argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Mental Health (Higher Education Institutions) — House of Commons, 2015-06-11
Topic: Education
Jo Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his helpful intervention. We do, of course, encourage diversity of students. We encourage diversity in all groups that are under-represented: people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those from the most disadvantaged sections of society. We also welcome the diversity that comes from international students and hope that the numbers from the country he mentioned stop declining in the years ahead and begin to rise Universities are adult environments, where the expectations on students are different from those at school. As such, it is only right that students take responsibility, working with the institution, for their own welfare. However, I know that universities are very mindful of the fact that many of their students, particularly those who have moved away from home for the first time to study, will be undergoing a significant transition and may need extra help. Universities provide a wide range of support. In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness in higher education of the need to offer support services to students, and I welcome the efforts the sector has made to develop guidance and support materials, including from a range of sector and medical bodies The hon. Lady mentioned the Open University. We must indeed spread good practice, which is why I welcome the recent publication by Universities UK of a good practice guide on student mental wellbeing in higher education, published in February. This is a practical resource for senior higher education leaders and managers and aims to support institutions in building and improving their provision for students with mental health problems There are many examples of the support that universities have in place. They have induction systems to help students understand university life, and support is available to reassure students that there are people to turn to if they are experiencing difficulties.
Mental Health (Higher Education Institutions) — House of Commons, 2015-06-11
Topic: Education
Jo Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said, universities are in sound financial health. Students paying up to £9,000 in fees should be able to access the high-quality support they need to sustain and complete their studies The Government are providing extra support for disabled students on an individual basis through the disabled students allowance. This can provide support to students with mental health issues. In the academic year 2012-13, just over £127 million was paid in DSA to about 56,000 full-time students. All students applying for DSA undergo a needs assessment interview to ascertain their specific requirements with regard to their chosen course of study. Students with mental health difficulties can apply for the full range of support available through DSA, including specialist mentors, equipment and assistive technology, to help them overcome the barriers they face The proposed changes to DSA, which the hon. Member for Walsall South mentioned, will be subject to a public consultation. It is vital to remember that the changes are not about removing support, but about rebalancing the source of that support and ensuring that universities and other higher education institutions play a full role in delivering their legal duties under equality legislation. The aim will be to set clear guidelines on what the Government expect from institutions to ensure that students receive a consistent level of support and that the sector is clear where DSA is the most effective source of support. This is intended to improve the levels of support overall, including for students in receipt of DSA and disabled students who do not claim it. Under the proposed changes, students with mental health conditions will continue to have access to DSA-funded specialist support such as mentors The higher education sector has much to be proud of in its work to ensure the wellbeing and mental health of its students and to fulfil its duties under the Equality Act 2010. I expect the sector to continue to meet its obligations in this area and to build and develop the support it provides Question put and agreed to.
Broadband Coverage (Gloucestershire) — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have committed nearly £27 million to the roll-out of superfast broadband in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. This should take superfast broadband coverage to an additional 130,000 homes and businesses across the two counties, providing almost 93% coverage by the end of 2017. Small and medium-sized enterprises in Gloucester and Cheltenham are now eligible for a grant of up to £3,000 to improve their broadband connectivity under the broadband connection voucher scheme.
Broadband Coverage (Gloucestershire) — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. None the less, a significant number of homes and businesses in Cheltenham fall between two stools, being, apparently, not sufficiently rural for Fastershire to see fit to step in but too rural for commercial providers to consider it viable to extend broadband provision. Will he meet me to discuss how we can help those stuck in limbo and cut this Gordian knot?
Broadband Coverage (Gloucestershire) — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I congratulate my hon. Friend on his election to this House and commend him for his efforts on behalf of his constituents in order that they obtain superfast broadband. He will be aware that 96% of Cheltenham will already have access to it by the end of 2017, which is above the national target, and many small and medium-sized enterprises can also benefit from the broadband connection voucher I mentioned. We are examining ways of extending the reach beyond that 96%, but I would of course be happy to meet him and some of his constituents to discuss what more we might do to help.
Broadband Coverage (Gloucestershire) — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Laurence Anthony Robertson (Conservative, Centre-right): May I support the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk) and remind the Secretary of State that many rural villages, certainly in my constituency, still do not have sufficiently strong broadband connections? That hampers people who are running small businesses from home, as well as children who are trying to use the internet to learn. What can he do to speed up the provision in those small villages?
