argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Engagements — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Questions: I believe in a global Britain and I want us to trade freely with the world, so can my right hon. Friend explain the difference between a customs union and a customs arrangement, as there seems to be some confusion?
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): From a Government who have cut the nurse training bursary, who do not seem to understand that it takes eight years to train a doctor, and who are completely oblivious, apparently, to the fact that there are 100,000 vacancies in the NHS now—[Interruption.] I suggest that some Members get a life and go and visit a hospital to see just how hard those people work in order to cover for the vacancies that are there. Surely we need to give immediate, real assurance to EU nationals that they have a future in this country Just three months ago, the Foreign Secretary told the House with regard to Northern Ireland: "There can be no hard border. That would be unthinkable".—[Official Report, 21 November 2017; Vol. 631, c. 848.] That is what he said. Yet in a leaked letter to the Prime Minister, he wrote: "even if a hard border is reintroduced, we would expect to see 95% + of goods pass" [Interruption.] He is shouting at the moment—he is obviously mixing up the border with the Camden-Islington border. Can the Prime Minister confirm that she will not renege on commitments made in phase 1 to keep an open border in Ireland?
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: Border Arrangements — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Other
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): It was confusing as to who was going to be responding to this urgent question, and I apologise for having drafted one script only to find that a different Minister was in the Chamber to respond.
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: Border Arrangements — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): The Foreign Secretary claimed that congestion charge technology is the answer to border checks outside a customs union. However, he will know that the congestion charge checks vehicles, not what is in them, and that it includes 197 camera sites around London that no one notices, because they are in built-up areas, and that no one cares about because the last time I looked there had been a long history of peace between inner and outer London. In Northern Ireland last year, there were four attacks on the lives of police officers, 58 shooting incidents and 33 bombing incidents, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland has warned that any infrastructure at the border is a threat. Will the Minister for the Cabinet Office confirm that Ministers rule out any physical infrastructure at the border and that cameras are physical? Do they rule out new cameras at the border—yes or no?
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: Border Arrangements — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): Can the Minister confirm that cameras count as infrastructure? Can he point us to an example anywhere in the world of an international border with no customs union and no border infrastructure? Can he provide one example, from anywhere?
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Leader of the House for being generous with her time. May I just caution her once again about the issue of mediation when it comes to bullying and sexual harassment, because of the inequalities of power? We want to ensure that there are clear processes that enable equality of power. Often, mediation has the reverse effect.
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I want to make sure that everybody gets equal time. Working on the basis that we have seven people and that we have until 5.40, we should have around 10 minutes each. I think that that will be helpful to everybody.
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Other
Kevin John Barron (Labour, Centre-left): I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, but just let me say this: I do not understand the case that he mentioned—about the judge taking a harder line on a case than the Committee did. We are not involved in taking our judgments to law. The law is a completely different process. From time to time, we will refer Members there if it is felt that there is anything that is a matter for the law and not for the Committee.
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): That does reassure me to some degree. My concern is that the complainant, as is always the case in such instances, has to do an awful lot of work. We need to make sure that they are supported all the way through the process. There is also the issue of equality of arms. As Members, we are much more powerful than most people and we are much more frightening than most people. [Interruption.] I am, that’s right! I would like to think that I can recognise that and employ it appropriately, but I still worry that there will be a power imbalance. The working group has done everything it possibly could do on a matter that is very difficult, and I imagine there were lots of voices on both sides. I will finish by just saying that I totally commend the report—
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Other
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): I totally recognise that and I am very happy with the progress that has been made. I personally felt listened to throughout the process, and I thank the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader for that. The system will need to be tested as we go through it. Lots of people have talked about review. It will be strength-tested by those who go through it. We have to ensure that, when the first case comes and things have not been as they should have been, we do not close ranks with each other. I will always commit to being the person who closes ranks with the people on the outside. I commend the report.
Middle Level Bill — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2—Requirement to provide specified facilities at Stanground Lock and Salters Lode Lock. New clause 3—Requirement to provide specified facilities in March. New clause 4—Requirement to provide specified facilities and moorings. New clause 5—Removal of power to charge before specified facilities and moorings provided. Amendments 1 to 26.
Middle Level Bill — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I am more bothered that this is about the Avon canal and that particular individual, who is not actually on the Middle Level or affected by it. I understand you making a reference, but not in detail.
Middle Level Bill — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Can I just help a little? In fairness to Mr Bone, he was not here, but you do not need to explain what we have already discussed and we do not need to go back over it. I know that you were not attempting to do so—come on, Sir Christopher!
