argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
No Deal: Preparedness — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: International Affairs
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Minister was asked what assurances he could give about food supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and he gave none. He was asked what mandate exists publicly for a no-deal Brexit, and his answer made it perfectly clear there is none. The man who is about to be imposed on us as Prime Minister promised he would get a deal that would not be a no-deal Brexit, and if the new Prime Minister’s promises are worth nothing, whose are May I take the Minister back to the desire expressed a few minutes ago by his boss, who wants this House to listen to more than just the voices of London? "Yeah, tell us about it" is all I can say to that. May I suggest that he listens to one of the equal partners in this Union, where the Scottish National party is the stop Brexit party? The only time no-deal Brexit has been specifically put on the ballot paper in the form of the official Brexit party, the Scottish National party—on a promise to be the stop Brexit party—got more votes than not only the official no-deal Brexit party, but the unofficial no-deal Conservative party and the "don’t know what they’re doing about Brexit" Labour party, all three added together. Does he not accept that the people of Scotland, who his Government accept are sovereign, have overwhelmingly rejected any promise of a no-deal Brexit, as indeed would the majority of the people of these islands if they were given a choice? Why does he not make sure that no deal is taken off the table once and for all?
Economic Effect: Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: Macroeconomics
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Scottish chamber of commerce has warned that the drop in GDP in April and the widening of our trade deficit does not bode well for Scotland’s economic fortunes. When will the Government realise the damage they are already doing to Scotland’s economy and offer business some certainty?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What percentage of Irish exports to the EU come through Great Britain? If the doom and gloom-mongers on Opposition Benches are right about the dangers of no deal, does it not make sense for the Irish Government to be open-minded about reaching a new agreement with the UK before we leave the European Union?; The Secretary of State has just said that considerable work is being done in preparation for no deal, so can he answer this question? Will he rule out accepting any renewed bid from Seaborne Freight during those preparations?; In Walsall North we like to be prepared for every eventuality, so can the Minister please offer my constituents some reassurance by listing some specific actions that have been taken since 29 March to demonstrate that we are ready for a no-deal Brexit?; It simply will not do: the answers given to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) simply were not adequate. The Secretary of State was given a simple yes or no question; will he have another try? Yes or no: is it possible to have one of those transition deals such as a GATT 24 deal—the things that Prime Minister candidates have been talking about—without an implementation period for it to come in? Yes or no?; What preparations is the Minister making to ensure that aerospace manufacturing companies are given full support from the Government in the event of a no-deal Brexit?
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Secretary of State referred earlier to the number of statutory instruments that have been laid to date; can he tell the House how many SIs remain to be enacted in order for us to exit the EU in an orderly fashion on 31 October?
Children’s Future Food Report — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: Agriculture
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am pleased to have this opportunity to participate in the debate, although I agreed absolutely with the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field), who is a long-time campaigner on these issues, when he said that this debate should give us cause for shame The children’s future food inquiry has done a considerable amount of work, gathering evidence from workshops with nearly 400 children across the UK, alongside polling young people’s views and academic research on food insecurity to produce the report that we are debating today. Much of what it tells us, as well as being shocking, is, sadly, unsurprising. I know that the hon. Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) means well, but I am afraid that I had to disagree with her when she said that in previous generations things were not quite so bad. I may not be old enough to have a memory of the generations to which she is referring, but I suspect that things were equally bad if not worse, and people just talked about it less.
Children’s Future Food Report — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: Social Welfare
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland has described the Scottish child payment, which was announced yesterday, as a "game changer in the fight to end child poverty." Will the Minister think about whether he could bring in something similar to help with child poverty throughout the UK?
Serco and Asylum Seeker Lock-change Evictions — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: Law and Crime
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Towards the end of last year, the Home Affairs Committee recommended direct funding to organisations and city councils in dispersal areas because of the undoubted cost implications for participating dispersal authorities. Does my hon. Friend share my frustration that the work that the Home Office undertook to carry out with local authorities to calculate the funds that would be needed seems to have been put on the back burner and kicked into the long grass, despite it being necessary as a matter of urgency?
Serco and Asylum Seeker Lock-change Evictions — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Charles Stephens (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for giving way. This is an important point in terms of someone’s status and their appeal. My understanding from what she says is that someone who has been refused an upper tribunal level could be subjected to an eviction letter. Is the Minister saying that those individuals have effectively 14 days to submit fresh evidence—an article 8 application or the like? Someone who has been refused an upper tribunal level still has the right to submit a fresh claim.
Serco and Asylum Seeker Lock-change Evictions — House of Commons, 2019-06-27
Topic: Law and Crime
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Minister says that it is right for Serco to act in that way given Lord Tyre’s judgment, but surely it would be right for Serco to wait for the outcome of the further appeal. Will she also address the issue of funding for local authorities, with the Home Office having undertaken to work with local authorities to assess the impact of dispersal on their resources? Why has that work been kicked into the long grass?
