argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): First, like the right hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone), I am of an age when I can remember seeing on television those terrible scenes of what happened in Aberfan. I did not see the whole of Huw Edwards’ documentary, but I thought the bits that I happened to see last night were very poignant, as the right hon. Gentleman said. Interestingly, what it showed again was the issue of those in power not being willing to step up to the plate initially and to accept what had actually happened, but the inquiry was very clear about where the responsibility lay It is right that we are introducing parity of esteem for mental health in our national health service. We have waited too long for this, and it is important that it is being done. We are actually investing more in mental health services—an estimated record £11.7 billion. In particular, we are increasing the overall number of children’s beds to the highest number for mental health problems, which I think is important. There is, of course, more for us to do in looking at mental health, but we have made an important start and, as I say, that funding will be there.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): May I first of all say to Colin that I think all of us in this House recognise the difficulties people have when coping with mental health problems? I commend those in this House who have been prepared to stand up and refer to their own mental health problems. I think that has sent a very important signal to people with mental health issues across the country The right hon. Gentleman raises the whole question of the interaction between the NHS and police forces. I am very proud of the fact that when I was Home Secretary I actually worked with the Department of Health to bring a change to the way in which police forces dealt with people in mental health crisis. That is why we see those triage pilots out on the streets and better NHS support being given to police forces, so that the number of people who have to be taken to a police cell as a place of safety has come down. Overall, I think it has more than halved, and in some areas it has come down by even more than that. This is a result of the action that this Government have taken.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me remind the right hon. Gentleman what has happened in relation to NHS funding. We asked the NHS itself to come up with a five-year plan, and we asked the NHS itself to say what extra funding was needed to deliver on that. The NHS came up with its five-year plan, led by Simon Stevens as its chief executive. He said that £8 billion was needed. We are giving £10 billion of extra funding to the NHS. I might also remind the right hon. Gentleman that at the last election, it was not the Conservative party that was refusing to guarantee funding for the NHS; it was the Labour party.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman quoted what had been said by Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England. At the time of the autumn statement last November, he said that "our case for the NHS has been heard and actively supported." The right hon. Gentleman also raised the question of social care, and the interaction between healthcare and social care. More than £5 billion extra was put into the better care fund in order to deal with precisely those issues, and local authorities are able to raise 2% of council tax to deal with the social care costs that they face. What is important, however, is for the health service and local authorities to work together to ensure that they deliver the best possible service to people who require that social care. I saw a very good example of that at Salford Royal on Monday, and I want to see more examples throughout the national health service, delivering for patients. We have put in the funding, which the right hon. Gentleman’s party would not have done, so that the NHS will receive better care for patients.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to the right hon. Gentleman that over the course of this Parliament, the Government will be spending over half a trillion pounds on the national health service. That is a record level of investment in our national health service. There is a key difference between the way the right hon. Gentleman approaches this and how I approach it: Conservative Members believe that people at a local level should be able to make decisions about the national health service, and that decisions about the national health service should be led by clinicians—it should not be a top-down approach, which is typical of the Labour party.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): What has happened in the NHS over the past six years? More patients being treated, more calls to the ambulance service, more operations, more doctors, more nurses—that is what has been happening in the NHS. But let us just look at the right hon. Gentleman’s party’s approach to the national health service: a former shadow Health Secretary said that it would be "irresponsible" to put more money into the national health service; and a former leader of the Labour party wanted to "weaponise" the national health service. At every election the Labour party claims that the Conservatives will cut NHS spending; after every election we increase NHS spending. At every election Labour claims the Tories will privatise the NHS; after every election when we have been in government we have protected the NHS. There is only one party that has cut funding for the NHS: the Labour party in Wales.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Defense
Questions: Is the Prime Minister aware that research shows that infrastructure investment most benefits areas that are prepared to capitalise on it with new associated possibilities for housing, skills and jobs? Will she ensure that current opportunities are taken for inward investment to preserve and re-energise essential national industries such as rotorcraft in the Yeovil area as we seek to capitalise on the dualling of the A303?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): First, may I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his election as deputy leader of the Scottish National party As the right hon. Gentleman knows, we have one of the toughest regimes in the world in relation to arms exports. When allegations arise, we press—I have pressed in the past and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has pressed—the Saudi Arabia Government to properly investigate the issues and to learn lessons from them.