Middle Level Bill — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Public Lands
Holly Jamie Walker-Lynch (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased to respond on the Opposition’s behalf to this opposed private business. Although it might not be the most conventional way to introduce legislative change, and I have heard the detailed reservations of the hon. Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope), we are none the less satisfied that the Bill makes sense, and our intention is to support the Bill as it stands. Although the Bill is fairly narrow in scope, we acknowledge that it has important consequences for those who will be affected. We are satisfied that due scrutiny has taken place in Committee and is taking place at consideration stage this afternoon The Middle Level of the fens was first drained in the 17th century to reclaim an area of farmland in Cambridgeshire and west Norfolk. The Middle Level Commissioners are the navigation authority for the waterways, established through a series of local Acts passed between 1663 and 1874, so we appreciate that the legislative framework underpinning the role of the commissioners is in need of an update. This is not least because almost all the fenland within the Middle Level waterways is below sea level, and if it was not for a complex system of flood mitigation and drainage schemes managed by the commissioners, the waterways could pose a significant risk to the estimated 100,000 people who live and work in the area In the simplest terms, the Bill will introduce a registration scheme for vessels in the Middle Level and allow the commissioners to bring in revenue from boat owners that will be used to improve the waterways. The Environment Agency, the Canal and River Trust and the Broads Authority all have similar powers in respect of their own navigations, so in many ways, the Bill is long overdue in bringing the Middle Level into line with its neighbours. Additional income for the commissioners could make a real difference to the fenlands and waterways, and although I appreciate the desire of local boat users for improved facilities on the waterways, as we have heard, the Bill will allow the commissioners to raise revenue to deliver this.
Middle Level Bill — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Public Lands
David Drew (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased to be able to make this short speech in support of the Bill, unamended as it is. I congratulate the hon. Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) and those who sat on the Committee. They seem to have done a great deal of clever and thoughtful work. I know very little about the Middle Level Bill, but I do know a lot about the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, where we had similar issues relating to the need to update and to who should be able to moor and therefore be charged for facilities. That was resolved, although not without difficulty, because there was some opposition. Eventually, however, people saw sense on issues such as shutting the canal on certain days when there is limited need to use it, to allow people easier passage over its many bridges. It is right and proper that such arrangements should be revisited from time to time, to ensure that our canal system and the waterway system in general are fit for purpose. I should like to add my congratulations on the work that has been done, and I hope that the Bill will pass without amendment.
Middle Level Bill — House of Commons, 2018-02-28
Topic: Housing
Fiona Oluyinka Onasanya (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. Can he assure me that low-wage families living on boats will not suffer homelessness as an unintended consequence of the legislation? Can he also confirm that the revenue acquired from the licence fee will be spent on boaters and their facilities?
Defence Co-operation — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on strengthening defence co-operation; and if he will make a statement.
David George Hanson (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Secretary of State tell me what the pound-dollar rate was at the time of the commissioning of the F-35 programme, what it is now and how much extra taxpayers’ money is being paid as a result?
Defence Suppliers: Innovation — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour, Centre-left): There is crippling uncertainty about the customs arrangements that our defence suppliers will face after Brexit. This is threatening their ability to innovate and invest. Just today, Airbus, the RAF’s biggest supplier of large aircraft, has warned that trade barriers will seriously impede its ability to move parts across borders. It is clear that only a comprehensive customs union with the EU can guarantee frictionless trade, so will the Minister explain why the Government have ruled out this option?
UK/EU Future Economic Partnership — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): My constituency neighbour, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), may tell the Prime Minister that cherries are there to be picked and cake is there to be eaten, but however sweet it seems fudge is no way to run the country. So can she tell us straight? There are £400 million of public contracts that have full or partial EU funding and are due to expire in the next four months. Does she intend to renew or replace them, many of which are with education and skills facilities, or does she need to find a bus to write it on first?
UK/EU Future Economic Partnership — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Immigration
Heidi Alexander (Labour, Centre-left): If continued ease of trade with Europe for our financial services firms, broadcasters, insurance providers and IT companies ends up being dependent on an EU immigration regime that is broadly similar to that which we have at the moment, what will the Prime Minister choose: the economy or her precious immigration targets?
