argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her questions and comments. Of course, the issues that she highlights are of great importance and receive an enormous amount of attention in the Government and in the Treasury, but I am a little surprised by some of the things that she said. I remind her that the OECD report, in addition to forecasting the strongest recovery, also highlighted the quick and comprehensive response that the Government put in place to deal with covid. It also noted the relative robustness of the UK’s public finances relative to those of other countries. Colleagues are entitled to decide whether they accept what the OECD says, but they cannot discount the bits they do not like and accept the bits that they do The hon. Lady refers to the Government’s response as "slow and confused", but I find that very odd. She said to the CBI in April that "this scheme was about preventing mass unemployment", and "undoubtedly it has prevented a worse situation, there’s no question about that". She congratulated the Government, business and trade unions, and said that we saw with the job retention scheme "an excellent example of tripartite working". I think she is right about that, but I do not think she can take the line she takes now and disavow those other things that she said, when Labour was being a bit more bipartisan than it is at the moment, in praise of the Government’s schemes Finally, the hon. Lady talks about the Government adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, but I would remind her of what she said in The Guardian on 20 May 2020: "A more differentiated approach"— that is, not a one-size-fits-all approach— "would, admittedly, pose challenges for the government. Hard choices would need to be made, including how to deal with difficult boundary issues" She is right. It is also true that the Government have adopted a more differentiated approach than she gives us credit for, as witness all the work we have done with the hospitality and leisure industries So I am a little confused, but I do think it is important to focus on the positive achievements of the job retention scheme and the self-employment scheme, which, as the hon. Lady rightly notes, have prevented a much worse alternative and have been brought into place with great speed and ability by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend will be aware that, yesterday, the Treasury Committee published its report into the gaps that there are in the Government’s support for the self-employed and those employed up and down our country. I do recognise the very considerable approach that the Government have taken to support people through these difficult times. However, there remain over 1 million people who should qualify for furlough or self-employed support who are not receiving it. Could I ask my right hon. Friend to look very closely at the recommendations of the Select Committee report, and to take action so that these hard-working self-employed and employed people up and down our country can get the support not just that they desperately need, but that they deserve?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend the Chairman of the Treasury Committee both for what he says today and for his report. He will know, and he took considerable evidence on, the constraints that the Government were under in bringing the different schemes into play. I am the last person to decry the energy and the effectiveness either of the businesses that have been supported by the job retention scheme or the self-employed people and businesses that have been supported by the self-employed scheme. Of course, we will take very carefully into consideration the report that he gives, and any positive and constructive suggestions that are contained in that report about how we can improve matters, and we continue to review the situation within the Treasury.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. In the middle of a crisis, with emergency responses being brought out almost every other week, it would be a brave person who could commit to any sensible forecast with a degree of accuracy of what the future may bring. We have already seen astonishing changes to levels of GDP even in a month On the points the hon. Lady raises, I just remind her that the job retention scheme has so far supported nearly 9 million people—8.9 million people—and 1.1 million businesses. The self-employed scheme has supported 2.3 million individuals at a cost of £6.8 billion. Both schemes were brought in at record speed precisely to address the critical need to get the vast majority of people the support they would need, and to target that, wherever possible, on the most vulnerable. I do not think that those were mistakes. I do not think it would have been right to delay the process. I think it has been recognised by Opposition Members across the piece that a delayed response—which, on advice received from experts within HMRC and elsewhere, would have been the inevitable result—would have been a mistake and we took the view that we should proceed. I put it to the hon. Lady that the two schemes in question, together with a plethora of other support, have been extremely effective.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): Getting skills is the key to employment opportunities for the young. Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have made encouraging noises about recognising the importance of apprenticeships. I propose that the Government shoulder the entire costs of the first year of all new apprenticeships awarded this autumn—[Interruption.]
