argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2022-06-14
Topic: Health
Susan Kramer (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I will just challenge that slightly, because this all goes hand in hand with the direction, which can be specific. We are talking not just about general direction but about specific direction. I am completely unclear that the shareholders of a company could instruct it, for example, to invest in a particular pharmaceutical process to serve a particular customer base. That is entirely within scope; it is equivalent to the language within the Bill.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Health
Christopher Rennard (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Does the noble Baroness accept that a crucial difference is that organisations such as ASH are funded by organisations concerned with public health, including Cancer Research UK and people who deal with trying to save lives, while FOREST is funded by the tobacco industry, which kills half its customers?
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Health
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, at the risk of being boring, I am one of those people who has been asking for this for the last 20 years. I started off asking for the number of units of alcohol in a bottle of wine. Every manufacturer of these alcoholic drinks knows exactly what goes into them. On the issue of labelling products from abroad, there are a lot of foodstuffs that come from abroad and they have to abide by British rules on labelling, so why not wine and spirits? It is time we did this. It is terribly important for public health, and I hope the Minister will say yes.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Health
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I rise briefly to support Amendment 165, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and thank him for putting it forward. Self-care has an important role to play in supporting people to manage their own health needs, and also in alleviating an unsustainable demand on GP and A&E services. As the noble Lord described, prior to the coronavirus pandemic there were some 18 million GP appointments and 3.7 million visits to A&E every year for conditions which people could have looked after themselves or sought advice from a pharmacist. It is estimated that this was costing the NHS in the region of £1.5 billion a year During the coronavirus, again as the noble Lord described, surveys have shown a much greater willingness among members of the public to self-care for these self-treatable conditions. But it is vital that appropriate policies are put in place to ensure that, as we emerge from the pandemic, people who can self-care continue to do so. It is evident now that self-care can help address many of the challenges we face in the NHS today, but to do so we need to address some of the system barriers to self-care, as described in this amendment, and unlock the important behavioural shifts that enabled people to self-care during the pandemic In particular, I will highlight how the NHS can make much better use of digital technologies and community pharmacists to enable people to self-care. We need to make better use of the technologies that the NHS has embraced over the course of the pandemic, such as the Covid-19 symptom checker on the NHS website. The digital triaging technology should be used to support the expansion of the community pharmacist consultation service to enable people to follow an algorithm online to get a referral for a consultation with a local pharmacist. It is critical, if we are to optimise the role of pharmacists—I am a big supporter of community pharmacists—that we give them the digital tools and information they need to support people. At present, a pharmacist cannot routinely record the advice or medication they give people, despite receiving training. The NHS must address the question of interoperability in IT systems, so that pharmacists can have access to read and to input into people’s medical records and enable pharmacists to be a core part of an individual’s primary healthcare team.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Health
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I have in my hands the latest cancer waiting time figures. It is very unfortunate that, despite the hard work of NHS staff, every single metric was worse in January than in December. It therefore seems a great pity that not all patients who have a diagnosis of this dreadful disease of pancreatic cancer can get this medicine, which can improve and even extend their lives I well remember a senior, well-loved and well-respected Member of the Labour Benches who died of this dreadful disease. We lost him far too early, because this disease takes people very quickly. Anything at all the Minister can say to encourage us that this effective and approved medicine can be made fully available to everybody who needs it—depending on the conditions, as outlined by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay—would be helpful.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-16
Topic: Health
Julie Smith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, in Committee, I asked whether the Minister—I think the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, was responding on that occasion—had thought about giving parliamentary time to the Private Member’s Bill. The proponents of the current amendment are suggesting that this is not about the Government bringing forward a piece of legislation, even though—as the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, pointed out—that is exactly what the amendment says. If the intention of the amendment is to request parliamentary time—and we really are looking only at proposed new subsection (2)(b)—could the Minister, in replying, consider whether parliamentary time could be given to the issue without damaging neutrality in any way? The amendment, as drafted, would require the Government to bring forward legislation in favour of assisted dying. An amendment which gives parliamentary time to the issue would be very different.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Defense
Julie Smith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, there is something quite unusual about defence and Armed Forces matters. In some ways, they are so uncontroversial that, when the Armed Forces Bill was in Committee, it was relegated to Grand Committee in the Moses Room. The Moses Room is a very nice place to do business. It has a friendly atmosphere, and we could all agree with each other. As the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and the noble Viscount, Lord Brookeborough, have pointed out, we effectively talked about these two amendments during the Armed Forces Bill—now the Armed Forces Act 2021—at the end of the last calendar year. But we did it almost unwatched. Unlike the Chamber, there were relatively few people in the Moses Room, but we were being watched and, in part, by veterans of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces Hong Kong. Sadly, I received a letter after the debate, as I am sure did other noble Lords The issues that have been raised in this group of amendments have been rehearsed many times. As the noble Lord, Lord Alton, said, we are sure that the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, will have relayed some of these issues to the Home Office, but we need to raise them again. As the noble Viscount, Lord Brookeborough, said, we let our Commonwealth and Hong Kong colleagues sign up and fight alongside Her Majesty’s Forces who have British passports. We would allow them to die serving with and for us, or to get PTSD or be injured in another way. Yet, when they stop serving, what do we do? If they say they want indefinite leave to remain, we charge them hefty fees. Can that be right? Surely the very least we can do is to charge only the cost. We should not be making a profit on somebody seeking indefinite leave to remain. That is the moral thing to do As the noble Lord, Lord Alton, said, Her Majesty’s Armed Forces Hong Kong is a small number of people but, at present, it really matters to them that they be considered for citizenship or indefinite leave to remain. Please can the Secretary of State look at this as a matter of urgency?
