argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2021-06-15
Topic: Other
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now commence. Some Members are here in the Chamber and others are participating remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. I ask all Members to respect social distancing and wear face coverings while in the Chamber except when speaking. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House Oral Questions will now commence. Please can those asking supplementary questions keep them to no longer than 30 seconds and confined to two points? I ask that Ministers’ answers are also brief.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Other
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now begin. Some Members are here in the Chamber, others are participating remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. I ask all Members to respect social distancing and to wear face coverings while in the Chamber except when speaking. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House.
Retirement of a Member: Lord Sainsbury of Turville — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Other
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I should like to notify the House of the retirement with effect from today of the noble Lord, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, pursuant to Section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014. On behalf of the House, I thank the noble Lord for his long and much-valued service to the House.
Covid-19: Education Attendance — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Elizabeth Andrews (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, is the Minister aware that, during the first two weeks of June, the number of Covid cases in early years settings doubled? Can she tell me how many nurseries have closed because pre-school children are isolating? If the Government withdraw the requirement for schoolchildren to isolate, will this also apply to pre-school settings? This is, as she knows, an area under huge strain and challenge at the moment and it would be good to have as much clarity as possible on this point.
EU Settlement Scheme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Immigration
Richard Rosser (Labour, Centre-left): Some 30,000 people in receipt of benefits have yet to apply for settled status. Applications have not been made for more than 2,000 children in care or care leavers. The Government have no clear idea of the total number of EU citizens still to apply and said in the Commons on Tuesday that "literally thousands" of applications "are still coming in every day".—[Official Report, Commons, 29/6/21; col. 163.] To keep the rights they had, those still to apply have to hope that the Government of Windrush and the hostile environment deem that they have reasonable grounds for a late application being made First, we have called for an extension of the European Union settlement scheme for three months to the end of September. Why will the Government not agree to it? Secondly, will they commit to providing updates to Parliament, at least every month, of the number of late applications received and the number of such applications accepted, the number rejected and the number still outstanding of decision?
EU Settlement Scheme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alfred Dubs (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the original estimates made by the Home Office represent about half the number of people eligible under the scheme? Will she further confirm that when the figures were last produced, at least 300 children had not been identified? Given that, it is likely that there will be many more than 300. Therefore, while I welcome the Minister’s commitment that the scheme for children will be open indefinitely, is there not a concern that there will be a large number of children whom the Home Office have not identified and who may still not be aware of their position in the years to come?
UK Foreign Aid Programme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rita Donaghy (Labour, Centre-left): On an occasion such as this, my noble friend the late Lord Judd is more missed than ever. He stood for international solidarity and long-term commitment to building trust and support for those in need. I will deal with the importance of international research, particularly development research. I thank SOAS and the Development Studies Association for their briefing If the £120 million cut in research goes ahead, it will cause huge damage, out of all proportion to the amount saved. It undermines the world-leading role that UK-led research plays in tackling global challenges. Our reputation as a trusted partner will be severely damaged. Will the Minister give a commitment that no existing contractual research projects will be chopped? Is he prepared to authorise officials to meet the Development Studies Association to learn more about the impact of these cuts on higher education and research in general?
AUKUS — House of Lords, 2021-09-16
Topic: Other
Genista Mary McIntosh (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, it appears that there are no further questions for the Minister. If I am right about that we will move to the next business as soon as people have had a chance to change places.
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Alexander Hunt (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, confronted with the death of my own mother this year, I have had to think long and hard about the Bill. She celebrated her 99th birthday, then had a stroke and a very distressing end to her life that lasted far too long. As I sat with her, the argument for dying people to be given a choice of their own death was not far from my mind. I wondered whether it was fair for a loved one to continue to experience such poor quality of life Yet, like the most reverend Primate, I remain concerned about the unintended consequences of people feeling pressurised into ending their own lives, either because of fear that they might be a burden or because relatives might seek to gain through the accelerated death of a relative. We know that those who care for seriously ill people are often frightened of what the future will bring or worried about the impact of their illness on their families, and often veer between hope and despair. I wonder how doctors could really understand the pressure they are under when asked to countersign an application, as laid out in the Bill In the UK, financial abuse by family members has typically been the most common abuse reported to the Hourglass helpline. This charity, dedicated to ending the harm, abuse and exploitation of older people, reports that a staggering 1 million people over 65 are victims of abuse every year. We debated this extensively on the Domestic Abuse Act. I question whether we can take the risk inherent in the Bill The noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, whom I greatly respect, said it was a modest measure containing many safeguards, not a slippery slope. I accept what she says, of course. None the less, modest though the Bill is, it is a foundation for further changes in legislation, which—as night follows day—would surely follow if this were enacted into law. We should be very, very, very wary of the Bill.