House of Lords Reform and Size of the House of Commons — House of Commons, 2016-10-19
Topic: Health
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): No We are not hearing about the NHS because there is an NHS crisis in Scotland. The SNP lost a vote in the Scottish Parliament not long ago as a result of its mishandling of the NHS in Scotland. Recently, efforts to ensure adequate recruitment of general practitioners in Scotland failed. Why are we not hearing about education from the SNP? [Interruption.] Just a minute. We are not hearing about education from the SNP because recently, and humiliatingly—
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): On behalf of my constituents in Herefordshire perhaps I may gently correct my beloved colleague from the Scottish National party, the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (John Nicolson), on the identity of my constituency I congratulate the Secretary of State on this White Paper. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee will be scrutinising the detail, but I welcome the recognition of the BBC’s important achievements, public service ethos, and potential as a global broadcaster. I also welcome the fact that the White Paper has incorporated recommendations we have made on the unitary board, regulation of Ofcom, the 11-year charter, and the National Audit Office However, we did identify issues about the culture of the BBC. I do not know whether the Secretary of State saw the excellent article in The Guardian today by Lenny Henry about black and minority ethnic representation, on which the BBC has historically been weak, but I very much welcome what has been said. Will the Secretary of State say a little more about how that will be enforced, and whether there might be a specific duty on Ofcom to keep an eye of those aspects of the charter in particular?
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much agree with my hon. Friend, who is right to highlight this point. A number of people have been pressing this matter, not least my hon. Friend the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, who is sitting beside me, and the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), whom I am pleased to see in his place. I would also like to thank Lenny Henry, who has been in to talk to us several times about the matter I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant), because research we have conducted shows that, although appreciation of the BBC is high throughout the country, there is a feeling, particularly among some black, Asian and minority ethnic audiences, that they are underserved. We are very keen to address that, in terms of both the diverse range of talent behind the camera and in the production process and those who appear on-screen. In particular, we want to ensure that those who choose to watch the BBC, from every section of our community, find programming they want to watch.
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on listening to the voices of sanity in this debate, and, indeed, on being one of the voices of sanity this morning. He has broadly achieved a system of outside regulation that holds the BBC properly to account without in any way damaging its vital role at the heart of the cultural life of this country. May I, however, ask him about one detail? Will he confirm that the National Audit Office will audit only the publicly funded part of the BBC, given that auditing its private commercial operations would constitute an unprecedented extension of the NAO into the private sector?
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): The quotas are of course a minimum requirement, and it is for the BBC to do its best to exceed them. In answer to the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (John Nicolson), I referred to the letter that the director-general sent today to the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe & External Affairs in the Scottish Government, in which he commits the BBC to continuing to do its best to increase the proportion of BBC network production expenditure in each of the nations of the UK. He said "we recognise that this spend needs to work harder" and that he will be doing his best to ensure that Scotland receives funding that at least is proportional to its population. I am sure that the hon. Lady and her colleagues can pursue that further with the director-general.
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State will be aware that my constituency was made somewhat infamous by the iconic BBC series "Fawlty Towers" and the antics of Basil Fawlty, which were based on a real hotel owner. Some of the things he had actually done had to be left out as being too ridiculous. Today, services such as BBC Radio Devon and locally produced TV programmes are very much appreciated in Torbay and there is a modern creative industry. What does my right hon. Friend see in the White Paper that will help boost that industry and ensure that more programmes like "Fawlty Towers" are produced in the future?
