argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Other
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful, Mr Speaker. The point, surely, is that, as things stand, unless the Leader of the House gives a clear statement to the House, Thursday morning will be the first time we will know for certain what next Monday’s business will be, by which time it will be impossible for us to table amendments to the motion that will be taken on Monday, unless you are going to be very generous about the tabling of manuscript amendments and so on. Surely, when we are considering the defence of our nation, it is ludicrous for the Government to indulge in such shenanigans?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Other
Ian Austin (Labour, Centre-left): Whether or not it is a point of order is for you to judge, Mr Speaker. On a happier note, I would like to thank you and the Officers of the House for enabling us to display in the Jubilee Room today a range of products manufactured in the black country, which as you know, Mr Speaker, is the greatest place in the world. If you have five minutes in your busy schedule to visit the Jubilee Room, you will see parts manufactured for Bugatti, Lamborghini and Ferrari, and the Olympic torch, which was also made in the black country. If that is not enough of an attraction, there is also some beer that was brewed in Dudley North. All Members are very welcome.
EU Referendum: Energy and Environment — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Barry Strachan Gardiner (Labour, Centre-left): I must, reluctantly, agree with my hon. Friend. This is not good news; it is really bad news for all of us. The investment climate in the UK is in a really dire state. In fact, the UK has now fallen from eighth to 11th to 13th in the Ernst & Young index of the best countries for investment in low-carbon technology, when we have previously never been outside the top 10. These are really worrying matters.
EU Referendum: Energy and Environment — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): I recently asked the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what action she was going to take to promote zero-carbon homes, given that the Government had announced last July that they were going to scrap the target set by the previous Labour Government for all homes to be carbon-neutral by this year. She replied that she could reassure me that an EU directive was due to come into force in 2020 and that she believed near-zero carbon emissions would help to reduce bills. Given that we are leaving the EU, does my hon. Friend agree that the Government should take immediate action to reintroduce ambitious targets for zero-carbon homes?
EU Referendum: Energy and Environment — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Barry Strachan Gardiner (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Lady, whom I regard as an hon. Friend, particularly on these matters, speaks with great knowledge. She is absolutely right about the Green Investment Bank, which was set up for a particular purpose: the Government recognised that there was a market failure. It was quite right of the Government to put the Green Investment Bank in place, but unfortunately the borrowing powers did not come quickly enough, and I think it is a huge mistake now to privatise the bank. It is a matter of deep regret to all who work in this environment. As for the hon. Lady’s remarks about the European Investment Bank, I shall come on to that subject later in my speech.
SATs Results — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Other
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): This was really meant to be an intervention, in that it was intended to be very short, but I have managed to spin it out into a speech. I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.
Supported Housing — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Housing
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Is the hon. Gentleman also aware of the Cambridge housing group providing sheltered housing in my constituency? It warns that the changes to the housing cap could cost it up to £500,000 a year and plunge four of its key schemes in the city into financial chaos.
Supported Housing — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Housing
Grahame Mark Morris (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate on a very important subject. Does he acknowledge that the Homes and Communities Agency has identified savings to the taxpayer of £640 million through investment in supported housing?
Supported Housing — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Housing
Roberta Carol Blackman-Woods (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman has been very generous in giving way, and he is making a powerful speech. Insecurity about funding, and the funding model, makes it difficult for a number of housing associations, including Stonham, to develop new products and secure the investment that they need in order to help people to maintain their independence in supported housing in a cost-effective way. Is that not the nub of the problem?
Supported Housing — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Housing
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful and learned speech. People often get things wrong in debates on housing benefit. I have completed many Government documents to set up new housing schemes specifically for victims of domestic violence. The Government have signed off on funding for such projects based on the current housing benefit rates, and they are now putting their own work in jeopardy.
