argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour, Centre-left): Indeed, it was laughable at times when the former Secretary of State noticed things to which we assumed he had already given his approval I want to make it clear at the outset that we welcome the reserved powers model, for which we have been calling for some time, as we feel that it has the potential to clarify the devolution settlement, and we welcome each of the new powers contained in the Bill. As the party that established the Welsh Assembly, we want to see our devolution settlement strengthened, with more powers devolved from Westminster to Wales. We are glad that the Assembly will have new powers over transport, energy and elections. As with the areas it already controls, the Assembly will be able to use those new powers to make different choices that reflect the will of people in Wales The powers over shale gas extraction will allow the Assembly to take into account the very real fears that people in Wales have about fracking. Labour has made it clear that, as the necessary safeguards cannot yet be met, we should not push ahead with fracking. We welcome the powers over energy planning consents for projects generating up to 350 MW, but we would certainly like full powers over grid connections devolved to Welsh Government. I hope that that is what we will hear from the Secretary of State That would not solve the delays with the Swansea bay tidal lagoon, which are due to the failure by Conservative Ministers to agree a viable financial framework for investors to proceed. I very much hope that the Secretary of State does everything he can to speed up the review, so that we can have a world first in Wales, with all the positive spin-offs for our manufacturing industry, rather than letting other countries steal a march on us The power to change the name of the Assembly means that we could call it a Welsh Parliament. Responsibility for the voting age in Welsh elections means that the Assembly could introduce votes at 16 for elections to the Assembly and to local councils. Whatever the Assembly decides, what matters is that those decisions will be taken in Wales by elected Assembly Members.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Other
Ian Colin Lucas (Labour, Centre-left): I am listening to the hon. Gentleman’s speech carefully. I commend to him the work of the all-party group on Mersey Dee North Wales, which is addressing precisely the issue that he raises. It works with Members on both sides of the border to deal with practical issues that affect all our constituents every day. We have the capability to do these things if we work together.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Albert Owen (Labour, Centre-left): I have not thought of the wording, but I agree with the hon. Gentleman that democracy is difficult. We have to make a positive case for things and do so honourably. I did not understand, and was not able to explain in great detail, the question on extending powers in 2011, but I argued, along with members of Plaid Cymru, that the Welsh Government deserved to have lawmaking powers. Tax-varying and lawmaking powers are simple questions. As my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West has said, it may be difficult to win an argument, but we have to stick to principles. I have been consistent on this matter since 1997, and I do not think we can just jump into it after all the different elections we have had. However, given the current referendum, I understand the climate of fear that people find themselves in at present. I want to be radical and forward looking, and I want the Welsh Government to be so, too When the Minister winds up, I want him to clarify the issue of election powers. On the issue of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, am I right in thinking that the Welsh Government will have the power to do so and that it will apply to Welsh Assembly and local government elections only? If there were a Welsh-only referendum, such as one on tax-varying powers or another Wales-specific issue, would the Welsh Government have the power to lower the voting age from 18 to 16? I am an advocate of that and have argued the case for it in this House for some time. This is an opportunity for us to give those responsibilities to the Welsh Government My hon. Friends the Members for Cardiff West and for Wrexham have been campaigning hard on compulsory voting. This is a great opportunity for the Welsh Government to be radical. Let us give them the tools to do the job. If the Welsh Government decide that they want compulsory voting in Wales, that would be a good step forward.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Civil Rights
Albert Owen (Labour, Centre-left): That is excellent news, and it is on the record. It is a victory for the three of us on the Labour Back Benches that we will now have the opportunity for compulsory voting in Wales, which I think is a radical step. Hansard will make that known, but I hope the media in Wales are watching the progress of the Bill. After all, it is not dry as dust, but is about the real issues affecting people, including compulsory voting.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): Congratulations to the Government on the improvements to what was an ugly draft Bill. We have before us a Bill that will be a genuine step forward in devolution I was taken by the speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), who talked about Welsh people seeing themselves not as victims but as visionaries. Absolutely right—we can go forward on a confident note, but not by having referendums. The whole system of our democracy is in peril at the moment, partly because of the debasement of political discourse, which is the worst it has been for a couple of centuries. The worst example was in the referendum on the alternative vote. Here was an opportunity for an advance in the quality of our democracy, but it was not argued in that way. As I came in every morning at Vauxhall Cross, anti-AV campaigners were telling people that those who voted for AV were the sort of people who believed in seeing babies die in hospitals and our brave soldiers die in Afghanistan. That seemed a rather extraordinary argument, but it was the one put forward by those opposed to AV. It was based on the idea that AV would cost money—a tiny amount of money, really, because democracy is expensive—and that the first thing the Government would do would be to cut the protection of our soldiers in Afghanistan and the money provided to baby units in hospitals. It was an outrageous lie, but that is currently the quality of parliamentary debate.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Other
