argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Other
Imran Hussain (Labour, Centre-left): This is a serious debate, where working people are looking towards this House for guidance on an important issue. The hon. Gentleman, I have to say, may on occasion make a decent point, but today is not that day for him. He needs to look again at the point he made.
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Grahame Mark Morris (Labour, Centre-left): Despite the hoots of derision from the Government Benches, does my hon. Friend accept the survey evidence that shows that three quarters of the British public back the Bill from my hon. Friend the Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner)? Countries such as France, Spain and Ireland have already acted to make this appalling practice illegal.
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Other
Kevin Denis Brennan (Labour, Centre-left): At what point does a debate on Second Reading, when we should be debating the general principles of a Bill, turn into a Committee debate in which we parse one or two words in individual clauses? I believe that is a reasonable point given how the debate is currently developing.
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for that point of order. Basically, a Second reading debate is very wide-ranging and hon. and right hon. Members are entitled to raise issues that they feel might be problematic if the Bill were enacted. This is a very wide-ranging debate that on another occasion I am sure the hon. Gentleman would appreciate enormously.
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Other
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): If we refused to send legislation into Committee because of how lawyers might or might not interpret it in future, we would not pass a single Bill. The hon. Gentleman is going into minute detail on the wording of clauses, and that debate belongs in Committee. It demonstrates that Government Members have lost the argument. This Bill should go into Committee.
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent point. As he says, fire and rehire is illegal in countries such as Ireland and Spain because it is in primary legislation. Does he agree, therefore, that the option proposed by Conservative Members—the introduction of an ACAS code of conduct to deal with the issue—is entirely insufficient?
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Samuel Peter Tarry (Labour, Centre-left): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is beyond belief to think that a code of practice is enough? We are talking about firms such as Clarks, where workers who make kids’ shoes are currently on strike. It was recently bought up by a Hong Kong-based private equity firm. Are such firms going to pay any attention whatever? It is just the same as BA. Its parent company IAG had £3.5 billion in the bank and it did not pay any attention even to British laws at that particular time. It was trying to circumnavigate them. It seems to me that a code of practice will not even be worth the paper it is printed on. Does he agree?
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Public Lands
Dawn Petula Butler (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for the powerful points that she is making. Is it not fair to say that if Members believe that fire and rehire is an unfair practice, they could vote for the Bill and then, in Committee, make any amendments that are needed to make it stronger?
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Mary Kelly Foy (Labour, Centre-left): I would like to thank the hon. Member for highlighting the plight of those smaller businesses. Would he agree that Heathrow airport, British Airways, British Gas, Weetabix, Clarks, Argos and Sainsbury’s all are iconic British businesses? They have not engaged with their workforce, but they have engaged with that practice of fire and rehire. They are not struggling businesses. They are not just trying to get by. [Interruption.] They are not just trying to get by. They are powerful combinations—
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Mary Kelly Foy (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Would the hon. Member agree that these big, iconic British businesses are not engaging with their workforce like him, but they are engaging in fire and rehire practices, and they are a disgrace to British workers and to the name of Britain—
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Apsana Begum (Labour, Centre-left): Ethnic minority workers have faced hire and rehire tactics at a disproportionate rate—nearly twice the rate of white workers. They have also disproportionately borne the brunt of the pandemic. Does the Minister not believe that the message he is giving today does not show the urgency needed to address the fact that they are literally dying in the pandemic without adequate protections?
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-10-22
Topic: Other
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. It appears to me that there are considerably fewer Members in the Chamber now than voted against the closure motion you granted earlier. That would tend to give credence to the idea that the Government Whips have deliberately organised their Back Benchers to wreck the Bill by voting against the closure motion and then sent them home. Is it in your gift to grant a second closure motion, so that we can now test the will of those here in Parliament?
