argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-10-27
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady has always spoken passionately on these issues in this House, but I think she has overlooked the fact that the Chancellor announced a significant number of green jobs—several hundred thousand of them—for the future. Investment is going in from the Government, but the point I am making is that it is not just about the investment that the Government are putting directly into these areas; it is also about ensuring that our whole Government, on a cross-Government basis, understand the importance of this issue. That includes education. I had a positive meeting with the Secretary of State for Education earlier this week on that and other issues. So it is a cross-Government exercise and it needs to be understood as such My third and final point is on a different issue, which is about the NHS and social care spending. I recognise the increased money going to local authorities, but there are local authorities that feel they will be hit with significant costs with the new social care provisions. This is about not just the costs over the next couple of years before the levy money comes into social care, but those authorities that are in areas where the provision of care is more costly than in other parts of the country and where they have a very high proportion of self-funders. That includes both Wokingham Borough Council and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead My main and final point is that in the necessary bid to deal with the backlog in the NHS—obviously more funding has been announced in relation to that—we do not lose sight of the long-term plan. Crucially, the long-term plan had commitments on areas such as mental health, prevention and workforce planning. Those commitments need to be met if we are to put the NHS on a sustainable footing for the future. For example, the young person whose mental health needs are identified and provided for at an early stage is the person who will not then turn up at A&E in a crisis situation, costing the NHS more Another important aspect in the long-term plan is that it was matched with measures and metrics that the Treasury was going to be able to use to ensure that money was spent effectively and wisely. As we know, the NHS does not always spend the money as well and as effectively as it could. People want to see more going into the NHS, but they want it to be spent properly with value for money, so it is important that the Government do not lose sight of that As a Conservative, I believe in low taxes, fiscal prudence, and sound management of the economy. I look forward to our being able to be in a position to deliver that at the same time as we are delivering that green economy for the future and that optimistic future that the Chancellor referred to in his speech.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-12-02
Topic: Culture
Questions: Earlier this year, in partnership with Google, I arranged a digital course to train and upskill service sector businesses across Rother Valley. Will my right hon. Friend set out how our trade deals, including the recently announced New Zealand trade deal, support the service sector, 70% of which is based outside London and some of which is based in Rother Valley?; National Farmers Union Scotland says the Australian trade deal is“a slow journey to the Australians getting unfettered access to UK markets and with no guarantees that the promises of other safeguards will address the fact that very different production systems are permitted in Australia”.When was the last time the Department involved officials from the Scottish Government and Scottish farming representatives in the negotiation of future free trade deals?; I was recently fortunate enough to visit the DP World London Gateway container port in my constituency to hear about its exciting plans—its commitment to the construction of a fourth berth, and its ambition to become the largest container port in the UK and to use the opportunities that freeport status brings. Will the Minister update the House on what the Department is doing to support freeports and promote UK exporters?; Last weekend, we saw the release of the Xinjiang papers, highlighting how human rights atrocities go right to the heart of the Chinese Government. As a result, I want to ask what steps is the Minister taking to review our trading relationship with China, because it cannot be business as usual?; With the exponential growth in offshore wind, including off the East Anglian coast, where 50% of the UK’s wind farms are located, world-class knowledge and skills have developed and the UK is now a global leader. Will my right hon. Friend outline the steps that are taken in negotiating trade deals to both promote this expertise abroad and attract inward investment into the UK offshore wind sector?
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue. The points he makes are well understood. We often talk about the BBC and soft power, influence and all it brings, but Channel 4 has also done some incredible things, particularly in the disability space, during the Paralympic games in 2012 and since. His points have been well made. This is a matter for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, but I am sure those in that Department will have heard him.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Stability and Peace — House of Commons, 2021-12-02
Topic: Defense
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Sir Stuart Peach is probably the most experienced and intelligent man to do that job. This is a wonderful opportunity to show leadership. We have shown that leadership; now let us give full backing to Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach and allow him to solve this problem from our point of view.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Stability and Peace — House of Commons, 2021-12-02
Topic: Defense
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I speak as someone who was very close to an atrocity. I love the idea of an atrocity prevention strategy but, when it happened within three miles of my camp, I knew nothing about it until it happened. There were no indications whatever. It went bang and 100 people were dead.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Stability and Peace — House of Commons, 2021-12-02
Topic: Defense
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): The most important thing to recognise is that we have renewed the mandate and we welcome the ongoing work that EUFOR can continue. We recognise that it is an important tool and an important deterrent against those with malign intent.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Stability and Peace — House of Commons, 2021-12-02
Topic: Defense
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): As I mentioned, I sat through those debates and questions in the 1990s, and I am not prepared to sit through more months and years of prevarication. My right hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) proposed that we should simply make an offer of British armed forces to pump prime the whole of NATO to make a considerable enlargement to the force, because that is what is necessary. The force needs to be moved into the Brčko corridor, which is the main enclave that we need to protect, and to deter the detachment of Republika Srpska armed forces. Otherwise, it will happen—it is happening. It is being encouraged by Russia and we are not doing enough to deter it. We just want a deterrent force; we do not want to start a war.
