argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Other
Ian Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, we now come to the Conduct Committee Motion in the name of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mance. Last week, the Procedure Committee agreed that this type of business should be conducted as physical proceedings only, with no opportunity to participate virtually, other than by the mover, in this case the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mance. There is no speakers’ list, but Members present in the Chamber are entitled to participate. Procedure Committee guidance requests that any Member intending to speak on such Motions give notice in advance. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House.
Recess Dates — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Other
Thomas Ashton (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I thought that this would be a suitable point to tell the House about recess dates and to confirm that, because of the inevitably slow progress of business over the past three months, there will need to be some changes to our Summer Recess dates. We will now rise for the summer adjournment on Wednesday 29 July, which is one week later than originally intended. We will also return earlier in September, on Wednesday 2 September. There will no longer be an adjournment for the party conference season I hope to be able, at a later date, to confirm a short adjournment in either October or November, but that will depend entirely on the progress of business. I will place a copy of this statement in the Printed Paper Office, and copies are available in the Royal Gallery. I will advertise the new dates via this week’s Forthcoming Business.
Recess Dates — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Other
Thomas Ashton (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I agree that it does immediately look odd, but the reasons are that we have looked at the business that needs to be done and the dates that would allow it. The amount of time that has to pass between different stages of Bills means that it is imperative that we come back that week. I accept that for some people, myself included, it will cause difficulties, but we have looked at that. Of course, if circumstances change and we make tremendous progress, we could look at it again, but that has been communicated to the usual channels. The reason that we need to come back for those two days is to get business started during that week, but I am entirely able to look at that at a later date if it is not necessary. I take the point about two days in a week basically disrupting the whole week.
Recess Dates — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Other
Thomas Ashton (Conservative, Centre-right): The House of Commons has not announced its recess dates yet. I wanted to make sure that, as far as we were concerned, noble Lords had the earliest possible opportunity to plan. I can see why we should be aligned with the House of Commons to a certain extent, but it is an important principle that we do not always have to sit at the same time as the House of Commons. Sometimes the Commons is at a different stage of legislation from us, so every Chief Whip reserves the right to alter dates due to the progress of business. I do not know when the House of Commons is going to announce its dates, but it has not done so yet, so I cannot confirm whether they are exactly the same.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Other
Ian Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, we now come to the repeat of a Commons Urgent Question on the R rate. For Members participating remotely, microphones will unmute shortly before they are to speak. Please accept any on-screen prompt to unmute. I remind the House that our normal courtesies in debate still apply in this new hybrid way of working.
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Sayeeda Warsi (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I echo the sentiments of my noble friend and the noble Lords, Lord Rosser and Lord Paddick. As someone who has both family and friends in the police, I know the amazing work that our police do every day in this country. However, does my noble friend accept that what we saw in the small incidents of public disorder were simply the symptoms of racism, not the disease, which results in the inequalities that the protests are about? We have had the Lammy review, the Williams report and indeed the race disparity audit, which reported back in 2017. Could my noble friend give words of hope and practical examples of what the Government are doing to deal with the disease of racism that feeds the inequalities which resulted in the public disorder?
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my noble friend that what we saw on Sunday was a symptom of the frustration that people feel about racism, both overt and covert, within our country. We need more diversity in the workplace, in Parliament and in all sorts of areas of life. My noble friend will have heard the Prime Minister addressing the public yesterday about this and talking about how across government we need to drive this out. This is not about one particular department of government or one particular individual; it is about a public collective in terms of driving this sort of poison out of our society.
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Public Lands
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the Colston statue is in Bristol, and therefore is a matter for the elected representatives of Bristol to deal with democratically. If people are not happy with the democratic process in Bristol, they can do something about it at the ballot box. If people want to make representations to Sadiq Khan about the various statues they may object to across London, it is for them to do so.
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My noble friend is absolutely right: it is perverse that those most critical of the easing of the lockdown should then put themselves in a position in which not only they, but those from BME communities, are at risk.
