argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Universal Credit: Household Income — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential effect on household income of the roll-out of universal credit.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We already have an advances system that enables those families to be covered for that period. Universal credit is designed to mirror the world of work to make it easier for people to get into work and that is exactly what it is doing, as opposed to the previous benefits system, which trapped people in poverty and kept people where they are, which is what the Labour party wants to do.
Universal Credit: Household Income — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential effect on household income of the roll-out of universal credit.
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): Universal credit comes to my constituency next month. Will the Chief Secretary confirm that the changes made in last week’s Budget mean that there is more support for working families with children, more support for people with disabilities and more support for the self-employed and that, crucially, people will not need to wait five weeks for a payment?
Universal Credit: Household Income — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential effect on household income of the roll-out of universal credit.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right on all those points. What we were also able to do in the Budget was make sure that there is £690 boost for those on the national living wage and a £130 basic rate tax cut. We were able to do that because of the improvement in the public finances, thanks to getting more people into work. The reality is that the reason we had £100 billion extra in our Budget is that this Government have taken responsible decisions.
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the OBR’s Budget 2018 forecasts of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The Office for Budget Responsibility has set out its forecasting assumptions regarding EU exit and will update them when the details of a deal justify a forecast change. Parliament will be presented with the appropriate analysis to make an informed decision ahead of the vote on the final deal. It is in the interests of the EU and the UK to strike a deal, and we remain confident that we are on track to achieve a mutually advantageous deal in the near future.
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the OBR’s Budget 2018 forecasts of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are fully committed to achieving a good deal with the EU. We will make lots of assessments during that process, but our mind is focused on achieving that deal and the Government will achieve it.
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the OBR’s Budget 2018 forecasts of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, through you, may I assure all Members of this House that the Treasury Committee will take very seriously the job of scrutinising the analysis produced by the Treasury on the final deal on behalf of all Members, and will let Members know the conclusions that we draw from that before the meaningful vote My hon. Friend the Minister may well be aware of the OBR discussion paper published last month on Brexit and the OBR’s forecasts. Paragraph 1.27, which talks about the risk of a disorderly Brexit, says that "while not a direct parallel, it is worth noting that the ‘Three-Day Week’ introduced in early 1974…was associated with a fall in output of…under 3 per cent that quarter." The shadow Chancellor might think that the 1970s was a good way to manage the economy, but can my hon. Friend assure us that he does not think that that is the way forward for this country?
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the OBR’s Budget 2018 forecasts of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree wholeheartedly with that characterisation of the risks associated with the Opposition ever getting into power. The enormous increases in taxes for businesses would hit consumers and be appalling for the state of the economy.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The Budget set out the next steps in our plan to raise productivity and to grow the economy. That included increasing the national productivity investment fund to more than £37 billion to fund the largest sustained investment in our national infrastructure since the 1970s.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Transportation
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The plans set out in the Budget were designed exactly for parts of the country such as my hon. Friend’s constituency. The £28.8 billion national roads fund will provide the largest ever investment in our strategic roads, and more money for potholes and pinch points. The future high streets fund will enable small towns across the country, including in the midlands, to be transformed and become thriving communities once more.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The Budget announced the largest increase in capital spend in our economic infrastructure since the 1970s. Under this Government, investment in our economic infrastructure will be £460 million a week higher than under the last Labour Government.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chancellor has announced that he will be improving productivity by stopping inefficient public sector contracting—basically, abolishing the use of the private finance initiative and private finance 2. Can more be done to reduce the £240 billion bill to our country left by the Labour party?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Labor
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman may not be aware of this, but real wages are rising. The Government believe that the best way to support working people across the country is to get them into work. Employment is now at its highest level in my lifetime, with 3 million more jobs created and 1 million fewer people on the dole.
Multinational Digital Businesses: Tax — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend and his constituents for the advice; and, while we are at it, I wish him a happy birthday. The digital services tax aims to improve sustainability and fairness in the tax system. Separately, the Government have announced measures to support small retailers by cutting their business rates by one third for two years. Just to put that in a local context for my hon. Friend, there are 660 retail properties in Harborough local authority area with a rateable value of below £51,000, which means that there are 660 properties that could benefit.
Multinational Digital Businesses: Tax — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: Before we get too excited about this, we should bear it in mind that it is still a small amount of the profits of these large companies that will come into the Exchequer. Will the Chancellor explain the timetable for the consultation and when he expects to get any tax revenue into the Exchequer from this measure?
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said last week, the proposal is to introduce the tax in 2020, but in the meantime we will continue to lead international negotiations on the potential for an internationally agreed tax. Such a tax would in fact be preferable to nationally implemented schemes, but at the moment it is proving very difficult to agree. I hope that, by the time we get to our implementation date in April 2020, we may yet have made progress on an internationally agreed measure.
