argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my hon. Friend and I agree with him—that is something that the Government should be moving on now, but there is something else the Government could do literally today. Universal credit has three basic levers that can all be pulled now enormously to help people who are in work. First, the taper could be lowered dramatically at this stage, which would push the floor right up underneath people in work at the moment, allowing them to fall back on that if employers cannot deal with them. Secondly, Ministers could change benefit rates, allowing a greater expanse of money to flow to claimants: that could be done today. The third area where my hon. Friend could act is to look at the waiting time and reduce that almost immediately. Those three things were always built into the system for flexibility and they can be done today. They can be delivered within days by a Department that already has the ability to do that while he gets on with the other facilities.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, who has unrivalled experience in this area. He makes some very reasonable points, and we are looking very carefully at all the options. As I said earlier, when we have decided—very imminently—the Chancellor will make announcements to this House first.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It is important that the Government do whatever it takes in these circumstances. He raises a number of specific points. He will be familiar with the changes we have made in terms of access to statutory sick pay and eligibility starting much sooner; that commenced from 13 March. He will be aware that, to make that easier, there is now no need to have a GP note. He makes number of points on universal credit and changing the eligibility there. Advances are available online; the minimum income floor has been temporarily released. He also makes a number of points about freelancers and the self-employed, which the Government are clear about The hon. Gentleman mentioned the universal basic income. The Government are looking at that, but the question whether it will help the most affected most urgently is one we have to consider. Many of us in this House, for example, would not require such support. We have to ensure that we target it at the most vulnerable.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. and gallant Friend is right to raise that. We have changed the rules on access to employment support allowance and sick pay. It will depend on individual circumstances. We have also released funds to local authorities for hardship relief. Further advice on that will be given tomorrow by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman makes some specific points essentially about the consequential effects on different groups of employees who are affected. I cannot comment on the details of that. As for the timing of the employment support announcement, we are working on it as quickly as we can. There is no timetable or specific date because we have got to get it right. We are working as urgently as possible, but I cannot tell him the precise moment at this point.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) for his urgent question and endorse everything he said. Those of us who are not in the engine room of Government are being told by our constituents that, welcome though Tuesday’s package was, it is simply not going to be enough. When diehards such as my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) and Allister Heath of The Daily Telegraph are lining up for far more radical measures than the Government have yet announced, the Government must take note. May I urge the Government to say something today to give people assurance that the help will come?
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the hon. Lady’s frustration. It is totally reasonable for Members of this House to be extremely concerned in the absence of the announcement, but it would be even worse, I would suggest, if we made ad hoc announcements when different Government Departments were not quite ready to implement those effectively. We are talking about an unprecedented crisis, and therefore we will need to take unprecedented measures. It is important that we do that as swiftly as possible, but it is also important that we do it as effectively as possible.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Education
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady makes a reasonable point about the concerns that are being raised. That is why the Cabinet Office will give further advice today on key workers and the support that will be given. I recognise that yesterday’s announcement on schools will be a significant disruption to the lives of many of our citizens. It is very important that we put in place urgently clarity about who is involved—who is designated in those categories—and the support that will be available. I will ensure that her point, which I am sure reflects the views of many, gets to the Cabinet Office after this session.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
Joy Inboden Morrissey (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for the measures that he has already taken to help the self-employed, but my constituency has the highest number of self-employed in the country, so will he elaborate on what tax incentives, or tax advice or support, can be given to the self-employed at this time, particularly during April over the end of the financial year?
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard), people have access to an HMRC support line, which is properly manned and up and running. That should give them bespoke support for their circumstances. I have referred to the package of other measures that the Chancellor announced a few days ago.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes some very reasonable points about the tourism sector just down the road from my constituency. The issue of what we do to support sectors that are directly and immediately affected by the action we have had to take will be at the front of our minds as we examine what employment support to put in place.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of the "just about managing" are not managing, and there will be many more of them in the next few days. The last thing we need at this time is an over-engineered new system. As a humble Back Bencher, I have heard many good ideas in the Chamber this morning—particularly from my right hon. Friends the Members for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) and for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) and the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms). If those three right hon. Members are not in No. 11 for a meeting later today, I will be really disappointed. We have had the architect of universal credit in the Chamber, and he has given the Government the answer to their problem. Please can we get a move on?
