argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Off-patent Drugs Bill — House of Commons, 2015-11-06
Topic: Other
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. With the greatest of respect to the Minister, he has had a bit more time since the last point of order and it is quite clear that he has run out of arguments and is now talking to the clock. I beg to move that the Question on closure be put.
Off-patent Drugs Bill — House of Commons, 2015-11-06
Topic: Other
Albert Owen (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister has definitely run out of arguments and he has indicated that he wants us to run out of time. What help and support can you give us to have a closure motion, so that Members who have stayed here today at the request of their constituents can have their names put on the record?
Off-patent Drugs Bill — House of Commons, 2015-11-06
Topic: Other
Natascha Engel (Labour, Centre-left): Can we please stop it there? Two Members have tried to move the closure and I have refused to put the Question. If any more Members try to put that Question, they will be challenging the Chair.
Employment Trends — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Howard Marris (Labour, Centre-left): Contrary to what the Chancellor believes, my party does want to deal with the deficit; we just think he is going about it the wrong way. We are worried about certain employment trends. The Solar Trade Association, for example, has warned that up to 27,000 jobs could be at risk due the Government’s announcement of the withdrawal of support for solar energy schemes. What steps do the Government propose to take to avoid large-scale redundancies and this employment trend in the solar industry and what support will the Government offer to the industry?
Tax Credits — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Christian John Patrick Matheson (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I am pleased to hear the late conversion of Conservative Members to democracy and the rejection of an unelected Chamber, but can you give me some guidance? Is there not a constitutional role for the other place in giving pause to this House when it has made a decision that is out of sync with feelings in the country, so that the House can look at that decision again?
Tax Credits — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Other
David Julian Winnick (Labour, Centre-left): Further to the point of order, Mr Speaker, I wonder whether it would be in order for a motion to be debated on the Floor of the House congratulating the House of Lords on what it decided yesterday.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Helen Elizabeth Hayes (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that of the 7,700 families in my constituency who will lose £1,300 a year if the Government go ahead with this cut—three quarters of whom are working—those living in the private rented sector will find the cuts hardest to bear? The Government refuse to regulate that sector, and in my constituency people’s rent has risen by an average of 11.6% in the past year. The Government should consider further the punitive effects of this cut on those families.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is completely correct, but this cut does not affect only those who are renting and suffering from sky-high, exorbitant increases in private rent; it also affects owner-occupiers. The Government purport to speak for owner-occupiers, but those people will be proportionately harder hit by this measure than many others. Reduced eligibility for tax credits will mean that some people will receive more in housing benefit—there is an offsetting increase in housing benefit costs as a result of the decrease in eligibility for working tax credits, but owner-occupiers will not get that increase Earlier someone mentioned the impact of these cuts on our economy, and the self-employed will also be hard hit by these changes. Around 60% of small businesses, some 5.2 million across the country, are sole traders, and according to the Royal Society of Arts, 90% of the increase in jobs—the "jobs miracle" that the Government like to talk about—have been in self-employment in recent years.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Melanie Onn (Labour, Centre-left): An employer contacted me this week in despair because employees have been reaching out to him and asking for more hours to mitigate the loss in income from the changes to tax credits. At the same time, he has to consider reducing staff numbers to meet the requirements of the new increased minimum wage. Does my hon. Friend agree that the changes will result in reductions to household incomes, as well as job losses?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Completely. It is one of the more risible statements I have heard from the Government. It is, once more, a measure of the contempt with which they hold certain sections of the British public that they think they can pull the wool over the eyes of people. They describe themselves, laughably, as the party of labour and the party of the workers, while they are cutting the wages of working people: 3.3 million families will be hit to the tune of £1,300; 200,000 children will be put into poverty next year, and 600,000 children over the period; and 70% of the cuts will fall on working mothers. The tax credit cuts will destroy the "economic miracle" the Tories like to talk about. Some 90% of the cuts will be devastating for the people involved. The statistics speak for themselves. After I have given way to my hon. Friend, I will describe the human impact of the cuts.