North East Ambulance Service — House of Lords, 2022-05-23
Topic: Health
John Warren Shipley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, in 2019, Matt Hancock MP, the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, vowed to end non-disclosure agreements in the NHS, yet earlier this year bosses at the North East Ambulance Service used non-disclosure agreements for the brave whistleblowers in return for settlement. What action will the Minister take with the North East Ambulance Service for flouting the very clear guidance and regulations relating to non-disclosure agreements?
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-09
Topic: Health
Elizabeth Barker (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, very briefly in view of the early hour, I wish to join others in welcoming this amendment and thanking the Minister for taking notice of what the noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, has done with other actors I want to make two points. First, the people who have brought the work to this point recognise that this practice, although rare, happens disproportionately within particular cultural and religious groups. I therefore ask the Minister whether the religious element of this will feature in the materials that are to be prepared Secondly, will FCDO staff learn lessons from the forced marriage legislation on how we spot young girls who are particularly vulnerable to this and particularly at risk of being taken abroad? Can I make the assumption that, were any medical practitioner registered in the United Kingdom to be found performing these operations abroad, they would still be dealt with by the medical authorities in this country when that came to light?
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-01
Topic: Health
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I thank the Minister for explaining the government amendments. I particularly welcome Amendments 88 to 91, because the Bill will now reflect the agreement made with the NHS foundation trusts in a much closer manner than in its original drafting. They are very welcome.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-01
Topic: Health
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I thank the Minister for listening very carefully to what noble Lords from across the House have been saying about the need to recognise the parity of esteem between physical and mental health, and for giving us some reassurance that the funding for mental health will increase in the future. A lot of mental distress has been caused by the fact that many patients suffering from mental ill health have not been able to reach the threshold for access to services. The reason for that has been a shortage of resources and a properly trained workforce which can deliver the therapies required. At the end of the debate, I hope that the Minister will be able to assure us that those resources will be made available My noble friend commented that she hoped that the new standards would not have the unintended consequences of transferring delays from the initial diagnosis to further down the treatment pathway. That is a very important consideration. We will talk about the importance of increasing the NHS workforce later in our debates. However, will the Minister consider how focusing increased resources on early intervention and prevention will save both money in the end and a lot of distress, as dealing with it early will save patients having to go into more intensive therapies further down the track? It is very important that any increased resources—or, at least, much of them—are focused on early intervention and prevention. I hope the Minister can reassure us of this.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-04-05
Topic: Health
Christopher Rennard (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, if I understood the Minister correctly in his introductory remarks, he was saying that the Government’s case against the amendment is that they do not want to consult on something to which they are not already committed. So what is the point of consultations if they are only on things to which the Government are already committed? Should the Government not consult on what they might do, and take into account the opinions of experts and others? Amendment 85B, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, has the support of these Benches. It is in accordance with my party’s policy but, more importantly, it is essential to the Government’s stated objective of reducing the prevalence of smoking to below 5% by 2030. The amendment does not require the Government to do anything that they do not want to do; it just asks them to consult on something which they have said that they would consider—namely, to make tobacco companies pay more towards helping save and prolong the lives of their customers Last year, I found myself outside the HQ of British American Tobacco. It is an enormous headquarters: it looked like a palace of which any Russian oligarch would be proud. This company makes huge profits that could be diverted towards ameliorating the damage done by its products. The amendment would mean taking action to help people live longer and more healthily, with fewer families living in poverty because of smoking I expect we will have more warm words from the Minister and from the Department of Health and Social Care, but I believe that Parliament wants to adopt the polluter pays principle in relation to tobacco. So I end with a quote from a great parliamentarian, John Pym, who, in 1628—I am sorry that I do not have the Hansard reference—said: "Actions are more precious than words".
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-03
Topic: Health
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, on his efforts to keep the issue of prevention and early intervention before us: it is vital. I also thank the Minister for the government amendments and the way he has engaged with us over this issue. I was particularly pleased to hear him use the word "action" at least two or three times in his introduction to the amendments. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, and my noble friend Lady Tyler, on all they have done but in particular for pointing out, in their Amendment 59, that there could be a bit of a gap here. We have the CQC, which will inspect individual healthcare settings and, under the Bill, it will also have to see how the new integrated care system is working, but there is no guarantee that it will see it as part of its duty to see how that system is working for children. This is something that the NHS could do through the report called for in Amendment 59.
Health and Care Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-03
Topic: Health
Joan Walmsley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, has made some important and sensible points, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s reply My noble friend Lord Scriven raised the important question of the role of local authorities. I simply want to add that I happen to know that some of the chairs-designate of the ICBs would really like to know the answer to the question posed by the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, early on in his speech. What is the relationship of the health and well-being boards to the ICBs? If those people are confused, it is not surprising that noble Lords are too.
