argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Education
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for all the work he does on the Education Committee to scrutinise our work. We are all concerned about the welfare of the most vulnerable children. That is why, for example, in the first lockdown we enabled vulnerable children to still attend school, sending out the message to parents, carers and children and young people themselves that if they need that extra bit of help and support, schools are open to give them access to that. That continues under today’s restrictions, because schools are open to vulnerable children In terms of the work that we are doing over and above keeping schools open, I have already referred to the vital work that social workers are conducting and our efforts to increase the number of social workers available to help with that work. Some of our children’s charities have also been fantastic. I have seen for myself the work that Barnardo’s and the Children’s Society are doing to help children, particularly those who are potentially being ensnared by county lines gangs. This comes back to how we can reach these poor, poor children before those gangs really get their fists on them. It is about a combination of education at school, education and support for families—because mums, dads and carers can be very worried about their child—and ensuring that we have robust law enforcement measures in place against those gangs. One thing the police were able to do during the last national lockdown—the first one—was concentrate on targeting drug gangs. We are seeing some of the results of that work, alongside the safeguarding and early intervention work we are doing.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am so pleased the hon. Lady raised the point about a strategy. She will know, I hope, that alongside our work on the Domestic Abuse Bill—she served on the Bill Committee—which is currently in the House of Lords, we are planning for a stand-alone, specific national strategy on domestic abuse. I very much expect there to be measures in relation to perpetrators within that, because although we of course want to support victims, it is vital that we tackle the cycle of abuse as well. That strategy, combined with our investment of £7.1 million in perpetrator programmes, will, I hope, revolutionise our approach in this important regard of tackling domestic abuse.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Fay Alicia Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Last year, the Government prioritised the Domestic Abuse Bill Committee so that the Bill’s progress was not disrupted by the pandemic. That speaks to both the determination of the Government and the personal determination of this safeguarding Minister, and the Ask for ANI scheme is evidence of that. The scourge of cyber-flashing, whereby unwanted and unsolicited indecent photographs are distributed to mobile devices, needs to be made a criminal offence. Will she confirm that the Government are considering that?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): It was a pleasure to serve on the Bill Committee with my hon. Friend, and I know her personal commitment to helping her constituents in this regard. I am pleased that she has brought up that aspect, because it enables me to reiterate to hon. Members that we are running a call for evidence at the moment on producing a new violence against women and girls strategy. I do not want to pre-guess what the public, victims, survivors and charities may say in the course of that call for evidence, but I, for one, am very aware of the offence of which she speaks. I very much want those sorts of 21st century online crimes to be dealt with not just in the VAWG strategy, but in the DA strategy and by making sure our laws are up to date—we have asked the Law Commission to ensure that. I thank her for her question and encourage her to publicise the call for evidence with her constituents.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Laura Trott (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for her statement and for all her work in this area. The Minister referred earlier to the helpline element of Operation Encompass. There is another part of this initiative whereby the police automatically inform schools when a domestic violence incident has occurred in a child’s home. This has been, tragically, absolutely vital in my constituency, and I think it should be available nationwide. Will the Minister confirm whether the police element of Operation Encompass will be available on a nationwide basis?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to be able to confirm that not only is my hon. Friend’s force, Kent, signed up to that fantastic scheme, but so too are 40 other forces out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. This is a great scheme. I would encourage the remaining forces to sign up, because we have seen the evidence that helping children on the morning of their return to school after a terrible incident at home the night before can pay dividends for their wellbeing.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): On the practice the hon. Member describes, we have already, in years gone by, agreed with the British Medical Association that this is not within its recommendations, and it has made that clear to its members. I know this has been raised in the other House, and we continue to look into it If I may, I will just clarify a tiny point. My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House answered a question on this earlier and referred to considerations within the Domestic Abuse Bill, which of course is in the other place. Just to clarify—there was a problem of translation through masks—we look at legal aid in context and it is always something we consider, but within the Bill itself we are looking very specifically at the measures available in courts to help victims of domestic abuse.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): This is a very welcome statement and initiative. The Minister has referred to the priority that is rightly being given by the police and the criminal courts to bringing perpetrators before them swiftly and promptly where there is evidence to support doing so, but will she also set out what steps the Government are taking to ensure that victims have as swift access to legal advice as to—[Inaudible]—redress in the family and civil courts without the need to go through complicated legal aid application forms?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope I caught most of my hon. Friend’s question. He will know of the sterling work being done by my ministerial counterpart the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk), to ensure that victims of domestic abuse can have access to free legal advice in the initial stages of their case. The scheme is called Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors. I would really recommend it, because it has a huge benefit for people who are in the early stages of the court process. Of course, courts remain open during these restrictions. They have remained open for domestic abuse cases, and for other vulnerabilities and priority cases. We encourage anyone who needs to access a court to please, please continue trying to do so during the current set of restrictions.