Short Sentences — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will be pleased to know that 85% of those who responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation supported the existing presumption against short sentences, and were in favour of extending that beyond the current three-month presumption. Given that that presumption has helped to achieve a 19-year low in reconviction rates, I hope he agrees with the outcome of the consultation. Perhaps he will also tell us exactly what "shortly" means, and exactly when the UK Government intend to follow the Scottish Government’s lead on these matters, as they should on so many others.
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for that answer and welcome the strong statements he has made recently on a possible no-deal Brexit. Does he agree that, regardless of how much preparation is done, the implications of no deal for our justice systems would be dire?
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I commend the Secretary of State for his honesty, but I wonder whether he would pass on his knowledge on this subject to the two candidates to be the next Prime Minister, because, despite their recent and mercifully brief visits to Scotland, they seem unaware of the impact on the safety of people living in Scotland and across the UK if we leave the EU without a deal. Has he spoken to them to explain that if we do not have the use of the European arrest warrant, it will be extremely difficult to apprehend people who commit violent crime in this country and then go back to the continent, whereas at the moment this can be done within a matter of days?
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: Government Operations
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) has raised the issue of proroguing Parliament being unconstitutional, but is not the reality that it is very constitutional, as a rule of the present United Kingdom of Great Britain’s unwritten constitution, and that it was aped in Canada twice?
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-07-09
Topic: International Affairs
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend, as per usual, makes a very good point. Obviously, we in the SNP support a written constitution, and when Scotland secures its independence, that is the route we will be taking The very act of asking the Crown to prorogue Parliament would involve the constitutional monarch in a profoundly political question. Given the fact that a majority of MPs have expressed opposition to the prospect of the UK leaving without a deal, the prorogation of Parliament to get a no-deal Brexit through would be unconstitutional, undemocratic and entirely untenable. We cannot have the no-deal clock being artificially run down by the Executive while Parliament is ordered to extend its holiday. The catastrophic impact of no deal on Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK cannot be allowed to happen. For those reasons, we will support the amendments tabled by the right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield I said last night that we on the SNP Benches are not blind to the situation in Northern Ireland, and accordingly we operated a free vote on matters of conscience contained in new clauses 1 and 10. I would like to add, however, that we still hold the principle of devolution very dearly. There are many of us in this place who followed that deeply held belief in the devolution principle by abstaining on this legislation who fully support equal marriage and, equally, many who support the right of women in Northern Ireland to safely access abortion in their own country. I would not want anyone in this place or watching at home to think that abstention in this case is opposition—it is not To conclude, I congratulate the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn) on securing potential equal marriage rights for LGBTQ couples in Northern Ireland. That is a very welcome development, and he has done extremely well.
Cycling and Walking — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Agriculture
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): At the weekend, I had the pleasure of walking the new South Loch Ness trail with a group of friends, one of whom is getting married, and we managed only to get lost once, which was pretty good given that there was a blizzard. That trail was only made possible thanks to funding from the European agriculture fund for rural development, so what steps are the Government taking to make sure that that kind of funding continues to exist for investment in rural infrastructure that promotes health and wellbeing after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union?
Leaving the EU: Transport-Related Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): When it comes to support for planning, it should be noted that, earlier this month, the chief executive of the Road Haulage Association said: "It’s obvious that government has lost its way…tens of thousands of UK hauliers… are still in the dark. Because of government ineptitude they are simply not ready." In a similar vein, can the Secretary of State confirm that the no-deal ferry contracts do not allow for a delayed start date? If so, what will be the cost to the taxpayer and his Department of this latest blunder?
Leaving the EU: Transport-Related Industry — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): If the Secretary of State listened to the question, it would be much more helpful than listening to the answer A spokesman for the road freight industry has stated: "Our pleas for clarity have been constant—yet none has been forthcoming." He also said: "We have never shared Mr Grayling's optimism" Given the £33 million settlement payment to Eurotunnel, a reported £28 million compensation payment to the ferry companies in respect of the no-deal contracts, a shortage of some 60,000 HGV drivers that will be exacerbated by Brexit, and the loss of transport industry confidence, surely the best boost for the industry would be the Secretary of State’s stepping aside.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Transportation
Questions: An issue even more taxing than Brexit and the uselessness of Southern rail in Sussex is the continued congestion on the A27, and we are still to get a decision on whether the New Monks Farm development, which will include an IKEA that will attract 2 million passenger journeys a year on to that road, will go ahead. I met the Secretary of State a couple of months ago to ask for an update on further proposals to address the congestion, so when can I have it?; The Secretary of State was unable to answer a written parliamentary question on the legal costs of Eurotunnel’s court proceedings and the settlement deal. Has he now done his sums, and can he give us the cost to the taxpayer of this whole debacle?; Thatcham Research is launching a consumer vehicle security rating that ranks the vulnerability of new vehicles to keyless car theft. Does the Minister agree that drivers are entitled to know how secure their cars are? What steps can the Government take to ensure that happens?; With a shortage of 60,000 HGV drivers in an industry that relies on 60,000 eastern European drivers, and with a predicted 150,000 shortfall by the end of 2020, why will the Department not urgently fund driver training and qualifications?; In the past 12 months, 845 road incidents involving horses have been reported to the British Horse Society alone. There will have been many more, but those incidents resulted in 87 horses and four people being killed, as well as many injuries. What steps can the Minister take to improve horse and rider safety on the roads? Will he discuss this with Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to see whether more bridleways can be provided to help alleviate the problem?; On Saturday, some 15,000 people had a great day at the midlands grand national in Uttoxeter, bringing much-needed revenue and jobs into my constituency. However, had it taken place on Sunday, racegoers would not have been able to get to Uttoxeter until 2.53 pm. I am delighted that the Minister has listened to my long-running campaign and agreed to bring forward signalling on Sundays in 2021, but that is not soon enough. Will he agree to meet me, and perhaps bring along his cheque book, so we can sort this out for my constituents?
