argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Immigration
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that explanation. Clearly his amendment is better than no amendment, but I would want us to go a lot further, because if we do not give support to people who are complete victims, they will suffer in the most abominable circumstances. I therefore hope that the Bill can be strengthened This Bill is an appalling piece of legislation. It does not bring safety or humanity to people around the world. It will result in more people being put in danger. It will create a more draconian attitude towards refugees. There are 70 million refugees around the world. They are victims of war, human rights abuse and poverty. Some of them are victims of wars that we ourselves have been involved in. We need to reset the dial and work globally towards reducing the need for people to seek refuge or asylum by dealing with the issues at source. That is a more positive method than the incredibly draconian measures included in the Bill There are many victims around the world in refugee camps and many other places. Having met many people in refugee camps and those who are victims of trafficking and modern slavery, I know they have a thirst to live a life and make a contribution to our world and our society. This Bill does not give them those chances. It further criminalises people who, out of desperation, put themselves in the most terrible danger. Sadly, 27 died in the channel, while thousands have died in the Mediterranean, and many more around the world. We need a global call for humanity, not repression.
Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): Before I call the Secretary of State, I note that clearly very many colleagues want to contribute to this debate. There will be a time limit from the beginning, and it is likely to be four minutes, but I will confirm that after the Secretary of State has spoken.
Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way during his powerful contribution. In May, a station in my patch, Northwich, collapsed. It still has not been rebuilt. People who are disabled or have mobility problems cannot travel in one of the directions, yet the Government have so far refused to build back better, fairer and in an inclusive way. Does he concur that that is the reality on the ground in many parts of the UK, including the north of England?
Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that point of order. As I understand it, we have not had notification of a statement as yet, but I will ensure that that is confirmed and, if there is anything further that I need to add, I will do so. I call Andrew Jones to speak, with a four-minute time limit.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): I will run this statement for an hour after both Front Benchers have spoken. I will try to get as many Members in as possible, but we will all have to help one another, because the business has to carry on afterwards. In fairness to the Secretary of State, he has taken a bit longer because it was a very important statement, so I suggest that the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), takes six minutes rather than the normal five—if he wishes to take it—and I will allow some extra time for the Scottish National party spokesman, the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day).
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Barbara Mary Keeley (Labour, Centre-left): I want to raise the vital issue of public trust in restrictions during the pandemic. People across this country have followed the rules, even when that meant being separated from loved ones at the end of life, and families not being able to be together at funerals. Does the Secretary of State agree that the people of this country have the right to expect the Government to follow the rules as well? The measures he has just announced rely for compliance on people having trust and confidence in the Government, and that has been shattered by the news of the Downing Street party. How is he going to restore it?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Immigration
Tahir Ali (Labour, Centre-left): What advice does the Secretary of State have for our constituents who have not been able to visit their loved ones in times of illness, death or for a family event like a wedding in Kashmir, Pakistan, India or Bangladesh? Many of them will have planned a visit during the school holidays; do they go ahead with that? If not, what advice does the Secretary of State have for them? If further restrictions come in once they are over there, that could prevent them from coming back into this country for a length of time. They should not be put through that, especially if the advice is clear from the outset.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): Many parts of the country have a lot of jobs that are impossible to do from home. I am thinking of factories and manufacturing jobs, many of which are in Hull. Hull also has below average vaccination rates, so will the Secretary of State say what more we can do to support areas such as that, and would not one start be to improve statutory sick pay?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): Many constituents have contacted me today outraged by the antics at No. 10 Downing Street. One, a young man of 14, was unable to attend the funeral of his much-loved grandfather during last Christmas’s lockdown. He wants me to ask the Government this: is the Prime Minister heartless and cruel enough not to tell the country the truth and apologise to us all? How will the Secretary of State, at this crucial time, regain the trust of my constituent and that of millions of others that the Prime Minister has lost by his disgraceful conduct?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rachel Louise Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State spoke about communications being a key part of his statement. We know that good communications are not just about what someone says, but what they do. Does he accept that the Government have lost the moral authority to ask our constituents and the people of this country to follow all the rules, given that the Government having parties last Christmas in No. 10 blatantly showed disregard for the rules?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): I have only just heard the statement and have not had time to reflect on it, but there is a Commission meeting on Monday. I am also having a discussion later tonight with officials of the House, but obviously a matter for the Chamber is also for others rather than just myself. However, I do take the point.
Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Housing
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): I am rather confused by what the hon. Gentleman is saying. On 30 September, he and the leader of Leeds City Council wrote to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to say that levelling up would "fall at the first hurdle" without HS2. Less than three months later, the hon. Gentleman is back here saying that he welcomes these plans, which many of us in the midlands and the north see as an utter betrayal.
Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan — House of Commons, 2021-12-08
Topic: Other
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Member for Redcar (Jacob Young) has made many interventions and has spoken. As directed by you, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am looking to take interventions, within the limited time, from those individuals who have not yet spoken, including my hon. Friend the Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins).
Standards Impropriety: The Union — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the Secretary of State on his reading ability, and I notice that he did not use the word "honesty"—there’s a surprise. I know the Secretary of State has cancelled his own Christmas party this year, so I look forward to seeing the photographs from it in the press shortly A major strength of the Union is of course the pooling and sharing of resources. The First Minister has announced a raft of new covid guidance this week that has devastated the hospitality trade. At the same time, she has offered pitiful financial support and criticised the UK Government for not providing funds. Such sectors want our two Governments to work together: they need our help. A hospitality business in my constituency sent me an email last night, saying: "my customers have been driven away so we won’t survive these latest restrictions without government support. We always need a good festive season to see us through the winter. Where is the financial support?" Why can the UK and Scottish Governments not work together to provide the financial support that these hospitality businesses deserve and need?
Standards Impropriety: The Union — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I am going to allow that, but we really need to be within the scope of the question. It is party politics, and I do not want us to get into that, but it is Christmas, so I am sure the Secretary of State will want to answer.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Questions: May I start by wishing the Prime Minister and his family a happy Christmas? Last Christmas, I joined the charity Sewa Day in wrapping Christmas presents at Durga Bhawan Temple. I delivered a small number of the thousands of gifts the Hindu community had donated for children and adults across Sandwell. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Sewa Day, Deepak, Madhu and Reena, who I will be joining again this Friday at West Bromwich Shree Krishna Mandir?
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. This is silly, because I cannot hear the question. I will hear the question. [Interruption.] I do not think that we need any more help from the Government Front Bench. I am dealing with this corner first I understand that this is the last PMQs and we will not be back till the new year, but I need to hear the question. It may take a long time, but I will hear it. So, please: I want to get through questions and I want you all to get away for Christmas. At this rate, you won’t.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Questions: May I start by wishing the Prime Minister and his family a happy Christmas? Last Christmas, I joined the charity Sewa Day in wrapping Christmas presents at Durga Bhawan Temple. I delivered a small number of the thousands of gifts the Hindu community had donated for children and adults across Sandwell. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Sewa Day, Deepak, Madhu and Reena, who I will be joining again this Friday at West Bromwich Shree Krishna Mandir?
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister says it is not true—he is so socially distanced from the truth that he thinks that is not true. I do not know where to start. We had better press on. We cannot go on with a Prime Minister who is too weak to lead. Will he take time this Christmas to look in the mirror and ask himself whether he has the trust and authority lead this country?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Questions: May I start by wishing the Prime Minister and his family a happy Christmas? Last Christmas, I joined the charity Sewa Day in wrapping Christmas presents at Durga Bhawan Temple. I delivered a small number of the thousands of gifts the Hindu community had donated for children and adults across Sandwell. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Sewa Day, Deepak, Madhu and Reena, who I will be joining again this Friday at West Bromwich Shree Krishna Mandir?