Syrian Families: Resettlement Programme — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the Home Secretary to her first Home Office questions and wish her well in the job I welcome the work that local authorities are doing. The right hon. Lady will know that two weeks ago several of us met a Syrian teenager in Calais whose family is here in Britain and who was given take charge leave by the British Government two months ago, but who is still in Calais alone in awful and dangerous conditions. He has now been given a transfer date for later this week, but only because three MPs and two national newspapers intervened in his case. There are hundreds more children and teenagers in Calais in awful conditions. Will she urgently intervene, speed up the bureaucracy and sort out those cases?
Family Reunification: Europe — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Wayne David (Labour, Centre-left): As we speak today, there are hundreds of children in Calais who have a legal right to be reunited with their families in this country. Those children are putting their lives at risk by jumping on trains and lorries. What, specifically, are the Government doing to help those children in Calais?
Family Reunification: Europe — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Questions: Children arriving in Greece seeking to be reunited with families in the UK are forced into immigration detention, which is a breach of their human rights. Will the Home Secretary assure the House that she is in discussion with her Greek counterparts about dealing with that, as it would prevent more children from having to come to Calais in the first place?
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the Home Secretary to her new role. I was in Calais at the weekend for the second time this summer. Both times I met some of the 800 young unaccompanied children in that camp—children who told me that in the many months they have been there they have not spoken to a single Government official. I met a pregnant woman who said that she had tried to claim asylum in France, but the system is so broken that she was told it would be months before they would even begin to process her application. These people are living in hell because of a lack of bureaucracy. My right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) is absolutely right. They need our safeguarding, because they are sleeping in tents with strange men. Will the Home Secretary meet me and other MPs affected by this issue and concerned about it to discuss how we can change that?
Cybercrime — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: Not least in the context of the expansion of the Prevent duty, is the Minister currently satisfied with the level of support being given by social media and internet companies to police and other public authorities for tackling online radicalisation, as well as for tackling those who are preparing terrorist acts themselves?
Sarah Deborah Champion (Labour, Centre-left): For clarity, no one, particularly a child, chooses to be or facilitates being trafficked The Minister will know that online child abuse has reached unprecedented levels and is increasing. The Internet Watch Foundation states that there has been a 417% increase in child sexual abuse images since 2013, with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre stating that 50,000 people in the UK downloaded or shared images in 2012. However, children and parents are woefully underprepared when it comes to recognising or preventing abuse and exploitation online, despite the fact that 65% of 12 to 15-year-olds own a smartphone. What does the Minister plan to do to address and prevent online child abuse, other than changing passwords?
Immigration — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): A decade ago, Labour introduced a points-based system for non-EU migration. In the referendum campaign, five of the Home Secretary’s Cabinet colleagues and many Conservative MPs pledged to extend it. As my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Ms Eagle) has said, without consultation or debate, the Prime Minister today ruled that out but failed to tell us what she would do instead. That comes as the Italian Government make this warning: the more the UK Government limit EU citizens in the UK, the more the Italian Government will limit the presence of UK goods in Europe. The stakes are high, but just when the country needs leadership, we have confusion. The Home Secretary presented proposals to the Cabinet last week. Will the Minister tell us what they were so that we can begin finally to have a proper debate about what Brexit means for Britain?
Immigration — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): That was a complete non-answer. People at home might wonder why we are getting non-answers on Brexit: it is because the Government told the civil service not to plan for it, hence the confusion we are in. There is one issue that the Minister could clear up today—the status of EU nationals who are already here. The failure to address that is creating uncertainty for families who have chosen to make their lives here, and hostility towards some EU nationals. The whole country was appalled by the attack in Harlow in late August that led to the death of a Polish national, Arkadiusz Jozwik. It is in the Minister’s and the Home Secretary’s gift to change that climate. Will he and she respect the unanimous vote of this House back in July and confirm the status of all EU nationals who are already here?
