argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Technology
Questions: The recently announced CityFibre-Vodafone partnership will make ultrafast, gigabit-capable, full-fibre broadband a reality for Stirling’s residents and businesses. What steps will my right hon. Friend be taking to further encourage private sector involvement in the construction of digital infrastructure?; The Secretary of State will be aware of the recent in-depth report by the highly regarded Lords Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Among its recommendations, it calls on the Government, with the Competition and Markets Authority, to proactively review the use and potential monopolisation of data by big tech companies in the UK. What is the Secretary of State doing about its recommendation?; I never thought I would say it, but HS2 will mean shorter journey times between the west midlands and London, so does that not make the region an obvious choice for Channel 4? When will it make the decision to change its headquarters?; What steps is the Secretary of State taking, and what resources does he intend to provide, to facilitate the UK’s commitments under the European charter for regional and minority languages?
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right that, while we have improved mobile coverage, and 90% of the country is now covered, 10% still is not. We are therefore going to put requirements on the mobile phone companies, so if they get licences in future spectrum auctions, they are going to have to do more in rural areas.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Technology
Questions: The recently announced CityFibre-Vodafone partnership will make ultrafast, gigabit-capable, full-fibre broadband a reality for Stirling’s residents and businesses. What steps will my right hon. Friend be taking to further encourage private sector involvement in the construction of digital infrastructure?; The Secretary of State will be aware of the recent in-depth report by the highly regarded Lords Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Among its recommendations, it calls on the Government, with the Competition and Markets Authority, to proactively review the use and potential monopolisation of data by big tech companies in the UK. What is the Secretary of State doing about its recommendation?; I never thought I would say it, but HS2 will mean shorter journey times between the west midlands and London, so does that not make the region an obvious choice for Channel 4? When will it make the decision to change its headquarters?; What steps is the Secretary of State taking, and what resources does he intend to provide, to facilitate the UK’s commitments under the European charter for regional and minority languages?
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I have seen with interest Martin Lewis’s legal action against Facebook. We are following that with great interest. The internet safety strategy will be coming out in the coming weeks, and that will address these issues.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Technology
Questions: The recently announced CityFibre-Vodafone partnership will make ultrafast, gigabit-capable, full-fibre broadband a reality for Stirling’s residents and businesses. What steps will my right hon. Friend be taking to further encourage private sector involvement in the construction of digital infrastructure?; The Secretary of State will be aware of the recent in-depth report by the highly regarded Lords Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Among its recommendations, it calls on the Government, with the Competition and Markets Authority, to proactively review the use and potential monopolisation of data by big tech companies in the UK. What is the Secretary of State doing about its recommendation?; I never thought I would say it, but HS2 will mean shorter journey times between the west midlands and London, so does that not make the region an obvious choice for Channel 4? When will it make the decision to change its headquarters?; What steps is the Secretary of State taking, and what resources does he intend to provide, to facilitate the UK’s commitments under the European charter for regional and minority languages?
Douglas Gordon Ross (Conservative, Centre-right): Yesterday’s Ofcom report stated that Scotland had the lowest average rural download speeds anywhere in the UK. That has a huge impact on my constituency, so what are both of Scotland’s Governments doing to address that?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Technology
Questions: The recently announced CityFibre-Vodafone partnership will make ultrafast, gigabit-capable, full-fibre broadband a reality for Stirling’s residents and businesses. What steps will my right hon. Friend be taking to further encourage private sector involvement in the construction of digital infrastructure?; The Secretary of State will be aware of the recent in-depth report by the highly regarded Lords Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Among its recommendations, it calls on the Government, with the Competition and Markets Authority, to proactively review the use and potential monopolisation of data by big tech companies in the UK. What is the Secretary of State doing about its recommendation?; I never thought I would say it, but HS2 will mean shorter journey times between the west midlands and London, so does that not make the region an obvious choice for Channel 4? When will it make the decision to change its headquarters?; What steps is the Secretary of State taking, and what resources does he intend to provide, to facilitate the UK’s commitments under the European charter for regional and minority languages?
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Overall in the UK, we have seen improvements of over 28% in download speeds over the past year, but it is frustrating that we have not been able to get as much broadband coverage in Scotland as we could have done, because the SNP Government in Holyrood have been sitting on millions of pounds of UK cash for over four years now.
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): The serious violence strategy, published on 9 April, sets out our response to serious violence, which includes knife crime. We will legislate to tighten the law in this area, and the Crown Prosecution Service continues to work with law enforcement agencies to tackle knife crime and other forms of serious violence.
