argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Proposals for Higher Taxes on the Super-rich — House of Commons, 2021-07-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Richard Burgon (Labour, Centre-left): I rise to present a petition, alongside a corresponding petition online that is getting many thousands of signatures from those appalled by the grotesque levels of inequality that scar our country, and from those who are deeply shocked that British billionaires have used this crisis to further enrich themselves to the tune of more than £100 billion while poverty has soared and food bank use has hit record highs. I present the petition on behalf of those who want to see a fairer taxation system as part of building a fairer more inclusive country. The petition states: The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declares that proposals to introduce higher taxes on the super-rich as a step to tackling the widespread poverty and inequality that scar our society should be considered; further that the COVID-19 pandemic has not only shone a spotlight on the huge inequalities in our society – it has deepened them; notes that in May the Sunday Times Rich List revealed that Britain's billionaires have increased their wealth by £106 billion during the pandemic - that's £290m per day; notes that, in contrast, a record 2.5m food bank parcels were given to people in crisis in the past year; declares that as we come out of this pandemic, if we are to learn the lessons and build a more equal and more inclusive society, then we need to acknowledge that trickle-down economics is flawed and decades of failing tax policy must be tackled The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to take into account the concerns of the petitioners and review proposals to introduce a wealth tax intended to raise tens of billions from the wealthiest in our society, a windfall tax on corporations that made super-profits during the pandemic and a more progressive income tax system including a new 55% income tax rate on all income over £200,000 per year, a 50% income tax rate for those on over £123,000 and 45% rate for income over £80,000 And the petitioners remain, etc [P002683]
Planning System Modernisation — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Government Operations
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): The anti-corruption campaign Transparency International says that the Conservative party has become overly dependent on donations from developers. It is particularly concerned that Ministers failed to report the details of what they talked about to developers in over 300 meetings about which they simply disclosed generalisations such as "housing" or "planning"; it fears that that could amount to what it calls aggregate corruption. Will the Secretary of State now publish the full minutes of all those meetings so that the public can see exactly what Ministers agreed to do for their developer paymasters?
Local Government Finance Settlement — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Government Operations
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): The prevailing problem for local councils is, of course, the massive cuts from central Government funding, but may I ask the Minister to reflect on another issue—the patchwork of funding and the short-term basis of that funding? Would it be possible to have a settlement, of perhaps three years, that gave councils more time to plan with the less money that they have?
Levelling-up Agenda — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Social Welfare
Jeffrey Smith (Labour, Centre-left): In his speech last week on levelling up, the Prime Minister made a plea to the public to email him with ideas for how to flesh out his so far very vague concept of levelling up. Can the Minister tell us how many emails the Prime Minister has received so far and whether any of them contained a plan with any more substance than the Government’s?
International Travel Rules — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Transportation
James McMahon (Labour, Centre-left): I would like to know whether the Transport Secretary, as a genuine pilot, has been forced to self-isolate today. He should be here, he should have made the statement to the House, but that courtesy was not provided. Again, the Government’s travel rules have been thrown into chaos and confusion. The British people, the travel industry and Members of this House are running out of patience. The Government have been all over the place from the start. Let us remember that the UK was one of the last countries in the world to introduce restrictions on incoming passengers. By the time such restrictions were introduced, 22 million passengers had arrived in the UK. Then, came a blunt intervention with a total lockdown, but without the financial support for aviation When the traffic light system was introduced, we were promised full publication of the data and the criteria. That did not happen. It is little wonder—it is as clear as day—that the delay in adding India to the red list was all about the Prime Minister’s vanity and not about the national interest or public health We now see even more confusion, with changes being made for travellers coming in from France, but we have also seen reports that the high rates of the beta variant are in fact not in mainland France, but on the Indian ocean island of Réunion, 6,000 miles away. Will the Minister confirm whether that is the case Why have a traffic light system, if there are different rules for countries that happen to be in the same category? The Transport Secretary told this House that a country-by-country assessment was published: Mr Speaker, that was not the case. Even the most recent update has only 10 countries listed, and France does not even get a mention. When will the Secretary of State ensure that the full data for every country being assessed is published Will the Minister comment on reports over the weekend that travellers from Spain and Greece may well be subjected to the same restrictions as travellers from France? It is remarkable that a major airline CEO commented over the weekend that the Government are "making it up as they go along and causing confusion and uncertainty" The travel industry was promised a rescue deal, but it never arrived. It was promised air corridors and air bridges, but they did not happen either. Now, it is vital that the Government take the action needed, get their house in order and give this important industry the support that it needs.