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I take the challenge from my hon. Friend in the spirit in which it was intended. There is no sense that the Treasury is trying to over-engineer anything. We are not trying to restrain spending for the sake of restraining it. We want to bring forward an effective package of measures that effectively meets the needs of the most vulnerable. My hon. Friend makes the reasonable point that a number of colleagues of great seniority have raised significant points of interest, and I will ensure that their contributions are heard at the heart of this process today.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises a number of sensible points. We are looking at many of them. I reassure her that we will make further announcements very soon. Yes, we are looking at the ideas raised. We are looking at other jurisdictions. But in some cases we have a very different set of processes and IT systems behind some of these Government Department distribution mechanisms. I know that that is very technical, but the bottom line is that we need to ensure that when we introduce something, it delivers.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): I support strongly the ideas on the universal employment retention package proposed by several right hon. Friends, and I hope that the Government take it on board to prevent a health crisis becoming an economic disaster. In addition, briefly, rateable value capped at £51,000 is too low for medium-sized tourism employers such as the Seaview Hotel. Secondly, we need clarity in the system because my chamber of commerce still does not know how to apply. Thirdly, we need a package for the voluntary sector. West Wight sports centre is a world-leading sailing academy and a major employer on my patch. We need either a voluntary sector package or a universal employment retention programme.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is perfectly right that we need a comprehensive package that deals with businesses, the voluntary sector and individual employees of different categories. We are looking very carefully at the best way to do that, in addition to the significant package of measures we have introduced. I feel his frustration and I will take all these points back and make sure that they are addressed.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I recognise the provisions of a universal minimum income guarantee, and we are looking at that. We are looking at a number of options, and will bring forward a response as quickly as we can.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a reasonable point about the hospitality sector, and a very credible suggestion with respect to VAT. Across the benefits system and the tax system, we are looking at the optimisation of interventions to support the most vulnerable and most affected at this time, and to give reassurance to the whole country. We will urgently bring forward measures to address the concerns that he has raised.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Agriculture
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will know that a large number of the grants and loans schemes will be accessible to all sectors, as well as grants from the local authority. Comprehensive advice went out to all hon. Members last night setting out all that information, and there will be further announcements. Sector-specific issues are best addressed through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but I hope the announcements that we have made will give some interim comfort to her constituents at this difficult time.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I confirm to the hon. Gentleman that we are looking at the most comprehensive package that we can bring forward that deals with all sectors and all categories. We want it to be effective to deal with the reality of the challenges that our country faces.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman wishes to criticise the tone of my response. I am clear that this is an unprecedented crisis. The Government have made a series of announcements, and will be making further announcements. A range of sensible suggestions have been made, many of which we are already examining urgently In response to specific questions about technical matters, I have had to use quite complex and unfamiliar constructions. If I did not do that, I would not be answering the question. If I used too many soundbites, I would be criticised in another way. We will do everything we can to take on board the questions that have been raised today to come forward with a comprehensive package that all our constituents will see as effective.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): We will do what it takes to support workers who are in distress. We have brought forward a package of measures, some of which will be imminently delivered, such as the unprecedented loan scheme. We have also added a number of grant schemes available through local authorities and reliefs from business rates, and additional measures will be coming imminently.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman highlights what many colleagues are going to experience: events that have been planned and have been going on for many, many decades will be cancelled as a result of what is happening. The package of measures that we have announced will be accessible to many of those people. The sectors that are involved will sometimes have sector-specific packages, where there has been a direct effect as a consequence of Government decisions, and we are urgently working on a broader package with respect to employees.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very happy to look at that individual’s circumstance. We have made interventions to provide advances of ESA and to remove the minimum income floor. It is clear that we will need to do more to support employees who have been specifically affected by the tough decisions we have taken. I am very sorry to hear of the first death in Northern Ireland.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I would like to make a number of points in response to the hon. Gentleman’s comments. First, he has already spoken to me about reviewing the recommendations, but I opened my statement by saying that I was deeply moved by reading the report, and I suggest that he too gives it some consideration and looks at the many recommendations made. In particular, I referenced the fact that we still have work to do in reaching members of the community, and I called for other individuals who feel that they have been affected to come forward, so that we can secure their status and provide the compensation that may be due to them There is something more fundamental, though. No amount of compensation or any process now can resolve the injustices that have happened. My focus right now is fundamentally not only to ensure that the recommendations are reviewed and undertaken, but to work with colleagues and Wendy Williams to ensure that we do this in the right way to bring about the change that we all want to see.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I would urge the right hon. Gentleman to work with us all, collectively, to right these wrongs. I have been clear in my statement today, not just in giving an unequivocal apology, but in highlighting, as Wendy Williams has in an incredibly moving and thoughtful way, many of the issues that have led to the 30 recommendations she has made in this review. I will come back to the House and give all the recommendations full consideration The right hon. Gentleman has heard me say, and I have made this commitment to Wendy Williams, that I will work with her on reviewing the recommendations. That is the right thing to do. It is the right way to prevent something such as this from ever happening again The right hon. Gentleman also asked me about the culture within the Home Office. I have been clear that I am going to review all aspects of the Home Office. I will continue to look at the leadership, and at the changes we need to make to the culture and to policies; I have been clear about that in my statement. I will absolutely come back to the House, once I have worked with Wendy Williams, and share the details of how we will proceed as a Department in picking up the recommendations in this lessons learned review.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Gareth Andrew Bacon (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend has disclosed that the first time she received this was report was yesterday and that she published it at the earliest possible opportunity today. Will she also disclose when officials at the Home Office first had sight of this report?