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Civil Rights
James Peter Hymers Mackay (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, will my noble friend commend the example of the organiser of the justified and peaceful protests in Glasgow Green, in his efforts to protect innocent protesters from the dangers of the virus? He tried his best to ensure that they were at proper distances apart Secondly, it is not for the Government alone to deal with this; it is a question for all the organisations in our country to deal with. The organisation that perhaps I know most closely in this country is the Bar of England and Wales, and I am glad to know that, in recent years, the number of those belonging to ethnic minority and black communities is increasing. Last time I saw the statistic, it suggested that the proportion of such in the Bar of England and Wales is about the same as in the general population.
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I should say to the noble Baroness, who is also my noble friend, that if democracy failed in Bristol, democracy is failing in Bristol and it is up to the people of Bristol to vote in a more effective democracy. I do not think that there is one single answer to some of the systemic issues in what we have seen. We have to work across government and all the strata of society in order to make that cultural change.
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Patrick Cormack (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, no words are too strong to condemn those who hijacked the peaceful demonstrations, but I am very concerned about the size of the peaceful demonstrations and the fact that most of them did not find themselves conducted as they were in Glasgow. Will my noble friend please discuss with the Home Secretary the possibility of convening a consultation with all the responsible leaders who are concerned about these issues? Can they ensure that there are no more mass demonstrations which could endanger the life of the whole community, in particular those from black and ethnic minority communities? Could this be done as a matter of urgency and then clear guidelines issued?
Public Order — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Civil Rights
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): I must confess that I found some parts of my noble friend’s question difficult to hear. I think that what he was saying—I hope that he will nod or shake his head accordingly—is that there are lessons to be learned from Sunday in terms of not holding mass protests where the lives of black and ethnic minority individuals in particular are put in danger because of the lack of social distancing. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary made it absolutely clear yesterday that the regulations are there to be upheld and that that should be the lesson from now on in.
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Michael John Dobbs (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the Bill is about climbing out of lockdown and getting back to proper business. If only we could do the same in this House. This debate is not a Second Reading, not as any of us would recognise. During Second Reading of this Bill in the other place, in the physical reality of the House of Commons, there were 16 interventions on the Secretary of State. We know that that makes for better legislation and better government, yet there will be none of that today I am here in person simply to show that it can be done. The risks, and there are risks, can be assessed by each of us. We spend our lives assessing risks for others, so why not for ourselves? I thank all those who have worked so hard to get us this far but, without wishing to be discourteous, I say this to the usual channels: "You have struggled mightily and already achieved the very difficult. Now achieve the impossible." We have a job to do, like every doctor, nurse, porter, police officer, teacher, tour operator and shop owner in the country, so bring us back. Keep us in business too And so to the Bill. I declare my interests, particularly in the hospitality and creative sectors, which are suffering terribly. Many of us are not down by 20% or 50% but are flat on our backs, so the Bill is important. It says that we do not know precisely what to expect so we must be adaptable and flexible to deal with all the unintended consequences mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson. A 20-day moratorium is great, but for many struggling businesses will not be long enough. Ministers must be ready to consider extensions, make rapid decisions, be flexible and learn as we go if we are to succeed not simply in salvaging what we already have but in building anew. We will need to be quick on our feet The Bill is just a start. We will probably need to strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner; simplify planning applications; make sure that invoices are paid promptly, as the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, emphasised; clarify and probably curtail the role of many quangos; speed up decision-making; and ensure that regulators use their pencils, not simply suck them—give businesses the benefit of the doubt and free up free enterprise, in a simple phrase When we look back on the last few months, I suspect that we will find that British industry was more than able to provide PPE in abundance, and quickly, but we lost out because those innovative firms in the private sector simply did not fit the parameters set by Public Health England There is no place called "safety" right now. We will have to take a few risks along the way but the Bill seeks to strike a balance. Businesses mean jobs. Many employees fear losing their jobs right now, and understandably so. The best protection that we can give those employees is to keep their companies afloat and ensure that more new companies are floated. The Bill is a very good start.
