argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Racism in Cricket — House of Commons, 2021-11-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I associate myself and my party with remarks already made in this place. Racism is absolutely unacceptable anywhere. In Scotland we have a useful expression, "We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns,"—we are all John Thomson’s children—meaning that we are all the same. We are all human beings I served for 12 years in the Scottish Parliament. For a long time, sectarianism has been a scar on the face of Scottish sport, but I give credit where it is due: the Scottish Government have recognised that and are working hard to tackle it. Some would say perhaps not successfully, some would say successfully, but never mind—the intention is there. May I recommend to Her Majesty’s Government that they talk to the Scottish Government about what has been done north of the border, as it may well help to stamp out the evil of racism in the rest of the UK?
Giving Every Baby the Best Start in Life — House of Commons, 2021-11-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Sarah Jane Olney (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am grateful to the hon. Member for his intervention. He is absolutely right that there are a large number of events and incidents surrounding pregnancy and birth—as I know from my own experience—that can cause huge distress, and it is right that mothers and the people supporting them, and fathers as well, get the support they need, including statutory leave from employment for the time it takes to come to terms with the miscarriage. That is certainly something we should be looking at We know that impending fatherhood can be a cause of great anxiety for men, and more services need to be developed to support them. We also know that over a third of domestic violence starts or gets worse when a woman is pregnant. I would speculate that some of that is attributable to undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions in expectant fathers, which underlines the need to do more to support them In addition to health visiting and perinatal psychiatry, support for children and their families throughout their early years is vital for enhancing children’s prospects at school and beyond. Evidence shows that effective integration of services in the earliest years can bring broad benefits. For example, Sure Start children’s centres are shown to decisively reduce hospitalisations during childhood. However, 1,300 children’s centres have closed since 2010, and recent research has shown that 82% of parents of young children have struggled to access early years services. I am pleased that the Government have now committed £80 million to introducing family hubs to 75 local authorities across England, and £50 million for parenting programmes. However, we need more information on what family hubs can provide, and I would particularly like to ensure that health visiting and mental health support are included The importance of the right support in the early years was brought home to me after a recent meeting with primary headteachers in my constituency. I heard about how difficult it is for nursery and reception-age children to settle into class and to get used to spending time with other children and not spending all day at home with their parents. For adults, lockdown has been 18 months of inconvenience, after which we expect to be able to pick up the threads of our former life. However, some young children who started nursery this term will have spent up to a third of their life in lockdown, and we cannot yet know what the long-term impact will be.
Giving Every Baby the Best Start in Life — House of Commons, 2021-11-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Is the hon. Member as concerned and shocked as I am about data showing that a mother from an ethnic minority background has a much higher likelihood of experiencing complications during pregnancy or birth that result in their baby being either stillborn or born with a disability? Does she agree that we need absolutely to focus on such discrimination and disadvantages?
Independent Fan-led Review of Football Governance — House of Commons, 2021-11-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The 15th of May 2010 is etched in my memory as the sad day that Ross County was beaten by Dundee United in the cup final. Football is for everyone, particularly in Scotland, as the SNP spokesman, hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), has pointed out. Will the Minister have the closest possible negotiations with Ministers in the Scottish Government, and will he think about consulting the Scottish fan base, because the fans will have a lot to say?
Greener Homes — House of Commons, 2021-11-16
Topic: Housing
Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Zero carbon homes was a Liberal Democrat policy that the Tories scrapped after the coalition. That means we now need to retrofit a million new homes. Will the Secretary of State commit to a zero carbon homes standard once again for all new homes built in this country?
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Not this time. On that point, I cannot agree, because there have been Governments in this place that have done wonderful things for Scotland, not least of which was to deliver devolution, and we have learned in Scotland over the past 14 years that moving the Government to Holyrood does not guarantee it will be any better. On behalf of my colleagues in the Liberal Democrats, we will not support the Finance Bill and we will support the Labour amendment.