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to say that I received the report yesterday and, such is its importance, I published it today. Last July, Wendy Williams began the representations in the Maxwellisation process; those officials who have been involved and engaged in this process did not have sight of the actual review or report, because obviously it has taken time for that to come together, but there has been ongoing work and dialogue with key officials, former Ministers and many other interviewees Wendy has worked with for the publication of this review. That has taken place over a long period of time.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Lady is right in her identification of the issues that existed over a period of time—Wendy Williams was also very clear about them in her review. Over several decades, and under successive Governments, those policies were part of the culture and the environment of the Home Office. I am clear that I will review all the recommendations, and I will work with Wendy. There may be recommendations that I can proceed with sooner rather than later, and I am absolutely committed to doing that, because there are structural and cultural issues at the heart of this. They are so self-evident in this report that no one can sit back and digest them lightly, or close their eyes and ears to many of the challenges and to some of the deeply moving points that have been made. I will come back to the House on this, but I will work absolutely vigorously with Wendy to look at every single recommendation and consider which ones we can proceed with at pace and very soon.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises a number of points. First, I thank everyone who is involved, and has been involved, in many of the outreach groups and the events that have taken place across the country. I have mentioned the stakeholder group in particular, which is something that I set up. I have spent a lot of time with volunteers and community activists, and their work has been remarkable and should be commended. There is much more that we need to do on that basis, and that equally applies to members of other Commonwealth countries. This report is very clear about that, and I am very clear about that as well. I said in my statement that we have not done enough yet to reach out to everyone, and that there is a lot of work to do in reaching out to other individuals and communities. I have asked other colleagues and Members of this House to work with us and their communities so that we can ensure that we reach the people who need help and support. That goes exactly to the point about recourse to public funds. I spoke about assistance with benefit claims and things of that nature. Again, we need to identify those individuals, and there is more we can do collectively The hon. Lady touched on the current crisis with covid-19 and how we will continue to do these things. That is a fair challenge to us all, because we will not be able to hold events in the way we had planned to. Much more work will now take place through media campaigns and our casework approach, but also through one-on-one communications. I would like the individuals she mentioned in her constituency, and other individuals who are working at the grassroots, to get in touch with me and my office. We will absolutely work with them to create a network locally.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone of his question and for the points he makes. I urge all right hon. and hon. colleagues to look at the review. It is deeply moving and powerful. In many ways, it gives a voice to people who felt that their voice was taken away from them. My focus is to do right in terms of the wrongs that were undertaken and, more than just apologising to the individuals and communities affected, to review the recommendations and ensure that my Department puts people before process.
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Nicola Jane Aiken (Conservative, Centre-right): It is clear that my right hon. Friend is appalled by what she has read in the report. She has spoken with compassion, and I believe fully that she will ensure the Home Office changes. If there is one person who can do it, it is my right hon. Friend. However, can she give me an assurance that there will be no cap on the compensation awarded under the Windrush scheme?
Windrush Lessons Learned Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Law and Crime
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to point to the scheme itself. I have spoken about the scheme and the way it works. There is no cap at all. I repeat my plea to all colleagues in the House to work with us to bring forward cases of claimants in their constituencies. I thank colleagues who have done that—not just recognising those individuals but working with the Home Office to ensure that those who are eligible receive the full compensation.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
Mark Andrew Pritchard (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. You will know that Mr Speaker prides himself on standing up for the rights of Back Benchers, who, perhaps more than ever, need to stand up for the rights of their constituents. The House is due to rise on 31 March. The Leader of the House spoke about potential flexibility on that, and I understand why he did so. Can you give an assurance to my constituents, especially as the Government are seeking unprecedented powers, possibly without review or with review months in the future, that this House will sit for as long as it can, in order that the Government are held to account?