argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Report of the Iraq Inquiry — House of Lords, 2016-07-06
Topic: Defense
Frederick Richard Penn Curzon (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, undoubtedly so. It is perhaps one of Sir John’s most serious criticisms in the report that going to war in this instance was not the last resort and that there were diplomatic avenues still open at the time that the order was given to commence military action. I am sure that all noble Lords would agree that that should never happen again.
Report of the Iraq Inquiry — House of Lords, 2016-07-06
Topic: Defense
Frederick Richard Penn Curzon (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the noble Baroness. I have had precisely an hour, prior to its publication, to look at the executive summary of the report. I cannot claim to stand here and recount to your Lordships every nuance of the report; that can only be done over time by us all. I do not have full answers today but, certainly from my reading of the executive summary, there is no question of intelligence being falsified. However, I think Sir John concludes that there was a gap between the ways in which the intelligence was framed and presented to the general public, and that he leaves open the explanation for that. There was certainly no suggestion in anything I read that the Cabinet was deceived nor of an undisclosed plan to go to war, although there was a certain point in 2002 at which Sir John says that the Government committed themselves to a course of action which would have been very difficult to reverse. They did not necessarily commit to military action but committed to a chain of actions which, if unsuccessful, might almost inevitably lead to war. While what the noble Baroness says is correct, there are nuances in this that we all need to take on board.
Report of the Iraq Inquiry — House of Lords, 2016-07-06
Topic: Defense
Frederick Richard Penn Curzon (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I express my agreement with what the noble Lord has rightly said about the Chiefs of the Defence Staff and the Chiefs of Staff generally during the Iraq war and immediately afterward. They are all men of the highest ability and we owe them our gratitude, as much as we owe to the men and women in the field. I also agree that there is a distinction to be drawn between the processes of decision-making and the political judgments that are made. I simply point out that, in my view at least, the strength and integrity of the process underpins the reliability of the political judgments.
Down Syndrome Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Ruth Lorraine Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech and I whole- heartedly support his Bill. As a paediatric physiotherapist in a former life I spent a lot of time working with brilliant groups, and my time with the self-help group for the Down’s syndrome children and their parents was among the best and happiest; it was really useful and hopefully the parents got the support they needed because it was all-encompassing and all-groundbreaking—social care, health, speech and language, audiology. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree this is the way we should go forward and that it is very important that these families get the support they need from the very beginning?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for emphasising the importance of vaccination. However, his statement makes it clear that we are seeing new variants and the risks still remain. Therefore, taking further public health measures is really important. I ask him again to give clear leadership on ensuring that face coverings, social distancing and high levels of hygiene are instituted, as well as better ventilation. Those measures make a difference, as we have seen throughout the past two years.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): As the Secretary of State has reiterated, getting vaccinated is vital, and I am looking forward to my booster jab tomorrow. However, as he knows, some groups and some communities are more hesitant and more fearful about being vaccinated. I am conscious that vaccination rates in the city of Nottingham are below those in the wider county, and also that our local health services are already under huge pressure. What is the Secretary of State doing to drive up vaccination rates in areas where there has been low take-up, and will he now offer places such as Nottingham additional support as we head into winter?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Gareth Thomas (Labour, Centre-left): If we are to help reduce the chance of further variants emerging that will threaten the health of our citizens, we clearly need to accelerate vaccination programmes in other countries, particularly in the Commonwealth. Why are Ministers therefore so determined to use the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting next week to block progress towards achieving—as South Africa and India want—a temporary waiver of intellectual property rules to help developing countries to develop their own vaccine manufacturing capacity?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): I echo the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone). I have my booster on 18 December, which a few days ago was the first date being offered near me in Bristol. There is now a growing divide between people who will have had three jabs and people who will not have been jabbed at all. There are some hardcore vaccine refuseniks, but there are also quite a lot of people who think that they are now immune because they have had a mild dose of covid. However, we know that they could well be at risk, particularly with new variants coming on board. What more can we do to persuade those people who have not been jabbed at all that it is time to get jabbed?
