argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend will have to wait until the announcements by the Health Secretary on Thursday about exactly who goes into which tier. As my hon. Friend knows, the point about London is that although it is very diverse and massive—650 square miles or so—it is held together by a very dense mass transit system, and although there are fewer people on it right now, the transmission within London means that it is quite difficult to separate one bit of London from another.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is completely right in his basic instincts, which I share, and his fundamental libertarian yearnings, which I also share. I love Christmas; I love a big get-together. The trouble is that the people of this country can see that there is a real risk that if we blow it with a big, blowout at Christmas, we will pay for it in the new year. They want a cautious and balanced approach, and that is what we will deliver for the whole UK.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Environment
Anthony James Holland Mangnall (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that the whole House will want to join me in sending our condolences and thoughts to the two crew members of the Joanna C, which sank at sea this weekend With regards to today’s announcement, will the Prime Minister make the desire to get the R level to 1 a time-specific objective, or a permanent one?
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much echo my hon. Friend’s tribute to the sailors lost at sea. My hon. Friend is right to focus on the R. We want to get it down and keep it down, if possible for good.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): If the hon. Gentleman looks at the guidance on travel in tiers 2 and 3, he will see that it sets out clearly that in tier 2 people should reduce the number of journeys that they make and avoid travelling into tier 3 areas, and that in tier 3 they should avoid travelling out of the area altogether. There is more detail in the guidance, which he might care to study.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank prison workers and all who have done an incredible job in fighting covid and helping the country to fight covid over the last few months. I think the public understand the need to keep the pressure down on public spending at the moment. We have had inflation-busting pay rises previously, but, as the Chancellor will be setting out, the economic situation is not easy as a result of what this country has been going through. We will ensure that prison workers are among the very first to be able to use the lateral flow testing system to help them get the virus down in their line of work.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Labor
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course not, and I feel very much for those who are in a difficult position. We have spent £13.5 billion supporting the self-employed so far—I think possibly more by now. Universal credit remains there and the increase in universal credit is also intended to help those in tough times, as well as all the other provision that I have mentioned. But the best thing we can do for all self-employed people is to get our communities and our country moving again, and this winter package offers the best way forward.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure my hon. Friend that the Secretary of State for Transport is looking at all such schemes. I am sure he will have heard what my hon. Friend has said loud and clear. He will be making some announcements very shortly.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Education
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I assure all the parents who are coping with exceptionally difficult circumstances and trying to do the best for their kids when it is very stressful and they have the difficulty of knowing whether to send them to school that it is much better to send them to school if they possibly can. We have distributed, I think, hundreds of thousands of laptops to help pupils to learn remotely throughout the summer. We continue to support catch-up and top-up learning for vulnerable kids, particularly via one-on-one tuition. I want to see every child supported, and that applies, as the hon. Lady rightly says, to the children of families who are facing particular difficulties.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Education
Ben Spencer (Conservative, Centre-right): I very warmly welcome the announcement of the end of national lockdown on 2 December. This morning, I had discussions with school leaders in Runnymede and Weybridge regarding the challenges that they face, and a key message was that our schools are open but that too many pupils are self-isolating at home. Whole year groups being sent home following a case and the self-isolation of teachers, and the impact and cost involved with that were causing huge challenges for the delivery of learning. We must minimise the harms from both covid and the measures being used to fight it. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, as soon as possible, we need to use targeted testing to support teachers and to change and improve our approach to contact tracing in schools to stop whole year groups having to self-isolate following a case so that our schools can continue to provide the learning and opportunities that our children deserve?
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Education
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the importance of testing in schools—testing the teachers and making sure that we do not send whole bubbles home. That is why schools and universities, along with NHS hospitals and care homes, are the primary settings where we want to roll-out not just PCR testing, but lateral flow testing as well.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the change that will allow people in care homes to be visited by two members of their family, who will be tested twice a week. Can the Prime Minister ensure that care homes promote visiting and that there is a register that really calls out those care homes that do not allow it?
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises an excellent point, and I direct her to the answer that I gave a few minutes ago about the statement that will be made shortly by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Government Operations
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank local government for everything it is doing. I think that it is doing an amazing job in incredibly difficult circumstances. The hon. Gentleman can be sure that it will be recognised in the spending review.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I will study the point the hon. Member makes, although, obviously, I am proud that we have been able to uplift universal credit by £1,000 a year, helping some of the poorest families across the country and, of course, helping the disabled as well.
Covid-19: Winter Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Government Operations
Alun Craig Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and welcome the return of the local approach—something that I hope the devolved Administrations, particularly in Wales, will copy. I pay particular tribute to Powys County Council and its track and trace team, which has contributed massively to both the local and national efforts. What they and my constituents want for Christmas is a united approach across the United Kingdom. To please the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan), will my right hon. Friend, as the Prime Minister for the whole United Kingdom, announce that?
Road Traffic — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): With this we shall take the following motion: That the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 2) (Amendment) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020 No. 1155), dated 21 October 2020, a copy of which was laid before this House on 22 October, be approved.