International Travel Rules — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Transportation
Charlotte Louise Nichols (Labour, Centre-left): Owing to our proximity to both, a large number of my constituents work at Manchester airport and Liverpool John Lennon airport, or otherwise rely on them for their livelihoods, and that includes our local taxi trade. The business rates relief for airports and ground handlers in England was welcomed by the sector and is a much needed boost for everyone, as is the Chancellor’s extension for a further six months. However, those payments, capped at £8 million last year and £4 million this year, barely touched the sides for some airports, yet the Minister repeatedly assures us that the Government are helping the sector. When will the Minister step up and provide real assurances that our aviation industry will be given the support it needs?
International Travel Rules — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Transportation
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): It feels a little like groundhog day: I stand before the Minister to ask for sector-specific support for aviation and he reels off figures that bear no relation to the reality of what aviation workers and the sector actually need. UK airports, compared with those in other countries, have had an absolute pittance from the Government. Will there be specific support for aviation to get it through a second summer of reduced travel, before it is too late?
International Travel Rules — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Transportation
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): July and August are crucial months for airports, but the modest uplift in travel expected this year means that airports such as Newcastle International will continue to face an extremely challenging financial outlook for some time. Can the Minister confirm when we will see a more targeted comprehensive support package for the sector, as well as further help such as the harmonisation of quarantine rules for UK nationals vaccinated abroad and action to bring down the high cost of testing?
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): As the Home Secretary is very eloquently saying, this is an incredibly important piece of legislation, and the lack of opportunity to hold the Government to account on it is a source of real concern. Can she invite—
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I will come to that point in a moment because I have deep concerns about that. The right hon. Lady passed, as has already been pointed out, the legislation on modern slavery, but it is also the case that victims often feel too traumatised to talk about their experience at an early stage, so this idea of giving such minimal weight to later evidence I find very concerning, particularly in the modern slavery context. I will come back to that in a moment because I know it is a matter of concern on the Conservative Benches as well as on these.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Government Operations
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I certainly stand corrected on that. The point is that there were local authorities that were willing to step up and help beyond that 480 and it was this Government’s absolute failure—[Interruption.] Including my local authority, yes, and I am very proud—
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2021-07-19
Topic: Agriculture
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): With the leave of the House, we shall take motions 3 to 5 together. I do not think there are any objections to doing so Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), Aquaculture That the draft Fisheries Act 2020 (Scheme for Financial Assistance) (England) Regulations 2021, which were laid before this House on 15 June, be approved Public Health That the draft Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) and the Biofuel (Labelling) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2021, which were laid before this House on 21 June, be approved Medical Devices That the draft Medical Devices (Northern Ireland Protocol) Regulations 2021, which were laid before this House on 16 June, be approved.—(Maria Caulfield.) Question agreed to.
Windrush Compensation Scheme — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): I heard what the Secretary of State said, but the recent National Audit Office report into the Windrush compensation scheme that was published on 21 May stated that just 4% of the 15,000 people who may be eligible for the scheme had received payments—way below the numbers forecast and a small fraction of the total expected payout. I have constituents in Warwick and Leamington who have been patiently awaiting compensation for almost 18 months. Given that the process takes an extraordinary 15 steps and an average of 154 staff hours, will the Secretary of State detail how many full-time time caseworkers are dealing with the compensation scheme, and how many caseworkers she estimates are required to expedite this scheme in the next two years?
Windrush Compensation Scheme — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Kate Ofunne Osamor (Labour, Centre-left): "Sitting in Limbo"—a drama about my constituent Anthony Bryan, who had his life turned upside down by the Windrush scandal—won a BAFTA yesterday. At the time of its release, the Home Secretary rushed to meet Anthony and told him that he would be given a voice. Yet it was not until two days ago—18 months after he made his claim—that Anthony finally received an offer of compensation. Will the Home Secretary tell us how long the hundreds of others like Anthony will have to remain in limbo before the Home Office gets its act together?