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): Having visited Torbay as part of the tourism inquiry that the Select Committee conducted in the previous Parliament, I am delighted that although "Fawlty Towers" may have been based on a hotel at one time, Torbay hotels today bear no resemblance to Fawlty Towers. The series is an example of creative comedy, which the BBC excels at. It is important that the BBC should continue to make productions all across the United Kingdom. In Cornwall "Poldark" has been extremely successful, and I hope that the south-west will continue to benefit from BBC investment in production, which, as we said earlier, drives growth and creates a large number of jobs.
BBC — House of Commons, 2016-05-12
Topic: Culture
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the requirement for more productions to be tendered. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that will help to right an historic imbalance, given the share of production that is lacking across the east midlands? That will inevitably give my constituents more value for their licence fee and help to increase my local creative industries’ business, which is definitely good news.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-04-27
Topic: Defense
Questions: British troops served fewer years in Iraq than during the first and second world wars, and the first and second world wars did not take as long as it has taken to publish the Chilcot report. Will the Minister make an apology to my constituent Pat Long, whose son was killed in the Iraq war, for these unforgivable delays, and also give a commitment to her and other families that they will see the embargoed report, rather than getting the news—inevitably there will be bad news—second hand?
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern and the concern of his constituents. He will know that the timing of the publication is a matter for the independent inquiry, which has set out a timetable. Checking for national security issues is very important, and will take place appropriately. Thankfully, we will get to the conclusion of this process soon.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-04-27
Topic: Health
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I would very much like to associate myself with the Prime Minister’s important comments on the Hillsborough tragedy, along with Members on all sides of the House, and pay tribute to the victims and their families, and to the resilience of the campaigners who continue to strive for the truth in the pursuit of justice In my constituency of Eastleigh, the service that GPs provide is crucial to people’s daily lives, including at St Luke’s surgery in Botley—I have met the people at that surgery to highlight its important local value. Does the Prime Minister agree that the recent key announcement of £2.4 billion of funding for GPs is only possible because of a strong Conservative majority Government?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-04-27
Topic: Health
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We made a choice to put £12 billion into the NHS in the last Parliament and £19 billion into the NHS in this Parliament. We want to see strengthened primary care. Our vision is of GPs coming together and having physiotherapists, mental health practitioners and other clinics in their surgeries, so that people can get the healthcare they need and we take the pressure off hospitals. That will only happen with a Government who keep investing in our NHS.
Trade Union Bill — House of Commons, 2016-04-27
Topic: Health
Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very happy to confirm and applaud what my hon. Friend said. In truth, I would be as worried if an organisation was declaring no spending on facility time as if it was declaring excessive spending on facility time. Helping people with training or with health and safety issues is not just appropriate, but vital in a well-run organisation. He will recognise, as will Members across the House, that there have been agencies and Departments—we have had direct dealings of this within the civil service—that were allowing an abuse of the system. We want to restore confidence in the system by making it clear that we need transparency. If there is still excessive behaviour, we will introduce a cap.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Michael Fallon (Conservative, Centre-right): The campaign against Daesh is making steady progress. With coalition support, Iraqi forces have freed Fallujah and, as part of preparatory operations for retaking Mosul, have liberated Qayyarah town. The Syrian Democratic Forces have taken Manbij and Turkish-backed opposition forces have taken Jarabulus and al-Rai, effectively denying Daesh its last border crossings into Turkey. As we approach the second anniversary of our military operations, I should like to pay tribute to the men and women of all three services, who work tirelessly to defeat Daesh and to keep Britain safe.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Michael Fallon (Conservative, Centre-right): The infrastructure targets that the RAF has been attacking in recent months have included oil installations to reduce the revenue that Daesh has been getting from oil trading. Sealing the border, too, will help to stop the flow of illicit goods and, indeed, oil across the border. We continue to work with our international partners to reduce the access of Daesh to the financial system.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Giacomo Lopresti (Conservative, Centre-right): May I ask the Secretary of State why it took a year for us to supply ammunition for the heavy weapons that we supply to the peshmerga in Iraq? Can he assure the House that such delays will never happen again, and that we are doing everything that we possibly can to help the peshmerga in their fight against Daesh?
