argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, and I have a feeling that might catch on, but that is exactly what we are trying to do. By our green homes grants and by stamp duty cuts, we are getting activity going, we are getting people at work, we are getting work to happen, and all of that will be good for our local communities. I know people in Broxtowe will welcome it, and I am thankful to him for coining a phrase.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
James Michael Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): The tourism and hospitality sector right across the UK will thoroughly welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcements today, but the sector in my constituency will benefit only if it is allowed to open, so will he endorse the call by Jim Jones, the chief executive of North Wales Tourism, for the Welsh Government to open up restaurants, pubs, cafés and indoor attractions by no later than 19 July?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend knows well how important tourism is to Wales’s economy. In fact, it may well be more reliant on tourism than any other part of the UK, from memory, so I fully understand and sympathise with his desire to get his local tourism businesses open, ready for business and ready to ensure that we can all enjoy the summer safely in Wales.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Ben Everitt (Conservative, Centre-right): Milton Keynes has a significant consumption economy, and our hospitality sector has been particularly hard hit in this global pandemic, not just in central Milton Keynes but in our market towns and, indeed, in our rural pubs. Will my right hon. Friend join me in encouraging everybody in Milton Keynes—in fact, anybody who can travel to our wonderful Milton Keynes and market towns—to eat out to help out?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend knows well, and he has seen first-hand, what a great job his local businesses have done in ensuring that their premises are safe for us to return to. They have made an enormous effort to be able to welcome us back. With our new eat out to help out discount, we can all play our part in helping to support their businesses and to protect those jobs.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Simon James Jupp (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for the major steps that he is taking to get money flowing through the economy in East Devon and beyond. Cutting VAT on food, accommodation and attractions to 5% has been described as "epic" by the South West Tourism Alliance. The measures announced today will protect jobs, but perhaps not my waistline, as I wholeheartedly promise to eat out to help out. Will my right hon. Friend continue to work with me and south-west MPs to protect and strengthen tourism in the best part of Britain?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My North Yorkshire constituents might have something to say about that, but I know how important tourism is to my hon. Friend’s constituency, similar to so many of our rural constituencies up and down the country. I am glad that he will be doing his bit to eat out to help out. I hope that others will join him. In doing so, we can collectively help to protect 2 million jobs across our country.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Abimbola Afolami (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Chancellor for his statement and also for his kind words that he is considering my proposals on recapitalising the SME sector. I want to ask about the infrastructure funding of, I think, £5.6 billion that he has committed to today. Will he expand on how he thinks we can get infrastructure delivered more quickly, whether it is through dealing with planning regulations or other practical obstacles, because that is how we can make sure that that money is most effective?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is one thing to sit here and approve budgets for things; it is more important that we get on and actually deliver them. We need to make sure that our communities see tangible improvements in what is happening around them, and, particularly given the economic situation we face at the moment, there is a premium on doing that quickly. That is why we brought forward £5 billion-worth of projects and why we have initiated Project Speed to look at our entire process end to end—procurement, planning, construction and regulations approval—to ensure that we can deliver for our communities as quickly as possible.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We cannot afford to lose this generation; they cannot be the generation that is defined and scarred by coronavirus. That is why, as he rightly identifies, we have put in place a suite of interventions, from traineeships to apprenticeships to the kick-start fund, all designed to help that generation to a better and a brighter future.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I know my colleague the Financial Secretary has been abreast of this issue for a while, and he has just reminded me that we have invested £37 million in debt advisory services during this time. I also know that he is taking forward actions on our breathing space initiative, which is something that he passionately believes in, and I wholeheartedly support those efforts.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is doing a fantastic job in promoting and protecting jobs, but to really trade our way out of this recession, we will need to look at the future, and I know he is keen as I am to see a green recovery. Does he agree that COP26 next year offers us a really good opportunity to show UK global leadership, including by working now with international partners in big projects in areas such as battery storage, offshore wind or carbon capture, usage and storage? Those areas can create green jobs for the future the Chancellor.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not repeat my comments on an ever-extending furlough scheme. I do not think that that is the right thing to do. With regard to grants, we provided grants—£10,000 or £25,000—specifically to businesses in the retail, hospitality and tourism sector, and that is why those businesses did not necessarily have to use loans if they did not want to. They received that support early in this crisis, because we acknowledged the particular difficulty that they would face. The hon. Gentleman referred to the VAT cut, which was one of the significant asks—if not the significant ask—from industry, but there is also the "eat out to help out" discount that will drive tons of businesses and protect millions of jobs.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Other
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I remember that when I had the Chief Secretary’s job we discussed this very topic, and my hon. Friend is right to keep highlighting it. What I can tell him is that, as the Chief Secretary said, I believe, very recently, we are well on the way to implementing the measure and will bring forward appropriate legislation in due course.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Member is right to highlight the important work that Leeds council does. Having spent some time there, seeing how they do early intervention in children’s services in particular, I was very impressed when I did the local government job. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has been engaging extensively with the sector. We have put billions of pounds of incremental support in place. Of course it was going to be difficult—it is difficult for all of us, whether it is business or a local authority—to get through this time, but considerable support has been put in place. In particularly, the announcement last week on a loss-sharing arrangement with central Government for their income and fees and charges is an important step in the right direction.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Other
