argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Medomsley Detention Centre — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for that question, and he paints a truly harrowing picture. For the avoidance of doubt, cases involving serious sexual harm and psychological injury can be dealt with by the Government Legal Department, albeit outside the standard compensation scheme. Because of their seriousness and complexity, they are considered on a case-by-case basis and awards made have been significant. We take great care to ensure the level of compensation properly reflects the seriousness of the abuse. It is of course always open to claimants to issue proceedings in the courts outwith the scheme, should they see fit. I would be happy to meet to discuss the protocols, but I just say this: it is important that Ministers do not interfere in specific cases when litigation is ongoing.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): Over the weekend, we launched the unified probation service for England and Wales. It was the culmination of huge amounts of preparation over two years, and I am hugely grateful to probation colleagues and frontline staff for making it happen. We have invested £310 million in that time to recruit 1,000 extra probation officers, with 1,500 more on the way, alongside making more use of technology such as GPS and sobriety tags. We are determined to ensure that the millions of hours of unpaid work handed down to offenders every year are served more visibly, keeping our towns, cities and our countryside clean. I have said many times that every Department of Government should be a criminal justice department, and the new probation service will be at the heart of a more joined-up approach with police, health services, local authorities and others to cut crime and keep the public safe from harm.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): I will make sure that the hon. Lady’s letter is brought to my attention. She sent it just over a week ago. I will not comment about the individual case, but it will of course be looked at carefully. She will be encouraged to know that as a result of the investment we are making, 1,000 more probation officers have been recruited already. We are going for another 1,500, and that means that, together with the changes to how case loads are managed, probation officers will be supported and encouraged, and the sort of issues that she raises I believe will start to diminish, because that is my determination. I want to sing the praises of an unsung public service.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Felicity Christiana Buchan (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very concerned by the number of constituents who have approached me who have been the victims of online and telephone economic crime. Can the Secretary of State update the House as to what he is doing to tackle such crime?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. The Government’s response to the economic crime threat is set out in our economic crime plan, which lists seven strategic priorities for combating crime through a specially convened public-private partnership. That includes a number of specific actions, including focusing on high-harm fraud types through online activity such as courier fraud, romance fraud and investment fraud. We are considering whether further legislative changes need to be brought in to provide law enforcement with the tools it needs to combat these emerging threats.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman raises an issue that I think I can help to clarify for him. With regard to the specific figure, that of course relates to spending during this coming year. We spent another equivalent sum in the previous year on court recovery. Indeed, when you look at the figures that we were spending anyway on new technology in our courts, and indeed the Crown Prosecution Service expenditure as well, then the figure actually is the correct one. He should realise that it is not just the Ministry of Justice that is funding court recovery and the effects of covid; the Attorney General’s Office and indeed the Home Office as well have a responsibility with regard to victims. So I am afraid that fox is well and truly shot.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very glad that the right hon. Gentleman asks me that question because I can reassure him that as soon as the particular reports were received from the independent monitors I took swift action to make sure that the safety and wellbeing of children at Rainsbrook was preserved. That is why we ordered that children in the unit were moved. Indeed, work is carrying on with regard to the overall future of Rainsbrook. It would be wrong of me to speculate while discussions with the provider remain ongoing, but I can tell him this: I will do whatever it takes to make sure that the children in our care are protected and that all our institutions, including Rainsbrook, are run properly. I can assure him that the providers have had the message loud and clear from me and that there will be no second chances.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that matter. It is an extraordinary fact that 10 years ago stalking was not even an offence, but it was made an offence in 2012. I, together with my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham), had a campaign to double the maximum sentence so there is a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. But it is not enough to have the punishment; we have to make sure that these matters get before the courts as well, and that is why I am grateful to the police and the courts for prioritising them. Those who stalk should know that they will be punished properly.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for paying tribute to law centres; she is absolutely right to do that. They do an important job of ensuring that individuals—sometimes vulnerable individuals—can get that vital legal advice and access to justice that they need. That is why, at the beginning of the pandemic, when the message came out that they might face real threats to their viability, we stepped in. The Law Centres Network asked for £3 million and we provided that. It was distributed through the network to ensure that law centres have the funds they need to continue their excellent work.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): The number of Albanian prisoners in jail has increased from 524 in 2015 to 1,469 in 2020 and they now represent the largest single national group of foreign national offenders in custody. Although it is very good news that those criminals have been caught and sentenced, given that we have a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement with Albania, which was signed in 2013, why are those convicts not being sent back to Albania to serve out their sentences in prison in their own country?