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Andrew Adonis (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I am opposed to this Bill, although I accept that it is a desperately difficult issue; like other noble Lords, I have heart-rending experiences of the long, drawn-out deaths of friends and relatives The problem with the Bill is that it is simply not possibly to guard adequately against the abuse of the very elderly and the very ill by greedy and manipulative relations and friends. The idea that brief consultations with two doctors are adequate is simply not credible. I accept that it does extend autonomy—autonomy which I might personally value—to those of sound mind who are unpressurised about ending their life. Of course I accept that, which is why this is such a desperately difficult issue. But the supreme duty of the state and the community is to protect the vulnerable and their human rights. There is no greater human right than the right to life. Therefore, very reluctantly, I come to the conclusion that this Bill—or indeed any Bill seeking to achieve this objective—is not one to which Parliament should give assent.
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan Thomas Howarth (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I know that my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, is motivated by nothing but kind-heartedness. However, I cannot support the legalisation of assisted suicide. This is not just because of practical difficulties in her scheme. I believe that, if we legislate to make it legal to dispose of a particular class of human being, there will be consequences that none of us would wish. In thus devaluing human life, we will reinforce existing tendencies towards a desensitisation and coarsening of our society. The paradox, I fear, is that, in seeking to extend self-determination, and with an intention to mitigate suffering, we would jeopardise the liberal and humane values that we must uphold A majority of the public in fact has serious concerns about legalising assisted suicide. A ComRes poll has shown that, when the issues were properly understood, support dropped from 73% to 43% Consider recent history in some western democracies. In Belgium and Canada, as well as in Oregon, the original safeguards limiting the availability of assisted dying have been significantly loosened in subsequent legislation and court judgments. Consider the history of the last century and the slide into barbarism of countries in Europe where, as democracy decayed, it became official ideology that certain groups of people were disposable. I do not want enthusiastic legislators unwittingly to bundle us along that road Our democracy is precarious. A large-scale survey by the Centre for the Future of Democracy found last year that younger generations in the UK have become increasingly dissatisfied with our democracy. There is a smell of the 1930s in the air. We have again seen the allure of populism. Anti-Semitism and violence against women have been on the rise. Social media algorithms intensify anger and curate hatred. Online abuse, intimidation and a discourse of hate have become normalised. Death threats against MPs are now routine; two MPs have been murdered. We are witnessing a new intolerance, with virulent assaults on academic freedom, licensed by cowardly academic leadership. Our public life is perceived as corrupt. Our Government are widely considered to be equivocal about the rule of law and illiberal in their reforming intent. Giant digital corporations ruthlessly manipulate government and citizens alike. Young people despair of the efficacy of democratic politics to address existential threats and are frightened about the future Amid these pathologies—in this hideous melee—now to legalise the killing of a class of people seems deeply misguided.
