argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Government Operations
Anneliese Jane Dodds (Labour, Centre-left): I really regret the fact that instead of responsibility being taken and it being stated that the system will be changed for the future, we are seeing an attempt to rewrite history. I was not the one who stated that Conservative-related actors were more likely to obtain contracts; the National Audit Office pointed it out. Yes, Labour figures were making recommendations to have a better response, as I mentioned a moment ago, but in doing so we were focused on those who could genuinely aid our response. We were not focused on pub landlords, for example, or on others who had had no prior experience in the field.
Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Government Operations
Dawn Petula Butler (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. If the Government have lost every court case when they have been taken to court in regard to procurement contracts and corruption, does that mean that the right hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock) needs to apologise for what he has just said and withdraw it?
Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Government Operations
Anneliese Jane Dodds (Labour, Centre-left): It is indeed the case that facts have been laid out in courts of law; they stand for themselves I have to say that at a time when our national health service and our care workers and volunteers up and down the country are yet again supporting the covid effort, I think that it is incredibly important that this Government be transparent. [Hon. Members: "Withdraw!"] I will not withdraw what I have said, but I hope that the Conservative Government will withdraw what they have said about not being transparent—a point that I will come to in a moment The foreword written by the Prime Minister says that there will be "no actual or perceived conflicts of interest". Sadly, we know that there have been so many. Peerages have apparently been handed out to anyone who can meet the £3 million entrance charge and agree to a stint as Conservative party treasurer. David Cameron and Lex Greensill were given the run of Whitehall to beg for access to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. More than half a billion pounds in testing contracts was handed over to a company advised by a Conservative former Minister, without competition and behind closed doors, with a second contract dished out to Randox Laboratories after it had failed to deliver on the first I am grateful to the right hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock) for the comments that he has just made. If he believes in transparency—
Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Government Operations
Anneliese Jane Dodds (Labour, Centre-left): Indeed. Well, transparency reveals facts, does it not? I therefore hope that he will encourage his Government to do what this House stated only two weeks ago that they must: publish the minutes from the meeting between Lord Bethell, Owen Paterson and Randox over the award of money-spinning contracts. Parliament decided that that must happen two weeks ago, and the Deputy Speaker reminded Ministers to do it in a timely fashion last week, but they are still dragging their feet. They say that they cannot possibly make the minutes public for another two months. That seems like rather a long time in which to establish the facts, does it not If those vital minutes simply do not exist, Ministers should do the right thing and come clean about it here today, rather than pretending to spend the next two months looking for them. I offer the Minister, and indeed those sitting on his Benches, the chance to do that right now. I offer them the chance to intervene and let us know whether the minutes exist or not. No one is meeting my gaze, so it seems clear that we shall have to wait until the end of January to know what is happening about those minutes.
Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Government Operations
Anneliese Jane Dodds (Labour, Centre-left): Just for the record, as the hon. Member stated in his own letter, those issues have been taken up and dealt with. [Interruption.] He said that in his own letter. Perhaps he needs to go back and reread it. We surely cannot stand idly by and allow this situation of cronyism to continue. The current regime of standards and rules on the conduct of Ministers relies too much on convention, in these unconventional times. It gives the Prime Minister the power to act as judge and jury even when his own conduct is in question. That is why my party, the Labour party, has come forward with a five-point plan to clean up our politics, to strengthen and uphold standards in public life, and to protect taxpayers’ money from the egregious waste and mismanagement that we have seen during the pandemic We would start by banning second jobs for MPs, with only very limited exemptions, to make them focus on the day job, not the one on the side. We would stop the revolving door between Government and the companies that Ministers are supposed to regulate, banning ministers from taking lobbying, advisory or portfolio-related jobs for at least five years after they had left office. We would stop Conservative plans to allow foreign money to flow into British politics, and we would create strict rules to stop donations from shell companies. We would end the waste and mismanagement of taxpayers’ money with a new office for value for money along with reform of procurement. Finally, we would establish a new, genuinely independent integrity and ethics commission to sit across Government, with the power to investigate Ministers, take decisions on sanctions for misconduct, and ban former Ministers from taking any job linked to their former roles for at least five years after leaving office.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): With the leave of the House, we will take motions 6 and 7 together Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), Public Health That the draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (Amendment to Schedule 3) (England) Order 2021, which was laid before this House on 1 November, be approved Transport That the draft Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Amendment) Order 2021, which was laid before this House on 8 November, be approved.—(Mr Marcus Jones.) Question agreed to. Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6), and Order, 17 November), Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme Winter 2021-22 Renewal That this House authorises the Secretary of State to undertake to pay, and to pay by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, sums exceeding £30 million with an estimated total sum of £44 million, to be made available, through the extended Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced in the Budget, to eligible commercial airports and ground operators to compensate for the continuing damage caused by Covid-19 to the aviation sector, on the basis of business rates liabilities or Covid-19 losses, whichever is lower, from October 2021 - March 2022, subject to certain conditions and a cap of £4 million per eligible company.—(Mr Marcus Jones.) Question agreed to. Committee on Public Accounts Ordered, That Kemi Badenoch be discharged from the Committee on Public Accounts and Helen Whately be added.—(Bill Wiggin, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.)