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): May I put on record my condemnation of the appalling incident involving Professor Whitty in the last few days? With regard to the way in which antisocial behaviour is policed, there have been welcome initiatives and, indeed, changes to the law by Government on preventive measures, particularly for young people and children. Our youth offending teams and other diversionary teams have done a lot to ensure that those issues do not end up before a court, when the damage is already done. I take the strong view that the distinction between crime and antisocial behaviour is artificial. Of course, I will look constructively at anything that we can incorporate in the forthcoming victims consultation and, indeed, the Bill, which, I assure the hon. Gentleman, will come.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Christian Wakeford (Conservative, Centre-right): Death by dangerous driving is not just heartbreaking for the families left behind, but has a huge impact on local communities. I am thinking in particular of Radcliffe New Road in my constituency. Will my right hon. and learned Friend highlight what work he is undertaking so that those who cause death by reckless and dangerous driving receive tougher sentences to reflect the serious nature of their crime?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to raise on behalf of his constituents in Bury the real damage that can be caused to the community by careless and dangerous driving. Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, we will increase the maximum penalties for causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink and drugs, and for causing death by dangerous driving, from 14 years to life imprisonment. There will also be a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving, to close a gap in the law.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Luke Morgan Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): If reports are to be believed, my right hon. and learned Friend has used the reconsideration mechanism to re-refer the double murderer and child rapist Colin Pitchfork to the Parole Board. Can he confirm that is true? If it is, I thank him for listening to me, my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa) and the people of Leicestershire, who still feel that crime vehemently. Does he agree that the legislation was brought in exactly for heinous crimes such as the Worboys case?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for speaking so strongly on behalf of his constituents. Colin Pitchfork’s offences were the gravest of crimes, and the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth still live with the pain that he caused. The independent Parole Board’s role is to assess whether he is safe for release, rather than whether he has been punished enough. I understand why this decision has affected public confidence. It has been reviewed by officials in my Department, and we found arguable grounds that the decision was irrational, so I have asked the Parole Board to reconsider it using the mechanism that my hon. Friend rightly identified.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Simon James Jupp (Conservative, Centre-right): Over 8,000 criminal cases are waiting to be resolved in Devon and Cornwall. Many of my constituents in East Devon are anxiously awaiting progress on their cases, and they feel no closer to justice. What steps is my right hon. and learned Friend taking to reducing the backlogs in Devon?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to raise issues affecting his constituents. He will be glad to know that in his region, huge strides have been made in magistrates and Crown courts to deal effectively with the case load. Based on the figures I see regularly, I am encouraged by the progress being made in his local courts. That is part of a national drive to deal with capacity, which we have increased through Nightingale courts. There is no limit on sitting days in the Crown court during the year ahead. If all is well with the road map later in July, the further easing of restrictions will allow even more cases to be listed, so that justice can be delivered as quickly as possible, both for my hon. Friend’s constituents and for the wider public.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government regularly conduct research in every part of the UK to support policy development. In this case, we were testing public attitudes relating to the covid-19 pandemic. This became particularly relevant as different regions of the UK began to diverge in their approach to tackling covid, and that created understandable confusion Focus groups, which were conducted by Public First but commissioned by the national resilience communications hub, looked at attitudes towards the virus, upcoming recovery and the wider context in which to interpret the results, and the results were shared with relevant policy and communications teams. They were involved in developing and delivering covid policy and communications across the devolved Administrations, enabling them to differentiate their content and messages as appropriate. We do not plan to publish the full results of the polling and focus groups that have been used to inform ongoing policy formulation. However, we regularly review all the data we collect, and we intend to publish the elements that are not sensitive in due course Separately, the Cabinet Office carries out polling on attitudes towards the Union on a regular basis, but this work was paused during the coronavirus crisis. We are aware that the Scottish Government also conducted polling on attitudes in relation to covid. We did not see this research, nor would we expect to. The Secretary of State for Scotland has already addressed some of the questions that the right hon. Gentleman has raised online on his Twitter account Finally, to return to the judgment on Public First at the recent court hearing, that judgment found in favour of the Government on two grounds, which were emergency award and contract terms, including length. It was recognised that "everyone involved was acting under immense pressure and the urgency of the…crisis did not allow time for reflection. The time constraints justified…derogation from the usual procedures required under PCR 2015. But they did not exonerate the Defendant from conducting the procurement so as to demonstrate a fair and impartial process of selection." We have already recognised that there was an issue of process, where we could do much better. That is why we investigated what had happened to prepare for the court case. We launched an internal independent review—the subsequent Boardman review—which is published in full online. We have taken forward its recommendations in full, and have nearly delivered all of them. A steering group, chaired by our chief financial officer, has been tracking implementation I hope that the right hon. Gentleman feels reassured by my answers. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Scottish Government to the benefit of citizens across our Union.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Fay Alicia Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): With nothing better to do, the Opposition continue to sensationalise the details surrounding a handful of high-value contracts that were subject to the emergency procurement procedures at the outset of the pandemic. Can my hon. Friend confirm that the Government are committed to transparency surrounding the use of taxpayers’ money and that all new contracts over £10,000 are published online for anybody who wishes to see them?
