argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Departmental Spending — House of Commons, 2020-07-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Darren Paul Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the many right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions today. Whether on key sectors such as the aerospace sector and the beauty industry, about which we have heard from through hon. Members in this debate, or with loud voices such as Unite the union for aerospace, or over 400 letters from thousands of workers and women to the Minister regarding the beauty industry; whether from the Petitions Committee on parents; whether on our lack of progress on net zero; whether on entrepreneurs and those who have fallen between the cracks, the demand on the Government has been clear this evening. That is, we expect a more sophisticated, coherent and transparent set of policies from the Government. With all due respect, the Minister was unable to announce anything about the future this evening. I hope that is because we will hear the plan that we need for Britain and British workers tomorrow from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. No doubt we will all be back to hear that and to hold the Government to account tomorrow Question deferred until Thursday 9 July at Five o’clock (Standing Order No. 54).
Self-employment Income Support Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Labor
Tracy Lynn Brabin (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Chancellor for his response. Despite him saying that the self-employment scheme is one of the most generous in the world, tens of thousands are still missing out—new starters, pay-as-you-earn freelancers, those paid through dividends and those earning over £50,000. I have three simple questions for the Chancellor. Will the self-employed income support scheme be extended in line with the job retention scheme? Are there plans to lift the cap on profits? And will he please look again at supporting new starters?
Covid-19: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Patrick Bosco McFadden (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker Despite the interventions that the Chancellor has announced, some of our major industrial companies find themselves locked out of the lending scheme for the largest firms—the covid corporate financing facility—because they are not classed as investment grade. These companies support hundreds of thousands of jobs, either directly or through their supply chains, and are often the main employers in the towns and cities where they operate. Will the Government show the same flexibility and urgency in getting finance to these companies, which make up the industrial backbone of Britain, as they have done through the loan scheme for small companies, so that we can retain as much economic capacity as possible through this crisis?
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Labor
Mary Theresa Glindon (Labour, Centre-left): New starters not registered with HMRC before 19 March and agency staff workers are some of those who currently find they are in limbo when it comes to accessing the job retention scheme. What more can the Chancellor do to help these workers now facing hardship?
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Labor
Anneliese Jane Dodds (Labour, Centre-left): Labour supported the introduction of the furlough scheme, and we have consistently called for it to become more flexible. We recognise that it cannot persist forever. However, according to press reports, the Treasury is considering asking all employers to pay 40% of employee wages on the JRS from 1 August, which risks a massive spike in job losses.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Labor
Anneliese Jane Dodds (Labour, Centre-left): I appreciate the Chancellor’s comments, but we really need clarity around whether he is considering evidence from other countries, which, in many cases, are calibrating changes to their salary backfill schemes with the lifting of the lockdown. Is he looking at that evidence, particularly on the potential impact of unemployment, or is he only looking at potentially the introduction of a uniform contribution from 1 August?
Covid-19: Local Authorities and Devolved Administrations — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Karin Marguerite Smyth (Labour, Centre-left): In Bristol, that current funding gap is £82.4 million as a result of the current crisis. Will the Treasury consider allowing local authorities to retain all surpluses against the business support grants so that they can be reinvested into local short-term interventions to get us through this crisis?
Covid-19: Local Authorities and Devolved Administrations — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Navendu Prabhat Mishra (Labour, Centre-left): Although the Government’s announcement of additional funding for local authorities in England is welcome, care staff, refuse collectors and social workers need to know that their work will continue to be funded once the current lockdown is over. My local council, Stockport, is facing a staggering shortfall of £25 million, with the cost of the coronavirus response standing at £41 million. Will the Minister offer those workers that assurance?
Covid-19: Regional Economies — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): The public transport infrastructure will be essential to Greater Manchester’s economic recovery, and funding has been provided to help Manchester Metrolink, but it is insufficient and the situation will be exacerbated because social distancing will mean that it can carry fewer passengers for the foreseeable future. Will the Treasury commit to fully funding Metrolink so that it can help to get the city region back on its feet?