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that this matter is close to my hon. Friend’s heart, and he has brought it up with me before. I would be delighted to give him the time he asks for to discuss this matter further.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary is in close contact with the banking sector and deserves enormous credit for the measures he has put in place to provide forbearance to people during this difficult time, and he will be very happy to meet the hon. Lady. He put in place a scheme that provided mortgage holidays to people, and I think about one in six mortgages was able to benefit from that. Millions of people will therefore have welcomed that relief, and I pay tribute to him for the excellent work he has done.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right, as always, about the importance of private enterprise in driving our growth forward. He is right to highlight a freeport. I know what a difference it would make to his community; I remember that when I met his local businesses they were hungry to take up that opportunity to attract investment, to create new jobs, and to drive up productivity, and I look forward to working with him in the coming months on trying to make that a reality.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The good news is that we already have. The Prime Minister announced it, and I talked about it at the Budget: the affordable homes programme will increase from £9 billion to £12 billion over the next few years, a significant uplift in the amount of new housing delivery—180,000 new homes, from memory. With regard to the benefits of stamp duty, the evidence we have both from economists and HMRC is that the majority of the benefit of a stamp duty cut last time around, in ’08-’09, accrued to the buyers.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): As the chairman of the all-party group on hospitality and tourism, I warmly thank the Chancellor for his announcements today: thank you for listening to the sector and for what you have delivered, which will undoubtedly save tens of thousands of jobs and thousands of businesses. The Chancellor has done his bit, and businesses across the country have done theirs in getting ready to make our bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels safe to welcome customers. Does he share my view that what we now need is the British people to do their bit—to get out and spend money in our bars and restaurants—and will he join me in inviting everyone to come to Cornwall this summer?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): There are fewer greater champions of the tourism and hospitality industry than my hon. Friend, and I know he will be pleased about today’s announcements. He is absolutely right that our local businesses in all our constituencies have worked unbelievably hard over the past few weeks to adapt how they do business, to invest in new things, and to make their premises safe for us, and that is why today we introduced the "eat out to help out" discount. We can all play our part in supporting these businesses and protecting these jobs.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Public Lands
Daniel Robert Kawczynski (Conservative, Centre-right): In addition to the misery that covid has brought to our constituencies, over 46 constituencies, such as mine on the River Severn, also face devastation from flooding earlier this year—a double whammy for our local businesses. The River Severn Partnership has been formed in conjunction with all the councils down the River Severn and the support of local MPs. I have been led to believe by the Environment Agency that an announcement is imminent on additional support for the River Severn Partnership in order to secure a more holistic solution to the management of this river. Does the Chancellor agree that when it comes to the recovery of our economy, making sure that our constituencies are not repeatedly flooded is an important aspect of that? I very much hope so.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Public Lands
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is something the Committee on Climate Change also mentioned, which is why in the Budget we doubled the investment that we put into flood defences. That was the right thing to do. It will build resilience in our communities and protect our natural environment. I do not know the specifics of the timing of the announcement that he alludes to, but I am happy to go away and take a look at it. I know how important it is to him and his constituents that we are able to protect them from the devastating flooding that we have seen in recent years.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): Procedures are in place for any employee to talk to HMRC if they believe that they themselves have been the victim of fraud or that the company for which they work has not acted in a way in keeping with the guidance. I urge any employees of any company who feel that that has happened to take up the matter via the HMRC hotline, the details of which are online.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Just to clarify: the "eat out to help out" discount will not apply to alcohol, but 90-something per cent. of pubs serve food, so my hon. Friend can still go to the pub and enjoy that. He is absolutely right about competition policy: it is important that we have dynamic markets in this country. We need dynamic competition to create jobs and productivity in order to get the outcomes that we want. I am happy to talk to him—I know he has expertise in this policy area—to get his thoughts about things we can do to update and turbo-charge our competition policy to make sure it is fit, especially for the digital age.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): It strikes me that this is a perfect opportunity to review our investment and procurement strategies in a range of sectors. Does the Chancellor agree that we must stop spending so much taxpayers’ money overseas? It is time to build British, buy British and sell British.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to point out the opportunities that we will now have, after leaving the EU, to tweak our procurement rules to ensure that we will of course always get value for money for the taxpayer, and that we can do so in a way that supports our local economies and—especially right now—local jobs.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Public Lands
Desmond Angus Swayne (Conservative, Centre-right): After that package and that performance, the only reasonable thing I can say to my right hon. Friend is, "Remember, O Caesar, you are mortal." However, it would be a great shame if the effectiveness of his measures were to be undermined in the New Forest, with the loss of at least £16 million to local traders, by the company to whom the Forestry Commission handed a monopoly refusing to open its campsites. Will he summon Forestry England, threaten it with the rough end of a pineapple and instruct it to use its position on the board and its substantial shareholding to get those campsites open?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you—I think—to my right hon. Friend. I share his passion for getting our campsites open. I hope that an extra incentive today will be the cut in VAT, from 20% to 5%, which extends to campsites, as well as to caravan sites, bed and breakfasts, and hotels. I am not sure that I have the powers to summon anyone, but I will be delighted to bring to bear whatever influence I can on the matter. I look forward to discussing it with him further.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): Again, we have taken measures with specific support, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out. That is why we are cutting VAT for campsites and the tourism sector from 20% to 5%. That is part of it, but as the Chancellor also said, if we extended as the hon. Lady suggests, others would say, "Another month, another month, another month", and people would be away from the labour market for a long period, which would not be in their interests.
