argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Higher Education and Research Bill — House of Commons, 2016-11-21
Topic: Education
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I back the hon. Lady’s points, and note that Welsh universities have particular priorities when it comes to research, not least the very low level of funding that they get, which is probably around 2%—a figure that contrasts with the fact that we are 5% of the UK population. Irrespective of the Haldane principle, that is a specific concern in Wales.
Justice System: Women — House of Commons, 2016-11-01
Topic: Law and Crime
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Will the Minister commit to work with devolved Governments to ensure funding for third sector organisations such as the North Wales Women’s Centre, which supports women in the criminal justice system as an alternative to prison?
Press Matters — House of Commons, 2016-11-01
Topic: Technology
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Press Recognition Panel set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal stated that urgent action is required if the post-Leveson system of independent regulation is to be given a chance to survive. Surely today’s procrastination is tantamount to political interference by the Government.
Welsh Economy — House of Commons, 2016-10-20
Topic: Foreign Trade
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): As the Secretary of State will be aware, the Welsh economy produces a substantial trade surplus of more than £5 billion per annum as a result of our membership of the single market, the customs union and the associated 53 international global trade deals. The UK as a whole, on the other hand, has a massive deficit of nearly £120 billion. Does the Secretary of State acknowledge, therefore, that the Government’s favoured policy of leaving the single market, the customs union and the associated 53 international global trade deals—a hard Brexit—will have a significant effect on Wales?
Corporate Governance — House of Commons, 2016-11-29
Topic: Labor
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The statement represents a welcome step forward, but if the UK Government are serious about tackling income inequality in companies, they should go a step further and introduce fair pay structures whereby the remuneration of those at the top and bottom are linked. That would be a way of ensuring that the economy works for all.
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2016-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect on the Welsh economy of the UK leaving the EU.
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): This week Hybu Cig Cymru, the Farmers’ Union of Wales and NFU Cymru have all made the overwhelming case in favour of tariff-free access to the EU for our world-class Welsh red meat. What is the Minister doing to ensure the voice of agriculture is heard in government?
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2016-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect on the Welsh economy of the UK leaving the EU.
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Welsh agriculture is spectacularly successful in EU markets; 93% of our excellent Welsh beef and lamb exports go to EU countries. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure French, Italian, Spanish and German people continue to eat Welsh meat in the future?
Inward Investment — House of Commons, 2016-11-30
Topic: Foreign Trade
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): At the beginning of this year, FieldMaster Tractors Ltd, a tractor assembly company in my constituency, signed a joint venture agreement with Longhua, a Chinese company, that would have created 40 jobs in my constituency with aims of expanding. Last week, the owner received notification from China that the deal was off due to uncertainty about our future trading relationship with the European Union. Does the Minister recognise that the UK Government’s dithering over Wales’s future relationship with the single market and the customs union is costing jobs now?
Chilcot Inquiry and Parliamentary Accountability — House of Commons, 2016-11-30
Topic: International Affairs
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Iraq war is one of the great disasters to befall the world in this century. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and injured—men, women and children, the culpable and the innocent alike, the invading forces and the often unwilling defenders. Saddam’s vile tyranny was replaced by endless war. Here in the United Kingdom families grieve for their loved ones, lost forever, and survivors who served their country so faithfully suffer terribly. Terrorism spreads across northern Africa and Europe and is indeed a menace worldwide. Today the threat level here in the UK is again at "severe"; an attack is highly likely Compared to all that, misleading the House of Commons and the damage done to our reputation might seem to rank somewhat lower, but it is significant none the less, and damage has been done. Trust in Parliament, in Government and in individual MPs has declined disastrously, which is coupled with at best scepticism, and at worst widespread cynicism, about our democratic processes. I was a Member of this House at the time of the march to war and I have a particularly vivid memory of Mr Blair presenting the House with the so called "dodgy dossier". Even on first reading, it seemed to me it was a cut and paste exercise. I also took part in the enormous protest against going to war and was astonished by the variety of people joining in—not just the usual suspects but a true cross-section of society. There are many causes of the steep decline of trust in politicians and in our work, but some of the blame can be traced back to the way we were taken to war in Iraq, to subsequent disastrous events there, and to the public perception that no one has really been held to account As The Observer revealed last Sunday in a report concerning this debate: "A spokesman for Blair declined to comment. But, privately, his supporters say similar motions have been tabled before without gaining significant traction among MPs."