Covid-19: Aviation Sector Workers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (Labour, Centre-left): British aviation is in freefall. BA, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and now the Emirates are set to lay off tens of thousands of staff. The job retention scheme is becoming the job restructuring scheme. We cannot allow that. With the added difficulty and confusion of the Government’s travel quarantine measures, will the Secretary of State urgently bring forward an aviation support package for the sector, matching Labour’s commitment?
English Regional Transport Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): It is so good to see so many cities and towns now putting in place infrastructure to support active travel, particularly cycling, but not everyone can work or cycle to work, not everyone has a car and no one wants the new normal to be cars clogging up the streets and despoiling the clean air. Why are the Government not working with city regions and other councils on a safety-led scaling up of passenger transport, why did they not talk to local leaders about public transport before urging a return to work and why is there a support package for Transport for London but not for other major cities?
Covid-19: Public Transport Workers and Key Worker Rail Users — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Charalambos Charalambous (Labour, Centre-left): Last week’s figures from the Office for National Statistics show that public transport drivers have one of the highest covid-19-related death rates compared with other professions. With the Government encouraging people to go back to work and many workers having no choice but to use public transport, what extra measures have the Government taken to protect drivers and other public transport workers?
Covid-19: Public Transport Workers and Key Worker Rail Users — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Julie Elliott (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for his answer. To protect public transport workers’ safety, they need job security. The Government’s funding arrangement runs out with the Metro and Nexus on 9 June, so it is fine that risk assessments are taking place, but we need the trains to run. Can the Government tell me when the arrangements will be made with the Metro and Nexus to allow our crucial Metro system to carry on running?
Covid-19: Public Transport Workers and Key Worker Rail Users — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
James McMahon (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. May I start by paying tribute to our frontline transport workers, and may I offer my condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives through covid-19 The latest advice from the Government now explicitly rules out providing personal protective equipment, such as face masks, to drivers, instead reserving them for health and social care workers. The response on this is that the health advice apparently does not support it. If the evidence says that masks will not save them, gloves will not save them and banning the handling of cash will not save them, that begs the question: what will save them, given that transport workers, including bus drivers, are more likely to die from covid-19 than the general population? Can that evidence be provided to the House of Commons Library so that it can be properly looked at and investigated? We cannot allow transport workers on the frontline, working to keep our country moving, to face a greater risk than the general population.
Rural Mobility and Supported Bus Services Funds — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Of course, hydrogen-powered buses have a much longer range, making them more suitable for rural routes and rural areas, and we have some of the leading hydrogen-powered bus manufacturers in the world. The Government have introduced the all-electric bus town scheme. Where is the equivalent for hydrogen?
Covid-19: Active Travel (Local Authorities) — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the £250 million funding so that cycling and walking improvements can be rapidly installed ahead of the expected tidal wave of traffic as people go back to work, but when will the Government finally publish their long-awaited revised design guidance on cycle-friendly infrastructure and the evidence that they commissioned back in 2018 on the amount of funding needed to meet their targets to double cycling and increase walking by 2025?
Covid-19: Food Delivery Drivers — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Transportation
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): At a time in this crisis when many of us are very dependent on home delivery, there is growing evidence that children as young as 16 on a provisional licence are wobbling on to the road, holding a mobile phone with Google Maps on it in one hand, to make deliveries. That is a very dangerous situation. Is the Minister not aware of the large number of reports of young people being killed and seriously injured because they are not qualified to drive and are doing a very dangerous task?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Labor
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): In south Wales and industrial towns, former miners with severe breathing issues are extremely vulnerable to covid-19. Those miners deserve recompense for years of dangerous work, but this is only possible after death if industrial disease is also noted on the death certificate. Will the Secretary of State please ask his officials to work with the mineworkers union to ensure that industrial diseases as well as covid-19 are considered as causes of death, so that grieving families can access the support they need?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Education
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): Many teachers and school staff are anxious about a return to class, especially those who have medical conditions or who are living with someone who is shielding. I understand that it will not be a requirement, but can the Secretary of State clarify whether if, for reassurance, staff at times want to wear face coverings and/or visors, they are perfectly free to do so?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-05-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Daniel Owen Jarvis (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Inequality is nothing new—[Inaudible.] The mortality rate for the poorest 10% is around double that of the most affluent. Does the Secretary of State agree that we must tackle this disparity? Will he commit to building a healthier country as we emerge from this crisis?