UK/EU Future Economic Partnership — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I am most grateful for the compliments, Mr Speaker The Prime Minister has said that alignment is possible in two ways, either by having the same rules or by having the same consequences flowing from different rules. Which of those two categories will the automotive sector fit into, given that so many jobs in the country depend on it, not least in my constituency?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Caroline Louise Flint (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State’s proposals allow councils to require a development to start within two years. I welcome that, but a start is not a completed home. Will he consider giving councils the power to set annual house completion deadlines when they grant planning consent? Will he reassure me that councils will be able to require fibre-to-home broadband on all developments to replace the outdated copper service that too many owners of newly built properties have to accept?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Karen Patricia Buck (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Secretary of State agree with the Conservative leader of the Local Government Association, Gary Porter, who said this weekend: "If we want more houses, we have to build them, not plan them", and that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government needs to "push back against" the Treasury, "or the nonsense will go on and nothing will change"? If he does agree, why has he allowed affordable housing funding from his Ministry to be handed back to the Treasury, rather than spent on critically needed affordable homes?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Siobhain Ann McDonagh (Labour, Centre-left): There are 19,334 hectares of unused, unloved, ungreen green-belt land around London’s train stations—enough to build 1 million homes. On the day that the Daily Mirror announced that £1.1 billion was spent on horrible temporary accommodation last year, is it not right that that land should be used to provide homes in the areas people want to live in?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Matthew Thomas Pennycook (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the push for simplification and increased transparency on viability assessments, but it is hard to see what they will do for London boroughs such as Greenwich, where the publication of such assessments is already mandatory. At the heart of this matter is the issue of developer returns. Given the scale of the housing crisis in London, does the Secretary of State really think it is acceptable that developers use viability assessments to drive down levels of affordable housing simply because to do otherwise would limit their profits to below 20%?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): Is it not the case that, in high-demand, high-price areas such as Manchester city centre, the measure of affordability is not really affordable for many local residents—that is why we have our own assessment of what affordability is in Manchester—and that to deliver truly affordable homes, we need more state intervention and more Government money, and we need to allow local government to borrow in order to build?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
David Drew (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Secretary of State accept that one way to provide affordable housing is through local authorities? They are not asking for more grants; they are just asking to be able to borrow more where they have the asset base, to allow them to solve the problem of affordability in their areas. Does he agree with that?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): For two years, the Secretary of State has failed to determine the future of the Earl’s Court development, one of the biggest in the UK. The choice is between demolishing 750 council homes and building luxury homes with only 10% so-called affordable and no new social housing, and letting the existing residents keep their homes and develop the rest of the site for new social homes. It should not be that difficult a choice, so could we have some action and not just words?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the review of development controls, because at the moment far too many developers get away with making no contribution at all. May I ask the Secretary of State about land banking? He will be familiar from his days in Bristol with Oldbury Court estate in my constituency. An owner in the Channel Islands has been sitting on the site for 10 years, renewing planning permission but seemingly refusing to develop it. What can we do to ensure that developers build houses on the brownfield sites they own?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): Excuse me, Mr Speaker; I have a problem with my voice tonight. Can the Secretary of State assure residents that they will have a meaningful say in development? He will know that we have had problems in Coventry in the Kings Hill estate, Cromwell Lane and Westwood Heath. I have already met him about that, and I hope for a date to meet his colleague. Can he give us an assurance that residents will have a stronger say and that their views will be taken into consideration?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): I bring excellent news for the Secretary of State from the city of Nottingham. We are ready to build the houses we need to; we just need him to remove the cap on Nottingham City Council’s ability to borrow in order to do so. When will the cap be removed?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): When I tell my constituents in New Ferry that the Secretary of State wants less talk and more action, they will not know whether to laugh or cry. We have been trying to build homes in New Ferry since the terrible blast last year, and we have had little action from the Government. That is why the Metro Mayor for Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, and I wrote to the Secretary of State on 13 February asking him to do more. He has not replied. What on earth is going on?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): My constituency is plagued with rogue landlords who are buying up residential homes, turning them into homes for multiple occupation, often fuelled by milking the housing benefit budget, and pricing local people out of the market. The problem is a lack of ability to enforce planning regulations. As rogue landlords use permitted development, will the Secretary of State look at the resources that local authorities have to police planning applications and people who are developing under permitted development?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Unlocking land value could play an important role in securing future developments, but in answer to a previous question the Secretary of State just referred to a consultation. Does he support a land value capture system and when might we expect to see one?
National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): There are some laudable aims in the Secretary of State’s statement today, but I fear they will not succeed because we are still relying on the same cabal of developers who brought us the leasehold scandal and whose profits have gone up nearly 400% in the past five years. Surely the answer is to give more powers and finances to local authorities and, instead of setting an arbitrary figure centrally, to work with each individual council to see what their plans and borrowing capacity can actually be?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Other
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry, but I was in here and listened very carefully, and I—and, I think, the majority of Members of this House—certainly got the very distinct impression that Sir Brian Leveson was agreeing with the Secretary of State, whereas one could only describe his reaction to having been described in such a way as incandescent fury. In future, would it not be helpful if, when a Secretary of State makes a statement of this nature—particularly one citing another person and praying them in aid—he published that person’s correspondence at exactly the same point as making the statement?
Data Protection Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): As the Secretary of State is describing, the Bill puts into UK law the EU’s general data protection regulation, which is the right thing to do. I am confident that he would agree that we need to ensure that our data protection rules stay in line with the EU regulation as things develop. Does it trouble him that we will have less influence over the future content of the EU’s rules once we have left it?
Data Protection Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights
David Drew (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State is being very generous in taking interventions. He has probably heard from the National Association of Local Councils, which represents parish and town councils. It has asked that an external data protection officer will not have to be appointed at every council level. There would be a cost of some £3.5 million to the smallest but most relevant authorities, so will the Secretary of State be sympathetic to its request for relief from that onerous responsibility?
Data Protection Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has referred to the right to be forgotten. May I suggest that there might be another right, namely the right to be remembered correctly? All too often, in response to freedom of information requests about, for instance, national security, the Government have imposed a blanket ban on the publication of any information—even many years after the individual concerned has died, when it is pretty difficult to see why there should still be a national security issue. I wonder whether it would not be a good idea for us to have some means of extracting such information in 20, 30, 40 or 50 years’ time.