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Michael Fallon (Conservative, Centre-right): We have supplied, as my hon. Friend knows, not only heavy machine guns to the peshmerga but ammunition for those heavy machine guns. I announced earlier in the summer a fresh gift from us of ammunition for those heavy machine guns, and I am very pleased to tell him that that ammunition has now arrived and is being used.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Michael Fallon (Conservative, Centre-right): We do not, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, comment in this House on the deployment of our special forces in any country in the world, but he raises an important point about de-confliction of the airspace. At the moment, we are party to the agreement between Russia and the United States, and that agreement ensures that there is minimum risk of collisions or misidentification of aircraft. That, obviously, will continue to be the case after the ceasefire, which we hope will take effect tonight.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Questions: May I ask my right hon. Friend to update the House on when the additional trainers that he has announced will be deployed to Iraq to support the liberation of the Iraqi people from Daesh?
Michael Fallon (Conservative, Centre-right): I announced in June that we would be sending another 250 British troops to the al-Asad airbase in western Iraq to complement the Danish training programme, as part of what is called the building partner capacity effort. I am very pleased to tell my hon. Friend that the advance party from 4 Rifles arrived in the last few days at al-Asad airbase.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Questions: May I ask my right hon. Friend to update the House on when the additional trainers that he has announced will be deployed to Iraq to support the liberation of the Iraqi people from Daesh?
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (Conservative, Centre-right): Challenging the death cult ideology of Daesh is vital if we are to tackle this type of terrorism. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the progress being made by the 34 Muslim nations, co-ordinated by Saudi Arabia, to defeat Daesh?
British Normandy Veterans: Légion d’Honneur — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): Since the extremely generous offer by President Hollande to confer the Légion d’Honneur on surviving veterans of the campaigns to liberate France in 1944, we have had a number of discussions with representatives of the French Government about the criteria and process for making the award. As a result, the French Government have presented more than 3,500 medals to British veterans. Officials in London and Paris remain proactively engaged to make the process as smooth as possible.
British Normandy Veterans: Légion d’Honneur — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Three 94-year-old south Devon Normandy veterans—Ferneley Nankivell, Alan Carncross and Robert Barbour DFC—are still waiting for the award of their Légion d’Honneur, and other veterans have passed away during the past year without receiving it. Will the Minister join me in calling on the French authorities to resolve this issue as a matter of urgency, and to look at whether the honour can still be awarded to those who have passed away since July 2014?
British Normandy Veterans: Légion d’Honneur — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): The French have awarded approximately 3,500 medals, and we have sent the French about 4,300 applications. At the moment, the process is taking between six and eight weeks. I appreciate that that is still a significant period given the age of the cohort in question, but I can assure the right hon. Gentleman, who has pursued the issue persistently over the past year, that we have done everything we can to make the process as quick as possible given the circumstances and the age of the veterans involved.
Defence Spending: Small Firms — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (Conservative, Centre-right): Small businesses are crucial for growth and innovation in this country, and we want them to take an increasing share of our growing defence budget. We are committed to achieving 25% of our procurement spend being with small and medium-sized enterprises by 2020. That target is 10% higher than the one set during the last Parliament.
Defence Spending: Small Firms — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Victoria Mary Boswell Prentis (Conservative, Centre-right): May I say how nice it is to see my hon. Friend in her place? May I drill down a little and ask her what steps she can take to ensure that the Ministry of Defence’s largest customers use small firms to deliver their contracts?
Defence Spending: Small Firms — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is essential that we work on that not only in our direct defence procurement process but with our supply chains. I am delighted to be able to let the House know that the supply chain advocate network and the supply chain champions, which my predecessor announced, are well under way, and that last year the Ministry of Defence was able to have direct spend with almost 5,000 different companies.
Defence Spending: Small Firms — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Defense
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): In Rugby we are very proud of the contribution that GE Power Conversion is making to the Type 26 global combat ship programme; it is also important to recognise its contribution to the local economy through the orders it places with subcontractors and through local small businesses.