Arts Courses: Funding Reductions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Culture
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in funding for arts courses in higher education on the provision of those courses.
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend accept that arts subjects do not necessarily lead to arts careers? Does he know, for example, an honourable gentleman who, after doing a philosophy, politics and economics degree at Oxford, became a shopkeeper and now happens to be the Mayor of the West Midlands?
Arts Courses: Funding Reductions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Culture
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in funding for arts courses in higher education on the provision of those courses.
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend—I think he is—for his question, although I completely disagree with him. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the arts play an incredible role in enriching minds, especially young minds, and in inward investment to the United Kingdom and exports from the UK. We continue to value high-quality provision in a range of subjects critical to our workforce, including the arts. That is why I mentioned the work of the Office for Students in reinvesting an additional £10 million in our world-leading specialist providers, many of which specialise in arts provision.
Covid-19 Management in Schools — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the shadow Minister for his question and his remarks about the team. I remind him that it was the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation that initially did not make the decision and then went further and asked the four chief medical officers to make that decision. Throughout the vaccination programme, we have operated by taking the advice of the JCVI and of the chief medical officers. We moved swiftly the moment the advice was made available to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds. Of course, through the holiday period, that was expanded to out-of-school vaccination, and now that they are returning to school, that continues at pace However, the shadow Minister is right to highlight the dangerous behaviour of some anti-vaxxers. There is no place for anti-vaxxers harassing or coming anywhere near school leaders, and I have the reassurance of the Home Secretary that she will make available any resources that the sector needs to ensure that those people in our schools are protected and able to get on with the job of teaching and protecting children.
Food Standards in Schools — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Children’s health is so important to their life chances, so the research of the young people at Jamie Oliver’s Bite Back 2030 foundation is very concerning: it shows that school food standards are routinely not maintained. What can we do to ensure that they are upheld?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Questions: My teenage constituents Amy and Ella Meek created the charity Kids Against Plastic to campaign against the use of plastic, and they are currently running the very successful Plastic Clever Schools initiative to encourage schools to reduce plastic usage. Their work was recognised at the weekend, when they were crowned green champions at this year’s Pride of Britain awards. Will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State join me in congratulating Amy and Ella on their success and in meeting them to discuss their ongoing work and to see what more can be done to rid schools of single-use plastics?;   Schools in my constituency of Wansbeck and right across Northumberland already face a backlog of repairs of up to £80 million, and now face a huge hike on energy costs—48% on gas and 26% on electricity. The dilemma for headteachers in constituencies such as mine might be heating or learning. Where is the support and how does this fit in with the Government’s levelling-up agenda?; After a long-fought campaign, I am delighted that Orchards Academy has been given the funding to be rebuilt. Will the Minister join me on a visit to Orchards so that he can see the difference that this funding will make to the local community in Swanley?; Last week, the Chancellor set out in his Budget that per pupil funding in schools in England will return to the same level as in 2010. However, with teachers overstretched, class sizes growing, the attainment gap widening, school budgets squeezed for a decade and the devastating impact of the pandemic, this commitment will mean little for schools in my constituency. Can the Secretary of State honestly say to parents and teachers in Coventry that winding the clock back to 2010 is a sustainable way to fund our schools?
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): The school-age vaccination system is working. This week, the Health Secretary again announced a big drive in schools to ensure that we continue to protect and vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds as we did through the holiday period and, of course, before that when we began the programme. It is big push to ensure that we vaccinate and protect those 12 to 15-year-olds.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his question. Covid has been a stark reminder that our underlying health and lifestyle determine how resilient we are to new risks and diseases. Covid did not strike evenly. People who smoked, were overweight, or struggled with chronic conditions fared worse. We are determined to level up health for a society that is not just healthier but fairer Smoking rates are down to 13.9%—the lowest on record—but tobacco continues to account for the biggest share of avoidable premature death in this country. It contributes half the difference in life expectancy between richest and poorest. Action against smoking is therefore at the heart of our mission to level up. Our goal is for England to be smoke free by 2030. To support this goal, we have an ambitious tobacco control plan, and will soon publish a new plan with an even sharper focus on tackling health disparities. Our new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will support this vital mission nationally and locally Ministers from my Department have long been clear, including in this place, that we support e-cigarettes as part of a gateway process for stopping smoking. Last week, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency updated its guidance on licensing as medicines e-cigarettes and other inhaled nicotine-containing products. The updated guidance sets out the steps needed to license an e-cigarette as a medicinal product, as well as quality, safety and efficacy standards Having e-cigarettes as a licensed product will enable them to be available on prescription, which I know will give health professionals greater confidence in their use. I am happy to update the House further when we are closer to having a licensed product. We will continue to consider e-cigarettes, and indeed any other innovative ways of improving the health of our nation, so that we can end disparities and level up to a healthier and fairer country.