Armed Forces Act (Continuation) Order 2022 — House of Lords, 2022-07-05
Topic: Defense
John Burnett (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I join the Minister of State, my noble friend Lady Smith and the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, in their support and admiration for our wonderful Armed Forces. During the progress of the Act, I referred to Sir Richard Henriques’s admirable report and the suggestions and recommendations he made. Will the Minister give us an answer as to what is happening about those recommendations? If not much is happening, when will something happen about them?
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-29
Topic: Defense
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the Minister is making exactly the same case as the Commons Minister, Julia Lopez, made on this there. What about the circumstances that I mentioned, where you might be within paragraph 17, but where it may involve minimal adverse damage but nevertheless involves switching off the service for a period, however short or long that may be? Surely that is something that the emergency services involved on site should have notice of.
Covid-19: Road Map — House of Lords, 2021-02-23
Topic: Health
Anthony Robert Greaves (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the Prime Minister has accepted that we are not going to get rid of Covid and that it is going to be present at some level and endemic at least for quite a long time. Will it not be the case that, when we get the virus down to a level that we think is acceptable, outbreaks will be sporadic and localised? Is that not even more reason for putting testing, tracing, tracking back, stamping out and imposing lockdowns on individuals—self-isolating, if you like—in the hands of people who know what they are doing and who have the local knowledge and the professional expertise; that is, the environmental and public health officers of local authorities and the local health staff connected with GP surgeries?
Afghanistan — House of Lords, 2021-04-21
Topic: Defense
Julie Smith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I too pay tribute to our service personnel who have served in Afghanistan, particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. In his Answer, the Secretary of State said that we could not stay in Afghanistan indefinitely, but are there ways in which the MoD would envisage supporting the Afghan national security forces going forward, perhaps in the sense of training or other forms of co-operation?
His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh — House of Lords, 2021-04-12
Topic: Defense
John Burnett (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, in his compelling speech, the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, referred to the fact that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh was enormously proud of his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines. As someone who has had the honour of serving in the Royal Marines, I shall speak to this role and to the great contribution he made to our corps over many years We as a corps were immensely privileged and fortunate that, from June 1953 to December 2017—nearly 65 years —he was our Captain General. He completely understood the corps and its specialist warfare branches. He understood the commando spirit and the egalitarian nature of the corps. With his extensive operational experience in World War II, he understood that the highest standards are essential for fighting troops Royal Marines have been deployed on operations almost continuously through his service as Captain General. He took a keen interest in their deployment and in their training. He was a source of wise advice and encouragement to the many Marines that he met. He was at ease when he was with us and he put everyone else at ease. He had a wonderful sense of humour, which is an essential quality for a Royal Marine. He was a straight talker and he led by example with an indomitable spirit. His great qualities were hugely appreciated by all Royal Marines, including the many who are badged into the United Kingdom Special Forces. It is no accident that his last official engagement in 2017 was with our great corps, including our superb Royal Marines Band Service, in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. It rained the whole time. He was 96 years old; he enjoyed the occasion and spoke to many serving Royal Marines, retired Marines and cadets. He understood and appreciated the strength of the Royal Marines family—once a Royal Marine, always a Royal Marine. That goes too for their spouses, partners, children, parents and many more All the members of our corps wish to send our deepest sympathies to Her Majesty the Queen. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to her late husband who was revered and respected and who was and will continue to be held in profound and lasting affection.
Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Bill — House of Lords, 2021-04-16
Topic: Health
Dominic Hubbard (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, this is one of those debates where it is very difficult to find somebody who disagrees with the central thrust of what is proposed. The main thing we can say is, why on earth was this not done earlier? I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Wyld, will accept my congratulations and pass them on to everybody who worked on this Bill in the other place, and to all those who did the prior spadework. This should have happened already. We are patching up a hole here, not dealing with some new problem. The noble Baroness, Lady Bull, described very well—much better than I could—the pressure of social media This is not new. When I first came here all those years ago, we were talking about photoshopping images in magazines. However, it is more intense now. It is also not an exclusively female problem. The body image issue generally affects both sexes, but due to fashion, it affects girls predominantly. Can we please make sure that we keep this under review? The Government should be doing more of this—but they should be doing more of many things. I therefore hope that the House and indeed Parliament as a whole will keep an eye on what is going on here I had one or two other points to make but my noble friend Lady Walmsley—I am very glad to be on the same team as her—did an excellent job of saying everything I was going to say, and more succinctly I conclude by asking the Minister to make sure when he sums up that we get an idea of the Government’s overview of this subject. Can he confirm that where these procedures are needed for a medical problem, whether physical or psychological, they will still be available? Their unavailability is the only conceivable objection I can see to this measure being adopted I hope that we will all give this Bill a great round of applause—a metaphorical one—so that it gets through quickly, because it will make life a little bit safer and better for people. Even if such a botched procedure is only temporary, that still involves more trauma, which will add to any problems that made the person go there in the first place.