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): I will start again. Skills are the key to employment opportunities for the young. Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have made encouraging noises about recognising the role that apprenticeships can play in that. My proposal is that the Government shoulder the entire first-year costs of all new apprenticeships awarded this autumn. The key point is that further education colleges, other trainers and businesses need to be able to plan ahead so that they can market those apprenticeships. Will my right hon. Friend today give some reassurance and commitment on the support the Government might give apprentices, so that bounce-back Britain’s new apprentices know there are lots of opportunities ahead?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Education
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am in awe of his ability, without notes, to recall exactly the same wording of his question when asked to give it a second time. That is magnificent. He was obviously an actor in a previous life Let me respond to the point my hon. Friend made. He is absolutely right about apprenticeships. He will know that, because he will know of all the work we are doing in Hereford to set up a new model in technology and engineering; a university combining higher education and further education specifically in order, in due course, to be able to extend to degree and degree apprenticeships. He will also know that the Budget—people have forgotten this—and the spending round before it have been very supportive of further education. That is a commitment of this Government. As he will know, the Education and Skills Funding Agency published guidance in this area, and the job retention scheme provides funding for businesses. We will continue to look closely at the issue he describes, and I thank him for his question.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Energy
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not agree with that characterisation of the Government at all. We have done an enormous amount to support the green economy, but I do agree with the right hon. Gentleman that this provides an opportunity for a big recalibration—a big opportunity for all people across the country to think about whether there is more we can do in terms of green. Those of us with responsibility for the national infrastructure strategy are thinking very hard with colleagues in the Treasury about how we can improve green infrastructure, to go alongside all the measures we have taken to improve and support green businesses.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Paul Bristow (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have done a huge amount to support jobs in Peterborough, with around one in four workers protected through the furlough scheme. Peterborough remains a city on the up, with a new university, city centre regeneration and new businesses coming to us. With that optimism in the air, will the Minister assure me that he will continue to support businesses and workers in Peterborough as we move beyond the furlough scheme?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I can of course give my hon. Friend that assurance. I suspect that there is not a Member of this House who, if they look down the lists, will not see the positive benefits of the CJRS and the self-employment income support scheme in support of employed people on furlough and self-employed people in their constituencies. That is a tremendous thing that we can all be proud of.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am surprised that the hon. Lady should say that. As I recall, she and I have had two telephone conversations with colleagues in which we have discussed in detail the strengths and weaknesses and the potential to improve both the self-employed scheme and the job scheme. I do not recognise the view that she takes at all. It is in the nature of these schemes to seek to be as comprehensive and swift as possible, which, I think I recall, was exactly the language used by the OECD in describing the Government’s response.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): Scotland has benefited from the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom, with well over £10 billion of resources coming to Scotland to help fight this pandemic, from the furlough scheme to Barnett consequentials. Will the Minister commit to continue a UK-wide approach in tackling the pandemic, which will have to recognise that different parts of the United Kingdom will see recovery on different timescales and, of course, will see different sectors needing different levels of support?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think that the Scots are concluding that at all. Any rational person looking at the position would understand that Scotland had been immensely strengthened by its relationship and its position within the United Kingdom, and rightly so, because of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been supported. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that there is a serious concern about the economic effects of the pandemic, but it is a concern, as the OECD and others have recognised, that we are squarely meeting, and Scotland has been a huge beneficiary and I am sure that it will continue to be so.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gareth Mark Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister and all his colleagues for protecting 13,400 furloughed jobs in my constituency, as well as for the £27 million in grant funding to 2,261 businesses. Does he agree that the best way of getting the Lincolnshire economy back on track is to reopen as many businesses as possible as quickly and as safely as possible?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is of course absolutely right. The whole point of the strategy that we have adopted is to cushion the immediate shock, protect the vulnerable, and then move as swiftly and safely as we can towards economic growth. As he says, we need businesses flourishing, functioning and working together as effectively as possible. The quicker we get that, the more we can support people back into jobs. The tailored approach that we have taken is designed to help them do that.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): What I have said is simply that international and national bodies recognise the comprehensiveness and the relative generosity of our schemes—[Interruption.] They have done that, so that is the fact of the matter. The point that the hon. Lady raises is one on which we continue to reflect. As I have said, we take this very seriously. We want to support all sections of the economy, including self-employed people who have not been able to qualify. There are, of course, other ways in which they may be able to qualify for support within the wide package of support that we have given, but the self-employment scheme at the moment is not one, in some cases, that they are able to use, and that is something on which we will continue to reflect.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Gagan Mohindra (Conservative, Centre-right): The latest figures show that almost 9 million jobs have been furloughed, including 12,500 in my own constituency—jobs that would undoubtedly have been lost. As we begin to rebuild and reopen our economy, will my right hon. Friend assure me that he will continue to support both businesses and workers as they transition away from Government schemes?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend points out, we are working very hard to protect people in employment. That is what the latest numbers recognise, with the employment number as opposed to the unemployment number. But we must be realistic about this. We are in the middle of a pandemic crisis and there will be further losses; we have to understand that. The key thing is to make sure that we are as robust, energetic and inclusive as we possibly can be in supporting people in employment and supporting them back into employment when they come out of the jobs market.