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Anne McIntosh (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on introducing the Bill. I welcome the thrust of the Bill—bringing forward measures to support company rescue—particularly in the current circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and its dreadful impact on business Although I overwhelmingly support the Bill, I will raise a number of issues, particularly as regards the role of the monitor and areas where it may be vague and uncertain as to how provisions will apply in practice. I will take the opportunity to ask the Minister: for what reason have individual insolvencies been excluded from the scope of the Bill? Can he clarify the Government’s position regarding the monitor? How independent will that person be of the company and its directors? More specifically, will the Government look more closely at the role of the monitor and consider introducing further safeguards to ensure their independence? In particular, could he look at the appointment and duties of the monitor? Should they outline and introduce a statement of how they understand the company intends to use the moratorium to rescue the company? Should the monitor be asked to provide a progress report? Should they be required to file any relevant correspondence between the company directors and the monitor with the court? Finally, would it be appropriate for the monitor to submit a statement of their independence from the company, with a test of that independence In spite of these comments, I wish the Bill a fair wind and would be grateful if the Minister could explain, particularly regarding its permanent measures, the monitor’s role in reducing financial distress of companies with the introduction of a moratorium.
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill — House of Lords, 2020-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Howard Emerson Flight (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I first draw attention to my entry in the register as chairman of Flight and Partners, which is a recovery fund The Government’s intentions for this Bill are well meant and are to help businesses survive. My concern is that its impact could be substantially contrarian and would damage, in particular, the SME sector. The Bill is being fast-tracked through Parliament with the consultation process being crammed into six weeks. Temporary measures in response to the crisis can be amended, but the worry is over the more complicated, permanent parts of this legislation The main measure is the new company moratorium, which gives a 20-day moratorium from anyone bringing an action and which can be extended by a further 20 days. We already have the notice of intention where directors can put down a notice of their intention to appoint an administrator. This needs the agreement of secured creditors and protects the company from any creditor issuing a winding-up provision. The NoI lasts for 14 days and can be extended. It has worked well in the SME space, the key being that it involves the secured creditor. The Bill’s moratorium procedure has no such requirement. While the bank’s security cannot be removed and it would have the legal right to enforce its security post the moratorium, to exclude the key stakeholder from the company’s strategic decisions is surely mistaken The impact of the Bill will be to increase the risk to lenders. Not allowing lenders any involvement in the moratorium will discourage lenders to this sector, where one of the reasons for their willingness to lend to date has been the ability to act quickly if borrowers are starting to breach covenants. There needs to be a carve-out for SME companies, perhaps using the EU definition of an SME: fewer than 250 employees, turnover less than €50 million and the balance sheet below €43 million. This would mean that banks could safely continue to lend to SMEs, knowing that the moratorium would be available only to larger companies. Without this, the Bill will have a major impact on lending to the SME sector at a time when it is most needed There is currently little wrong with the UK’s SME insolvency restructuring culture, and the comfort it gives to lenders delivers a vibrant lending culture. I am sure it was not intended that this legislation would damage this thriving part of our economy. It is invariably the case that more businesses fall into insolvency coming out of a recession than going into one, which is all the more relevant today with the enormous help provided by the Government The permanent changes to the moratorium and restructuring plan included in the Bill will stifle the ability to borrow in the SME sector and will result in more insolvencies. I urge the Government at least to consider the suggested carve-out for SMEs.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-16
Topic: Other
Ian Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): For the benefit of Members tuning in remotely, it might be helpful to know that the Minister responding will be the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield. I call the next speaker, the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes of Cumnock.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-16
Topic: Other
John Eric Gardiner (Conservative, Centre-right): Can I ask the noble Baroness to wait a moment? I think it would be a courtesy to the Committee if the noble Baroness could keep remarks to a short intervention. She is speaking after the Minister and I think it would be polite if she were to ask the noble Baroness the Minister a question, rather than making a speech.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-16
Topic: Housing
Olivia Bloomfield (Conservative, Centre-right): As I think I said in my speech, we have built flexibility in to the planning stage, although it does not need to be five years, and in all cases there will be no gap between one plan and another.