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Damian Noel Thomas Collins (Conservative, Centre-right): Following Donald Trump’s speech to the National Rifle Association, does the Solicitor General agree that the streets of London would be far more dangerous for communities if criminals and gang members were armed with automatic weapons rather than knives? Does he agree that while longer sentences for knife offenders are important, we also need to do more to understand the underlying causes of knife crime and gang violence?
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right about the need to tackle the underlying reasons for knife crime, whether that is carried out by gangs or young people in isolation. That sort of work is far more valuable than attempts by the President of the United States to channel Sean Connery in "The Untouchables".
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Damien Moore (Conservative, Centre-right): How can the Minister alleviate concerns over recent reports in the national press about the prevalence of knife crime in our towns and cities? What action are the Government taking to co-ordinate an approach to those offences?
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend speaks with bitter and sad experience, given the appalling case in his constituency, and I send my condolences to everybody concerned. It is clear that we are seeing a rise in the use of knives in some of our towns and cities. Some of that information is a result of better police work and increased reporting, but there is no doubt that we have a challenge to face, particularly with our young people. I am glad that the strategy we have set out deals not only with prosecution, but with the root causes of knife crime. We must teach young people about the dangers of knife crime at appropriate times, including both after and before such offences are committed.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I discuss domestic abuse regularly with the CPS, which continues to improve its performance in that area. In the 10 years between 2007 and 2017, the number of convictions secured rose by 61%. The conviction rate rose to its highest ever level of 75.7% last year.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right to say that there is variation including, as she knows, in the number of cases referred to the CPS by the police. Of course, the CPS cannot prosecute unless a case is referred to it. We must ensure that those variations are understood and ironed out where possible, and the CPS is working closely with the police at a regional and national level to ensure that that happens.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): As ever, my hon. Friend finds out the homework that I have not done, but if I can get back to him with those figures, I will. To reinforce the point I made to the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Liz McInnes), it is important that the CPS understands where regional variation occurs and the reasons for that and, where possible, we must ensure that lessons from the best are learned by the worst.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): As I indicated, I think that part of that is to do with referrals. It is important to be clear about what is driving the figures, and I think a large part is those cases that are not referred by the police to the CPS for prosecution at the moment. The hon. Gentleman raises a good point about the wider picture. It is important that we do all that we can to ensure that victims of domestic violence feel able to come forward to report what has happened to them and that they feel confident that the criminal justice system will deal with them sensitively. He will know that we have put in place a range of measures—not least to enable giving evidence to be somewhat easier—to make sure that that happens.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I will certainly do that. It is important that we keep the figures under constant review. The hon. Gentleman will know that the Government are engaged in a consultation, to which we have already had some 800 responses, on the broader picture of domestic abuse. It is important that we look at both legislative and non-legislative options to make sure that across the board we are doing all we can to support victims.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend. It is important, where we can, to be sensitive to vulnerable witnesses who do not wish to face the defendant. Through the roll-out of pilots involving pre-recorded cross-examination as well as examination-in-chief, they will be able to get their part in the case over with entirely without going into the court room.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure if I am allowed to do endorsements, Mr Speaker, but I entirely agree with the hon. Lady. What she refers to is incredibly important. I am sure all Members would wish to pay tribute to the work she has done. It is important, because we need to make sure that, across the spectrum of activities we can carry out, we do all that we can to reduce the incidence of domestic abuse before it happens. It is far better, as she says, to do that than to deal with these matters through prosecution. I hope that she will be able to contribute to the consultation that is under way and give it the benefit of her wisdom.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Attorney General speak to colleagues in the Department for Education about the merits of training more domestic violence specialist social workers, given that about three quarters of child safeguarding cases involve domestic violence? That might help with prevention and provide more information that can lead to successful prosecutions.