European Arrest Warrant — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, welcome the Home Secretary to her first questions, but I do hope we will get better answers than the ones we have just had from the Immigration Minister. I will give it one more go, Mr Speaker, this time on security Last week, in relation to discussions with the French Government on Calais, a senior Government source briefed The Times that the UK might withdraw co-operation on counter-terrorism if it does not get its way, referencing the Nice attack. At a time when France is facing an unprecedented terror threat, that is utterly crass. It is also counter-productive, as the terror networks that threaten France could have links here. Will the Home Secretary today distance herself from this insensitive threat, vow that there will be no repeat of it, and commit to maintaining the fullest co-operation with our EU counterparts and neighbours on counter-terrorism, including to maintaining our involvement in the European arrest warrant?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (Labour, Centre-left): We learned more of substance from the Prime Minister’s briefing of journalists in China than we heard in those 15 minutes of talk about stakeholders and round tables. Will the Secretary of State please confirm that the points-based immigration system, the cut in VAT on fuel, and the £350 million extra every week for the NHS—the three main promises of the leave campaign—now lie in tatters?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
John Derek Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): A significant reason why my constituency voted to leave was immigration and free movement of labour, so may I ask the Secretary of State whether, at the end of this process, under no circumstances will free movement of labour be allowed? He said that the Government will bring the current rate of immigration to an end. What does that mean?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Karen Patricia Buck (Labour, Centre-left): Two months ago, I asked the then Home Office Minister for urgent clarification on the status of the EU nationals resident in Britain, including the 36,000 EU nationals resident in the London borough of Westminster. They are people who are going about their jobs and setting up businesses, and they need confirmation of their status. I was told that that was going to be a priority. What does the Secretary of State mean by priority?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Paula Michelle Sherriff (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will undoubtedly be aware of our debate later today on the tampon tax and the Government amendment that makes its abolition subject to the UK’s EU obligations, and not just our obligations of EU membership. Will he tell the House whether any exit agreement with the EU could include requirements on the UK to set minimum rates of VAT even after our membership ends? In that scenario, can he give us an absolute guarantee that we will be allowed to zero-rate women’s sanitary products?
Exiting the European Union — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Immigration
Ian Colin Lucas (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment. May I ask him a question about immigration controls? Do the United Kingdom Government propose to continue to differentiate between entry restrictions applying to citizens of the European Union and those applying to people from outside the EU?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, congratulate my right hon. Friend on her sterling work in raising this issue up the agenda. Does she agree that if the Government were to adopt this amendment, they would be setting a tone for other parts of the world? We have had a lot of interest from around Europe and elsewhere about the work being done in Parliament and by our Government, and adopting this would really set the example.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Caroline Louise Flint (Labour, Centre-left): There is a debate about where best to recoup the money from those who trade and the profits they make. Different options are available, but perhaps that is a wider debate for another day. The BEPS—Base Erosion and Profit Shifting—debate was partly about addressing that, but transparency has to be at the heart of all this, whatever system we set up to identify what is a fair contribution for business. I hope that my amendment will be supported and will be one small step forward.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend knows that I support this amendment and the wonderful work she does. Does she remember all the difficulties we had with the banking sector and the people who were supposed to be the auditors—these great companies that are specialising in obscurity, hiding ownership and moving ownership? Surely this must go in tandem with taking on those big people who did not audit the banks properly. They are the same people who allow these big companies to evade taxation.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Caroline Louise Flint (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. friend is right about that. As the Parliament that represents the people of this country, we have a duty not to allow markets to be unfettered, but to provide a framework in which they should operate, work, be successful and do the right thing. I must say that there are companies doing the right thing. Increasingly, companies are volunteering to do the right thing by publishing the sort of information that I am asking to be made more public today.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Robert Howard Marris (Labour, Centre-left): Can my right hon. Friend confirm my understanding, or correct me if I am wrong, that what she is seeking in this amendment would not cause any burden to business because the information is already being gathered and reported but is not then being published? Her amendment seeks merely to get that which is already gathered and reported to be published.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): I agree with the points that the hon. Gentleman makes, but can he confirm my understanding that if the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) had applied in Ireland in the case of Apple, we would have known that very, very large profits were being made by the company, which seems to have existed only on paper, and we would also have known that it was paying a tiny amount of tax? Would not that have been a valuable step forward in understanding what was going on?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is making an incredibly powerful speech about the reasons for tax transparency, but in the case of companies such as Avis, which he mentions, should we not have transparency for one simple reason only—so that consumers can vote with their feet? If they believe that they are purchasing products from companies that are not paying tax in this country or in other countries, they can go and buy those products from other companies that are paying tax.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Paula Michelle Sherriff (Labour, Centre-left): I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion Clause, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 125 VAT: Women’s Sanitary Products Amendment proposed: 144, page 205, line 32, leave out "such" and insert "1 April 2018, or on any prior".—(Paula Sherriff.)