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. I am absolutely amazed that some of you wanted to catch my eye. Obviously you do not now. Thanks for that—it is making my life easier. Do not be shocked when I do not call you to put that special question today Let us come to the man of the moment, Dr Liam Fox.
School Openings: January 2022 — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen James Morgan (Labour, Centre-left): First, let me thank school staff, governors, parents and pupils across the country for their dedication and hard work during a year of unrivalled difficulties. However, the Government’s complacency means that we are now in a race against time to protect children’s health and education as the omicron variant spreads. Yesterday’s absence figures showed that 235,000 children are now out of school because of covid, which is an increase of 13% in the past fortnight. An average of 175,000 children have been out of school every day this term. This ongoing disruption to education comes on top of pupils missing an average of 115 days of in-person school between March 2020 and July 2021. The Government have serious questions to answer about why further steps have not been taken to reduce the spread of covid among pupils We know that vaccination and ventilation are vital to these efforts, but Ministers are falling short on both. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies first highlighted the importance of ventilation in schools in May 2020, but 19 months on the Government have failed to act on its advice. This is literally a problem the Government could have fixed while the sun was shining, but instead their failure to get measures in place is pushing schools to open windows, despite plummeting temperatures and while school energy bills rocket. Therefore, will the Minister immediately publish interim findings of the Bradford pilot of air purifiers and work with all schools to implement recommendations from that On vaccinations, we find that nationally less than half of 12 to 15-year-olds have had a vaccine. Ministers missed their own target to offer everyone in that age group a jab by October, and they have not set a new one yet. Perhaps most concerningly, the weekly number of jabs administered to 12 to 15-years-olds has dropped by 80% since half term. Will the Minister commit to deliver a vaccine guarantee so that all young people can get their jab by the end of the Christmas holidays? Will he also set out what steps he will take to rapidly ramp up the roll-out? Will he adopt Labour’s calls for a clear, targeted communications campaign to parents on the benefits of the vaccination, access to pop-up and walk-in clinics, and the mobilisation of volunteers and retired clinicians? Staff, children and parents are now entering their third school year of disruption. Time and time again, this Government’s failure to plan ahead has left children bearing the brunt of the pandemic. Ministers must stop treating them as an afterthought and act now to avoid chaos next term.
School Openings: January 2022 — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Nobody has been to see me about a statement, but of course my office door is open, and I hope that those on the Front Bench will be listening to me say that I would welcome that statement. Once again, I say that Members of Parliament are elected to this House to hear things in this Chamber, not on the media. I hope the message goes back that new information should be shared with Members of Parliament. I would like to believe that somebody will be knocking on my door very shortly to say, "Can we have a statement later?", and of course I would welcome that statement.
Asylum Seeker Accommodation: RAF Manston — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Immigration
Holly Jamie Walker-Lynch (Labour, Centre-left): I have listened carefully to what the Minister has had to say, and I thank the right hon. Member for North Thanet (Sir Roger Gale) for having secured this important urgent question. Tomorrow will be a year to the day that the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) secured an urgent question in this Chamber on the Government’s rule changes, which gave the Home Office the powers to deem asylum claims inadmissible. We described the proposals as unworkable then. Here we are, a year on, and people are becoming trapped in our asylum system by the Home Office, having had their claims deemed inadmissible, but without any functioning agreements in place to move anyone through and out of the system. The Minister has said that 4,561 notices of intent have been served, yet only five people have been returned The Minister has said that this site is an attempt to improve the efficiency of the system, so can he explain to the House why the Government passed these inadmissibility rules when the consequences are that thousands of people have endured longer stays in the asylum system than necessary? That is to the detriment of a person’s wellbeing and makes no sense for the Home Office at all. The initial asylum decisions taken by the Home Office have dropped from 28,623 in 2015 to 14,758 now, which is contributing to the backlog. Some 64% of those waiting for a decision on their asylum claims are waiting longer than the six-month target, so the backlogs in processing times are crippling the system. I would be grateful if the Minister could explain why progress on the rates of decision making has collapsed The Minister says that RAF Manston barracks will be used more as a reception centre than long-term accommodation, but we know that public health and fire safety advice was ignored by the Home Office prior to Napier and Penally barracks opening as asylum accommodation. We have heard once again about how consultation with local agencies has sadly been absent Given what we know about the new variant, dormitory-style accommodation must be avoided if we are to protect those accommodated there, staff and the wider community. Can the Minister confirm whether RAF Manston barracks will have an advisory committee? Can he rule out that children will be held there, and can he provide assurances that this is a temporary measure Given that this Government have promised the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, why has the scheme still not been established, and why has eligibility for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy scheme been tightened overnight? I would be incredibly grateful for some insight on that decision Finally, in September 2020, the Home Office was by the inspectorate about the inadequate facilities at Tug Haven for dealing with vulnerable people, especially children, who may have experienced dangerous journeys. What assurances can the Minister give us that Manston barracks would be a significant improvement on the current situation?