Domestic Violence — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend, who makes a very good point. It is important that we look at ways in which we can prevent as well as cure through the prosecution process. Social workers have a hugely important part to play and we want to make sure that we work with them.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): The unduly lenient sentence scheme remains an important avenue for victims, family members and the wider public to ensure that justice is delivered. In 2017, the Solicitor General and I referred 173 cases to the Court of Appeal for consideration. Of those, the Court agreed that 144 sentences were unduly lenient and increased 137 of them.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend. In the time that we have held our positions, the Solicitor General and I have been very keen to ensure that there are no procedural barriers to prevent anyone making use of the unduly lenient sentence scheme. There is no particular rubric or form that needs to be filled in. All that anyone who is concerned about a criminal sentence needs to do is to contact the Attorney General’s office. If the case is within the scheme, we will look at it. What will then happen is that if either the Solicitor General or I believe that a sentence is unduly lenient, we will make a reference to the Court of Appeal. In the end, the Court of Appeal will decide.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure that I agree with the first part of my right hon. Friend’s question, but in answer to the second part, he will know that the Conservative party has now set out in two successive general election manifestos our commitment to extending the scheme. He will know that we have made a very good start by extending it last August to several additional terrorism offences. He and I both hope that we will be able to go further.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand what the hon. Lady says, but she will understand, of course, that I would need to see a great deal more detail to make a judgment about that sentence. If that is a relatively recent sentence, I encourage her to refer it, if she wishes, to the Law Officers so that we can look at it. I advise her that there is a 28-day statutory time limit after the point of sentence, so if she can, I would ask her to get on with it.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend the Attorney General and the Solicitor General for what they do in appealing unduly lenient sentences, which they carry out with great skill—I am very impressed by their work. However, the Attorney General said that he hopes that the scheme will be extended, and he also said that we have been promising this for quite some time, so can he give us a date for when we will extend the unduly lenient sentence scheme?
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said to the House a moment ago, the scheme has already been extended—a number of terrorism offences have been brought under the scheme—but my hon. Friend knows that I share his enthusiasm for further extension. It seems important to me that victims of crime, and members of the public more broadly, can access the scheme across a broader range of offences so that when mistakes are made, which he will recognise is a rare event in the criminal justice system—about 80,000 criminal cases are heard in the Crown court every year and, as I indicated, 137 sentences were increased last year—they can be remedied.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. learned Friend will be aware of a case that I referred to him, which he said was out of the scope of the scheme. I urge him to look at expanding the scope of the scheme so that justice is done, and is seen to be done, particularly by victims of crime.
Hate Crime — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the publication of the report to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I went to Nottingham only a few months ago to visit the east midlands Crown Prosecution Service, and I know that if he works with it—either through me or directly—he will find out more about the actions that it is taking. I assure him that it has a structured plan and takes all strands of hate crime extremely seriously.
Director of Public Prosecutions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): The recruitment campaign for the next Director of Public Prosecutions is under way and is due to close on 14 May. The job requires excellent legal judgment, the ability to lead a large organisation and the capacity to work with others in improving the criminal justice system as a whole. This is an exciting time to be joining the Crown Prosecution Service and to play a pivotal role in shaping the organisation for the future.
Director of Public Prosecutions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady knows that I am aware of those concerns, and she also knows that we are looking at disclosure more broadly, as I instituted a review in December last year. She is, however, right to say that one of the primary tasks of the present DPP, as well as the next one, is to get disclosure right throughout the range of cases taken on by the CPS. I will continue to discuss resources with the DPP and, indeed, Government colleagues.
Director of Public Prosecutions — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Attorney General bear in mind the widely held opinion that the important, delicate and often finely balanced judgments that the DPP must make require informed views that result from lengthy frontline experience of prosecuting serious cases day in, day out, at the highest level, and that that must be an important consideration when selecting the successor to the current DPP?
Gangs: Exploitation of Vulnerable People — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Gillian Keegan (Conservative, Centre-right): In Chichester, drug dealers are regularly taking over the homes of vulnerable people who suffer from mental health problems or from drug dependency themselves in a process known as cuckooing. Sussex police tell me that they struggle to identify the gang leaders who control the cuckoos as they are based outside the county. What steps is the CPS taking to prosecute those gang leaders effectively, so that others are deterred from exploiting the most vulnerable in society?
Gangs: Exploitation of Vulnerable People — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of cuckooing and the need for local police forces such as Sussex to collaborate with other forces. A good example was a case last month in which two London-based gang members were convicted in Swansea Crown court of trafficking a teenage girl to the city to deal heroin and crack cocaine.
Gangs: Exploitation of Vulnerable People — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): Essex, being one of the home counties, suffers from the displacement effect of gang activity from London, and we have unfortunately seen pockets—it is only pockets at this stage—of violent gang activity in the county. What financial resources are the Government allocating to tackle serious gang violence?
Gangs: Exploitation of Vulnerable People — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has correctly characterised the nature of some of this gang offending. The Government’s serious violence strategy involves a new commitment of £40 million over two years, which includes £11 million for the early intervention youth fund and £3.6 million for the new national county lines co-ordination centre. Royal Assent
Gangs: Exploitation of Vulnerable People — House of Commons, 2018-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I have to notify the House, in accordance with the Royal Assent Act 1967, that the Queen has signified her Royal Assent to the following Acts and Measures: Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act 2018 Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Act 2018 Statute Law (Repeals) Measure 2018 Pensions (Pre-consolidation) Measure 2018 Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018 Mission and Pastoral etc. Amendment Measure 2018