Covid-19: Economic Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Foreign Trade
Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): Given the Secretary of State’s previous answer that business will have unfettered access within the UK, could the Minister explain why HMRC is telling businesses to prepare for new formalities in west-east trade, and could he describe them?
Covid-19: Economic Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Labor
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State has already mentioned the severity of job losses at Bombardier, which drives a whole host of other supply-chain companies. What is the Minister doing to support capital investment in the supply chain to maintain jobs and skills at this particular time?
EU Relationship — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Foreign Trade
Karin Marguerite Smyth (Labour, Centre-left): Since Patrick was a boy, trade across these islands has been critical to our economies in all parts of these islands. Trade for businesses is worth some £14 billion with Northern Ireland and £35 billion with Ireland. What guidance are the Government giving to British businesses about the different rules they have agreed with Northern Ireland and on trade with the Republic as part of the European Union?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): Yes. The only U-turn here was the Education Secretary on 9 June, who ripped up the Government’s plans to get children back into school before the summer break There is a theme to these exchanges. Last week, I asked the Prime Minister about two claims about child poverty. He said that absolute child poverty and relative child poverty "have both declined under this Government".—[Official Report, 17 June 2020; Vol. 677, c. 796.] On Monday, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner ruled that the Prime Minister’s answer was "mostly false". The Prime Minister also said that there are 400,000 fewer families living in poverty now than there were in 2010. On Monday, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner ruled that that was simply "false". He has been found out. He either dodges the question or he gives dodgy answers. Mr Speaker, no more witnesses; I rest my case. Will the Prime Minister do the decent thing and correct the record in relation to child poverty?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Jessica Elizabeth Morden (Labour, Centre-left): In order to access benefits quickly, people with unpredictable terminal conditions, such as motor neurone disease, are having to prove that they have six months or less to live, and they risk losing their benefits altogether if they live longer than three years. A year has now passed since the Government announced their review into access to benefits for terminally ill people, but there is still no progress. When are the Government going to act?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Law and Crime
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): Prime Minister, the rehabilitation of offenders is supported right the way across the political spectrum, but the current operation of the Disclosure and Barring Service is a major obstacle to people turning their lives around. It is inefficient, unfair and, frankly, discriminatory. The Lammy report dealt with this in some depth nearly two years ago, so we do not need any more commissions or inquiries. We need action and an end to the endless Home Office obstruction and delay. You can break the logjam, Prime Minister. Will you do it?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Mathew Richard Allen Rodda (Labour, Centre-left): The last few days have been very difficult for our town. I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those who died in the dreadful attack in Forbury Gardens on Saturday evening. It is impossible to imagine what they are going through. My thoughts are also with the injured and their families, and with all those who have been affected by this terrible attack. I thank Thames Valley police and the other emergency services for their swift and effective response and for the incredible bravery shown by officers. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the investigation now receives all the resources it needs and that our town is properly supported? We have a strong and diverse community. We can and we will get through this together.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Rushanara Ali (Labour, Centre-left): I represent one of the two Tower Hamlets constituencies. We have the highest child poverty rate in the country and the most overcrowding in the country. Denying that borough a combined total of £150 million is a disgrace. The Secretary of State ought to publish the documents and come clean today.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): I very much agree with my hon. Friend. If the Secretary of State will agree today to publish the documents, we can all see, with full transparency, what really went on. That is all we are seeking in this debate.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): I understand that the Secretary of State has acknowledged the appearance of bias. My hon. Friend is making a compelling case. If, in fact, the Secretary of State is entirely innocent of everything that has been suggested, there is a simple way for this to be resolved, which is for him to provide complete transparency. If only he showed the documents, he could prove his own innocence, and we could all get on to other matters.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that we do not need a detailed chronology or to go over the books with a fine-toothed comb to realise that this is redolent of the stench of sleaze? It brought down the Major Government. The suggestion of unfair advantage to donors or supporters is sleaze writ large. The wheels are coming off this oven- ready Government.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State says that he is pleased to have this debate and started his speech by saying that he is going to release all of these documents. Why is he doing that today? He is releasing them because he has been forced to come here by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon North. If the Secretary of State wanted some transparency, instead of having to have this dragged out of him, he would have done this weeks ago.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Clive James Charles Betts (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for committing to publish that document and send it to the Select Committee, although it might have been helpful if we had had it before the debate today. The Committee will obviously want to look at it and may then want to enter into further communication or, indeed, even talk to the Secretary of State about it. I ask him one thing: will the documentation that he sends to the Select Committee include everything that he said to the Cabinet Secretary following his investigations into the matter?