Down Syndrome Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): To return to what my hon. Friend said about mental health concerns, when people with disabilities and conditions such as Down’s experience mental health problems that are not necessarily connected to their condition, treatment can be more difficult and it can be difficult to identify that they are developing mental health problems. Perhaps it is more a point for the Minister, but I hope that we can bear that in mind when we are looking at how we treat people with Down’s.
Down Syndrome Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-26
Topic: Health
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that, although I am not sure that it was a carrot as much as a stick. However, I know that noble Lords will be taking the same interest in the Health and Care Bill, and I absolutely share his confidence in that sense To finish, I look forward to seeing this Bill in its next stages, and we want gains to be made in the four areas in the schedule to the Bill. I would make the very important concluding point that, particularly in relation to local authorities, social care is distressed and under-invested in in this country, so if there are new responsibilities, there must be new investment to come with that. We will continue to make such points at future stages. This requires Government commitment, and it is good that we are hearing that today, but also the resources to sit behind it, and I hope we hear that, too.
Covid-19: Government Support for Business — House of Commons, 2021-12-16
Topic: Culture
Karen Patricia Buck (Labour, Centre-left): I am acutely aware, having a constituency on the edge of the west end, of the impact that the pandemic has had not only on hospitality and tourism, but on the culture, arts and live performance sector. Last night, it was reported that 12 west end shows were unable to go ahead because of illness among the cast, many of whom are self-employed. Will the Minister confirm that he or fellow Ministers will be meeting representatives of the theatre and live performance sector to discuss the impact of this latest wave of the crisis on their finances?
Investigatory Powers Bill — House of Lords, 2016-10-19
Topic: Defense
Frederick Richard Penn Curzon (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, these amendments would remove the bulk equipment interference provisions from the Bill. Before I address the amendments specifically, it is worth pausing to reflect briefly on the importance of bulk powers in the round and the very significant steps that the Government have taken to ensure both that a robust operational case has been made for their necessity and that the most rigorous safeguards will apply to their use Extremely detailed and extensive scrutiny has been applied to bulk powers during the passage of the Bill, both in Parliament and, of course, by David Anderson QC as part of his bulk powers review. The conclusion of that review was that bulk powers, "have a clear operational purpose"; that they, "play an important part in identifying, understanding and averting threats in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and further afield"; and that where alternatives exist to their use, "they were likely to produce less comprehensive intelligence and were often more dangerous (for example to agents and their handlers), more resource-intensive, more intrusive or—crucially—slower" The Government have now tabled amendments giving full effect to the sole recommendation of that review, establishing in statute a Technology Advisory Panel to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner. We have also accepted an amendment tabled by the Intelligence and Security Committee which introduces a specific offence in the Bill to address deliberate misuse of the bulk powers. We have addressed wider concerns of that committee by adding very significant detail to the Bill on the safeguards that will regulate the use of these powers. I am grateful for the intensive scrutiny that has been applied to the bulk provisions in the Bill and believe that those provisions are all the stronger for it. There should now be no question that these powers are necessary and they are subject to world-leading safeguards.
Covid-19 Vaccines: Low-income Countries — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Kate Ofunne Osamor (Labour, Centre-left): The shockingly low vaccination rates in low-income countries should shame the global north, and made the omicron variant all but inevitable. The Government have been quick to impose travel restrictions on southern African countries, but where was the urgency when it came to ensuring that people on the African continent were vaccinated? My question to the Minister is this: is it not time for the Government to drop their opposition to the intellectual property waiver on covid-19 vaccines, of which South Africa was one of the key supporters, and to provide whatever vaccine capacity and technical support they can offer to speed up the roll-out?
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): With this we shall take the following motion: That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021 (S.I., 2021, No. 1338), dated 29 November, a copy of which was laid before this House on 29 November, be approved.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for giving way. On the point of immunity, many people who are immunosuppressed are extremely worried. I have asked the Secretary of State on several occasions whether he will consider doing antibody testing so that those people have some idea whether they have any protection or they need to adjust things in their working lives.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Clive James Charles Betts (Labour, Centre-left): The word "mandatory" was used but is that not just a word in the statutory instrument? In practice is it not unenforceable? As Darren Pearce, the manager of Meadowhall shopping centre, said in evidence to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, "The biggest problem we had last time was about trying to get face coverings to be worn. I saw a group of young people going to Meadowhall, saying very loudly, ‘If they ask you, just say you’ve got asthma.’ Then they say, ‘We’ve got asthma. We’re exempt’, and there is nothing anyone can do, is there?" That causes all sorts of tensions with the shop assistants and with other people wearing face masks, who feel that some people are getting away with it. What is the Minister going to do about that situation?