Private Finance 2/Private Finance Initiative — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): Obviously, one issue here is whether there is effective competition for our businesses as consumers. I did urge the Minister to ask the Competition and Markets Authority to review that very point, so that there may be more options and more alternatives. It may help us to understand why there are barriers to the alternatives. Will he agree to that, and will he clarify what he means by the appropriate time for those equity returns data? Obviously, we have been promised that for more than 18 months. Will he guarantee that that will be an early Christmas present at the very least?
Private Finance 2/Private Finance Initiative — House of Commons, 2016-09-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased that the Minister refers to my local hospital. That is owned by Innisfree, which owns a huge number of such projects across the country. I am not sure if the one in Sherwood is one of those. I believe some of those in Brighton Kemptown may have some connection to Innisfree. There is a case to be made for renegotiating with such companies, which may wish to bid for PF2 business in the future. Is the Minister satisfied that there is enough competition for our business as taxpayers? Will he refer the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority so that it can look at whether those companies have a captive market, and whether alternatives such as bonds or the pension funds might be willing to invest in such projects and help out those public services, as well as not making the same mistakes with PF2 as seem to have been made with PFI?
Constituency Boundaries — House of Commons, 2016-09-07
Topic: Civil Rights
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): The boundary review next week is going to be a sham. Nearly 2 million voters have not been counted. Why does the Minister not start again, so that our democracy is not undermined by next week’s partisan gerrymandering?
Cross-Government Departmental Resourcing — House of Commons, 2016-09-07
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gillian Furniss (Labour, Centre-left): The shake-up of Whitehall comes as insiders fear that Whitehall may simply be unable to face up to the scale of the Brexit negotiations if resources stay as they are. With the negotiations looming, rather than laying off civil servants and slashing budgets, is it not now time that our civil service was properly resourced and able to fight for the best deal for Britain?
Anonymous Voter Registration: Domestic Violence Victims — House of Commons, 2016-09-07
Topic: Civil Rights
Marie Elizabeth Rimmer (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am pleased that the Minister has acknowledged some of the difficulties these women have in registering. They are victims. I look forward to hearing the steps he will announce in the future. A very real barrier to registering to vote at present is the limited number of officers. The women do not have easy access to those people, which disfranchises them.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-09-07
Topic: Other
Questions: Our electoral system needs to be both user-friendly and watertight if it is to command the respect of the British public. The Minister previously alluded to the report produced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Sir Eric Pickles). Will the Minister commit today to implementing at least the broad thrust of the report, so that trust in our system can continue?
Tom Watson (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome you back, Mr Speaker, and give a very warm welcome to the new ministerial team. I congratulate them all on their appointments. We look forward to a positive working relationship with them, holding them to account and making a difference where we can I apologise to you, Mr Speaker, for my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith), a new member of my team. She is on her honeymoon and cannot be with us today, but I am sure we wish her well in her marriage to Ben. My colleague may be on her honeymoon, but let me reassure the ministerial team that the honeymoon period for the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is well and truly over. I have asked a series of questions about his responsibilities, but they have not been answered after 56 days in office. I therefore ask any member of the team: where is he today and what does he actually do?