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I completely agree. It is extraordinary for the Government to describe tax credits as "a bribe". That is how successive Ministers, including the missing Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, have gone out of their way to describe tax credits for working people. They do not talk about protecting pensioners’ benefits as a bribe by the Conservative party to pensioners—and I would never say that; it is entirely just to protect pensioners’ benefits. By describing tax credits as a bribe, they are even seeking to demonise working people on low and middle incomes who are doing the right thing. That is entirely wrong.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Neil Coyle (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend share my concern that under the coalition Government the projected savings that were meant to come from changes to housing benefit and employment and support allowance never materialised? Savings of £10 billion were not made by the previous Government. Perhaps Government Members should be challenging their Secretary of State and calling for his resignation.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Of course they should. If they had any guts they would do precisely that. There has been an abject failure on housing benefit. The bill has gone up and up and up. If the Bill is passed—I sincerely hope it does not pass after yesterday evening’s decision—housing benefit spending will go up some more. We know the Government have failed on that and they will continue to fail in the future Let us look, for a moment—
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I am glad I gave way, because my hon. Friend makes the excellent point that politics is always a choice. Politics is about priorities. Politics is about who we stand up for, who we speak for and whose side we are on. It is very, very clear that, in the Bill and in this House, the Conservative party is on the side of millionaires and the wealthy, and are standing up against the ordinary working people of Britain, who will not forgive them for doing so.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Why on earth have the Government not conducted any sort of analysis to illustrate the benefits to our society and economy that those 700,000 carers are contributing? We all know in our hearts that they are making an enormous contribution, and we all know in our heads that they are precisely the people who are going to lose out. It is working mothers, carers and people who cannot expand their hours who are going to lose money, but they are doing the right thing; they are in work, striving hard. They might well be better off if they were not, and the crazy thing about the Bill is that in future they will be better off not working so hard. The work penalty and the disincentive to engage in extra hours and work harder, even once people have a higher than minimum wage, is screaming out at the heart of the Bill. It is a fundamental economic error, and it is being done for ideological purposes. The Tories are seeking to present those people—working people—as scroungers, and they are trying to present tax credits as benefits and a bribe.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend speaks with enormous experience and expertise, and she is completely right. As I said earlier, tax credits are a policy success. In 1997, 43% of single parents in Britain went out to work; today, the figure is 65%. There has been a 50% increase in the number of single parents who are in work, and that is a measure of the success of tax credits.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): Let us look at the totality of welfare spending as though it were a cake. Is it not the case that the failure of the Government over the past five years to address the high cost of housing or to bring down the housing benefit bill is the key to solving your problem?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that one way of bringing down the entirety of the welfare bill is to build more homes, so that we do not spend £60 billion in a Parliament on housing benefit?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes some excellent points. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is able to undertake that analysis. Other bodies and organisations are doing it, so why are the Government not able to do it? Surely this is what we should expect from the Government in their implementation of policy. There are real concerns from disabled charities, disabled groups and Lord Holmes, the chair of the EHRC’s disability committee, about the extent to which the assessment of the impact on disabled people is understood. On incentivising work, on Second Reading the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions stated: "the current system discourages claimants from making the transition into work."—[Official Report, 20 July 2015; Vol. 598, c. 1259.] What about people with progressive conditions, such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease, who have no prospect of recovery but have undergone a work capability assessment? They have been found not fit for work and placed in the WRAG group. Are the Government seriously saying that the measure will incentivise this group of disabled people into work? They have already been found not able to work through the Government’s own assessment process. Their progressive conditions are not going to change. This is a real concern.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Civil Rights