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s support on the issue we are talking about and on our ambitions to make this country smoke free by 2030 On the MHRA, the updated guidance provided further details on the steps required to license an e-cigarette as a medicinal product. To achieve a licence, a product would need to meet the standards of quality, safety and efficacy expected of a medicinal product. If successful, that would potentially allow safe and effective products to be made available for prescription for tobacco smokers who wish to quit. The update provides clarification and gives more guidance to potential providers on that issue The right hon. Gentleman asked about timescales. We anticipate that if a product was put to the MHRA today, for example, there could be an 18 to 24-month process for that product to be licensed. At this stage, we could not say anything further than that, so we are quite a long way from any e-cigarette being licensed and provided as a prescription medicine The public health grant increased by £135 million in 2020-21 and by £55 million in 2021-22. With regard specifically to the public health grant for smoking services, it is up to the local authority to decide how it spends its allocation of funding, but in addition, in our long-term plan, we have committed to helping to drive smoking cessation for a number of different groups. We want to provide help with cessation plans for in-patients and pregnant women, and to provide support for those with mental health and learning disabilities to tackle their smoking addictions. All in all, a lot of money is being spent both at the public health level and at the NHS level. We will continue to make sure that we do whatever we can in our power to make England smoke free by 2030.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is quite right that our goal is to help people to stop smoking completely. My heart goes out to him regarding the story about his mother. My father was a smoker and it damaged his health as well. We all have these personal stories. The evidence is clear that e-cigarettes are less harmful to health than smoking tobacco and are an effective way to help people to stop smoking, but, as the hon. Gentleman said, there is always more to be done.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Caroline Elizabeth Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): History has shown us that an absence of evidence of long-term harm is not the same as evidence of absence of long-term harm. Indeed, in the 1940s, conventional cigarettes were considered healthy. With that in mind, how will the Minister ensure that children are protected from breathing in the vapes of e-cigarettes, prescribed or otherwise, and that their prescription by a doctor is not seen as a green light that they are healthy, encouraging uptake among teenagers?
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that e-cigarettes are just a gateway to stopping smoking completely. That is the ultimate goal. We want to ensure that people go from smoking to e-cigarettes, and then to no smoking at all.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health. Clearly the best way of ceasing smoking is to stop altogether. I welcome the fact that this proposal was originally contained in the last tobacco control plan in 2017, so I congratulate my hon. Friend on her prompt action on assuming the job. We will get an opportunity to debate the tobacco control plan on 16 November in Westminster Hall, and I trust she will reply to that debate. Will this particular proposal be targeted at the extreme smokers—the people who are hardened smokers and smoke a lot—and pregnant women to encourage them to give up?
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am looking forward to our debate in a couple of weeks’ time. As I mentioned earlier, the NHS already has measures in place through the long-term plan to help those who are pregnant to stop smoking. That is important. Should e-cigarettes be licensed as a medicinal product, it will be a gateway for those smokers to stop smoking through that method and hopefully stop smoking completely.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): This Government are determined to level up, and as part of that we are levelling up for health, as well as some of the issues that the hon. Lady mentioned. Our Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will play a big role in moving forward with this issue.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Richard John Holden (Conservative, Centre-right): We know that smoking is a key cause of major health inequalities across the country between different demographics and different areas. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we want to level up health outcomes in the country, we will need to target products to support people by providing effective alternatives to smoking? As a smoker who wants to quit, I have seen many of my friends using multiple different products recently, from snus to heat-not-burn. Will she consider other options, in addition to e-cigarettes, that can cause less harm and enable people like me to quit?
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend tempts me to say that he is a great role model. Perhaps he should try e-cigarettes and then probably try stopping smoking completely. He can put that message out across the Chamber about why levelling up is so important.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome not only the Minister’s emphatic support for the cessation of smoking by 2030 as a target, but the cross-party support. We have seen in this short discussion today unanimous support for the use of e-cigarettes as a route out of smoking. The UK is one of the most advanced countries in the world in the proper evidence-led approach to the use of e-cigarettes. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is perfectly placed to herald that evidence and make sure the approach is evidence-based. Can she assure me that we will speed up the processes as much as possible? We must follow the evidence, but we must follow it rapidly.
Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for the work he has done on this important issue. He is right that the MHRA’s expertise is recognised worldwide, so it is only right that it looks at it, and it provided clarification last week. As health disparities are so important, it is fantastic that we have cross-party support on the issue.
Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Health
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): Our strategy is a whole-system approach, with different local agencies—for example, the police, healthcare and social care—working together to ensure more effective interventions. To that end, we have put in place guidance, training and online resources for the police and healthcare and educational professionals, and we will shortly be refreshing our national statement of expectations to support local areas in commissioning services.
Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Health
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for drawing the attention of the House to that excellent programme, which highlights the important role that frontline GPs have in identifying and getting help to victims. I have been informed that he ran the London marathon to raise funds for a charity in his area. I congratulate him on all the hard work that he is doing; I am sure that those services will benefit enormously.
Special Constables — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Health
Siobhan Kathleen Baillie (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for his answer. Special constables are often on shift during the busiest periods, as they tend to volunteer at weekends and in the evenings, and as a result are exposed to quite high levels of trauma. I give credit to the Stroud special constables, and ask what my right hon. Friend is doing specifically and actively to support their training for and meet the mental health needs of their unique roles?