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Peter Alexander Gibson (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend on her announcement today. It is yet another positive step from this Government on tackling domestic abuse. She is aware that victims of this heinous crime require the help and support of many organisations, just like Family Help in Darlington. Will my hon. Friend outline to the House how the Government are getting their financial support to such organisations as quickly as possible?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, who was a sterling performer in the Bill Committee. We have taken a national, regional and local approach to community-based services and we have rolled out funding for that with the help of police and crime commissioners to commissioned and non-commissioned services. Of course, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been rolling out money to refuges. We in the Home Office have focused on the national and regional parts of the funding, including support to bolster the helplines, which so many people rely on when seeking help.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to say that my opposite number in the Northern Ireland Executive is working hard and has confirmed her intention to bring in similar legislation in Northern Ireland. That is a vital part of our jigsaw in ratifying the Istanbul convention, so we wish her and the Assembly well in their scrutiny of the forthcoming legislation.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Jane Fiona Catherine Stevenson (Conservative, Centre-right): To those trapped in abusive relationships, getting out can seem like an impossible task. Will my hon. Friend reassure us that, if they seek help to Ask for ANI, they will be connected to an amazing network of help such as The Haven in Wolverhampton? She also mentioned modern slavery and human trafficking. Can victims of those hidden harms also seek emergency help through the Ask for ANI pharmacy scheme?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): The Ask for ANI scheme is focused at the moment on victims of domestic abuse. There has been a huge and careful training programme of the pharmacists who are currently participating. Nearly 8,000 members of staff have been trained in Boots alone. They will be very knowledgeable about what to do when somebody walks into their chemist’s seeking help My hon. Friend is right that sometimes just getting out of the house is a huge obstacle. That is why I am delighted that we are also funding a rail to refuge scheme to help victims make that railway journey to a refuge as and when they need it.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope that the hon. Lady knows that the training of members of staff has been meticulous. We have created the scheme hand in glove with domestic abuse charities because we are so concerned to ensure the safety of victims. I see it as the first avenue of support. Once the victim is in the consultation room, she or he can set out what they would like to happen. For some it will be a 999 call, for others it will be access to community services, but I hope that the hon. Lady has a picture now of the tapestry of support that we are rolling out locally to try to help victims of domestic abuse.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Felicia Jane Beatrix Drummond (Conservative, Centre-right): Online image-based sexual abuse is a growing way in which perpetrators coerce and control their victims by threatening to release private and intimate videos and photographs online. According to the revenge porn helpline, the number of people contacting it has risen to more than 3,000—a 22% increase in 2020. Has the Minister considered the impact of that during lockdown? Will she agree to include the threat of releasing those intimate and private images as a crime in the Domestic Abuse Bill?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that that can be a devastating form of abuse for victims of domestic abuse. We are very much listening to debates in the other place about the terrible factors in that type of behaviour. I hope she knows that we have already asked the Law Commission to look into the many forms of malicious behaviour that can occur online. I know that the Law Commission is considering that and we are very much looking forward to receiving the outcome of that review to see what may be needed in future.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope the hon. Lady has seen not just the announcement of the codeword scheme today but the announcement encouraging employers to join the cause and to be better informed as to how they can help members of their workforce who may be suffering from domestic abuse. The Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), has written to many, many businesses today to set out how they can help. I see this as very much part of our overall efforts to ensure that people understand what domestic abuse is, the many forms it can take, and how it is everyone’s business.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Joanna Mary Gideon (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Due to the emergency circumstances, victims of domestic abuse sometimes have to flee, leaving behind all their possessions, including mobile phones, making it harder to stay in contact with the police and other agencies. In Stoke-on-Trent, the police have launched a fantastic initiative whereby some vulnerable residents and domestic abuse victims have been given mobile phones loaded with useful contacts based on the individual’s situation. Does the Minister agree that it is important to support measures enabling domestic abuse victims to leave their home environment while eradicating the fear of being cut off from society, especially when covid-19 is exacerbating isolation across the board?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): We are keen not just to help victims to flee home when that is necessary for their own safety but, importantly, to keep them in their own homes where it is safe to do so, and to ask, or demand, that the perpetrator leaves. There is a whole host of work going on on this. Perhaps I can take the opportunity to discuss it with my hon. Friend in slower time outside of this statement, but I thank her for raising it.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Julie Marson (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for getting to me at the end of the list I thank the Minister for her statement and all her work on this issue. I commend to her the work of Future Living Hertford, which does amazing work with victims of domestic abuse and their families and is running a "children’s voices" campaign to highlight the need to hear children and recognise their status as victims. Does she agree that this message is particularly important during this crisis and is completely in line with the aims of the Domestic Abuse Bill? Will she agree to visit Future Living Hertford with me when such visits are possible once more?
