methodologies.
Andrew William Murrison (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the action she has taken, particularly in relation to the wasteful onshore wind turbines that are blighting many areas of the countryside. In June, when she made her original announcement, she suggested that some of the RO money might be diverted to other forms of alternative power generation. Is she in a position to say what those alternatives may be?
Renewables Obligation — House of Commons, 2015-09-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: What assessment she has made of the relative net financial benefit to the public purse of early closure of the renewables obligation using different cost methodologies.
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): The key reason for reining back on onshore wind was its very success. The Government are absolutely committed to supporting renewable sources of energy, and onshore wind has been very successful. On the use of funds that may have been saved, I come back to the point that the Government are committed to staying within the levy control framework budget as far as is possible. That is the key reason we are taking steps to limit spending. Any further spending commitments, as my hon. Friend will be aware, are up to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Renewables Obligation — House of Commons, 2015-09-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: What assessment she has made of the relative net financial benefit to the public purse of early closure of the renewables obligation using different cost methodologies.
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): I, too, am sorry that the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) is no longer on the Front Bench. She and I used to have regular, robust exchanges, and she had a realistic approach to energy security, describing nationalisation proposals as "turning the clock back". How much I agree with her The hon. Member for Wigan mentioned investor confidence, but perhaps I may ask her to look within her own team as there are real concerns about the Opposition’s approach to nuclear power—who knows their position ahead? The Government are committed to a mix of energy supply and to ensuring that nuclear power, which she mentioned, is part of that mix. It is so disappointing that under the previous Labour Government there was no planning or looking ahead—
Renewables Obligation — House of Commons, 2015-09-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: What assessment she has made of the relative net financial benefit to the public purse of early closure of the renewables obligation using different cost methodologies.
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is entirely wrong. This Government have a clear plan, and in a way she summed it up in her conclusion. We are committed to ensuring that energy security is at the forefront, to carbon reductions, and above all—a feature that never appears except on the Conservative Benches—to keeping consumer bills down.