Support for the High Street — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): I am slightly disappointed by the approach taken by the hon. Lady, for whom I have great respect, in pouring cold water on a major fiscal move such as this to reduce high street rates by one third, which will benefit approximately 90% of smaller retailers in her constituency. That is a shot in the arm for our high street and a shot in the arm for British business.
Support for Businesses and Entrepreneurs — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have told the House before, the 2016 pension changes were notified to Departments in 2016 in their settlement letters and have been factored into departmental calculations since then. The 2018 increases in public sector pension contributions will be covered in full by the Treasury in 2019-20 and then looked at in the round in the spending review.
Support for Businesses and Entrepreneurs — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: I am grateful for the Chancellor’s recognition in his Budget speech of the work that the all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking has done on dispute resolution between banks and businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority’s report into that matter recommends“a role for both an extended ombudsman service and a tribunal, as they meet different needs.”Will my right hon. Friend give further consideration to the introduction of a tribunal?
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My understanding is that, after negotiations, including negotiations involving the Scottish Government, the Tay cities deal is almost agreed, and we hope to see it signed very shortly. Of course, where there are large-scale redundancies in any area, there are other mechanisms by which we can provide support.
Support for Businesses and Entrepreneurs — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: I am grateful for the Chancellor’s recognition in his Budget speech of the work that the all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking has done on dispute resolution between banks and businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority’s report into that matter recommends“a role for both an extended ombudsman service and a tribunal, as they meet different needs.”Will my right hon. Friend give further consideration to the introduction of a tribunal?; I congratulate my right hon. Friend on maintaining entrepreneur’s relief. Does he agree that that not only helps to support people starting their own business but sends a strong signal that this Government are on the side of the entrepreneur, the risk taker and social mobility?
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I said in my Budget speech, after considering representations to scrap entrepreneur’s relief, I reached the conclusion that, unless we support entrepreneurs, we will not have a dynamic and vibrant economy that can support our first-class public services. Those two things go hand in hand.
Skills and Training Funding — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Education
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): Greater investment in STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—skills is key to boosting employment in our growing digital economy. What support can the Chief Secretary give to ensure more training is available to our next generation of scientists, engineers and tech entrepreneurs?
Skills and Training Funding — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Education
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. We know that people with STEM skills have higher earnings. That is why we put more money into the maths premium last year to encourage more students to study that subject from 16 to 18. This year, we have launched a new programme to enable the better retention of maths and physics teachers in our schools.
Skills and Training Funding — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Education
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): What the Chancellor announced in his Budget speech is the fact that we are giving employers more flexibility over apprenticeships, which they have asked for, and we are seeing more and more people going into high-level apprenticeships under this Government.
Skills and Training Funding — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Labor
Robert Alexander Courts (Conservative, Centre-right): West Oxfordshire businesses are thriving, but they are clear that their major challenge is access to people with the right skills. Will the Minister please give an update on the national retraining scheme and how that will help?
Skills and Training Funding — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: we want to encourage more small and medium-sized enterprises to take on apprenticeships. That is why we have reduced the level from 10% to 5% for co-investment, which will encourage more small firms to get involved, as well as extending the amount that can be used down the supply chain.
Public Finances — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The 9.9% of GDP post-war record deficit that we inherited in 2010 is forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility to fall to 1.2% this year and to 0.8% of GDP in 2023-24, the lowest level since the start of the century. The OBR’s Budget forecast shows that borrowing will be lower in every year than was the case at the spring statement, and that we are now meeting our two fiscal rules three years early. We continue to be committed to our balanced approach—getting debt down, keeping taxes low, investing in Britain’s future and funding our public services, with the spending review to take place next year.
Public Finances — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Theresa Anne Villiers (Conservative, Centre-right): The nature of the economic cycle means that, inevitably, over the next few years there will be a global economic downturn. Can the Chancellor reassure the House that he will always retain sufficient headroom and resilience in the public finances to enable us to respond strongly to such a shock?
Public Finances — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, and I remind my right hon. Friend that the fiscal targets are set in cyclically adjusted terms, so that in the event of an economic downturn, fiscal space is automatically created. In addition, I have kept a buffer, over and above any cyclical dividend, of £15.4 billion in 2020-21 to allow us firepower should any unexpected events cause headwinds for the economy.
Public Finances — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will have heard the Chief Secretary remind the House earlier that the Resolution Foundation has now identified that, with the additional money we have put into universal credit, the system is now more generous than the legacy system that it replaces. It has a clear incentivisation to work, and those of us on the Government Benches believe that the best way we can support and help and families is to help them into work. That is the sustainable route out of poverty.