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We know that the settlement for the next rail investment period has been underfunded, and my constituents want to see a train station at Parkhead. So when looking at future rail investment, will the Minister agree to look at the case for Parkhead and fund it properly going forward?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement regarding the extension of her power under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 not to hold an Assembly election.
Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker I thank the Secretary of State for her statement this morning. Talks collapsed more than 12 months ago, and Scottish National party Members want to see their immediate re-establishment. The Secretary of State has told the Chamber many times that restoring devolution is her No. 1 priority, and I am sure the House will hold her to that. Will she therefore give the House a date on which the new, inclusive talks will begin, and tell us why she has presided over such an unacceptable delay? Can she also give us a commitment that the talks will be fully inclusive, including all the communities and parties involved; and what role does she see for the Irish Government in the process? Has she given some thought to appointing an independent mediator to assist in making the process fairer and faster Finally, does the Secretary of State accept that the wider instability caused by her Government through the Brexit process is the general reason that it is so difficult to restore this approach in Northern Ireland? Once we get through this madcap Brexit process, are we going to see faster progress in returning devolved democracy to Northern Ireland, instead of dictatorship from this place?
Services for People with Autism — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: Social Welfare
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is right to put that on the record. I am married to a primary school teacher and, although aspects of her teacher training dealt with autism, she would probably feel that she has not been given enough support. More often than not, she will be able to say, anecdotally, "This child in the class might have autism but has not had a diagnosis yet." So he is right to put that on the record More often than not, a lot of housing associations do not have a proper understanding of autism. A lot of families come to me and say, "I need a house with a garden so that my child can play safely". This chicken-and-egg situation, which I see regularly, can be quite frustrating I am conscious of the time—there is a heavily subscribed debate after this one—so I will round off by saying that it is of fundamental importance that autistic people and their families are understood and welcomed in their own communities and can be supported to be as independent and active as they wish to be. I thank all hon. Members who have participated in this debate. I hope that, when we debate it next year, we will be able to celebrate some progress because, if we have learned one thing today, it is that we still have a lot further to go.
Services for People with Autism — House of Commons, 2019-03-21
Topic: International Affairs
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can you advise me, first, how we can get on the record that over 1 million people have now signed the petition calling for the revocation of article 50 as the best way to stop the Brexit madness that seems to be engulfing the country, and secondly, whether you have had any indication from the Leader of the House—she said this morning that if it got to 17.5 million signatures, she would start to consider it seriously, so only 16.5 million more are now needed—that she is planning to make a statement to the House?
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): In evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee, the Child Poverty Action Group said of the two-child cap: "You could not design a better policy to increase child poverty than this one" Will the Minister use the spending review to ditch that policy?
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-05-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That is not good enough. Analysis by Cambridge Econometrics states: "In all of the Brexit scenarios, real wages for low-pay workers are depressed due to increases in prices and reduced levels of productivity, due to skills shortages and lower industry investment." Faced with this child poverty double-whammy, does the Minister agree that it is no surprise that the Tories are set for an absolute drubbing on Thursday?
Leaving the EU: Scotland — House of Commons, 2019-05-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Patrick Gethins (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Minister is right to highlight those analyses, which show that every single Brexit will be damaging to our economy and will hit public services. Coming after a decade of Tory austerity, will he rule out a no-deal Brexit and use the comprehensive spending review to start investing in our public services?
Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-05-21
Topic: Government Operations
Neil Charles Gray (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): In the report produced by the Committee that I served on, we suggested to the Government that there should be a nations and regions capital fund, to make this a truly UK-wide project. I believe that the Leader of the House will struggle to get the support of public opinion if this is another massive London-centric capital project, so will she agree to have another look at that proposal, which I put forward and which was accepted by the Committee?
Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-05-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stewart Hosie (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Leader of the House for what she said about estimates being laid, so that at least there will be clarity about how much we intend to spend. However, she will be aware of the difficulty debating the current estimates, when we can talk about anything except for the actual estimate. May we have an assurance that when these estimates are laid, we will be able to discuss the actual sums of money, not simply what they will be spent on?
Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-05-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Of all the things this House can do to endear itself to the good people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, spending billions of pounds on renovating the place where we, the Members of Parliament, do our work probably, just about, would not make the top 10. In these days of austerity and with us still going through all the horrors and psychodramas of this crazy Tory Brexit it almost seems like it is designed to intentionally wind up the good people of this country. So I sincerely wish this House all the very best in trying to sell this to a sceptical and, frankly, had-enough nation.