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): I wondered how long it would be before we got on to the deflections on to Tower Hamlets Council and the Mayor of London, but it is a fact, is it not, that the leader of the Conservative group on the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Councillor Andrew Wood, resigned from the Conservative party, not citing the Mayor of London or Labour Tower Hamlets Council, but citing the actions of the Conservative party and this decision, which he described as "so shocking I knew immediately that I had to resign." Is that not a fact?
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Apsana Begum (Labour, Centre-left): Given that the Prime Minister pushed through the original scheme for the same developer when he was Mayor of London, does the Secretary of State feel that the documents on any involvement of No. 10, or any conversation about the Secretary of State’s decision to grant approval should also be published?
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): I wanted to put this question to the Secretary of State, who said he did not know that he would be seated next to Mr Desmond. He said that at the Dispatch Box and I will take him at his word. Are we seriously meant to believe, however, that Mr Desmond did not know that he was going to be sat next to the Secretary of State? Having talked to people I know who worked in professional fundraising and political fundraising, the question of cash for access is crucial. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Conservative party should publish all correspondence with Mr Desmond and his associates about the booking of the table at the dinner, and Mr Desmond’s expectations as to whether he knew that he would be sat with the Secretary of State?
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker I am glad to hear that the Secretary of State will release some of the papers related to the case, but in short, the rigmarole has become a farce. If, as the Secretary of State claims, he acted in good faith, we must get answers to the following questions. Did he, as Mr Desmond says, watch the promotional video at the Conservative fundraising dinner and then thank him? Did the Secretary of State inform his officials of that the next day? If so, what advice did they give him on receipt of that information? Those three questions lie at the heart of the rights and wrongs of the matter. They tease out whether, to use the Secretary of State’s words, the bias was apparent or real In the Secretary of State’s introduction, he was silent, then ambiguous about whether he watched the video. I invite Mr Desmond’s team, who surrounded the Secretary of State that night at the Conservative party fundraising dinner, to corroborate what Mr Desmond has said. If the Government really want to put the case to rest, the public deserve answers to those questions.
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Alexander David Sobel (Labour, Centre-left): I am having difficulty believing that we are having the debate, as the story of the Secretary of State and Mr Desmond reads like something straight out of a Frederick Forsyth or John le Carré novel. A fabulously wealthy former pornographer and major Conservative party donor happens to sit next to the Secretary of State at a £900-a-head Conservative party dinner just weeks before that Secretary of State makes a decision on a £1 billion property deal of Mr Desmond’s At the dinner, Mr Desmond leans over to the Secretary of State to show him a video. I bet the Secretary of State now wishes it was from one of Mr Desmond’s former television channels, but as we now know, it was a promotional video of the luxury development. Mr Desmond openly admitted this, saying: "What I did was I showed him the video" Mr Desmond revealed that the Secretary of State watched it for three to four minutes.