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alfred Dubs (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, on bringing forward the Bill, which has my support. It is a privilege to be able, as a Member of this House, to take part in this debate, because the arguments on both sides are important, well put and put in a tolerant manner. It reflects well that we are able to debate such a sensitive issue in such a tolerant manner All of us are influenced by personal experiences, and I want to share two that I have had. Some years ago, when a similar Bill was working its way through this House, a friend of mine was suffering badly from motor neurone disease. I used to see him frequently, and I saw him deteriorate very quickly. On one occasion, he was sitting there—he was able only to type out things on a keyboard—with his whole family when the question of that Bill came up. I said, "What you want me to do about it?", and he said that he wanted me to vote in favour of it. He had brought his whole family, his wife and his two children, in order that they could collectively say to me that this is what my friend wanted and I should vote accordingly At about the same time, I bumped into a woman outside in the Lobby while we were debating this, and she begged me to support the Bill at the time. Her argument was that she had recently had to take her husband to Switzerland. His life was intolerable. She said to me that the tragedy for her and for him was that he had to go on that lonely journey to Switzerland—she was with him, but it was a lonely journey—unable to die at home with all his family around him. She thought that that was such a bleak prospect, and asked that we please do better for people like him in future Many people have referred to the question of safeguards. I would simply say that the present situation is far more lacking in safeguards than if the Bill were in place. What are the safeguards that stop anybody going to Switzerland, apart from the air fare? None at all. All the arguments against the Bill apply more so at the moment, where there could be enormous pressure on individuals, but there are no safeguards at all. I would argue whatever the weaknesses in safeguards under the Bill—no safeguards can be perfect—the safeguards are clearly better than the present position, where there are none at all. That is partly evidenced by Oregon, which has been cited a number of times. Many people in Oregon who wish to end their lives do so in palliative care, and some do not even use the right, they simply want the right to be able to do it, the feeling of autonomy, and then they do not use it Finally, I have tried to answer some of the many letters and emails that I have on both sides. I simply say this: I personally would not be happy to tell people that I know better than they do about how they should cope with their pain.
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Margot Aline (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I will speak in support of the Bill, focusing on the implications for disabled people. I find it difficult taking a stance in opposition to that of disabled colleagues, such as the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell of Surbiton, whom I think of as a friend; but I genuinely believe that this Bill is not a threat to disabled people, a view strongly endorsed in an email from a group of disability rights campaigners, including Professor Tom Shakespeare, whose work I respect. Moreover, contrary to some claims, most disability rights organisations are not opposed to assisted dying. We must not blur the lines between a dying person and a disabled person. Disabled people would not be eligible for assistance under the proposed law unless they were also terminally ill, expected to die within six months, and of sound mind As we have heard, the law in Victoria, Australia, was crafted with the help of prominent members of the disability community. One of them, Tricia Malowney, observed: "The concerns of the disability community have been met, through the inclusion in the bill that merely having a disability will not meet the eligibility criteria, an acknowledgment that all lives have equal value and that we have the same rights and responsibilities as other Victorians." I wonder whether the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, would consider an amendment that gave the same assurances. With regards to the claim that assisted dying laws will lead to disabled people being pressured into choosing to die, I am sure that disabled colleagues would agree that we should exercise caution when labelling disabled people as inherently vulnerable. The disability campaigners who emailed made clear that they "do not want people making decisions for us or about us, and that includes when the time comes, how we end our lives." Disability Rights Oregon has not received a single complaint about assisted dying, despite it having been legal in Oregon for nearly 25 years. More widely, systematic reviews have examined the uptake of assisted dying among those deemed vulnerable, including disabled people. One concluded that the hypothesis that disabled people face a disproportionate threat "does not seem to be borne out." The Bill’s safeguards are more robust than current end-of-life practices and certainly more so than the process by which we outsource death to Dignitas or turn a blind eye to dying people ending their own lives behind closed doors While I have received many emails opposing the Bill—most, it would seem, via the Right To Life organisation—I have also received many moving letters begging me to support it. I will end by quoting from one of them: "The motivation to change the law is the very real anguish faced by people with terminal illnesses as they anticipate intolerable suffering and the indignity of the final few days and weeks of their lives. While the suffering and indignity can be partly ameliorated that final period remains a profound concern to many people." We have the opportunity to try to end that suffering and indignity. We should take it.