Road Traffic — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): These amendment orders relate to the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 1) Order 2019 and the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 2) Order 2019. Although the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 3) (Amendment) Order 2020 is subject to the negative procedure, the House should be aware of it when considering the other two amending orders. Together they support the effective management of Operation Brock and strengthen the enforcement regime that underpins it Operation Brock is a co-ordinated, multi-agency response to cross-channel travel disruption. It replaces Operation Stack and has been specifically designed to keep the M20 motorway in Kent open in both directions, with access to junctions, even in periods of severe and protracted disruption. The Kent Resilience Forum is responsible for the Operation Brock plans. Any decisions relating to the activation and timing of the different phases of Operation Brock will be taken by Kent police silver command It is crucial that these instruments are brought into force in time for the end of the transition period, to ensure that the scheme operates as efficiently as possible to reduce the impact on businesses and local communities in Kent. I am grateful, therefore, that time has been found for this debate to take place quickly and also for the speed with which the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments has scrutinised the instruments Amendment order No. 1 extends to 31 October 2021 the sunset clause in the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 1) Order 2019. To give a little history, the 2019 order gave new powers to traffic officers in Kent, enabling them to, first, require the production of documents to establish the vehicle’s destination and readiness to cross the border; secondly, direct drivers to proceed to a motorway, removing the vehicle from the local road network; and, thirdly, direct drivers not to proceed to the channel tunnel or port of Dover except via a specified road or route The amendment sets the amount of the financial penalty deposit, which will be issued and taken immediately at the roadside by the police or staff from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. The amount of the deposit for breaching the traffic restrictions introduced by the other two instruments is set at £300 Amendment order No. 2 extends to 31 October 2021 the sunset clause of the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 2) Order 2019, which prohibits cross-channel heavy goods vehicles from using local roads in Kent other than those on the improved Operation Brock routes. The amendment goes further to define local Kent roads that will require a Kent access permit, which can be obtained from the "check an HGV is ready to cross the border" service.
Road Traffic — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Gareth Alan Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My constituency is, in many ways, the gateway to Kent from both London and Essex, via the Dartford crossing. Will she assure me that her Department will use its best endeavours to ensure that lorries do not use local, small roads either for travelling to a different location or for parking up overnight?
Road Traffic — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. He and his constituents can be assured that the powers we are taking in this legislation require Kent lorries to stick to certain specified routes only if they are crossing the border. I hope that that provides him with some reassurance; I am more than happy to meet him to discuss this matter much further To complete the picture, the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No.3) (Amendment) Order 2020, which is subject to a negative procedure, will extend the sunset clause in the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 3) Order 2019 to 31 October 2021. The order also further defines the strategic roads that need a Kent access permit, as issued by the "check an HGV is ready to cross the border service", and allows the fining of HCV drivers without a Kent access permit on those roads. It will also allow HCVs carrying only specific goods of fresh and live seafood for human consumption and day-old chicks to obtain a priority goods permit that allows them to bypass the Operation Brock queues. It also clarifies who local haulier permits may be issued to, in line with Kent County Council guidelines. These orders are vital to enable sensible traffic management in Kent. We must show the public and businesses that Operation Brock will be ready, fully operational and enforceable on day one, should it be needed to deal with impact of cross-channel disruption. I commend the orders to the House.
Exiting the European Union (Agriculture) — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Agriculture
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): With this we will take the following motion: That the draft Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2020, which were laid before this House on 19 October, be approved.
Exiting the European Union (Agriculture) — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: Agriculture
Victoria Mary Boswell Prentis (Conservative, Centre-right): Both these statutory instruments amend retained EU legislation relating to the common organisation of agricultural markets and domestic secondary legislation relating to that area. The first instrument also makes some provision in respect of organic production that will ensure the operability of retained EU law. I should make it clear that the amendments made by the instruments are technical in nature. They do not introduce new policy but instead maintain continuity as far as possible The aim of the instruments is to ensure that the relevant retained EU legislation is fully operable at the end of the transition period. The retained EU legislation was previously made operable to the UK as a whole on the basis that the UK left the EU without an agreement. However, as we have left the EU with the withdrawal agreement in place, the retained legislation now needs to be updated to reflect this—in particular, the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol. As such, the majority of the amendments made by these instruments relate to the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol. For example, they might remove references to Northern Ireland or replace UK references with Great Britain references, as Northern Ireland will of course remain aligned with the EU under the protocol Amendments are also being made to a small number of transitional provisions, either to align them with the Government’s border operating model, which introduces new border controls for the movement of goods between GB and the EU in three stages up to July 2021, or because they were introduced on the basis that the UK would leave without a deal and are therefore no longer required. Those provisions concern the import of hops and hop products, notification requirements for the import of beef and veal from third countries, and marketing requirements for hatching eggs and chicks imported from the EU. All other transitional provisions will be retained, with references to "exit day" replaced with references to "IP completion day" As Members are aware, agriculture is a devolved policy area and of great importance to all parts of the UK. Although one of the instruments that we are debating is reserved, we worked closely with the devolved Administrations in producing both instruments, and they have given their consent as necessary These statutory instruments will help to provide necessary continuity for stakeholders and beneficiaries. They will ensure that retained EU legislation relating to the common organisation of the markets and organic production functions correctly after the end of the transition period, and that we have an operable legal framework that supports farmers and traders and delivers continuity. I urge Members to agree to the amendments proposed in these regulations.