Islamophobia — House of Commons, 2021-11-24
Topic: Civil Rights
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): It seems to me that we have an opportunity here to tackle hate crimes by raising them to the status of aggravated offences. Clearly, training and resources would have to follow that decision, but, while we can all say the right things and be quite correct in what we say about absolutely opposing Islamophobia and antisemitism, unless we do something concrete, we may have this problem for a lot longer than we think.
Public Sexual Harassment: Legislation — House of Commons, 2021-11-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Some 66% of young women and girls experience public sexual harassment, which has a huge impact on their confidence, their self-esteem and their mental health. It makes them feel unsafe and uncomfortable wearing, doing or saying things in public spaces. Therefore, we should make public sexual harassment a specific criminal offence. Will the Minister meet me and campaigners who want to see that happen, and look at a way forward on this serious issue?
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Sarah Jane Olney (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): That is exactly right, and it is the point I am trying to make. Every context and every business is different. The business owners will have faced different challenges, and the environment in which they trade will have faced different challenges. The hon. Gentleman has already spoken about hospitality businesses facing significant challenges, and it is difficult to see how we can have one set of guidance that covers the viability of every kind of business of every size and every sector.
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Sarah Jane Olney (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I absolutely agree. We see a maelstrom of different pressures on businesses at the moment, and many of my retail businesses are experiencing difficulty in getting stock for a number of different reasons, many of which will be familiar to Members. There are increased energy costs, and we are still facing quite an uncertain Christmas Hospitality businesses across the country are keen to open their doors to Christmas parties, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about the public health situation, which will prevent many of them from being able to make the revenue they would expect. That will obviously have an impact on their ability to pay their debts. As the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury) said, it is not just their rent debts; they have VAT bills, rates bills and loans to repay. There are so many different debts mounting up as a result of lockdown, and there is still a great deal of uncertainty, coming from a number of different sources, on whether businesses can count on the revenue to service all those debts. There are a lot of pressures facing businesses.
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-24
Topic: Housing
Sarah Jane Olney (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I entirely agree. I would now normally be at the Public Accounts Committee, which is currently looking at the readiness of UK ports for Brexit, how well our port and logistics sectors are dealing with Brexit and how well the Government have prepared them. The picture is mixed, but there is no doubt that there is more disruption to come, because we have not yet implemented all the checks that will be required in due course. Some will come in on 1 January, and there will be others in July 2022. It is fair to say that we are still not through this huge period of uncertainty, and there is a great deal more still to come I welcome this Bill, but I would like to see the Government do more to help our retail, hospitality and personal services sectors, and all the other sectors that make up our high-street economy, because of all the positive impacts a thriving high street has on our local communities. I want to see the Government go a bit further to support businesses on our high street I am keen for the Government to consider scrapping the upward-only rent review clause that is often in new leases. Richmond High Street, in particular, is suffering from this clause. We now have very high rents for all our retail units, which is a private sector matter but we are finding that it creates a barrier to entry for new retail, hospitality and other businesses that might want to take up a town centre lease Leases are based on old-fashioned ways of doing business, and we often find that landlords put an upward-only rent review clause in leases. When the lease terms are renewed, the clause means that a firmly established business that has generated a great deal of business as a result of its location will find that its landlord puts up the rent to such an extent that the business cannot service it with its revenue. I am keen that leases and rent payments should reflect underlying market conditions, which would help a huge amount. More needs to be done. We talk about leasehold reform a lot in this place, but I also want to see it for commercial rents. I would welcome the scrapping of upward-only rent reviews I echo the hon. Members for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins), for Reading East (Matt Rodda) and for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), who mentioned the business rates review, which is urgent because we want to help businesses to have better control of some of the costs of doing business. There is no doubt that business rates are a key part of that, and we are keen to see a review as soon as possible. A review has been promised for many years, and business rates are a fundamental part of the business costs that are continuing to be a deterrent to new entrepreneurs We very much support the Bill, which is the right thing to do. We want to support our town centre businesses, and there is more that could be done, particularly on rent and rates. We are keen to support the Bill, but we need to scrutinise the arbitration clauses a little further.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-11-17
Topic: Immigration
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Alongside the hon. Members for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Neil Coyle) and for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds), and our friend in the other place the Bishop of Durham, we have been pressing Ministers in the Home Office to permit a cross-party visit to the Napier barracks On 7 September, the Minister for future borders and immigration—the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster)—declined our request for an in-person visit. The Select Committee on Home Affairs was refused a visit in July. On 27 October, we again requested an on-site visit and asked the Minister to respond by 10 November; we have yet to hear anything. Despite the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration and Her Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons finding early this year that there were serious concerns and failings in the provision of accommodation at Napier barracks, the Government have extended the use of the barracks until 2025 and have stated that the site will be used to pilot the design of future accommodation for asylum seekers You can see that a visit is now more than pressing, Mr Speaker. Could you advise me whether it is in order for the Government to refuse Members of Parliament access to this important site?