Merger of Department for International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Office — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): The Speaker has made it absolutely clear that he expects all Back-Bench questions to Ministers not only to be answered but to be answered promptly, and I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench will make absolutely certain that Ministers are made aware of that rule.
Covid-19: Self-Employed Women — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Paul Stuart Scully (Conservative, Centre-right): We have introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses to get through this incredibly challenging period. More than £10 billion of grants has been paid and over 830,000 businesses of all sizes have been able to access more than £34 billion of finance through our loan scheme. As of 7 June, the self-employed income support scheme has paid out on 2.6 million applications worth £7.5 billion. Of these, 701,000 claims were from women, totalling £1.609 billion.
Covid-19: Women in the Workplace — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Paul Stuart Scully (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question and, in particular, for highlighting the situation with regard to the hospitality and leisure sector. I speak to many of the people in that sector on a daily basis. We are actively monitoring the impact of covid-19 on the labour market, but it is too early to draw any firm conclusions. Equality legislation requires that employers must not discriminate based on gender, and this law continues to apply.
Covid-19: Female Entrepreneurship — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government’s Rose review into female entrepreneurship found that £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men. We must take the opportunity, as we recover from the covid crisis, to help make this happen.
Covid-19: Female Entrepreneurship — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Craig Paul Tracey (Conservative, Centre-right): I recently highlighted to my right hon. Friend that very point about the £250 billion, and, as part of that solution, I have been working to try to deliver a set of women’s business hubs across the UK, which I know the British Library is also working on. What other steps can she take to ensure that part of the covid recovery benefits women across the UK and encourages more female entrepreneurs?
Covid-19: Female Entrepreneurship — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend on his work for the all-party group on women and enterprise. He is absolutely right: we need to make sure that, as part of our levelling-up agenda, this is a cross-UK phenomenon. We have growth hubs across the country. We are also working on mentoring schemes and on trying to ensure that investment is available right through the UK to help those start-up businesses get going.
Black Lives Matter Movement — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (Conservative, Centre-right): No one should face discrimination. Individual Departments and their Ministers must take account of the equality impact of their policies, and I can assure the House that my ministerial colleagues take this very seriously. Across the whole of Government, we have already taken significant steps to tackle the sorts of concerns raised by the Black Lives Matter movement, including continuing to act on the Lammy report, working to improve trust between citizens and police forces and ensuring that record numbers of ethnic minority people continue to go to university.
Covid-19: Economic Opportunity — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Paul Stuart Scully (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government take the public sector equality duty into account when developing, implementing and reviewing all policies, including the response to the covid-19 pandemic. We are gathering and developing evidence for the equalities impact of covid-19, which will be used to support and influence planning for the economic recovery.
Global LGBT Equality — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We want LGBT people across the world to be free to live their lives without discrimination or persecution. I am working closely on that with the Foreign Secretary and, as we launch trade negotiations with Australia today, I am delighted to have worked with high commissioner George Brandis, who played a leading role in Australia’s legalisation of same-sex marriage. We will continue to work with close allies to lead the world on this issue.
Global LGBT Equality — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Peter Alexander Gibson (Conservative, Centre-right): In the month of Pride, being celebrated around the world, and looking forward to the rescheduled global LGBT conference being hosted here under the chairmanship of the right hon. Nick Herbert, does the Minister agree that it is essential for us to deliver on our 2018 LGBT action plan in order to preserve our place as a co-chair of the global Equal Rights Coalition?
Global LGBT Equality — House of Commons, 2020-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I take this opportunity to wish everybody the very best for a happy Pride. I am sure that we will be doing a lot of things virtually rather than on the streets, but it is very important that we celebrate, and I am delighted that we are hosting the LGBT conference on the theme of "Safe to be me". In response to my hon. Friend’s question, we will be updating our plans for LGBT rights for 2020 and we want to continue to lead the world on this issue.