Airport Capacity — House of Commons, 2016-10-25
Topic: Transportation
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Transport for London has estimated that the cost of associated transport infrastructure to service a third runway at Heathrow would be about £20 billion. Can the Secretary of State give the House a cast-iron guarantee that any public money used to pay for that work would result in full Barnett consequentials? Or is he saying that the routes identified by TfL would be paid for fully by private sources?
Criminal Finances Bill — House of Commons, 2016-10-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Prosecuting corporations for failing to prevent economic crimes was expected to be a core part of this legislation as it appeared during the consultation phase. It seems that, despite Government indications that they would include provisions to hold to account corporations that let their staff facilitate tax evasion and other economic crimes, those provisions are not part of the Bill. Will the Minister explain why he has chosen not to include such eminently sensible precautions?
Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-10-26
Topic: Social Welfare
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I have spoken in previous debates about Capita’s failures in delaying the payment of disability benefits to some of our most vulnerable people. It seems to me that the only difference this time is the name of the corporation involved. Is not the fundamental issue that private profit-making companies are failing to deliver critical Government services?
Aleppo — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In his initial answer to the urgent question, the Minister rightly labelled the bombing of hospitals and other acts as war crimes by the Syrian Government forces and Russia. With that in mind, what specific measures can the UK Government take with international partners to hold those responsible to account?
HS2 Update — House of Commons, 2016-11-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In the statement of funding policy that accompanied the comprehensive spending review, Wales was allocated a 0% Barnett rating, whereas Scotland and Northern Ireland both got a 100% rating. This means that Wales will lose out on a full Barnett allocation from HS2. As expenditure increases during the construction phase, so will the impact on the Welsh Government’s budget compared with those of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Will the Secretary of State look at this issue once again and ensure that this injustice is rectified?
Free Trade Agreement: USA — House of Commons, 2016-12-15
Topic: Foreign Trade
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): One of the main proponents of a future UK-US trade deal in Congress is Congressman Charlie Dent, who happens to be a very good friend of mine and of the hon. Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb). However, President-elect Trump was elected on an anti-globalisation mandate, so why does the Minister think the new President will put UK-US trade deals at the front of his agenda in a post-Brexit environment?
HMP Birmingham — House of Commons, 2016-12-19
Topic: Law and Crime
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Howard League published a report in the summer indicating all Welsh prisons had seen a fall in the number of officers compared with last year, so what is the Secretary of State doing to ensure the Welsh prison estate is equipped with sufficient staff, especially as it is the policy of the UK Government to build in Wrexham a Titan prison, one of the largest in Europe, primarily, as she has said in this debate, to house prisoners from overcrowded prisons in England?
Trident Renewal — House of Commons, 2015-01-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am grateful for that intervention. That has been one of the highlights of the debate, and it is why it is so important that Plaid Cymru, the Green party and the SNP have brought this debate to the House. As I say, Trident renewal will be the biggest spending decision made by the next Parliament, yet the UK Government have no idea of the lifetime costs of the project, despite work done by CND and others Let me outline further how some of the £100 billion to be spent on Trident renewal could be spent instead. Although the cost of building homes varies throughout the UK, the average cost is around £150,000. That means that the Government, in partnership with local authorities, housing associations and others, could build up to 650,000 new affordable homes. Of course, home building, where it is needed, would stimulate the economy in ways that simply ploughing £100 billion into nuclear weapons would not. For the money spent investing in housing in that way, the Treasury would benefit from higher-value employment, reducing expenditure on in-work and out-of-work benefits, and the investment would help to ease the UK’s acute housing crisis, as the CND so ably demonstrated in its "People not Trident" document In terms of education, investing roughly a quarter of the amount earmarked for Trident would result in a fivefold return on investment. In its regular publication, "Education at a Glance", the OECD demonstrated that for every £1 invested in higher education by the UK Government, the return is £5 over the working life of the graduate. This arises from higher tax revenues and lower outlays resulting from reduced unemployment. As the OECD said, investment in education boosts jobs and tax revenues The alternatives are there. Plaid Cymru has long supported investment in infrastructure and public services as a means of reducing the deficit over the long term.
