argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Union’s Impact on Scotland — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I do agree with one part of the hon. Gentleman’s question, and that is about the real focus of the Scottish Government: it is, as he says, not about addressing the real challenges in Scotland; it is about appeasing the hard-liners in the separatist party. We are not going to be deflected from getting on with the job we were elected to do.
Union’s Impact on Scotland — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Agriculture
David James Duguid (Conservative, Centre-right): I totally agree with my hon. Friend the Minister when he says there are multiple priorities that should be at the forefront of the attention of the First Minister and SNP Members in this House. All of those are very challenging, but one simple thing the Scottish Government could do is adopt the UK Government’s approach to genetic technology and precision breeding. Does my hon. Friend agree that that would be a simple way to meet the priorities of Scottish farmers, food producers and research institutes?
Union’s Impact on Scotland — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Agriculture
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The gene editing of crops is an important issue, and my hon. Friend is right to raise it. There is a widespread view in the agriculture sector in Scotland that it is a good move and would improve crop yields and resilience, which are part of our food security. It is only the dogma of the SNP Government that prevents Scotland from joining the rest of the UK in adopting this important technology. The door is open for them to put aside their blind adherence to EU laws and join us in developing this important technology.
Union’s Impact on Scotland — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Before I answer the hon. Lady’s question, may I congratulate her on her recent wedding? Although we will disagree on many subjects, on this one I hope we can agree that a union is better than independence On the substance of the hon. Lady’s question, this Union has been one of the most economically productive in history. Only the separatists could believe that creating a hard border between Scotland and England, when 60% of Scotland’s exports are to the rest of the United Kingdom, would be in our economic and social interests.
Union’s Impact on Scotland — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The Union is, of course, voluntary. The question in the referendum was put and decisively answered. Of all the comments recently, the most revealing was from Cabinet Secretary Angus Robertson, who basically said that, even if there was another referendum and Scotland voted to stay part of the Union, the SNP would keep going—it would be a neverendum. That uncertainty and chaos would be bad for Scotland and bad for the United Kingdom. We want to level up the country and address the challenges; the SNP wants to divide Britain and divide Scotland.
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Scott Lloyd Benton (Conservative, Centre-right): The Union connectivity review provides a boost for regional airports and domestic aviation by suggesting ways in which public service obligations could be reformed to support regional flights. Does the Minister agree that restoring commercial passenger flights between Blackpool airport and locations in Scotland would boost economic growth and help to create jobs and investment in both locations?
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Scotland’s love affair with Blackpool has existed for decades and is well known. The more Scots who can visit my hon. Friend’s lovely constituency, the better. We of course recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK. I know that he is a strong campaigner for more air services to and from Blackpool, and we will continue to consider whether there are further opportunities to utilise public service obligations to meet our Union connectivity and levelling-up objectives.
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Matthew Alexander Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): The Union connectivity review recommended that the UK Government work with the Scottish Government on an assessment of the east coast transport corridor to include improvements to the east coast main line and the A1. Can my hon. Friend update the House on progress in bringing forward that recommendation?
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are grateful to Sir Peter Hendy for his work and we are considering his recommendations carefully. The Prime Minister has welcomed, and intends to accept, the proposal for the creation of UKNET, a strategic transport network spanning the entire United Kingdom. The funding that the UK Government have set aside for this review will put us on the right path to strengthen and maintain our transport arteries for people and businesses across the UK.
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Andrew John Stevenson (Conservative, Centre-right): Connectivity between Scotland and England matters, especially for the area that I represent in Cumbria, and south-west Scotland. Does the Minister share my concerns that the Scottish Government are not helping to deliver the investment, especially with regard to the Borders rail feasibility report and roadbuilding generally?
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. I was pleased to be able to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency and see the value of the levelling-up projects in his area as part of the growth deal in and around Carlisle station. I am keen to see the feasibility study work commence on extending the Borders rail line. I have recently met the Minister of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), to progress that project.
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): What we are focusing on in terms of the trade from Northern Ireland to Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom is that part of the Union connectivity recommendations on upgrading the A75 and the A77. We want to do that. I have been very keen to meet the Scottish Transport Minister, who continues to refuse to meet me or my ministerial colleagues. Perhaps the hon. Member could have a word with her to get that meeting in place.
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his question. I am aware of the EGNOS issue and discussed it with the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Robert Courts), some time ago. I am aware that Loganair has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, pointing out additional evidence. I would be very happy to meet him to discuss that further, but I do know that my colleagues in the Department for Transport are working with the industry to deliver a good replacement.
Union Connectivity — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is, I am afraid, completely wrong. Scotland will be connected to HS2 from day one and the project will deliver enormous capacity and journey time improvements. On the specific issue of the Golborne link, Sir Peter Hendy’s review found that it was not the optimal way to connect the high-speed line to the classic network, but we are looking at better alternatives to deliver that increase in capacity.
Freeports: Economic Impact — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK Government expect the existing confirmed freeports to add £24 billion to the UK economy. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that all political parties get behind the green freeports initiative to maximise the benefits they will bring to Scotland and the whole UK, rather than a divisive, costly and unwanted referendum on Scottish separatism?