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Dianne Hayter (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, this House has stood up time and again for human rights—for the poor, disabled, gay people, refugees, children and the old—but there is one group now crying out for their human rights, and that is those dying in pain and discomfort, without control over their final weeks. They do not want to take away the rights of others, although they think that others are trying to impose their will on them, as was said so eloquently by the noble Baroness, Lady Davidson, in a remarkable maiden speech Actually, I do not think the disabled are any different from us on this issue, as was said by my noble friend Lady Lister and the noble Lord, Lord Low. Whether they are blind, limbless or paralysed, they are much the same as us on this. As the wonderful Tom Shakespeare, who has done far more for the health of others than I will ever achieve, says: "We disabled have fought all our lives for choice and autonomy for disabled people—all we ask is the same choice at the end of life." For some disabled people, the alternative—that lonely trip to Switzerland—is even more of a challenge than the rest of us, for the reasons we just heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson We have all had the letters: from a man with MND terrified that he would drown in his own saliva as he lost the ability to swallow; from a nurse in the hospice movement wanting people to be able to choose their own time of dying; from a retired palliative care consultant, describing as inhuman that we deny people personal autonomy to choose assistance at the point of death; and from people in fear of not being in control of their final days It is time. Let us do what we have done for others who seek our help, and enable those dying to end their life with dignity and in peace, with their family around, in a way that all of us would want in our final days.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2021-07-13
Topic: Other
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now begin. Some Members are here in the Chamber, others are participating remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. I ask all Members to respect social distancing and wear face coverings while in the Chamber, except when speaking. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House Oral Questions will now commence. Please can those asking supplementary questions keep them to no longer than 30 seconds and confined to two points? I ask that Ministers’ answers are also brief.
Procedure and Privileges — House of Lords, 2021-07-13
Topic: Other
Andrew Adonis (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, there is a great deal of support in the House for the idea of meeting and adjourning earlier, so I am going to press this amendment. I urge colleagues who support that principle, even if they have somewhat refined ways of doing it, to vote for this, because it is a complete delusion to think that an alternative proposal will come forward any time soon. Perfect moments for reform of the House of Lords come forward about once a century so, if noble Lords pass this opportunity by, it may be that their grandchildren have an opportunity to vote on a new proposal. If a noble Lord is a hereditary Peer and the hereditary Peer by-elections continue, they may even be able to participate in that decision, but the likelihood is that none of us will be able to Nothing was further from my thoughts than that I would be denying the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, his lunch. I will take an opportunity after the debate to introduce the noble Lord to the concept of the sandwich. It has a long aristocratic pedigree; it was invented 300 years ago by an Earl. It is not quite as old as Lincoln Cathedral—about a third as old, by my calculations. It enables one to reconcile lunch with fulfilling one’s duties in the House in the early afternoon.
Procedure and Privileges — House of Lords, 2021-07-13
Topic: Other
Angela Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Can I just check with the Lord Speaker: if people have already voted, is that taken as a vote? Is there a way of putting the extension on the screen, and extending it for more than three minutes, as a number of Members have left the Chamber thinking they were unable to vote? I am not convinced that an extra three minutes is long enough.
Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-10-13
Topic: Other
Denis Tunnicliffe (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, may I raise a bureaucratic point before the Minister sits down? He intends to put letters in the public domain through the medium of the Library. It would be convenient if he could simultaneously copy them to everybody who has participated in the debate and registered interested parties like me.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2021-05-27
Topic: Other
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now begin. Some Members are here in the Chamber, others are participating remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. I ask all Members to respect social distancing and wear face coverings while in the Chamber except when speaking. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House Oral Questions will now commence. Please can those asking supplementary questions keep them no longer than 30 seconds and confined to two points? I ask that Ministers’ answers are also brief.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2021-05-27
Topic: Other
Richard Oliver Faulkner (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now resume. I ask Members to respect social distancing. We now come to Oral Questions to the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, the noble Lord, Lord Frost. There will be three Questions, with 10 minutes allowed for each, and we will proceed in the same way as for other Oral Questions. I call the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, to ask the first Question.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2021-06-21
Topic: Other
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now begin. Some Members are here in the Chamber, others are participating remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. I ask all Members to respect social distancing and to wear face coverings while in the Chamber except when speaking. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House. Oral Questions will now commence. Please can those asking supplementary questions keep them to no longer than 30 seconds and confined to two points? I ask that Ministers’ answers are also brief.