Public Finances — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Christopher Robert Chope (Conservative, Centre-right): Parliament passed legislation in 2016 to save hundreds of millions of pounds each year by limiting public sector exit payments to £95,000. As my right hon. Friend is so keen to improve public finances, why has he not yet implemented that legislation, which would have outlawed the obscene £474,000 exit payment recently announced for the chief executive of Dorset County Council, with many similar payouts to follow?
Public Finances — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The Opposition try to have it all ways. Look, the truth is that our remarkable record in creating jobs—3.3 million new jobs in this country since 2010—forecast by the OBR to continue over the next four years, has led to a boom in fiscal revenues, which we have been able to deploy. The Budget that I delivered to the House last Monday shows debt falling in every year, the deficit falling in every year, and both of those metrics lower today than they were forecast to be at the spring. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) says, "Inequality up," but unfortunately for him, he is wrong. Inequality in this country is lower now than it was under the last Labour Government.
Infrastructure: South-West — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Transportation
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): Plymouth and the West of England Combined Authority will benefit from the £2.5 billion transforming cities fund extended in the Budget. Cornwall will receive £79 million towards the A30 St Austell link road, which my hon. Friend campaigned for.
Infrastructure: South-West — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Transportation
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that answer, but Cornwall relies on its only mainline rail link through south Devon, and it is well documented that it is very vulnerable to adverse weather. The Budget Red Book contained a reference to improving that rail link, but some in the south-west have doubted the Government’s commitment to it. Can the Minister confirm that the Government are committed to improving that railway, and that we now need Network Rail to get on with it?
Infrastructure: South-West — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Transportation
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): Protecting the line at Dawlish is a national priority. South-west Conservative MPs, including my hon. Friend, pressed that upon the Chancellor and me, and we restated our commitment in the Budget to finding a permanent solution that delivers super-resilience at Dawlish.
One Yorkshire Devolution Deal — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed One Yorkshire devolution deal.
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman and I have discussed this matter. I have met stakeholders from the region on a number of occasions, including Councillor Judith Blake from Leeds. We have said that to progress this matter we want to see the Sheffield city region become fully functioning and the Mayor, who is now elected, able to conduct his duties. We think that is a reasonable way forward, so that local people in that area are not let down.
Renewable Energy — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Environment
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): Since 2010, we have reduced carbon dioxide emissions across the economy by 26% and across electricity generation by 47%. We are making sure that those technologies are competitive, so that they work well in the market, and so that we deliver lower prices to customers and lower levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): Some 19% of all businesses declared deliberate tax defaulters by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs this year were from the restaurant and takeaway business. Does the Minister agree that companies in this industry that do pay their taxes, such as the Chesterford Group in my constituency, do not have a level playing field?
Tax Avoidance and Evasion — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): I cannot comment on a specific taxpayer, but I can say that HMRC does publish quarterly the names of those who deliberately default on taxation, as a method of bringing them forward to settle with HMRC. We have brought in a further 21 measures in the Budget to raise a further £2 billion by 2023-24 by clamping down on avoidance and evasion.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): HMRC has had an additional investment since 2010 of £2 billion. It has 28,000 full-time equivalent staff engaged in the mission of tax inspection and clamping down on avoidance and evasion. We have one of the lowest tax gaps in the entire world, at 5.7%. That is far lower than was the case under the previous Labour Government. In fact, if we were stuck with the poor levels of tax collection under the Labour party, we would lose revenues equivalent to employing every policeman and policewoman in England and Wales.
SMEs: Tax — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that the smaller retailers in his constituency will be paying about a third less in rates. He will see a further diminution of the general corporation tax rate. It was 28% in 2010 and it is now coming down to 17%. Of course, they will also benefit from other measures, such as the freezing of fuel duty, which will help many small businesses.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My principal responsibility is to ensure economic stability and the continued prosperity of the British people, and I will do so by building on the plans set out in last week’s Budget. This is a Budget that supports our vital public services, such as the NHS, invests in Britain’s future, keeps taxes low and continues to reduce the nation’s debt. It is a Budget that shows that the hard work of the British people is paying off and that austerity is finally coming to an end. We have turned an important corner in this country and a bright, prosperous future is within our grasp.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): As our economy is cyclical and sooner or later there will be another recession, will the Chancellor take this opportunity to deny the claim that by spending an extra £30 billion by 2023, we are going to be taking out of the economy exactly the same proportion as Gordon Brown did at the end of his chancellorship? Will the Chancellor assure me that we remain as committed as ever to fixing the roof while the sun shines and that he has a firm plan to reduce the debt?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-11-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I have a very firm plan to reduce the debt. My hon. Friend will see from the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast published last week that the debt will fall from over 85% of GDP to below 75% by the end of the forecast period. But my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I have decided to take a balanced approach, where reducing the debt has to take place in tandem with keeping taxes low, supporting our public services and, probably most important of all, investing capital in Britain’s future.