Asylum Seeker Accommodation: RAF Manston — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Immigration
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): The people who are going to be taken into this facility are desperate people arriving from Afghanistan, Kurdistan and many other places, and suffering from the most intense trauma. Everything that the Minister has said, and everything that the right hon. Member for North Thanet (Sir Roger Gale) asked, sounds awfully like a repeat of the appalling behaviour of the Home Office over Napier barracks. Can the Minister assure us that people are not going to be kept there at all, and that some better, more suitable accommodation will be found—at the end of the five days, where are they supposed to go? Has the Minister consulted? Many local people in Kent are welcoming asylum seekers and are prepared to support them. Has the Minister discussed the matter with local non-governmental organisations, or is this just some immediate reaction to get through a problem for the moment, never mind the appalling conditions that these poor desperate people are going to be forced into?
Asylum Seeker Accommodation: RAF Manston — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): Order. The hon. Gentleman must not refer across the Chamber to the shadow Minister as "you". I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows by now that when he uses that phraseology he is referring to the Chair, so I ask him to observe the conventions. I call the Minister.
Postmasters with Overturned Convictions: Settlement Funds — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): Before this statement, I wish to make a short statement about the sub judice resolution. Mr Speaker has been advised that there are active legal proceedings in the Court of Appeal in respect of the quashing of convictions of postmasters that relied on evidence from the Post Office Horizon IT system. Mr Speaker is exercising the discretion given to the Chair in respect of the resolution on matters sub judice to allow full reference to those proceedings as they concern issues of national importance.
Postmasters with Overturned Convictions: Settlement Funds — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): May I pay tribute to the fortitude and persistence of Della Ryan, the former sub-postmistress at Dukinfield? Sub-postmasters and mistresses were ostracised, persecuted and prosecuted by the state. They lost their businesses, their mental health and physical health deteriorated, and some lost relationships. Compensation is a drop in the ocean compared to the decade of hell that they have been through, but how many people does the Minister expect to receive compensation? Some 555 took part in the litigation, but he said that only 66 had so far made applications for compensation. Why is there such a big gap?
Postmasters with Overturned Convictions: Settlement Funds — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend—it has been a busy week—did, of course, play a major role in the postmasters’ campaign. He was quite right to object to my failure to mention him, and I would like to apologise to him for that.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As there is an opportunity for a point of order, would it be possible to place on the record, on behalf of all colleagues, our best wishes to all the staff of the House for Christmas? We thank them for their tremendous service throughout the year in looking after us, which I know is appreciated by all colleagues. This is a useful opportunity to put that on the record.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2021-12-15
Topic: Other
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I not only echo your words on that, but emphasise how important it has been that the staff have been able to provide that support, even in the midst of a pandemic? I hope that the staff of the House—together with everyone in the nation—have had the opportunity to get boosted in the midst of this pandemic and of their many duties, for which we are all so very grateful. We wish everyone a happy Christmas and a merry, boosted new year.