Support for Business — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Labour, Centre-left): Business rates are broken. Business owners on Boston Road and The Broadway in Southall in my constituency do not want hypocritical answers. They want the system fixed to support smaller businesses and help them to thrive. What will the Chancellor do to help them?
Support for Business — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Patrick Bosco McFadden (Labour, Centre-left): I wish the Chancellor and my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) a very happy Diwali. As well as all the tax rises on income and business that the Chancellor has announced in the past six months, buried in the Budget Red Book is a plan for a stealth tax on the self-employed of £1.7 billion over the next few years. After the past 18 months, in which many self-employed people have had no help at all, and when they are already being hit with the other tax rises he has announced, why are the self-employed now being hit with this extra tax rise, which he did not even mention in his Budget speech last week?
Supply Chain Issues — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): Mr Speaker, "energy price rises…increased evidence of supply bottlenecks …shortages in key occupations" Those are not my words but those of the Office for Budget Responsibility, which has issued a clear warning that the Government’s supply chain chaos will weigh on the recovery beyond its current forecast. Can the Minister help businesses and families prepare by explaining how much this chaos will cost the country this year?
Supply Chain Issues — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Transportation
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The run-up to the festive period is a busy and crucial time for many businesses. They simply cannot afford delays in getting goods to warehouses from our ports, yet that is exactly what the logistics industry is warning that the shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers is causing. Can the Minister guarantee that no presents will be missing from under the tree this Christmas because of her Government’s complete failure to plan ahead?
Levelling Up — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): The Exchequer Secretary says that levelling up is the defining mission of this Government, yet if we look at the spending review priority outcomes and metrics, we can see that across the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Treasury, there is just one metric on which to judge the Government: "Economic performance of all functional economic areas relative to their trend growth rates" That is all that they are being measured on, so will she be specific? By how much does she expect to close the economic gap by the end of this Parliament?
Levelling Up — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Transportation
Daniel Owen Jarvis (Labour, Centre-left): The English metro Mayors submitted levelling-up fund bids—I declare an interest—but only one was successful. The South Yorkshire bid was well crafted and focused on improvements to our bus services that would have supported the levelling up and net zero agendas. Will the bids be looked at again as part of a second round?
Young People: High-skilled Jobs — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Education
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Education is central to highly skilled jobs. This week, a report by the all-party parliamentary university group, which I chair, showed that young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds most understand the value of a university education. Will the Chief Secretary celebrate the work of universities across the country and perhaps suggest to some of his colleagues that they stop devaluing courses by describing them as of low value?
Net Zero Emissions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Environment
Mohammad Yasin (Labour, Centre-left): The Chancellor claims to want to tackle climate change and improve air quality through measures including the decarbonising of transport. If he is serious, this week of COP26 presents him with a great opportunity to commit himself to the electrification of the East West Rail line from day one to avoid the need for diesel locomotives and the future costs of retrofitting. Will he make that commitment today?