Broadband Coverage (Gloucestershire) — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand my hon. Friend’s concern for his constituents, particularly those in more rural areas. As he may be aware, under phase 1 of the broadband scheme we expect to reach 87.1% of premises across the whole of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire by December 2016, and under phase 2 we hope to extend that to 92.8%. Those in the more remote areas may still prove to be outside, and we will be looking at alternative means by which we can reach them with superfast broadband, but, again, I am happy to talk with him further about this.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Transportation
Heidi-Suzanne Allen (Conservative, Centre-right): I feel that I am about to gatecrash a party, but we have exactly the same situation in South Cambridgeshire. Connecting Cambridgeshire is doing a fantastic job of rolling out broadband across much of the constituency, but our roads are at gridlock—a happy consequence of our economic success—and it is vital that we keep people working in local hubs and from home. I, too, am interested in what other technologies we might explore to reach those people who are missing, so please may I come along too?
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend on her election and she is a very welcome party guest. The Government are investing more than £8 million in Connecting Cambridgeshire, which will increase coverage in her constituency to 94% by 2017. As she pointed out, there will be some areas that are much harder to reach and it might not be possible to do so by the traditional methods, so we are running pilot projects to explore other ways in which we can bring coverage up to reach even the furthest parts of her and other hon. Members’ constituencies. I would be happy to talk to her further.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: Further to that answer, what more can we do to support alternative ways of delivering broadband, such as that offered by W3Z in my constituency, which can provide high-speed broadband to the most rural homes and can get it to them far quicker than fibre broadband will?
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is completely right that although fibre will, we hope, supply superfast broadband to the overwhelming majority of premises in the country there will be some for which it is not practical. That is why we are piloting alternatives through our three pilot projects testing fixed wireless technologies in rural areas in North Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and Monmouthshire. These are being run by Airwave, Quickline and AB Internet. We will consider the results to assess the best way of extending the programme still further into the most difficult areas.
Superfast Broadband — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: Further to that answer, what more can we do to support alternative ways of delivering broadband, such as that offered by W3Z in my constituency, which can provide high-speed broadband to the most rural homes and can get it to them far quicker than fibre broadband will?; One of the issues that remain for the people who will not get superfast broadband via fibre is that it is very hard to find out from BT or local councils that they will definitely not get it. Our programme has made remarkable progress, but would the Secretary of State like to see BT and local councils providing much greater clarity to communities so that they can explore other technologies such as microwave, wi-fi or satellite?
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): Again, I congratulate my hon. Friend on his election. I know that in his capacity as a former technology editor he brings a particular expertise to our debates on this subject. He is absolutely right that there will be some cases where, for the time being, it will not be possible to extend superfast broadband. I hope that we will eventually be able to do so, but in the meantime I entirely agree with him that it is important that people should be aware of that position. We are introducing a seven-digit postcode checker, which is now on the gov.uk website, so that people can be made aware of that position.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased to tell the hon. Lady that 97% of UK homes and businesses already have access to 2 megabit per second broadband, up from less than 90% in 2010. We hope that all homes will have it by the end of 2015.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I will suppress my personal hurt that the hon. Lady would prefer to deal with the Secretary of State rather than with me, although we have dealt with her issues in Shoreditch over many months. I am pleased, for example, that in her constituency many businesses are taking advantage of broadband vouchers, that Virgin Media is rolling out broadband and that BT is investing in broadband. Across the country, more than 2.5 million homes are covered by our very successful programme.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): The other day I received an e-mail of congratulations from one of my hon. Friend’s constituents thanking me for the broadband that is being delivered to his constituency. As his next door neighbour, I know that the Oxfordshire broadband team is doing a fantastic job in rolling out broadband to thousands of homes across Oxfordshire.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure, Mr Speaker, that you have taken note of the hon. Gentleman’s comments about wi-fi in the Chamber. Digital inclusion will form part of our new digital implementation taskforce, and I am pleased that at the end of the last Parliament we set aside more than £7 million to put wi-fi in libraries. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we need as many community spaces as possible where people can access the internet.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister will have got the point from the last 10 minutes of exchanges that decent broadband speed is now a utility expected in every household, like running water and electricity. How effective does he think that the current programme is in filling in the gaps that, especially in rural areas, make it almost impossible for people to set up successful businesses where they are most needed?
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have already said, I think that the programme has been successful. We have passed more than 2.5 million homes. By the end of 2015 we should have 90% superfast broadband coverage in the UK, which compares well with almost every other country, and puts us at the top of the tree of the big five in Europe.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I am extremely pleased to have a free, gratis and for nothing suggestion from the second candidate for the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee who has participated in questions this morning. I suspect that whoever wins that chairmanship will want to investigate broadband and will take note that the super-connected cities vouchers scheme has now taken off like a rocket, with 24,000 businesses now benefiting. In fact, we are going to spend the money by the end of this year.