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): If the hon. Gentleman reads his local paper, he will find that I did precisely that the other day—it was next to a column by him, so I thought he might have had the grace to read my column, even if he did not read his. I thought it was rather better written, although I am slightly biased. I made the point in that article that I am embarrassed by the lies of people on my side, just as I treat with contempt the lies of people on the other side. That is the choice facing the public—whose lies they will vote for next week.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Other
Paul Phillip Flynn (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. As my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn said, let us not think of ourselves as victims—an obsession with a sense of victimhood is debilitating—but as people going forward as victors. That is how we should be going.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Housing
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): I will just say in relation to the intervention by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) that the last time I went along to Torfaen’s planning committee it seemed to have some planning powers. To return to the point, the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) is attacking the Welsh Labour Government. Will he show some respect to the people of Wales, who on five occasions have elected Labour as the largest party in the Assembly?
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Mixed Topics
Susan Elan Jones (Labour, Centre-left): Yes, I am sure he did Since the establishment of devolution, the Assembly has gained full law-making powers. I know that the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) discussed having the power to abolish the Welsh Assembly. Let us remind him and others that we had a referendum to establish full law-making powers. What a delight it was to look at parts of north-east Wales, which had voted against the establishment of the Welsh Assembly, and see them backing full law-making powers The powers have gone along, and critically, Wales has led the way, introducing the landmark Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 and the landmark Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015, the first of its kind in Europe. This Bill will now further enhance the Assembly’s powers by devolving a range of important new responsibilities My hon. Friend the Member for Newport West provided some great examples from history, and my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen mentioned Jim Griffiths. I wish to be allowed to be a little partisan for a few moments as a north Walian. I am thinking of people who have fought for this devolution over the years, some of them household names, some not. I mention some north Wales Labour MPs: Cledwyn Hughes who represented Anglesey; Goronwy Roberts of Caernarfon; Eirene White from Flintshire; Robert Richards, James Idwal Jones and Tom Ellis of Wrexham; Thomas William Jones and Will Edwards of Meirionnydd. These were some of the people who carried the flame of devolution through very difficult times. Anyone who suggests that Welsh Labour is not behind this development is wrong. We look at our history, and we see that we are proud to death of the creation of the National Assembly and what it has achieved Finally, while I hope we will not need another Welsh Grand Committee—I do not say ever—to get this Bill sorted out, I trust that when we next meet in that Committee, we will be able to use both the official languages of Wales. I was pleased to see that the Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee today supported that, as Members on the Opposition side have already done. As the Bill reminds us, English and Welsh have equal status in Wales, and there are Members of different parties who speak both languages. I hope that when the Minister gets to his feet, he can, as a Welsh speaker, throw his support behind our campaign to get the rules changed We look forward to the next stages of the Bill. I dare say there may well be a few amendments coming along, but we want the House and the Welsh Assembly to work as closely as we can together. At the end of the day, devolution for Wales means what it has always meant—how to get the best for our people in Wales
Late Payment — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): But one of the worst performers regarding late payments to small and medium-sized enterprises is the public sector. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that Government Departments, agencies and local government promptly pay the small businesses that they use?
Late Payment — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): As the Secretary of State knows, we welcome the move to set up a small business commissioner to help with late payment, but the proposals are modest. Will he assure the many small businesses that will be dramatically affected by any downturn resulting from Brexit that he will put additional support for them in the supply chain to deal with the consequences of any of their customers delaying payment to deal with the problems of Brexit?