Randox Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-11-17
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I am prepared to take at face value everything that she says about Randox, but it does then raise in my mind the question of what exact benefit the company had from engaging the services of Owen Paterson. That being the case, will the Minister commit now at the Dispatch Box to publish the minutes of the telephone conference call of which he was part?
Randox Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-11-17
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Just to be quite clear about this, is the Minister saying that her Department does not hold minutes of that conference call? That, from my experience of having been in government, would be a quite remarkable departure from accepted procedure.
Randox Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-11-17
Topic: Other
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to take part in what I think has been one of the most remarkable debates I have seen since I became a Member of Parliament in 2001. The hon. Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills), who has just removed himself from the Chamber, said that he suspects there is not much to see here. I suspect he is probably right about that. But when we hear the concession from the Minister at the Dispatch Box that no record was taken of the telephone conference call involving Lord Bethell and Owen Paterson, and when we hear the somewhat improbable history outlined by the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) about the relationship between Lord Bethell and his various mobile phones, suspicious minds such as mine—and probably even worse—will ask why it would be that there is nothing much here to see.
Walter Smith OBE: Contribution to Scottish Football — House of Commons, 2021-11-17
Topic: Other
Christine Anne Jardine (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the hon. Member for giving way and congratulate him on securing this Adjournment debate. Does he agree that, perhaps, the thing that Walter Smith and Bertie Auld had in common was that they did manage to bring together both sides of the city, which can be very divided, in a way that showed us a positive way ahead and that they have actually done a great deal to change attitudes?
Walter Smith OBE: Contribution to Scottish Football — House of Commons, 2021-11-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Wendy Anne Chamberlain (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): As a Motherwell supporter, I certainly remember that first season of Walter being in charge of Rangers, because in 1991 Motherwell won the Scottish cup. A key component of that victory was Davie Cooper. When Davie Cooper tragically died of a brain haemorrhage in 1995 at the age of 39, Walter Smith said at his funeral that God gave Davie Cooper a talent and that he would not be disappointed with how it was used. Does the hon. Member agree that Walter Smith’s talent as a manager was pretty much unsurpassed in Scottish football? I am very glad that we are paying tribute to him in this place today.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Layla Michelle Moran (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): It was such a missed opportunity and such an own goal. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there were other things that the Government could have done, such as the electrification of east-west rail, which would have affected my constituency? That would have shown that the Government were serious about decarbonisation, but what they did was encourage people to fly when they should not be flying.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): In a second We would have matched that immediate help with heating bills with a massive programme of home insulation, where this Government have so spectacularly failed. As I give way to the Secretary of State, I hope that he will say what investment there is under this Government for people to insulate their homes. The answer, by the way, is none.