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes an entirely valid point. Disabled people will find it more and more difficult to live fulfilling lives that enable them to make contact and fulfil their potential, which everyone should have the right to do, so it will be a disincentive.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): Yes, it is right to acknowledge the Government’s role in bringing in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, but this Bill flies in the face of that legacy. I really hope that by the end of today, the Government will be able to provide some reassurance, because to date there has simply been none for disabled people In Committee, the Minister said that these cuts would not affect people currently on the ESA WRAG, but does that mean that people diagnosed with progressive conditions, but assessed after the Bill is enacted, will be deemed to have a different form of the progressive condition? Will they require less support, or do the Government finally accept that, apart from being dehumanising and exacerbating people’s health conditions, the work capability assessment is not fit for purpose and needs a complete overhaul so that people with progressive conditions are not placed in the ESA WRAG? I would really appreciate some clarity on that point. Surely if the Government were serious about supporting disabled people into work, there would be measures in place to support into work those disabled people who are able to work. How many employers will be engaged? Although the Disability Confident scheme is a good first step, only 68 employers are currently active in it, and they will certainly not be able to support the 1.3 million disabled people who are able to and want to work. Do the Government intend to extend Access to Work beyond the 35,000 disabled people it helped stay in work or into a new job last year? What is going to happen about the appalling ratio of one disability employment adviser for 600 disabled people? [Interruption.] What estimates are there of the impact on the employment of disabled people of this measure and the reduction of the 30% disability employment gap?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): I appreciate that it is strong language, but I can only provide the hon. Gentleman with the evidence. In 2010, the use of the term "scrounger" by the mainstream press had increased by more than 330%, and it has remained at that level. We should always be mindful of the language that we use as leaders, and of how it is perpetuated.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Civil Rights
Ian Lavery (Labour, Centre-left): May I advise my hon. Friend not to take any lectures from the team opposite when they are asking her to calm down in respect of her language against the disabled? Constantly, for the last five years, they have attacked disabled people, poor people and lower-paid people. No apologies are required.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman makes my point for me: that is why we need the independent review. There was enough evidence to leave real concerns about this matter. The Select Committee thought that the Minister had agreed to a review, but as paragraph 100 of the report states, unfortunately he reneged on that promise. In addition to these serious ethical issues, there were, and still are, concerns about a number of people affected, particularly in the case of ESA claimants, and about the meteoric rise in the use of sanctions.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): Absolutely Similarly, there are concerns about the impact of the benefit cap on disabled people, who already face extra costs associated with their disability, as I mentioned earlier. It is estimated that 150,000 adults and 395,000 children will be affected by the reduction in the cap. We believe that, in conjunction with the freeze in local housing allowance, cuts in social housing rents and a lack of affordable homes, the lower cap also risks exacerbating the housing crisis. The Government’s own impact assessment concedes that rent arrears, evictions and homelessness will increase as a result of the lower cap. We believe that further reductions in the benefit cap in London and elsewhere risk pushing tens of thousands of children, families and disabled people into poverty. We are the sixth wealthiest country in the world. It is not right that the Government are seeking to secure the recovery on the backs of the working poor, their children and disabled people. I hope they will think again
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Other
Natascha Engel (Labour, Centre-left): Order. Before I call the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Neil Coyle), let me remind the House that, while this is a very interesting and lively debate, 12 Back Benchers and the Minister are still to speak before the knife comes down at 6 pm. If interventions could be short and kept to a minimum, that would be great, because there are still quite a few Members whom we wish to call.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Housing
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I was told today by Homeless Link that 50% of the charities providing specialist housing services say they will be forced to close services within one to five years because of the changes in the rent arrangements for housing associations and housing benefits. Does my hon. Friend know what will happen to the vulnerable who depend on those services?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-27
Topic: Mixed Topics
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): What about working families, the very group that this Tory party chooses to try to speak for? Before the election, the Tories said they would not cut tax credits. The Justice Secretary said: "We’re going to freeze them for two years, we are not going to cut them." That was the promise. We know the truth. After the election, the Government are stripping £1,300 out of the pockets of 3.5 million working families—a 10% cut in the incomes of working families, putting an effective 93% tax rate on low and middle-income workers and imposing a work penalty on those families.