Fire and Rehire: ACAS Report — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Nathan Kinnock (Labour, Centre-left): Fire and rehire has been used against supermarket staff who worked through lockdown to keep our country running, and the practice has now spread into schools, with teachers being threatened with the sack unless they agree to worse terms and conditions. Does the Minister agree that it is completely unacceptable that our key workers, who have sacrificed the most in our national effort against covid, are the very people now being threatened by these bully-boy fire and rehire tactics?
Covid-19: Business Support — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): This week marks English Tourism Week, but the UK’s tourist destinations have been hit hard, with a much higher than average increase in people who are now out of work, including in places such as Scarborough and Whitby. Many tourism businesses, such as hotels and cafés, have taken on debt to stay afloat, and one in five hospitality businesses now says that it is at moderate risk of insolvency. Yet the Government’s pay as you grow scheme does nothing to solve the underlying long-term issue of business debt, which means that businesses will have to repay whether or not they are making a profit. Does the Minister agree that, if we want to give businesses the time to build up their trade and resilience, and also protect jobs and not let debt stifle the recovery, we need a genuinely flexible repayment scheme such as the one Labour has called for.
Steel Industry — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jessica Elizabeth Morden (Labour, Centre-left): On behalf of workers at Liberty Steel in Newport, I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith): the Government must do all they can to protect these strategic businesses that are very important to our communities. Because of that, and because of global overcapacity in steel, it is also critical and very urgent that Ministers work with Cabinet colleagues to prevent the Trade Remedies Investigations Directorate from slashing our steel safeguards in half, so please will the Government act on that?
High Street Businesses — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Housing
Catherine Jane Smith (Labour, Centre-left): High street businesses on Lord Street in Fleetwood tell me that one of their biggest concerns is empty shop units that have fallen into disrepair. They are dangerous for people who are out shopping and make the high street very unattractive. What support can the Government give councils such as Wyre Council to ensure that these shops are made safe and, ideally, tenanted?
Workplace Health and Safety Law — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi (Labour, Centre-left): If the Government are so committed to keeping workers safe throughout the pandemic, can the Secretary of State explain why they have not been able to protect workers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea by putting in measures to keep them safe from covid-19?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Edward Samuel Miliband (Labour, Centre-left): I want to return to fire and rehire. Chris is a British Gas engineer who lives in Spelthorne, the Secretary of State’s constituency. Chris says: "Working under fire and rehire has been horrific. It has caused stress and anxiety not just for me, but my family. I can’t overstate the effect that it has on mental wellbeing. And the Government and the Business Secretary, who is supposed to represent me…in parliament is doing absolutely nothing about it. I voted for Kwasi Kwarteng in 2019, but he’s failed us on this. A total let down." Chris met the Business Secretary recently and asked him why he had not acted on fire and rehire. What did he tell him?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kate Ofunne Osamor (Labour, Centre-left): Following the announcement that the Government plan to cut £120 million from official development assistance research, what assessment has the Secretary of State made of the long-term impact that that will have on UK research and development?
Criminal Justice Review: Response to Rape — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Paula Barker (Labour, Centre-left): Seven in 10 women say the Government’s efforts to make the UK safer for women are lacking. Does the Minister back Labour’s Bill to end violence against women and girls, and if not, does he believe seven in 10 women are wrong?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving me notice of her point of order. While the Chair is not responsible for the content of statements, Mr Speaker has made it clear that important announcements should be made to the Chamber first. Clearly, what constitutes an important announcement is a matter of judgment, but the hon. Lady has placed her views on the record, and I am sure that Ministers and Whips on the Treasury Bench will have heard her concerns. As she said, Mr Speaker did grant an urgent question earlier today in which similar points were made, but her points will have been added to those, and I am sure she will find other ways to make her concerns known.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-05-25
Topic: Other
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Member for giving me notice that he wanted to raise that point. Of course, I am not responsible for Ministers’ answers in the Chamber, but again, I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench will have noted his point. I suggest that he pursues the factual answers he seeks through other methods, such as written questions. I am sure that those in the Table Office and other Clerks would be happy to give him advice on the other ways in which he might get the information he seeks I am now suspending the House for three minutes, to enable arrangements to be made for the next item of business.