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): We are after the fact now on that, but I think we have to protect the principle that we do not expect people to wear masks if doing so is detrimental to their health. That is the right level of proportionality, but we are reliant on good faith and people not abusing that, and I would be disappointed to hear of cases such as those my hon. Friend raised I particularly want to raise with Ministers a point about shop workers. Our hard-working shop workers have given us so much during the last 20 months. They have kept open the vital community assets that mean we were all able to be fed and watered. In return they have faced increasing violence and abuse. It should be made very clear that they are not being asked to police this; I hope the Minister will do that and also give more detail, as colleagues clearly wish to hear it, about how enforcement will work in practice The largest number of infections is now in those aged under 20, with the peak at approximately 10. This is a big part of continuing transmission, yet the changing and drifting policies on masks have created confusion across schools, colleges and universities. Can the Minister confirm what the new requirements are across all settings?
Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): I wholeheartedly agree that this is an issue of conduct, but it is also a question of leadership. We have a Prime Minister in the middle of a pandemic who has failed to learn. At the beginning of this crisis, he boasted about shaking hands with covid patients; now he is mask-less in a hospital and too weak to tell Members of his own party to put on a mask. We desperately need not just an improvement in conduct, but an improvement in clear communication and leadership from this Prime Minister.
Armed Forces Bill — House of Lords, 2016-04-27
Topic: Defense
John Attlee (Conservative, Centre-right): I support the recruitment of people under the age of 18 into the Armed Forces. It provides a fabulous opportunity for them I have no problem with Amendment 7 but I do not expect my noble friend to accept it. It would be a seriously good news report. I would certainly like to write the section on evaluating the effects on young service people. I would be able to write lovely case studies about youngsters coming from disadvantaged circumstances with poor employment prospects. These people will obviously be young, fit, able to read and write, intelligent and have potential. They can join the Armed Forces and have a fabulous career, whereas for their contemporaries in certain areas of the country the prospects are not very good The education and training they will receive will, generally speaking, be far better than they get elsewhere. They may leave the Armed Forces fairly soon but, by that point, if they are not in a highly skilled trade, they will probably have a vocational driving licence. As to the financial effects, it is a win-win situation. These youngsters will have an income their contemporaries will not have, so that is a win for them. They will be on the pathway to a decent career. When they become 18, they will be fully trained members of the Armed Forces and deployable To be charitable, Amendment 8 is unnecessary. It suggests that a young person recruited into the Armed Forces is practically illiterate. The reality, as my noble friend will tell us, is that a guardian’s consent is needed. More importantly, a young person who is illiterate to the extent that they cannot read and understand the recruitment papers would not be able to pass the service entrance tests. Their potential would be so poor that they would be of no use to the Armed Forces and would not be able to get in on that route. Therefore Amendment 8, to be charitable, is unnecessary.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Health
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): I am not quite sure about the last bit —who is the goose, who is the gander, and what it was about. I am pleased by how the hon. Member has approached the question. It is a bit better than your email earlier today, Mr McCartney, which was pretty offensive; we ought to think about how we address each other in emails. I certainly respect your views and the views of all Members We have to work together. We have come this far because the House pulled together, ensuring that we got through it. We are one of only eight legislatures, I think, across the world that have managed to keep open every day, because we have done the right thing. It is about us doing the right thing. I want to help and support you; I want to help and support all Members In fairness, this is about safety. We have had an increase in covid-19 across the House, which has been badly reflected recently in the rising numbers. The UK Health Security Agency has determined that the risk of transmission on the parliamentary estate is now greater. As a consequence, the parliamentary authorities have decided to take further action to ensure that case numbers do not continue to rise. These measures have been communicated to Members and staff and I do not wish to debate them in detail on the Floor of the House. The measures have been introduced with immediate effect and will be reviewed in two weeks I will say to Members that if we can get through these two weeks, I believe we will get through to next year, but these two weeks are crucial. Numbers of infections have been rising on both sides of the House and among staff. Unusually, the transmission has been on the estate, and that is why it