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Atta-Ur-Rehman Chishti (Conservative, Centre-right): Like many small and medium-sized enterprises around the country, Copper Rivet Distillery in Medway transformed its business overnight during the crisis, working day and night to help with the provision of personal protective equipment, including sanitiser. Many of these small businesses will face economic hardship as the new normal arrives, with cheap and often subsidised imports. Will the Government be using their substantial buying power to consolidate our procurement spending on Britain’s SME sector so that it can invest and compete internationally?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gareth Alan Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Bluewater in my constituency reopened its doors yesterday and did so in a cautious and responsible manner. It was fantastic to see so many shops there welcoming back customers for the first time. Does the Minister agree that centres like Bluewater should be praised not only for getting our economy back on track but for allowing us to get back to some form of normality?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Environment
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course I have no interest in being curt—the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion had discussed green issues and the green recovery just before and we were picking up from that. I and my colleague the Exchequer Secretary, who is the lead Minister on this in the Treasury, remain extremely interested in what we can do to ensure a green recovery. I am obviously not going to announce actions from the Dispatch Box in response to an urgent question, but I can reassure the hon. Lady that I and my colleagues are giving a great deal of attention to these issues.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is correct that the job retention scheme and the self-employed scheme are two of the successes of the Government’s response to covid-19. He will also be aware that preserving as many of those jobs as possible when the schemes are withdrawn is a central and difficult economic task for the Government. To that end, can I urge him to put the full weight of the Treasury behind a move, as soon as it is as safe as possible, from a 2-metre to a 1-metre gap, because that is the single most important act we could take to preserve those jobs?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Douglas Gordon Ross (Conservative, Centre-right): Because of the UK’s support, 11,700 jobs in Moray were furloughed and 2,600 self-employed benefited from a share of £7.8 million, but a Scottish Government report has identified Moray as the area in Scotland potentially at risk of the highest number of job losses following this pandemic. What will the UK Government do with the Scottish Government to help businesses and individuals in Moray in the weeks and months ahead?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Energy
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend will be aware, we have always taken Moray very seriously. We have made a significant investment in the oil and gas sector, from which it is a massive beneficiary, and have supported the city of Aberdeen. We have been very engaged indeed and will continue to look at the sectoral and geographical impacts of the pandemic, but I am grateful to him for highlighting the enormous impact in his constituency of our work so far.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): In response to the latter point, we think that a graduated return to employers paying for their own staff and being subject to the usual economic laws of supply and demand is an essential precondition for a proper economic recovery and, therefore, for the sustainability of not just jobs but the economy as a whole. In regard to the wider issues, it would be absurd for me to offer any response from the Dispatch Box to the Treasury Committee report that was filed yesterday, but as I have said to the Chair, we will look very carefully at it and the issues that it raises.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): As businesses get back to work, there is a cap on the number of employees who can be furloughed. Would it not make more sense to cap the number of hours or the total cost to the Treasury for each firm instead?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will recall that the topic of the UQ is the job retention scheme and the self-employment scheme, and their relation to the UK economy in the face of covid, and that is what I have focused on. Of course, as a former member of the Treasury Committee myself for five years, I will take its report very seriously, as she suggests. In many ways, it may well be that people will look back on the job retention scheme and conclude, as the shadow Chancellor has, not only that it was considerably better than any possible alternative or inaction, but that it saved an enormous number of jobs.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sara Alice Britcliffe (Conservative, Centre-right): The figures released last week showed just how much of an impact the Treasury’s measures are having. In Hyndburn and Haslingden 11,200 people benefited from the furlough scheme and 3,300 claims were made under the self-employment income support scheme, saving so many jobs and livelihoods in my constituency. As we begin to reopen our economy, will the Minister assure me that he will continue to support both people and businesses in the difficult months ahead?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Social Welfare
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course my hon. Friend is right that there will be difficult months ahead. There is no doubt about that. We specifically gave forward guidance on the two schemes in order to give people the reassurance that there would be that tailored support in place for a number of further months, and we will continue to keep the situation under review.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Government Operations
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a very important question. Of course it is not just Labour Mayors; there are plenty of Conservative Mayors of cities who are—[Interruption.] Well, Andy Street for one. They have been taking a lead in this area too. One of the great things of which this Government and their predecessors can be proud is the extent to which devolution permitted those mayoralties to come into being. The hon. Lady is right about that. As she will be aware, we have made a significant amount of support available already to local authorities as spending bodies. It is for Mayors to work with them, as well as with the substantial amount of infrastructure money that was made available through things such as the transforming cities fund, to help to create an integrated response to the coronavirus crisis at local level.
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Labor
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): Under this Government we have record numbers of women in work in our country, and under the lockdown around 140,000 women—maybe more—will have become pregnant. We are already hearing that some businesses are routinely making pregnant women redundant, despite the law and the furloughing scheme. What message does the Treasury have for those businesses?
Economic Outlook and Furlough Scheme Changes — House of Commons, 2020-06-16
Topic: Transportation
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Select Committee on Transport’s report on aviation has noted that British Airways is looking to make almost a third of its workforce redundant, while taking the job retention scheme for more than half of its employees and at the same time looking to invest £1 billion in a new airline. Will the Minister consider changing the job retention scheme so that companies cannot behave in this manner and rip off the taxpayer at the same time?