Select Committee on International Development — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): Although the report does not make for comfortable reading, I welcome it and the efforts of the Committee to ensure best practice within the aid sector. Does the hon. Lady agree that it is imperative that the UK Government now embed safeguarding in all their development work and that they sanction aid organisations, including multilateral organisations, that fail to do so?
Select Committee on International Development — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
Daniel Leonard James Poulter (Conservative, Centre-right): Since concluding our inquiry, the scale of the reductions to UK aid have become much clearer. Does the Committee Chairman agree that the Government must ensure that cuts do not lead to aid delivery partners and contractors reducing operational standards and leaving women and girls at increased risk? How can the Government ensure that their tenders for aid projects, and bids in reply, require effective provision for spending on safeguarding?
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): This Government are recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023—an unprecedented increase in the next three years that reflects the biggest recruitment drive in decades. I am pleased to tell the House that, as at 31 December, the police have recruited an extra 6,620 police officers—620 ahead of target and three months ahead of schedule.
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): It is great to hear about the huge increase in police numbers, especially here in South Yorkshire, but what we really need is these new police to be visible and accessible. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need these new police officers to be front of house at Maltby police station, so that they can speak to residents and address their concerns, and to be established at a new base on Dinnington High Street, to clamp down on antisocial crime?
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): It is no surprise that so diligent a Member would take every opportunity to maximise the benefits from this enormous uplift in police officers for his constituents. While the decision on particular police stations is an operational matter for the chief constable, in consultation with the police and crime commissioner, my hon. Friend is quite right that an expansion in numbers on this scale means that all police forces should be reviewing their property strategy, to ensure that the presence he looks for in his constituency is felt across the country.
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): Under the leadership of our chief constable Lee Freeman, Humberside police has made good progress from the position it was in a few years ago, and we have benefited from increased officer numbers. If we are to maintain that progress and meet the expectations of my constituents, we must continue to increase force numbers. Can my hon. Friend give an assurance that we will be able to further increase the number of officers in Humberside?
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): In my nearly six years in the House, I have watched with admiration as my hon. Friend, terrier-like, holds the Government to their commitments; he is doing exactly the same today, and I do not blame him for it. He is quite right that we have seen a big increase in police officer numbers, but there is much more to come. We have done 6,620, which means that there are 13,000-odd yet to go. The Government’s commitment to the number of 20,000 is about as solid as it gets. It is the same as if the ravens were to leave the tower: if we fail to fulfil this promise, there will be fundamental problems and consequences for Government, not least, I am sure, from my hon. Friend.
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Peter Alexander Gibson (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the brilliant work of my hon. Friend’s Department, putting more bobbies on the beat in Darlington. Does he share my concern that those same officers will spend more time ferrying detainees across County Durham and less time on the beat if the plans of the acting police and crime commissioner to spend £21 million on a single custody suite for the whole county go ahead, robbing my constituency of its accessible custody suite? Does he agree that this decision should wait until after we have elected a new, democratic police and crime commissioner?
Police Officer Numbers — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): What a joy it is to hear a Conservative voice for Darlington once again! You will be interested to know, Mr Speaker, that in my very first general election in 1987, I fought in Darlington for the then young and fresh-faced Michael Fallon, who was the successful MP in that election My hon. Friend makes a fair point. When deciding about the disposition of custody suites in police stations across a particular force area, chiefs must have in mind the amount of time that will be spent by police officers in ferrying miscreants to and from those custody suites. I applaud him for pushing his temporary police and crime commissioner, and I hope there is soon to be a Conservative one—George Jabbour is a fantastic candidate—who will make a sensible decision in favour of all the people of Durham.
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): After a very difficult weekend in London, our thoughts are with the families, friends and neighbourhoods affected by those incidents of violent crime. Across England and Wales we are increasing police capacity in the forces most affected by violent crime, investing £176 million over two years. We have recently consulted on serious violence reduction orders, which will give the police stop-and-search powers to target individuals previously convicted of knife offences, and we are investing many millions of pounds in early intervention schemes to stop young people being drawn into violence in the first place.
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Anthony Edward Timpson (Conservative, Centre-right): After the recent tragic knife-related murder of a young man in Winsford, Cheshire police have secured funding for 25 16 to 18-year-olds to take part in an employment mentoring programme led by We Mind The Gap, as well as identifying a former community centre to deliver youth and apprenticeship activities. Will my hon. Friend congratulate Cheshire police on a constructive and long-term problem-solving approach to this issue and ensure that they have the funding necessary to prevent knife crime from happening in the first place?
Knife Crime — House of Commons, 2021-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has a distinguished record of helping the most vulnerable children in our society, and I join him in welcoming the investment in this and other intervention projects in Cheshire to tackle the root causes of violent crime. I commend the work of Cheshire police in supporting such projects. In this financial year, Cheshire police will receive up to £219 million in funding, and it has already recruited 91 additional officers under the police uplift programme.