is a greater worry than before. Please, let us pull together and not try to undermine the officials of the House, who have to do a job—a thankless task. They get the kicks when they should not. Aim them at me; that is quite right. The hon. Member for Lincoln is right to have addressed me with this question I will always put the health and safety of the House first, so please help me to keep the House open by trying to get through a very crucial two weeks. After that, we will be in a much safer place, and I think we will be in the right place. I have to say that the measures have not been stringent. They could have been even more stringent and they might have to be, so please let us pull and work together. In the end, I do not want to have another Christmas like the last one, and I want to protect all of us, so work with the staff and try to remember that they have a job to do along with us. The main basis is that I know that we can see it through. I appeal to the Whips of all parties to work together to try to make it safe I understand the frustration. From my point of view, there is nothing better than having a full Chamber and seeing the hon. Member for Lincoln back in this House. As much as he gives me grief, I like seeing him on the Benches. I still prefer him in the House than on television—that is even more scary—but seriously, I have to say, let us all work together and pull together.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Health
Emma Ann Hardy (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for giving way; he is always very generous. I draw his attention to the letter from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, a Conservative-led authority, to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, stating that, "the council has 302 assessed individuals requiring 4,114 hours of home care per week that we are currently unable to provide." The letter was dated in October. It identifies extra money that the Government have given, but says the council still does not have the funding needed to care for the people who need help in the East Riding.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-02
Topic: Health
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): It is a great pleasure to follow the Secretary of State in today’s debate. Our public services keep the nation going. In the last 18 months, we have relied on them more than ever: on nurses, doctors, NHS and care staff, who have looked after us in the most difficult conditions; on police and the emergency services; on transport staff; and, of course, on teachers, lecturers, school and college leaders, early years, childcare and education support staff, who have kept children safe and learning. It is because of their dedication and the importance of the services that they provide that we needed a serious plan in this Budget to rebuild the services that the Government have cut to the bone in the last 10 years, and a plan to remake Britain. Instead, we got a high-tax, low-growth Budget that hits working people with a £3,000 hike in their tax bills; a Budget that did nothing to reduce living costs, tackle soaring energy bills or support working families this winter; and a Budget that failed to address the deep-rooted pressures on the public services on which we all rely Over the 74 years of its existence, the NHS has been a source of huge pride to this country. However, under the Conservative party, life expectancy among the poorest has fallen and health inequalities have widened, so measures to tackle that state of affairs were very much needed. Instead, we got the Chancellor pretending that a new wing or new unit somehow counts as a new hospital. We got a sticking plaster for social care, with local authorities having to levy their residents to pay for it. Incredibly, after the 18 months we have all been through, the Government failed to prioritise public health, which has suffered a 24% cut in real terms since 2015-16.
Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 — House of Lords, 2016-07-04
Topic: Health
Charles Cathcart (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I find these regulations bizarre as far as vaping goes. They defy both logic and the evidence. Brussels believes that vaping could provide a gateway to smoking and that these tough new laws are necessary to protect non-smokers, particularly children, from using e-cigarettes. The evidence does not support that view. The Office for National Statistics has stated: "E-cigarettes are almost exclusively used by smokers and ex-smokers. Almost none of those who had never smoked cigarettes were e-cigarette users" Cancer Research UK found that smokers who vape are 60% more likely to quit than those who use willpower or over-the-counter nicotine replacement products. Its statistics demonstrate that vaping is used almost entirely—99%—by current and former smokers, more than 60% of whom say that the sole reason for vaping is to stop using traditional tobacco. Interestingly, only 0.2% of non-smokers aged under 18 have tried vaping and continued use is negligible. So the evidence does not support Brussels’s reasons for these regulations Public Health England has stated: "There is a need to publicise the current best estimate that using EC is around 95% safer than smoking" Professor John Britton, of the Royal College of Physicians, says: "If all the smokers in Britain stopped smoking cigarettes and started smoking e-cigarettes we would save five million deaths in people who are alive today. It’s a massive potential public health prize".