Counterfeit Electrical Goods — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Mary Theresa Glindon (Labour, Centre-left): Research undertaken by Electrical Safety First has found that 64% of counterfeit products are now purchased online, with sales via social media increasing by 15% every year. Have the Government considered the impact of this trend on consumers and the industry itself?
Traineeships Programme — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): Traineeships ought to be a route to good-quality apprenticeships, but we know that there remains a substantial gender pay gap for apprentices of more than £1 an hour. Will the Minister suggest how traineeships can be developed to encourage girls and young women into career routes that pay good salaries and have good prospects?
Skills Shortages — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Immigration
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): One of the messages that has clearly come across to me from my experience campaigning in the referendum is that the free movement of people between this country and the rest of the European Union is no longer acceptable to the people I represent. What contingency plans has the Department got for what it will mean for the British economy to end the free movement of people?
Land Registry — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Housing
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): Having a Land Registry office in Hull, I note that in the consultation of July 2014, when the coalition scrapped plans to sell off the Land Registry, only 5% of people consulted said that it would be more efficient and effective to do so, and the Government admitted that the case for change had not been made. So what has changed since then?
Land Registry — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Housing
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): One of the strengths of the Land Registry is its transparency and independence, but those proposing to buy it have links to offshore tax havens—places that do everything to avoid such transparency and independence. The sale to firms with links to tax havens will undermine the trust of homeowners and mortgage lenders. Is not the truth that this sale of family silver makes a complete mockery of Government claims to be tackling tax avoidance and tax evasion?
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour, Centre-left): Wales also offers opportunities for apprenticeships in forestry and horticulture, but employers and colleges in Wales are very concerned about how the apprenticeship levy will work. What recent discussions has the Minister had with Julie James, the Welsh Government Minister, and when does he expect the scheme details to be finalised?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: The Greater Manchester region is a huge supporter of apprenticeships, with 30,000 starts last year alone. I recently met the young apprentices from Thales in my constituency, who are doing excellent and innovative work on the development of underwater sonar systems. Will the Minister outline what additional support his Department is giving to the city region to increase apprenticeship uptake?; As we head towards Brexit, many EU-derived regulations will no doubt come under the microscope. Some of the most important are the working time regulations, which protect vital safe working limits in the workplace. Will the Government confirm that they intend to retain all elements of the working time regulations?; Pendle is home to a number of excellent aerospace companies such as Euravia, Senior Aerospace Weston and Rolls-Royce. What assurance can Ministers give the aerospace sector of the Government’s ongoing commitment following the vote to leave the EU?; Fire and rescue services attend up to three fires a day that are a result of faulty tumble driers. Which?, the Local Government Association, Electrical Safety First and other consumer interest groups have all raised concerns about how Whirlpool has handled that problem. Is the Minister comfortable that Whirlpool has merely issued a safety statement and not a total recall?; Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is the duty of Ministers who are loyal to the Crown to promote the British economy and not to talk it down? Will she agree to a joint meeting with me and Ministry of Defence procurement to discuss how we can more effectively promote and develop defence industries such as those in my constituency?; A significant amount of public money has been allocated to bring superfast broadband to areas missed out by the commercial roll-out, but because of a bureaucratic logjam it remains unspent while a significant number of small businesses in Cheltenham are left frustrated and unable to grow. What more can be done to unlock that money and get the remaining premises connected?