Refugees: UK Resettlement Scheme — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Immigration
Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am proud that Liberal Democrat-run Richmond Council, and many of my constituents, stated early during the Afghan crisis that refugees are welcome in our borough, and that they would work hard to support and rehouse those evacuated. Over the past few weeks some £6,500 has been spent on family homes for evacuees from Afghanistan, but as yet no families have been resettled in those homes. Not only is that a waste of taxpayers’ money, but presumably there are many families in unsuitable hotel accommodation. What is the Minister doing to ensure that families who have been evacuated will be resettled quickly where accommodation is available?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Immigration
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Home Secretary for her reply, and I very much welcome what she has said at length Eighty per cent. of the working-age population living in the Lake district already works in hospitality and tourism. The Home Secretary will see that there is therefore no reservoir of domestic labour available to fill the gap left by her restrictive new visa rules. Will she recognise that we have a special case in the Lake district? We are the biggest visitor destination in the country outside of London, with one of the smallest populations. Will she meet me, and tourism industry chiefs in the lakes and the dales, so that we can come up with a youth mobility visa with European countries to solve the problem and get our economy working again?
Channel Crossings in Small Boats — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Immigration
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): A few moments ago, the Home Secretary said that she wanted to welcome people who were genuinely fleeing persecution, but how can she know unless we go through due process with people who apply and claim asylum in this country? I am certain that she will also know that, per capita, the United Kingdom takes fewer asylum seekers each year than 23 members of the European Union. She will also know that we are not seeing a rise in the number of people seeking asylum in this country. We are seeing a greater number of people coming via the most dangerous routes. She will also know that, in order to stop people from taking utterly dangerous routes that we do not want them to take, she will need to provide safe routes because, without doing so, she plays into the hands of the people smugglers and she damages those people she says she wants to support.
Channel Crossings in Small Boats — House of Commons, 2021-11-22
Topic: Immigration
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Clearly, this country was far more successful in dealing with illegal immigration as a member of the European Union than it is now, with five people removed compared with 263 before we left. In her answer to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), the Home Secretary was not very clear about the successor agreement to the Dublin regulation, so will she clarify who would be responsible for negotiating any such agreement? Is it the EU Commission or individual member states?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-11-15
Topic: Immigration
Questions: Will the Minister provide some clarity on the future of the RAF Linton-on-Ouse base? As well as having played an important role in defence of the realm, it is a key part of the local economy, yet local residents are still unclear about its future and the MOD’s plans for its disposal. Some months after a previous request for information, we are still at a loss.; Scientists for Global Responsibility estimates that the world’s militaries combined contribute 6% of all global carbon emissions, and they have been left off the negotiating agenda of successive United Nations framework convention on climate change conferences of the parties. Will the Government work to ensure that military missions are included in next year’s COP27?; Last week, the Royal Marines commando training centre in Lympstone in East Devon officially opened a new £10 million state-of-the-art building to rehabilitate recruits who have been injured during training. Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating the Royal Marines, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and contractors on creating this superb facility for our brave armed forces? I cannot wait to visit it.; Heywood-based charity Veterans into Logistics has had great success in ensuring that service leavers have the necessary skills and qualifications to take advantage of excellent paying jobs in the local economy. Does my hon. Friend agree that service leavers have a unique skillset that will be essential to ensuring our continued recovery from covid, and will he agree to meet Veterans into Logistics to see how the work it has done could be applied to other service leavers around the country?; The port of Falmouth has a history of long association with the Royal Navy and is regularly home to Royal Navy vessels, including the greenest vessel, HMS Tamar. As such, this relationship provides a significant contribution to the Cornish marine sector and the local economy in Falmouth. Can my hon. Friend assure me that Falmouth will benefit from this Government’s record investment in our defence programme?
Wendy Anne Chamberlain (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Prior to entering Parliament I worked for the Career Transition Partnership at its Scottish resettlement centre and saw the vital work done in assisting service personnel prepare for civilian life through training, needs assessment and care support. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that funding for such resettlement programmes does not fall in the period covered by the spending review?
Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2021-11-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Fewer than 1% of college students are on a course with coverage of climate change. Unless we embed climate change and the environment into our post-16 education, the Government’s plans to get to net zero will simply not be possible. Bath College is offering some of those courses and doing something about it. Will the Secretary of State commit the Government to putting its weight behind courses that embed climate change into the curriculum?
Income Tax (Charge) — House of Commons, 2021-10-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jamie Hume Stone (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the problem affects a slightly wider area than just the south of Scotland, and that the very remote areas of the highlands have the same problem as he does?