Mental Wellbeing (Children) — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Woodcock (Labour, Centre-left): It is good that the Government are putting forward such measures, but has the Minister seen the report out today suggesting that the No. 1 concern of headteachers is mental health? Has he seen how emergency psychiatric admissions have doubled in only four years? Does he accept that there is a mental health crisis in our schools, and will he resolve to do more if the measures that he has put forward are not effective in the coming months and years?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Immigration
Tristram Hunt (Labour, Centre-left): Does that mean that for the purpose of ensuring the safeguarding of children the Secretary of State is no longer happy with generic descriptions such as "moved abroad"? Are those the regulations she will be changing? As we enter summer there is a risk that more young people could be drawn to travel abroad to Syria. The Labour party welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcements on children’s passports this morning, but what discussions has the right hon. Lady had with the Home Secretary and the Communities and Local Government Secretary about preventing young people from travelling to Syria? What actions are being taken by Ministers across Whitehall Departments to mitigate this risk to young people over the school holiday period?
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) who has been tireless in pursuit of answers for the victims of contaminated blood. Her powerful words today will have spoken for many people across the country. This scandal is one of the worst injustices this country has seen. Thousands died, and thousands of families were destroyed through the negligence of public bodies. For years, the response from Governments of all colours to the victims could be described at best as grudging, and at worst as dismissive, and it falls to this Parliament to resolve today to end this injustice once and for all The Prime Minister’s apology in March marked an important moment on the journey for justice, and we welcomed his commitment to respond to the Penrose report "as a matter of priority." We do not doubt the sincerity of that commitment, but does the Minister understand the disappointment that people felt when instead of the promised full statement, a written statement was released at 2 pm on a Friday afternoon, which failed to answer the key questions? The Minister failed to set a clear timetable for when the £25 million promised by the Prime Minister will be made available to those currently receiving support, and I think I heard him imply that it might go into the next financial year of 2016-17. May I press him further? Will he work to ensure that the funding is made available to victims this year, as I think that is what people want to hear from him today On disclosure, I welcome the fact that the Government have committed to releasing additional documents, but does the Minister accept that alongside that release we need a process to help families understand those documents and finally to get to the full truth of what went wrong? Will he commit, at the very least, to a panel on the Hillsborough model, or to a public inquiry, to provide a full commentary on the extent to which disclosure on this matter would add to public understanding of the scandal Finally, although no amount of money can ever fully make up for what happened, we owe those still living with the consequences the dignity of a lasting settlement. People will therefore be disappointed that any decisions on future support appear to have been postponed until the spending review. Will the Minister put a timeframe on when the Government will make their next statement about a full and final settlement? Given the widespread concerns about current arrangements, does he acknowledge that the longer this goes on, the longer we leave in place a system that is not working and leaves victims going cap in hand for support, which only adds to their sense of injustice We congratulate the Government on their progress in recent months, but now is the time for a resolution. This injustice has gone on long enough. Further delay adds insult and injury to that injustice. A full, fair and final resolution is now required.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Other
Gerald Bernard Kaufman (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) for putting this urgent question and for all her dedicated work on this agonising issue. I put it to the Minister that if he had made his statement not to the House but to my constituents, including one in particular who lives in agony and fear, the reaction would have been less parliamentary than it has been this afternoon. The people who are waiting for this do not have an infinite amount of time, and the correspondence that I receive on this matter rends my heart. The consultation is taking too long, and action is essential.
Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Civil Rights
David Julian Winnick (Labour, Centre-left): If the Secretary of State wants agreement across the House, he seems to be going the wrong way about it. An apology from him would be appropriate for this information having to be extracted through freedom of information legislation: no wonder the Government want to weaken that Act. The Secretary of State gives the impression today that Parliament is getting above itself.