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Labour, Centre-left): Many of my constituents have no or very little access to computers and the internet. Will the Government continue to press banks and other key providers to retain high street services for customers who receive utility and other bills in paper form on request?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Caroline Louise Flint (Labour, Centre-left): Surely the problem is that so much of what we are finding out about companies—about where they do their business, where their profits are, and where they pay their taxes—is emerging through leaks. Massive reputational damage is being done to those companies. The amendment gives us a chance to put things on a much better footing by providing not all the information about companies, but the baseline headlines about where they do business, where they trade and where their profits are. Surely that is something on which we can lead.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Margaret Eve Hodge (Labour, Centre-left): I want to make two points about the response to whistleblowing. First, as I read the clause, it would lead to a review of whistleblowing in the banking and financial services sector. During my period as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, we did a lot of work on the whistleblowing from Falciani on the Swiss bank accounts and on the PwC leaks in Luxembourg. What was so interesting was that the only action that the two financial institutions took was to try to pursue the whistleblowers through the courts—trying to get them indicted and jailed. That is unacceptable. Secondly, the internal HMRC lawyer who gave us the evidence that demonstrated that a sweetheart deal had been entered into with Goldman Sachs could not, in the end, return to his job. Everything of his was rifled through from his wife’s computer to his telephone and everything else. That is not good enough. I urge the Minister to think again and to instigate a review.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Caroline Louise Flint (Labour, Centre-left): In his earlier contribution, the Financial Secretary suggested that UK-headquartered companies would be disadvantaged, but my amendment is completely based on the information already required by HMRC, as laid down by this House with cross-party support. That includes multinational enterprises that are not necessarily UK headquartered but have a turnover of more than £600 million a year. Of course, the amendment does not catch everybody, but it is within the existing remit and range in the statute book. That is why I find it difficult to understand why there is a technical problem with my amendment. All we are saying is, "Make it public."
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
George Edward Howarth (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: That schedules 11 and 12 be the Eleventh and Twelfth schedules to the Bill Government amendments 30 to 35 Clauses 73 to 75 stand part Government amendments 36 to 38 That schedule 13 be the Thirteenth schedule to the Bill Clause 76 stand part Government amendments 39 to 64. Amendment 181, in schedule 14, page 432, line 45, at end insert— "169VS Expiration of Chapter V provisions (1) The provisions of Chapter V of part 5 of this Act shall remain in force until five years after their commencement and shall then expire, unless continued in force by an order under subsection (2) (2) The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument provide— (a) that all or any of those provisions which are in force shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 12 months from the coming into operation of the order; or (b) that all or any of those provisions which are for the time being in force shall cease to be in force (3) No order shall be made under subsection (2) unless— (a) a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of both Houses of Parliament, (b) the Secretary of State has laid the report of a review of the operation of Investor’s Relief before both Houses of Parliament." Government amendments 65 to 68 That schedule 14 be the Fourteenth schedule to the Bill Amendment 182, in clause 77, page 135, line 17, leave out "£100,000" and insert "£50,000" Government amendment 184 Clauses 77 to 81 stand part New clause 2—Review of remuneration of investment fund managers— "The Chancellor of the Exchequer must commission a review of ways in which the law could be amended to ensure that no element of the remuneration paid to an investment fund manager may be treated as a capital gain, and that such remuneration shall be treated for tax purposes wholly as income, and must publish the report of the review within six months of the passing of this Act." New clause 11—Entrepreneur’s relief: value for money— "The Chancellor of the Exchequer shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, publish a report giving HM Treasury’s assessment of the value for money provided by Entrepreneur’s Relief."
Private rented sector in Dulwich and West Norwood — House of Commons, 2016-06-28
Topic: Housing
Helen Elizabeth Hayes (Labour, Centre-left): I was not expecting my petition to be called quite so early, so I do not have it on me, but the physical copy is on the way, Madam Deputy Speaker I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of my constituent Alper Muduroglu, who has gathered 1,500 signatures online against the very high fees that my constituents have to pay to private letting agents. This is a huge issue and I am pleased to present the petition to Parliament for response from a Minister. Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of Alper Muduroglu, Declares that tenants in the private rented sector in Dulwich and West Norwood have to pay high fees to letting agents; further that there is no limit to the amount lettings agents can charge; further that the Government should take action to address the difficulties faced by tenants in the private rented sector, particularly in London; and notes that an online petition on a similar matter has been signed by 1,480 individuals. The petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons urges the Government to consider capping the fees that letting agents are permitted to charge. And the petitioner remains, etc.] [P001699]
Bangladesh — House of Commons, 2016-07-12
Topic: Civil Rights
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): Human Rights Watch identified Bangladesh as having the highest rate of child marriage. This is a fundamental breach of human rights, particularly for those girls who are forced into marriages at such an early age. What are the Government doing to make their views known to the Bangladesh Government, and through the Commonwealth and other organisations, that such practice is not acceptable?