Broadband Coverage — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?
Alan Haselhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): While I rejoice for the people of Cheltenham—the town in which I was educated—who may be reaching 96% coverage by 2017, I have to worry about the people of my constituency and other parts of rural Essex where, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green) has just said, there are now serious gaps. The way business is being done in this country now means that people are spending part of the time at home. That is not to mention the farming community; the Government insist on providing so much information through high-speed broadband that it is essential that we accelerate the programme.
Syria and Iraq (Cultural Heritage) — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Foreign Secretary on the effect of the political and security situation in Syria and Iraq on the cultural heritage of those countries.
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): It’s me again, I’m afraid This is a very serious subject. Obviously, we are deeply concerned about the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq. Discussions are taking place across Government to ensure that we take a joined-up approach towards those horrific acts of cultural vandalism.
Welsh Language and Culture — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I had better put that point in context. A large part of the funding for S4C—some £74 million—comes from the BBC, so S4C is extremely generously funded, and unlike many media organisations it has secure funding going forward. When my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller) held the office of Secretary of State, she ensured that S4C was protected from any cuts when we had to make cuts.
Union Flag — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Government Operations
Andrew Richard Rosindell (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for her reply, but will she assure the House that never again will we have the shameful spectacle of empty flagpoles in Parliament Square for the state opening of Parliament on the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen? Will she agree to meet me and representatives of the Flag Institute to ensure that we get the flying of flags in Whitehall and in Parliament Square right for the future?
Union Flag — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Government Operations
Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that my hon. Friend is a great expert on these matters, and the Secretary of State and I have some sympathy with his views on the state opening of Parliament. I have therefore asked my officials to raise this issue with the Earl Marshal to look into the possibility of flying the Union flag on the square for future state openings and to establish what the associated costs would be. In the meantime, I would be very happy to meet him and the president of the Flag Institute to discuss it further.
FIFA World Cup — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend might like first to thank the Americans for finally exposing the corruption in FIFA that we have all suspected has been endemic for the past 10 or 20 years. Will he speak to his colleague the Foreign Secretary to see whether there can be a re-analysis with Qatar as to whether the World cup should be held there? Precisely what should our relationship with FIFA be, because Blatter’s departure is not necessarily going to mean that corruption has ended?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased that normal service has resumed between the Front Benches. On the BBC licence fee and the charter renewal process, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that there is a tight timetable. However, I hope we will be able to renew the charter on time, by the end of 2016. As for the licence fee, he will have to await our conclusions. I would say that I very much agreed with him when he observed of the licence fee: "Elements of it are regressive, because everyone must pay it, so it falls as a greater percentage of income on the poorest people". —[Official Report, 9 March 2005; Vol. 431, c. 1558.]
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: Cleethorpes is a thriving, successful seaside resort, but additional help is always useful. Will the Minister outline what support the Government intend to give to our seaside resorts?; Will the Secretary of State update the House on the details of the Government’s plans for the review of the secondary ticketing market, which was set up under the Consumer Rights Act 2015?; Will my right hon. Friend ask the BBC why it will not give any airtime to the many scientists and other eminent people who have doubts about the so-called consensus on climate change?
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend is fully aware, the BBC is under a duty, as are other news broadcasters, to be impartial in its coverage and that should mean giving airtime to both sides of every argument. I do not wish to interfere in the editorial independence of the BBC, something I think we all value. Nevertheless, I am sure it will have heard my hon. Friend’s remarks.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-06-04
Topic: Education
Questions: Cleethorpes is a thriving, successful seaside resort, but additional help is always useful. Will the Minister outline what support the Government intend to give to our seaside resorts?; Will the Secretary of State update the House on the details of the Government’s plans for the review of the secondary ticketing market, which was set up under the Consumer Rights Act 2015?; Will my right hon. Friend ask the BBC why it will not give any airtime to the many scientists and other eminent people who have doubts about the so-called consensus on climate change?; When are we going to get a report or some action on the improvement of football governance? We do not want a repetition of what happened in Coventry over the past four or five years.; I was there in 1987, Mr Speaker. Harrow Council intends to close four libraries on 13 June despite community bids to run them as community libraries. What action can my hon. Friend take to intervene to ensure that Harrow Council fulfils its statutory duties?
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I visited one of the libraries under threat with my hon. Friend. I know that when he was the leader of Brent Council he fought very hard to keep libraries open. They were subsequently closed by the Labour administration. I will review the council’s plans to close its libraries, as I do with every authority that seeks to close libraries.