High Speed Rail 2 — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): As I just said in answer to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown), Scotland is set to benefit from the boost in connectivity and huge economic benefits that HS2 will bring. Scotland will be connected to the HS2 network from the day it opens, and further work will be done in the years ahead to optimise the journey times and capacity. In addition, I am very pleased that 100 permanent jobs will be created at the new HS2 Annandale depot in Dumfries and Galloway.
High Speed Rail 2 — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have just said to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, the removal of the Golborne link was because Sir Peter Hendy’s connectivity review had found that it was not the best way to address the capacity constraints between Crewe and Preston. However, we are looking at better options for it; we are committed to HS2, and I believe the line will help connectivity between Scotland and England and encourage a modal shift to more environmentally friendly forms of transport.
High Speed Rail 2 — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I know my hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner against HS2, but we have had that debate, I am afraid. I am always happy to discuss with him how we can optimise the building work. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary, who is sitting next to me, has heard his representations. I am an enormous believer in the potential of high-speed rail links to transform the economic potential of this country.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Labor
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Nationally, 52% of disabled people are in work compared with 81% of non-disabled people. Disability Action Yorkshire, which is a charity based in Harrogate, works to close that gap, and it has highlighted the success of the Access to Work scheme. For example, one young person, having been told he would never work, is now, thanks to the targeted support available, a trainee brewer at Rooster’s brewery. Will my right hon. Friend consider how we can boost awareness of the Access to Work scheme among employers and also consider how we can simplify the application process so that more disabled people do not get deterred and will embrace it?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Labor
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising the work of Disability Action Yorkshire, which is doing terrific work in his constituency. I can reassure him that the Department for Work and Pensions is committed to improving awareness through campaigns and partnerships with employers, but also disability organisations. It is also working specifically on a digital service that will make the scheme more accessible and more visible.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the right hon. Lady, and I gently point out to her that we want this Prime Minister to go on a lot longer than she wants the leader of the Labour party to go on. We have a working majority of 75. We are focusing on delivering for the British people. Record low unemployment would not have happened if we had listened to the Labour party. We have more policing and tougher sentencing enforced this week through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. She voted against both; so did the Labour party. We will protect the public from these damaging rail strikes when we have the scene of Labour Front Benchers joining the picket lines.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Macroeconomics
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the right hon. Lady was right the first time. I will tell the House what we are doing: we have near-record levels of youth employment and 3.8% unemployment; we are cutting taxes next month on national insurance by £330 million; and we are delivering for families through the difficult times with the cost of living. What about the Labour party? We heard yesterday what its plan is: its plan is no plan. The leader of the Labour party said he is wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch. He has only been in the job two years. Sir Tony Blair, who has some experience of winning elections, has said there is a "gaping hole" in Labour’s policy offer, and all the while—there is a smile creeping over her face—the right hon. Lady is revelling in it. We are getting on with serving the people of this country; she is just playing political games.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Macroeconomics
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): We are the ones helping working people with a tax cut of £330, with support for those on the lowest incomes, with the £650 support for 8 million people on the lowest incomes and with, frankly, record levels of investment coming into this country, from the £1 billion by Moderna for vaccines to the highest level of tech investment in Europe, according to Atomico. We are the ones with the plan for low unemployment and a high-wage, high-skill economy. For Labour, it is back to year zero.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Labor
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): If the Labour party and the right hon. Lady want to help working people, they should be clear in standing up against these militant, reckless strikes by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. The right hon. Lady has flip-flopped all over the place when it comes to these strikes. First, she said they were "lose-lose". Then, she tweeted that "workers were left with no choice" When she was asked by the BBC the straight question—she is normally a straight-shooting politician— of whether she liked the RMT, she said, "I am going to have to go now, I have a train to catch." She talks about working people, but where was she when comrades were on the picket line last Thursday? Where was she when the Labour Front Benchers were joining them, rather than standing up for the public? She was at the Glyndebourne music festival, sipping champagne and listening to opera. Champagne socialism is back in the Labour party.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Macroeconomics
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I cannot help thinking that the right hon. Lady is auditioning for the leadership contest on her side of the House, and not really referring to anything that is happening on this side. [Interruption.] She has the support of the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray). I will tell her what we are doing: we are putting in place the policies to grow our economy, to help—[Interruption.]
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Labor
Questions: The Eden Project North has been five years of my parliamentary life. We have gone through three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors and a plethora of Ministers, but we have now got to a point where the levelling-up bid is going in very shortly. We have a shovel-ready plan and full planning permission. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that it is money worth spending in Morecambe?; Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, my sincere apologies.There are, Mr Speaker, great opportunities to create exciting new jobs in low-carbon energy along the East Anglian coast, and East Coast College is up for the challenge of providing local people with the necessary skills. However, it and other colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain teachers in such work as fabrication, engineering and construction. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the Government come up with a cross-departmental strategy to address this staffing crisis in our further education colleges, which could undermine the levelling-up agenda?