Exiting the European Union (European Union) — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Julia Louise Lopez (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have set out, the purpose of the instrument really is to ensure that the statute book works coherently and effectively following the end of the transition period. It does this by making various consequential amendments and repeals in respect of retained EU law relevant to the separation agreement law and other EU-derived domestic legislation I hear what the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) says from the Opposition Front Bench. I spoke to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill) before the debate. He shares some of the concerns about the legislative aspects of leaving the EU and was very satisfied with the regulations. He has consulted his friends and colleagues in the legal and financial services professions, and they believe this to be a useful piece of regulation that clarifies and tackles ambiguity. He has also raised concerns about the complexity of leaving the EU. Yes, leaving the EU is a complex process, and it was always going to be. I am glad to say that the UK public deemed it to be an endeavour worth pursuing. They have supported it throughout the referendum and the subsequent general elections The hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady) bemoaned politicians kicking off referendum processes without due consideration. I hope that he will take his own advice. At least, we listened to the result of that referendum Finally, I reiterate my thanks to Members across the House for contributing to the debate. This is a highly technical issue and not exactly the most exciting television viewing, but it is a critical piece of secondary legislation that demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ensuring that there is certainty and clarity about the UK statute book Question put and agreed to.
Persecution of Ahmadis — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For Ahmadis and so many others, the United Kingdom has long been a beacon of hope and safety, and we should continue to provide this support and offer Ahmadis escaping religious persecution a route to safety. Sadly, Pakistan is not a lone perpetrator in the persecution of Ahmadis. There are many countries that maintain and enforce discriminatory laws against Ahmadis. The United Kingdom is a staunch friend of Pakistan. Ending the persecution of Ahmadis will serve to strengthen Pakistan and allow all those who truly love it to be active participants in their country’s life and future, fulfilling the dream of Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-i-Azam, who famously said the following words at the very moment of Pakistan’s birth: "You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan." As my hon. Friend the Minister is aware, there are a number of powerful tools at our disposal that I urge him to employ to serve all the citizens of Pakistan, irrespective of their belief. The first is the establishment of a structured engagement at a senior level by the Foreign Office with Pakistan on the persecution and discrimination facing the Ahmadi Jamaat. The second is the employment of the Magnitsky-style sanctions established earlier in the year against preachers, politicians and others who incite and orchestrate violence and hatred against minorities, and the refusal of their entry into our country. The third is that the establishment of criteria when it comes to the protection and freedoms of all to live, work and worship as they choose in Pakistan should be tied to any future trade that Pakistan seeks with the United Kingdom I will be listening intently to my hon. Friend’s response as to whether Her Majesty’s Government are willing to consider employing such measures in the name of universal freedom and justice for all. In helping Pakistan to right the wrongs of persecution against Ahmadis, minorities such as Christians and Hindus, who also suffer great persecution and wrongs against them, will be protected. If we are to realise the vision of global Britain, we must be the ones to lead in defence of those innocents persecuted wherever they may dwell, and to champion and encourage others to follow suit.
Persecution of Ahmadis — House of Commons, 2020-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan (Conservative, Centre-right): Following on from the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), what consideration will be given to the point that I made about establishing structured engagement at a senior level between Pakistan and Her Majesty’s Government? I imagine that it may not be particularly popular with our high commission in Islamabad, but it may produce some good outcomes and enable us to discuss things issue by issue and find some common ground in a structured way. Will the Minister undertake to give it thorough consideration?
Job Entry Targeted Support — House of Commons, 2020-10-19
Topic: Labor
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): Our new JETS scheme has started rolling out across the country and blasted off in my hon. Friend’s constituency on 5 October. The scheme has £238 million of funding that is dedicated to helping people who have been out of work for three or more months and may be at risk of long-term unemployment. JETS will see a variety of providers work at our local jobcentre networks to offer a range of bespoke services, including important advice on how people can move into new, growing sectors, as well as help with CV building and interview coaching.
Job Entry Targeted Support — House of Commons, 2020-10-19
Topic: Labor
Miriam Joy Cates (Conservative, Centre-right): I am glad that the scheme is already helping my constituents in Penistone and Stocksbridge, many of whom are now struggling to find work as a result of the pandemic. However, getting people back into work will require a national effort, so will he provide a broader update on the roll-out of the scheme?
Job Entry Targeted Support — House of Commons, 2020-10-19
Topic: Labor
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to suggest that tackling the impacts of covid will require a national effort, and the DWP stands ready to deliver this with our network of local jobcentres, which we will be expanding. The JETS scheme started two weeks ago and is now live right across England and Wales, and we are contracting anew in Scotland. We anticipate that as JETS continues to roll out across Great Britain, it will help 280,000 of our claimants to find work and build the skills to pivot into new sectors if required.