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the right hon. Member for his inquiries. As I say, 47 went through the high-priority lane, and discussions are under way on the extent to which we can be transparent about that because of commercial sensitivities. However, as I said, all PPE contracts have now been transparently published.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady, who has done tremendous work through the Public Accounts Committee in scrutinising this area. Sometimes I think she has been leading the opposition—not the Opposition—on this. It is important that we focus on where we had problems and the very genuine concerns that need to be addressed. She raises matters in relation to emails. I cannot comment on email conversations that I have not seen.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): But those are relevant only when officials are asked to take any action, and that is the point at which official process and procedure come into play. I know the hon. Lady does not want to listen to this, but that is why the eight-stage process that officials undertook is so important; that is the aspect that should reassure the public that there are procedures that ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent correctly.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that the devolved Administrations also use regulation 32 to procure in an emergency. It is important to note that the Government are dissatisfied with the procedures at our disposal. That is why, in our procurement Green Paper, we are looking at what measures we can take to procure with greater transparency and success in times of crisis to give us a better option between a full-fat procurement, which takes too long, or a direct award, which raises concerns about transparency.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): I assure my hon. Friend that I am not auditioning for that position; the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has not been kidnapped. He is in Scotland, as part of our efforts to make sure that we are less Whitehall-centric as a government—we have offices now in Glasgow My hon. Friend is right about the importance of being able to take sensible risks that save lives in times of crisis, which is what we did in a number of these areas, and that was the right decision to make.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Ministers are not actually in charge of checking contracts—the civil service is. Does my hon. Friend agree that any contract, whether urgent or not, always requires due diligence by the civil service, even after the decision, and that that happens within every Department? I find accusations of cronyism to be normally very wrong indeed—does she agree?
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and I do agree. As I set out, there are a number of assurances the public should take from the way in which contracts are managed and handled; these things are quite separate from Ministers, which should provide the public with the comfort they want.
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I believe that the Public Accounts Committee will be updated on the second Boardman report in July. With regard to the first Boardman report on communications contracts, we are working through all the recommendations. I believe we are up to 20 of 24, but we will endeavour to complete that process by the end of the year.[Official Report, 12 July 2021, Vol. 699, c. 2MC.]
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Daniel Rayne Kruger (Conservative, Centre-right): The Opposition parties are accusing the Government of corruption—of deliberate and systematic corruption. They are claiming that Ministers used the biggest peacetime challenge that this country has ever faced for the simple purpose of enriching a few distantly connected contacts. As my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General put it in answering the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) a few weeks ago, this is an absurd charge. It is simply unbelievable. Everybody knows it; we know it, they know it and the public know it. It is a conspiracy theory on the level of the anti-vax campaign. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking the businesses that stepped up to supply the NHS with what it needed rather than smearing them?
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Nigel John Mills (Conservative, Centre-right): Has the Minister read the allegations made by Dominic Cummings that Ministers and officials would take procurement decisions and then subsequently a meeting would be arranged to pretend to retake them and go through the paperwork properly? Can she confirm that such behaviour would be completely unacceptable and that any investigation is taking place to determine whether these allegations are true?
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): I am afraid that I do not know in relation to the private meetings that Dominic Cummings had when he was in Government, but I know that he has set out concerns about our response to procurement in relation to getting the wrong answers after the event. I think he is concerned about whether we then create too much process around important decisions that need to be made in the heat of the moment, and he is right to set out those concerns. We need to make sure that our Green Paper on procurement makes us have better decision-making processes in times of crisis that can be properly scrutinised.
International Travel — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, who often speaks up for aviation, given the airport-constituency connection that he has. I point out again that we have provided billions of pounds of support for the aviation sector, including to the Scottish aviation sector, through money that has gone from the furlough programme, for example The hon. Gentleman asked a series of questions, and I fear I may have to redirect him in some cases to his own Scottish Government, because I have the Scottish airports constantly on the line to me complaining about the actions of the Scottish Government, who seem to do everything they possibly can to make it harder for airlines and airports to see a route to a recovery. That said, there was a strong degree of work together to bring in the latest changes to the traffic light system.
International Travel — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): If we do not have a meaningful summer of transatlantic operations, it will cost the UK economy an estimated £2.5 billion and mean up to 52,000 jobs are lost, so may I encourage my right hon. Friend to make sure that we press for that UK-US taskforce on opening up international travel to conclude as soon as possible?
International Travel — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right about clarity on this. That is why a traffic light system—followed, as I have mentioned, by other countries; France, for example, has introduced one since we introduced ours—makes sense. Everyone understands red, amber and green. We have talked about the desire to bring in a system that also uses the benefits of double vaccination that will overlay that. For the benefit of his constituents at Oasis Travel, we are looking not only at the country but at individuals’ status in order to provide greater clarity and to be able to open up as much as possible for summer.