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right, which is why we are investing nearly £52 million to support the sector in recruiting and retaining excellent staff, and in particular looking at and focusing on the experience and skills that we often find in industry, to train the next generation of technical experts.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: The Eden Project North has been five years of my parliamentary life. We have gone through three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors and a plethora of Ministers, but we have now got to a point where the levelling-up bid is going in very shortly. We have a shovel-ready plan and full planning permission. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that it is money worth spending in Morecambe?; Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, my sincere apologies.There are, Mr Speaker, great opportunities to create exciting new jobs in low-carbon energy along the East Anglian coast, and East Coast College is up for the challenge of providing local people with the necessary skills. However, it and other colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain teachers in such work as fabrication, engineering and construction. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the Government come up with a cross-departmental strategy to address this staffing crisis in our further education colleges, which could undermine the levelling-up agenda?; Having spoken to Lord Ahmad yesterday, I thank the Government for listening and now allowing high-risk British Council contractors still in Afghanistan to be processed immediately on their application to the citizen resettlement scheme, rather than having to wait a further two months until the application window closes. With taxation at a 40-year high, when will the Government be bolder in cutting taxes, given that all the evidence the world over shows that lower taxes increase prosperity, raise living standards and better enable the Government to help the less fortunate—even if such a policy means cutting spending such as HS2?
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point about driving growth and the economy, which is why we are cutting taxes with the 130% super-deduction for capital investment. That will create not just good jobs, but well paid and better paid jobs, by boosting productivity. That is why we are increasing the employment allowance, which represents a tax cut of £1,000 for half a million small businesses, and that is why we have provided business rate relief of £7 billion over the next five years. Of course, just next month we are cutting national insurance, worth £330 for a typical employee.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: The Eden Project North has been five years of my parliamentary life. We have gone through three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors and a plethora of Ministers, but we have now got to a point where the levelling-up bid is going in very shortly. We have a shovel-ready plan and full planning permission. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that it is money worth spending in Morecambe?; Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, my sincere apologies.There are, Mr Speaker, great opportunities to create exciting new jobs in low-carbon energy along the East Anglian coast, and East Coast College is up for the challenge of providing local people with the necessary skills. However, it and other colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain teachers in such work as fabrication, engineering and construction. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the Government come up with a cross-departmental strategy to address this staffing crisis in our further education colleges, which could undermine the levelling-up agenda?; Having spoken to Lord Ahmad yesterday, I thank the Government for listening and now allowing high-risk British Council contractors still in Afghanistan to be processed immediately on their application to the citizen resettlement scheme, rather than having to wait a further two months until the application window closes. With taxation at a 40-year high, when will the Government be bolder in cutting taxes, given that all the evidence the world over shows that lower taxes increase prosperity, raise living standards and better enable the Government to help the less fortunate—even if such a policy means cutting spending such as HS2?; As Tory MSP Murdo Fraser points out, Scotland has a third of Britain’s land mass, half its territorial waters, over 60% of UK fishing zones, 98% of oil reserves, 63% of natural gas, a quarter of Europe’s offshore wind resources, and 90% of the UK’s fresh water. Will the Deputy Prime Minister explain whether his opposition to Scottish independence is because he fears the loss of those invaluable resources?; The Deputy Prime Minister will be aware that in North East Hertfordshire we have some of the best farmland in the country. At a time when there are concerns about food production and food security, and when the Government are considering rural land use, is it time to ensure that our productive farmland is not covered in solar plants, and that those are instead positioned on brownfield sites, buildings, and low-grade agricultural land?
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. and learned Friend makes a powerful point, and our 2023 Land Use Framework will set out our priorities for land use across the country. He is right that we must protect the most versatile agricultural land, and any plans for ground-mounted solar installations will have to take that into account. His point is well made.
Steel Safeguards — House of Commons, 2022-06-29
Topic: Foreign Trade
Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for welcoming the statement and supporting the Government’s decision to extend the safeguards applying to these five categories of steel, but I do not agree with his claim that this has been done in a rush. The statement has been made today because the rollover is to take place on 1 July, and it was therefore appropriate to make an announcement this week The right hon. Gentleman made an interesting point about the EU’s choice to maintain the safeguards after it was found not to be in breach of the rules. I was unable to be present at the Select Committee this morning—frustratingly—because I was indeed dealing with the international part of these processes as much I could. I will continue to do so over the next few days in order to ensure that our WTO partners and friends understand the reasons for my decision, which I am pleased to hear is supported by the right hon. Gentleman and the Labour party. Obviously we stand ready to take up any concerns that WTO members may have about the decision, but I am certain that it is the right decision, enabling us to avoid as much harm or risk of injury to our steel producers as we can The TRA, as an independent organisation, has done an excellent job in examining the challenges faced by the industry. It is also working apace on many issues brought to it by British companies that have concerns, and I am pleased to see it up and running on a daily basis. I meet its representatives regularly, but its submissions to me are made independently, which allows me to make my decisions more broadly.