Trident Renewal — House of Commons, 2015-01-20
Topic: Other
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I think not, as I have no time at all I will in fact finish my speech, saying that peace and peacemaking have been central to the culture of my country for a very long time. I finish with lines from the 19th-century poet, Gwilym Hiraethog, which might be a suitable epitaph for Trident. They are: "Segurdod yw clod y cledd, A rwd yw ei anrhydedd." Or: "Idleness is the glory of the sword, And rust is its distinction."
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): As the Minister points out, this change will result in savings for the vast majority of people purchasing a home. What assessment has he made of the impact on house price inflation as a result of the changes?
Steel Industry — House of Commons, 2015-01-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman is right to mention business rates, which will soon be devolved to the Labour Government in Cardiff. What discussions has he had with colleagues about creating a business rates regime in Wales that would help the steel industry in my country?
Election of Speaker — House of Commons, 2015-05-18
Topic: Other
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): On behalf of my Plaid Cymru colleagues and myself, may I congratulate you on your re-election, Mr Speaker? I have always found you to be an excellent Speaker, as many have mentioned in their contributions, and fair to the minor parties. On that basis, I look forward to serving under your leadership for the duration of this Parliament.
Welsh Affairs — House of Commons, 2015-03-05
Topic: Other
Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I agree with what the right hon. Gentleman says. He will recall that a couple of years ago he and I applied for such a debate and were eventually successful. The point that he makes is correct. Everyone should be able to participate in the debate, not just Welsh Members. It is important that that should be so.
Welsh Affairs — House of Commons, 2015-03-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman is making a very powerful and interesting case, but Magna Carta did in fact acknowledge that the Welsh laws of the time should stay as a distinct body of law because they were preferable. There are a few lines in Magna Carta about that.
Sport and the 2012 Olympics Legacy — House of Commons, 2015-06-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): We have heard much about one region of England, but Wales missed out on several hundreds of millions of pounds of Barnett consequential funding as well as structural investment and foreign direct investment both before and after the Olympic and Paralympic games. Will the Secretary of State inform the House what he and his Department will do to right that wrong?
European Union Referendum Bill — House of Commons, 2015-06-18
Topic: Civil Rights
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The hon. Gentleman’s argument, which was also made by the hon. Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), who is no longer in her place, reminds me of the ancient joke, "Make me holy, but not just yet". I believe that we need to move quickly on the matter Over the years, from my experience in my constituency of visiting sixth-formers during what I suppose we would call civics lessons to talk about my work, they are hugely interested in and committed to voting as soon as possible. They want to know what we do here, and they want to get involved. I have often felt humbled by the sincerity of the opinions that they hold, which can sometimes be compared with the insincerity of some of the opinions that their older peers have I also draw the Committee’s attention to my experience during the election campaign, when hustings were held at my local secondary schools. It was a tough experience, and we were questioned hard by young people who were totally engaged in the campaign, some of whom were able to vote. Another experience that humbled me was seeing a large group of young people coming down from school to the polling booth at lunchtime to vote together. They were proud to do so, and I was even more proud to see that they were all voting for me. I cannot say how young people would vote in an EU referendum—I suspect I know, but I cannot guarantee it. However, I trust them, and I believe they have a right to be heard.
Tourism — House of Commons, 2015-03-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): We are indeed fortunate in that people the world over want to visit the wonderful country of Wales—I and, I am sure, the Minister are very proud of the country—but more should be done in terms of tourism and the Welsh economy. What discussions has he or his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State had with colleagues to implement a 5% VAT rate for the tourism sector, which would bring 5,500 extra jobs to Wales?
Tourism — House of Commons, 2015-03-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch i’r Gweinidog am ei eiriau caeredig. I will help Hansard with the spelling later In terms of competitive disadvantage, 24 EU states already have a reduced rate of VAT on tourism. In addition, the economic study by Professor Adam Blake, using the Treasury’s own modelling technique, showed that a cut in tourism VAT would increase GDP by £4 billion per annum.
Welfare Reform: Social Housing — House of Commons, 2015-01-21
Topic: Housing
Questions: What assessment he has made of the implications for the Government’s policies of the Auditor General for Wales’s report on “Managing the Impact of Welfare Reform Changes on Social Housing Tenants in Wales”, published in January 2015.; What recent estimate he has made of the number of households in Wales that have received a reduction in benefits since the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty.; What assessment he has made of the implications for the Government’s policies of the Auditor General for Wales’s report on “Managing the Impact of Welfare Reform Changes on Social Housing Tenants in Wales”, published in January 2015.