Automatic Enrolment (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-04
Topic: Other
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): That the draft Orders and Regulations laid before the House on 16 March, 25 March, 30 April and 6 May be approved. Considered in Virtual Proceedings on 19 May, 20 May, 2 June and 3 June. Relevant document: 14th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
Covid-19: Economy — House of Lords, 2020-06-04
Topic: Immigration
Peta Buscombe (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, for securing this debate. A key lesson to be learned is that we cannot just focus on "the science". Our gateway to economic recovery is immediately to reduce the 2-metre distancing rule to 1 metre. We have just given the WHO another £75 million, while ignoring its 1-metre guideline. This is economic and cultural suicide. Nothing is viable unless we change this rule and take a proportionate, sensible and informed approach to risk The public sector has of course been largely untouched, with few job losses, pay cuts or furloughing. It is the private sector that has suffered, and it will take us to recovery through sheer hard work and taking risks. Luckily, many have found smart ways of continuing to function. Each day, people are turning to common sense. This is vital if we are to increase productivity and retain jobs. We must incentivise the private sector In that regard, I wholeheartedly support our Prime Minister’s pledge that, if China imposes its national security law upon Hong Kong, we shall change our immigration rules for the people of Hong Kong. We want the best and the brightest to come here, not least to help us to recover. However, this must be conditional. If we change our immigration rules, then as a matter of principle and respect for the private sector, which will probably bear the greatest fiscal burden going forward, we must also ensure that all those coming to reside in the UK pay the same levels of tax as the rest of us Will my noble friend the Minister therefore seek to clarify HMRC rules going forward to provide for equal treatment of UK taxpayers with all coming to reside here from Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world, so that they are treated as domiciled in the UK for inheritance tax, and as UK residents for income tax and capital gains tax? With respect, to fail in this now would be crass in the extreme.
Covid-19: Economy — House of Lords, 2020-06-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Richard John Grenville Spring (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, for a number of years I have been chairman of the Small Business Bureau, which works closely with the cross-party Genesis Initiative, supported by 115 trade associations. This afternoon, I will look at the SME sector specifically, which, pre-coronavirus, provided 60% of employment in the UK in 5.82 million businesses, with a turnover of £2.2 trillion I bring to your Lordships’ attention one clear measure to boost SME recovery: clamping down on late payment, which remains a scourge inhibiting cash flow. Pay UK has reported that late payment to SMEs before Covid-19 had risen steeply to £23.4 billion—up £10.4 billion from £13 billion owed in 2018. According to the Government’s payment practices website, 59% of the UK’s largest businesses pay their suppliers more than 30 days after invoices have been submitted. Nearly half report that 25% or more of the invoices they receive are not paid according to the terms agreed. If invoice payments are speeded up, the injection of cash flow into the economy will be a great boost I am fully aware that successive Governments have genuinely tried to deal with this problem and to ensure that government departments follow good practice. Indeed, before the onset of Covid-19, the Small Business Commissioner had begun to name and shame late-payers. However, can my noble friend urgently pick up the cudgels on this and make it a clear objective of government policy, as we all try to encourage necessary liquidity to get ourselves out of this economic crisis?
Covid-19: Economy — House of Lords, 2020-06-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I have three points to raise. The first is about support for the cultural and creative industries, but that has already been very articulately outlined by noble Lords on all sides during this debate. I look forward to the Minister’s response on that matter. Of course we all want to restore our economy, but our cultural and creative sectors make our lives worth living. They are an important part of restoring our enjoyment in this country as much as of restoring the wider economy Secondly, as has already been outlined by noble Lords, a significant amount of debt will be owed by businesses and individuals. However, 9 million people in the UK were already estimated to be overindebted before this crisis started. I hope the Government will think very carefully about the ways in which they will recover debt. I draw noble Lords’ attention to the recent Centre for Social Justice report Collecting Dust, which advocates a debt management Bill. There have also been suggestions for ways in which government can collect its own debt, particularly local government collecting council tax. I think there will be campaigns to make sure that the letters sent to people who owe money under the Consumer Credit Act are reworded not to be overly ambitious in their enforcement My third point is on business rates and fiscal events. I praise the Government for their response in supporting jobs and SMEs in particular during this crisis, but the fact that one of the first things that had to be done was to suspend business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses confirms yet again that the business rates system in this country is broken and unaffordable. If we want to build back better as a country, this is the time to look at this system once and for all to make sure that it is reformed so that it is affordable for businesses in future.