Police Officers: Harm in the Line of Duty — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Sarah Ann Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The latest figures from the National Police Chiefs Council show that on this Government’s watch, assaults on police officers have been rising since 2015 and there has been a 26% increase in assaults on emergency workers in the months leading to April 2021 compared with the same period in 2019. There have been 30,000 assaults on police officers in England and Wales in a year. I am glad that the Government have finally listened to calls from Labour to increase sentences for people who assault emergency workers, but why are they doing absolutely nothing to stop the assaults in the first place? If I was in government, I would commission Home Office research into exactly who is assaulting our officers and why, I would tackle single-crew patrols, and I would make sure that officers have the right kit to be protected. Will the Minister do the same?
Investigations into Police Conduct — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Jessica Elizabeth Morden (Labour, Centre-left): Even under the new Home Office system, only around 80% of police conduct investigations are resolved within 12 months. The remaining cases linger on far longer, with a detrimental effect on those involved. Does the Minister agree with the Police Federation that we need action to fix the system now—not, as the Minister has said, allowing it to bed in—as no one benefits from long drawn-out investigations?
Online Harms — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Technology
Fleur Anderson (Labour, Centre-left): The ease with which even primary school-aged children can access extreme but legal pornography is frightening, and it is warping a whole generation’s view of healthy sexual relationships. Will the Minister assure me that the longstanding issue of age verification for legal pornography will finally be addressed in the online safety Bill?
Online Harms — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Conor Patrick McGinn (Labour, Centre-left): The director general of MI5 has said that Facebook is giving terrorists a "free pass" by introducing end-to-end encryption, which effectively blocks the security and intelligence services from monitoring suspects and potential plots. Despite what the Minister said, the online safety Bill is very vague—in fact, some might say it is a bit wishy-washy—when it comes to measures to counter these dangerous activities, so will she commit today to treating this matter with the seriousness and urgency that it requires and that Ken McCallum has demanded?
Allegations of Rape: Effective Investigations — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Rebecca Long-Bailey (Labour, Centre-left): There is currently a backlog of 57,000 cases in the Crown court, with victims of rape and serious sexual violence often left to wait years to go to trial. Sadly, they are the minority who received sufficient support to bring a case forward in the first place. Will the Minister commit to bringing forward urgently proposals for the fast-tracking of rape and serious sexual assault cases? Will he also confirm the creation of specialist rape and serious sexual violence units in every police force to ensure that cases are brought against alleged perpetrators?
Allegations of Rape: Effective Investigations — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): To follow up on what has just been said, rape prosecutions in England and Wales are at their lowest on record. One third of all the violent crime recorded by the police is domestic abuse-related, and now only 1.6% of rape cases are even being charged, let alone convicted. That is all according to the latest figures from the Home Office. This situation is untenable and it is worsening on the Home Secretary’s watch. The Government are leaving dangerous rapists and violent offenders on our streets and in our communities, so will the Minister and the Department back calls to ensure that violence against women and girls is included in the definition of serious violence in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, including domestic abuse-related violence and all sexual violence?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Zarah Sultana (Labour, Centre-left): In January I asked the Home Secretary about Napier barracks, highlighting the unsafe, inhumane conditions. She told me "to listen to the facts"—[Official Report, 26 January 2021; Vol. 688, c. 178.]Well, here are the facts. On Thursday the High Court ruled that the conditions were unlawful. They were described as "squalid" in court, and evidence suggests that Public Health England guidance was not, and is still not, being followed. So I ask the Home Secretary: how many people are currently sleeping in each dormitory, why is Public Health England guidance still not being followed, and why did she claim that the standards were very high when they were unlawful?