Net Zero Emissions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Environment
Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour, Centre-left): In his Budget statement last week, the Chancellor did not use the word "climate'" once. On the biggest issue of our time, he had nothing to say As well as deciding to cut domestic air passenger duty, which will lead to 400,000 more domestic flights a year, the Chancellor failed to invest in public transport. He is subsidising those who can already afford to take domestic flights, while putting up taxes on ordinary people. How on earth does he think that this sends the right message as the COP26 summit begins? Is not the reality that he is flying in completely the wrong direction when it comes to tackling climate change?
Plan for Jobs — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Labor
Karin Marguerite Smyth (Labour, Centre-left): I recently visited the newly opened jobcentre in Knowle to support people back to work, and I have previously been chair of the all-party group on apprenticeships. I cannot fathom why the Government are abolishing BTECs, which are a crucial bridge for young people in Bristol South. Has the Treasury done an assessment of abolishing BTECs, and will the Government reconsider?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government’s supply chain chaos, woefully inadequate post-Brexit planning and a lack of HGV drivers have contributed to higher inflation. The cost of the weekly shop is already going up and up, as the Chancellor will have heard from shoppers in Bury last week. Does he have any idea of how much the average weekly supermarket shop is expected to increase in the next year for a typical family?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): Let me help the Chancellor with the answer to that question. The typical family shop is likely to go up by £180 more next year. It is not just food prices that are rising: gas and electricity bills are already up by £139 and they are only going to go up more. The Chancellor had the opportunity in the Budget to help people with their gas and electricity bills by reducing VAT to 0% through the winter months—something that Labour has called for and that the Prime Minister backed when he was campaigning to leave the European Union. Who should the public blame for VAT on heating bills not being cut: the Prime Minister, for not keeping his word, or the Chancellor, for choosing to cut taxes for bankers instead?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: I thank the Chancellor for his commitment of £75 million to preserve civil nuclear fuel manufacturing in the UK. As my right hon. Friend will know, Springfields site in Fylde is the only civil nuclear manufacturing site in the UK, and efforts are ongoing to diversify projects undertaken on the site to safeguard its future. Will he agree to look into proposals to support manufacturing on the site and help beat off international competition to bring those jobs and skills to Springfields?; Hospitality is one of the major sectors in Liverpool, Riverside, representing up to 20% of the economy and accounting for 50,000 jobs and 4,000 businesses this time last year, but, sadly, many have been forced to close due to covid. While the freeze on VAT on hospitality until April next year is welcome, the 50% hike to bring it up to 20% in six months’ time is causing a real panic to small businesses in my constituency. Will the Chancellor acknowledge that the planned hike to VAT in hospitality poses a significant risk to our economic recovery and that what we need now are measures that shore up our recovery rather than slow it down?; Last week’s Budget included lots of positive news for the High Peak, such as the tax cut for the lowest paid and the 50% business rate relief for the high street. However, plenty of other towns across the north were celebrating additional millions of pounds of investment through the levelling-up fund. Unfortunately, High Peak was not one of those areas because High Peak Labour council failed to submit a bid on time. It has now agreed to submit a bid and I am keen to work on a cross-party basis with it, but can the Chancellor assure my constituents that there will be a second round and that High Peak will still be treated as a top priority for levelling up?; As my right hon. Friend may know, this week is Evidence Week. Will he therefore let the House know whether, in his opinion, the evidence still indicates that the proposed lower Thames crossing represents value for money?; With many thousands of new homes going up to the west of Leighton Buzzard and the north of Houghton Regis, will the Government ensure that there is a direct link between thousands of new homes and increased general practice capacity?