Operation Warm Welcome — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Immigration
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): For those eligible for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy scheme, arriving in the UK under Operation Warm Welcome has left friends and colleagues of our armed forces stranded in hotels without contact, support and help at the very time they need it. In the light of the outstanding skills of our armed forces, will the Minister talk to the Home Secretary about how his Department can lead on Operation Warm Welcome for those arriving under the ARAP scheme, so the right connections are made with those who served alongside these brave men and women to build vital bridges at each stage of the resettlement journey?
Defence Exports — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. The Chair of the Select Committee should know better. He cannot make a speech; it has to be a question. I got him in deliberately because of the job he holds, but he cannot take complete advantage of the Chair: it is not fair.
Mental Health Services: Armed Forces — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gerald Jones (Labour, Centre-left): As we know, charities across the UK, including many that have supported veterans, have been hit hard during the pandemic, impacting on the services they provide, so what additional support are the Government offering charities, in order that they can cope with demand? What more can the Government themselves do to support veterans, given that their record so far is pretty poor?
UK Gas Market — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. Before anybody bothers to raise the matter, I say to the Secretary of State that it is totally unacceptable to take so long—almost 13 minutes—and not to have warned the Opposition. I would have thought that the people who put the statement together would have timed it. It is 10 minutes for a statement, and we need to get back to the rules of the House—not the rules that I make, but the rules that this House makes. I say to the shadow Secretary of State that I am sorry you did not know the statement would take so long, but by all means take an extra minute or whatever to compensate. But, please, in future, we should get this right and not take advantage of Members who are here to question the Secretary of State.
UK Gas Market — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Other
Edward Samuel Miliband (Labour, Centre-left): Yes, Mr Speaker To follow on from the point made by the right hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), I submit that it really is not good practice for the Secretary of State to come to this House and say that he will make a joint statement with Ofgem this afternoon to set out the Government’s next steps, but refuse to tell Members what is in that joint statement. The point of his coming to the House is for him to be questioned on Government policy—including policy to be announced this afternoon.
UK Gas Market — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Can we make sure, through the Clerks, that the Secretary of State gets a copy of the ministerial code? Have it underlined and then we will have a discussion. Right, let us see if we can move on a bit.
International Travel — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Immigration
Tahir Ali (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Secretary of State explain why my constituents suffered immeasurably from the punitive measures imposed by his Government? Many of them were unable to be with family members at their time of greatest need or to attend the funerals of their loved ones, and many could not afford the hotel quarantine rates and furthermore that was then increased. The criteria for keeping Pakistan and Bangladesh on the red list were made up on a daily basis, and the facilities in the hotels that many of my constituents returned to were abysmal. There was no justification for punishing the British Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, who lent their votes to the Conservative party at the last election. Will the Secretary of State now apologise to them for the punitive measures imposed on them unjustifiably?
International Travel — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Immigration
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): A deterrent to international travel is the cost and conditions of the quarantine hotels. My constituents have talked about poor food, being held with poor mental health and being in grief from losing loved ones. My constituent who had rats in his room not just once but twice is still being charged the full cost for quarantine. Will the Secretary of State ensure that my constituent does not have to pay for that experience of sharing his room with rats?
International Travel — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gerald Jones (Labour, Centre-left): As international travel resumes, a growing number of constituents who live or work abroad in places such as Australia and Zambia, to name just a couple, are having difficulty with travel if they received their vaccinations in those other countries. Obviously, that impacts not just their travel here but their ability to get on with their life when they are in the UK. I heard what the Secretary of State said earlier, but will he give more detail on the progress that the Government are making on recognising vaccines of a similar standard, strength and efficacy so that we can have more reciprocal agreements with other countries?
Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills), who makes an important contribution to the work of the Work and Pensions Committee. I echo his words of appreciation and good wishes to the hon. Members for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) and for Colchester (Will Quince) The Bill reduces an increase in the state pension that the Government’s triple lock policy would have delivered. I understand why it has been done, but let us not kid ourselves; we have a growing problem with pensioner poverty, after a quite long-sustained improvement following the introduction of pension credit 18 years ago. The charity Independent Age has analysed the Government’s households below average income statistics. Its analysis shows that pensioner poverty has started to increase again since 2012, with 18% of pensioners—more than 2 million people—in 2020 living in poverty after paying housing costs, of whom more than 1 million are in severe poverty. This is a significant challenge and it is getting worse. Of the English regions, the problem is particularly acute in London. There is no room for complacency about pensioner poverty The Bill will increase the standard minimum guarantee of pension credit by 2.5% or inflation—whichever is the greater—next April. When the Minister responds, will he tell us what the Department will do to increase take-up of pension credit so that more people can benefit from the increase? The most recent figures show that only six in 10 of those who are eligible for pension credit are claiming it, and that only 76% of the total amount of pension credit that could have been claimed is claimed. That is quite a significant reason why the problem of pensioner poverty is rising.
Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Mathew Richard Allen Rodda (Labour, Centre-left): As we start this debate on Third Reading, I want to reflect on what we have discussed so far in this important piece of legislation. The House has considered a number of issues relating to the Bill, and we will soon pass it over to the other place. Before we do so, we still have an opportunity to improve the legislation and to stand up for the interests of pensioners. Even at this late stage, I would like to ask the Government to consider a series of sensible, helpful points made from across the House. Taken together, these measures could make a substantial difference to the Bill The Government are breaking a manifesto promise. Parties across the House supported the triple lock in their manifestos in 2019, and this is a question of trust. Breaking their promise on the triple lock is the third time the Government have broken a manifesto commitment in just a few weeks. Trust in this Government has fallen dramatically, and I am afraid to say that their reputation is in tatters. We understand the difficult situation with the anomaly in earnings. However, it is down to the Government to find a way to protect the triple lock and deal with the anomaly in the earnings data We have asked Ministers to take a few simple steps to address the issue. First, we have asked them to be honest about the data showing a temporary increase in earnings. Secondly, we have asked them to find a way to address it while maintaining the earnings link. We have suggested using an average rising earnings over a longer period of time. Thirdly, if the Government are to address the anomaly, will they report back on the impact on pensioners’ incomes and take a real interest in the difficulties faced by millions of pensioners on low incomes? Those are all sensible measures that should be part of the good governance of this country We have discussed this issue in some detail today, and the Government must be clearer with pensioners. However, there is no need to take it further today and we would not want to divide the House on Third Reading. I remind Conservative Members that trust in the Government is wearing very thin, so let us hope that they will now listen to the House and to the public and show that they are concerned about such important matters.
Football Governance: Fan-led Review — House of Commons, 2021-05-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): I am sure the Secretary of State will join me in congratulating Hull City on being league one champions this year. Hull City are one of many examples in recent years of where football club owners have not had the best of relationships with their fans. The recent breakaway attempt by the European super league cartel of greed brought many of the issues that concern fans to a head. Fans do not just pay a lot to support their clubs; they are custodians of their heritage and they deserve respect. To avoid taking his eye off the ball, will he explain a bit more about exactly how fans will lead the fan-led review and when it will report back to the House?
Football Governance: Fan-led Review — House of Commons, 2021-05-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): There are two football teams in my life: Manchester United, who are No. 2 in the premiership, and Rochdale, who are sadly heading for league two of the football league. The idea that they are part of the same football pyramid has frankly been a nonsense for many years, but what unites the supporters of both those clubs and many more is the demands that we will never again see the ability for a European super league to take place, that the clammy hand, the dollar-studded fingers, of the corporates such as the Glazers be taken off the throat of football—that is so important—and that, once again, we will recreate a proper pyramid of football in this country. Will the Secretary of State guarantee that he will legislate to bring about those kinds of ends?