Speaker's Statement — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: International Affairs
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Before we move to the statements, I want to say something about the selection of amendments and new clauses to the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency Bill I told the House in my statement on 29 January 2020 that as Speaker of the House, I am committed to transparency and I respect and trust the advice from Clerks in this House. As the House knows and as "Erskine May" states: "The Chair is not expected to give reasons for the decision on selection of amendments." However, on an exceptional basis, I want to say something about why new clause 4 has not been selected. I am doing so on this occasion because of the high level of interest in the new clause in the House and outside it Amendments and new clauses that are not within the scope of the Bill are out of order. "Erskine May" states: "The scope of a bill represents the reasonable limits of its collective purposes, as defined by its existing clauses and schedules." In this instance, having taken advice from the House’s senior Clerks and the Office of Speaker’s Counsel, I have deemed new clause 4 to be outside the scope of the Bill. New clause 4 is therefore not selected and may not be debated today I wish to make a further point. As we all know, the Government have, through our Standing Orders, significant control over the business the House considers on any given day, and its control is particularly strong when it comes to the initiation of public expenditure. Under the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, it is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that the target for official development assistance to the amount of 0.7% of gross national income is met by the United Kingdom each year. Until now, however, the House has not—I repeat, not—had an opportunity for a decisive vote on maintaining the UK’s commitment to the statutory target of 0.7%. I expect the Government to find a way to have this important matter debated and to allow the House formally to take an effective decision I should say that, on an exceptional basis, I will hear and consider for debate, to be held tomorrow, any applications made under Standing Order No. 24 by 5.30 pm today. Applications should reach my office no later than 5 o’clock this afternoon Having taken this exceptional step of explaining my decision on selection in this case, I will take only one point of order, from the lead Member for the proposed amendment, Andrew Mitchell.
Speaker's Statement — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Government Operations
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Can I first thank the right hon. Member for the courtesy of giving me advance notice of this point of order On the first point—that Government may have behaved unlawfully—I have to advise the right hon. Member that that will be a matter for the courts to determine, not me, as he is well aware. I know that he has worked very hard in looking at that, if it were needed On the right hon. Member’s more general point, I have already expressed my view that the House should be given an opportunity to make an effective—I repeat, an effective—decision on this matter. I have also indicated that I would, exceptionally, be prepared to accept an application today for an emergency debate tomorrow I would say that I share the House’s frustration. It is quite right that this House should not continue to be taken for granted, but we must do it in the right way. I believe the Government need to show respect and need to come forward—I totally agree with the right hon. Member—because not only the House but the country needs this matter to be debated and aired, and an effective decision to be taken I have now put that on the record, and I hope that the Government will take up the challenge and give the House its due respect, which it deserves. We are the elected Members. The House should be taken seriously and the Government should be accountable here. I wish and hope that that is taken on board very quickly. I do not want it to drag on. If not, we will then look to find other ways in which we can move forward. I am taking no more points of order.
Education Recovery — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Education
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Many students have suffered greatly during covid and the lockdown. Many children in large families in overcrowded flats have had no access, or very limited access, to computers and the internet, and have therefore lost out massively on educational opportunities. I am very unclear as to how they will be helped with the very small amount of money that the Secretary of State has offered. A total of £50 per pupil is nowhere near what is needed to help these young people catch up on the hundreds of hours of education that they have lost over the past year. Will he please look at it again? Will the Secretary of State also assure me that the money being spent on tutoring will be paid only to qualified tutors who will be carefully selected and vetted by local education authorities, so that we do have the best possible educational opportunities for all our children, and particularly for those who come from the poorest families in this country?
Education Recovery — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Education
Mohammed Afzal Khan (Labour, Centre-left): The Department for Education has reported that a decade of progress on reducing the attainment gap has been eradicated in the last year, yet the Government seem to be under the impression that catch-up can be achieved on the cheap. By failing our nation’s children now, we will pay a high price in the future, with growing inequality, lower productivity and poor social mobility. We cannot afford to get this wrong, so will the Secretary of State urgently address the meagre funding set aside in this recovery plan?
Education Recovery — House of Commons, 2021-06-07
Topic: Education
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The level of Government investment in education recovery announced last week fell woefully short of the £15 billion needed according to the Government’s former education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins, who has now resigned from his post. It remains so in the light of the Secretary of State’s statement today. The National Education Union has described the Government’s investment as "paltry" and has quite rightly asked: "Where in these plans is the funding for extra-curricular activities to support children and young people to regain their confidence in their abilities and talents? Where is the funding for drama and music, sport and skills development?" Will the Secretary of State go back to the Chancellor and urge him to invest more so that schools can run fully funded extracurricular clubs and activities to boost time for children to play and socialise after months away from their friends?