Christopher Philip James Elmore (Labour, Centre-left): In an earlier answer, the Chancellor confirmed that the levelling-up fund round 2 bids would be some time in the spring. Many Members across the House want to engage in the process, as does Bridgend County Borough Council, which covers the majority of my Ogmore seat. However, it is difficult to plan if the Treasury will not confirm the date of the conclusion of the round 2 bidding process. May I press the Chancellor to tell us more than just spring next year, because spring does tend to be an awfully long time when the Treasury are making decisions?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Law and Crime
Taiwo Owatemi (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker, 15 days ago, I asked the Home Secretary an important question in oral questions concerning the long-running extradition case of the west midlands three, two of whom are my constituents. I asked her for information about the evidence used to justify their arrests. The Home Secretary claimed she did not hear my question and that she would instead answer separately, but, regrettably, that has not happened. No effort has been made by the Home Secretary to answer my question, and I have not received any correspondence about it. My parliamentary office has now contacted the Home Secretary’s private office on numerous occasions, and we have not received any clear communication or answers in return. I see little point in the Home Secretary coming to this place to answer questions if she does not do just that—answer the questions we ask. With that in mind, is it in order for the Home Secretary to fail to answer a question in the Chamber like that and then fail to provide an answer to me? If it is not in order, what action can I take to get an answer from the Home Secretary? My constituents deserve a response.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Government Operations
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): I am absolutely appalled that we are still not getting the message across. Members of Parliament deserve answers. The Leader of the House and I are absolutely committed to ensuring that Members, rightly and deservedly, get their answers. I am also grateful to the hon. Member for giving me notice of her point of order If the Minister gave such an undertaking to respond, that should of course happen promptly without the hon. Member having to keep pressing the Home Office for an answer. I know that those on the Treasury Bench will be listening, and I expect them to pass on this point to the Home Secretary to ensure that an answer is given as early as possible. If necessary, the hon. Member can also consult the Table Office about the avenues that are open to her to pursue. Please keep me informed if that answer is not forthcoming I have to say—it needs to be heard loud and clear—that Members of Parliament on both sides rightly deserve answers to questions, especially as they are representing their constituents. We base this House on democracy, and part of that democratic process is that Ministers answer to Members.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Social Welfare
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Is it not the case that the additional money for adult social care is on a promise that might come along in a few years’ time, and that most local authorities will not see a penny immediately to tackle the immediate problems that they have in adult social care? That is why I tabled my amendment; it was quite rightly not selected, but it would have brought in £15 billion extra and not harmed anyone earning under £50,000. Why will the Government not just make national insurance a flat rate for everyone?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Social Welfare
Barbara Mary Keeley (Labour, Centre-left): I detect a hint of complacency on funding for social care. The Secretary of State mentioned £500 million to go towards workforce issues. That is nothing; it is a drop in the ocean for the issues with the social care workforce. There are more than 100,000 vacancies in social care and turnover is 30%. The money just will not touch the sides. The reaction to the Budget from the social care sector, which I hope to speak about today, has been one of profound disappointment and disbelief, really, that the Government do not understand what a crisis the sector is in. I really think it is about time for the Secretary of State to change his tone on that.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Social Welfare
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for giving way; he is being very generous with his time. He talks about the investment in social care, but does he not agree that there will still be a gaping hole of over £500 million in disabled children’s social care support?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Education
Alexander David Sobel (Labour, Centre-left): Yesterday I was speaking with members of the tech industry, and they were lamenting the fact that there is only one hour a week for computing in secondary schools. Our growth will be in the technological sector. What will the Government do to improve computing education in schools?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Education
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): The Institute for Fiscal Studies has described the increase in education funding over the past decade as the worst for 40 years. The Secretary of State says he is increasing funding for schools, but by next April, 12 years on, we are only about to achieve the same level of funding that existed in 2010. That is a damning indictment of the Conservative Government over the past decade. Why have young people in our schools been forced to pay the price of Tory austerity?
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to the Secretary of State. I welcome the Government’s new-found conversion to something that sounds particularly like the Sure Starts that we had in 2010, but I want to ask him about a practical point. The fact is that in large parts of the country—usually where the facilities are needed most— the Sure Start centres are just not there physically in the community, because of the reductions in the revenue support grant to local government. They have been subsumed into schools, removed or sold. Will he prioritise areas such as Tameside so that we can build back this network of family support in our communities? We do not have the Sure Start centres; we need capital funding to bring them back.