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): My own local authority runs a useful forum for local agencies to plan a response to the bedroom tax, but its work is bedevilled by a lack of certainty over central Government support through the discretionary fund. Will the Minister prevail on his colleagues to give more certainty to future funding, which would help our work?
English Votes on English Laws — House of Commons, 2015-07-02
Topic: Other
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): At the foot of page 2, the explanatory notes state: "Any bills that the Speaker has certified as England-only in their entirety will be considered by only English MPs" It would help the House if the right hon. Gentleman were to identify past Bills that he considers to have been England-only in their entirety.
Syria: Refugees and Counter-terrorism — House of Commons, 2015-09-07
Topic: Immigration
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In a reply to me last month, the Minister for Immigration said that the vulnerable persons relocation scheme was designed to focus on need, rather than meeting a quota. Is the Prime Minister now imposing a quota of 20,000 on that scheme? What will he say to the 20,001st person who has a provable and legitimate need?
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): We have heard already that tourism and agriculture, our principal rural industries, are highly dependent on effective internet services for marketing and their statutory data returns. There is a real issue with isolation and loneliness, and poor internet speed is doubly damaging in rural areas given the equally poor, if not non-existent, mobile data signal. Just 17% of Gwynedd is covered by the 3G data signal compared with a UK average of 84%, and most of that area is in the university town rather than my constituency. We have no 4G whatsoever—it is easy to remember that statistic. Our businesses are crying out for high-speed internet access and the Welsh Government are failing them. Given the importance of growing the private sector to meet the task of growing the Welsh economy, given the rural nature of the Welsh economy compared with that of the rest of the UK and given in particular the importance of high-speed internet to the rural economy, what will the UK Government do to ensure that the remaining 4% are not left without superfast broadband Poor broadband provision is putting rural businesses at a disadvantage and might stop businesses investing in rural Wales, as we heard previously about Somerset. That is why Plaid Cymru considers digital infrastructure equally important to the Welsh economy as transport infrastructure. If we want all corners of these islands to be prosperous and to break the long-standing dependence on the south-east of England, we must create the conditions for economic growth in all parts of the UK. For years now, Plaid Cymru MPs have been campaigning for a rebalancing of power and wealth across the UK and although that has been traditionally associated with transport infrastructure investment and empowering national Governments with fiscal responsibility, it also means investment in digital infrastructure. For example, a Plaid Cymru Welsh Government in 2016 would deliver full superfast broadband at the EU definition of 30 megabits a second to 100% of Wales. If we are serious about growing the economy throughout the UK, we must do that.
Benefit Sanctions — House of Commons, 2015-09-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What assessment he has made of the effect of benefit sanctions in areas of Wales which have high numbers of economically inactive people and low numbers of available jobs relative to the rest of the country.
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I thank the Secretary of State for his kind words. Some areas of Wales have high unemployment and low economic activity, and getting a job or extra hours is not easy, or even impossible. What has he done personally, as our Secretary of State, to ensure that our people are not subject to arbitrary and unfair benefit sanctions?
Paris Terrorist Attacks — House of Commons, 2015-11-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Plaid Cymru condemns these murderous and depraved attacks, and we send our condolences to the bereaved and the injured. I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and for early sight of it. Organising such attacks and outrages takes considerable planning and resources. Can she assure the House that the Government are doing all they can to help in international efforts to stop the supply of arms matériel and expertise to the terrorists at source?
Europe: Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2015-11-10
Topic: Immigration
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I thank the Minister for his statement and for early sight of it. In his statement, he used the phrase "salary to be subsidised by the state." How will the Government differentiate legally between salaries subsidised by the state for foreigners and tax credits to hand out to UK citizens?
Court and Tribunal Estate — House of Commons, 2015-11-03
Topic: Civil Rights
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am sure I do not need to remind the Minister that the Welsh Language Act 1993 requires his Department to consider the impact of new policies on the Welsh language. Will he commit to undertake and publish a Welsh language impact assessment before deciding on the future of courts in Wales?