argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Drug use in our prisons lines the pockets of organised criminals and smuggling gangs, puts prison staff at risk of pressure from those same gangs and makes the already difficult job of prison rehabilitation far harder. How long do Ministers expect it to be before British prisons become practically drug free?; In the recent court decision to extradite Dr Mike Lynch, the Serious Fraud Office made a submission in defiance of normal standards of British justice. Despite the SFO finding no case to answer, it nevertheless recommended extradition to the United States. It did so because American prosecutors have a higher chance of conviction because they use coercion and threats to turn junior staff into prosecution witnesses, which is done without the prosecutors being required to tell the court. These tactics also prevent defence witnesses from appearing. We explicitly prohibit such behaviour in British courts because we believe it would undermine British justice, so the SFO should not be recommending the extradition of British citizens to face this parody of justice. Will the Justice Secretary review this, with a view to putting in place proper guidelines to prevent it happening in future?; The Secretary of State spoke earlier about pets being sold from garage forecourts. Just this week, on 10 September, the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff introduced a new regulation that makes it an offence to sell a puppy or kitten that the seller has not bred themselves. Crucially, it also requires the seller to have bred the puppy or kitten on the premises, which puts a stop to transportation of the type he condemned. Will he undertake to bring forward similar regulations?; Last weekend a young man sadly lost his life in my constituency, and a county lines drug operation was peripherally involved. What are the Government doing to bring a stop to these county lines drug operations, which are ruining constituencies such as mine?
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I am extremely sorry to hear about the event in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I am pleased that he has raised it on the Floor of the House. He will know that, for the last two years, we have made dismantling the county lines business model a key priority of our work between the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. He will be pleased to know that, following significant investment in the key exporting forces of London, the west midlands and Liverpool—Merseyside police—we have made significant progress. We reckon that we have managed to dismantle about a third of the county lines, but there is still significant work to do. He will be pleased to know that some counties, such as Essex and Norfolk, are showing significant success, but there is still a lot more to do to overcome this pernicious and particularly unpleasant business model that focuses on exploiting young and vulnerable people as part of its way of making money. I assure him that we will not stint over the coming years in trying to eradicate county lines from our country.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to raise that point. That is why we have kept our travel rules relating to covid constantly under review. He may have heard that I referred in my statement to a set of changes that we are looking to make, and my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will bring those changes to the House as soon as he possibly can.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I would say two things to the right hon. Gentleman. First, it is important that we have a system of surveillance, especially for variants across the world. There are different ways to do that. We have chosen a particular path at the moment, and I hope he agrees it is important to have that surveillance. Also, as I said in my statement, we are planning to make some changes to the travel regime, and my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will come to the House as soon as he is ready.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that the international travel sector will welcome the framework. Given that it will come out on 1 October, will that give colleagues, and indeed Select Committees, the opportunity to feed in their ideas on behalf of their constituents? Will the Secretary of State entertain the idea of moving to lateral flow tests, which are cheaper, with only the small proportion of positive cases needing to take a PCR test?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that these are important issues for the House, and particularly for my hon. Friend, who chairs the Transport Committee. I do not want to pre-empt the statement by my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary, but I believe that when he makes that statement, my hon. Friend will be pleased.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. May I raise the plight of care home residents, many of whom have been kept apart from their families and loved ones owing to outbreaks being declared in their home? Obviously, we need to strike a proportionate balance here, but the threshold for intervention by declaring an outbreak is really quite low. Will the Secretary of State commit to looking at that so we can ensure that people can see their loved ones throughout the winter ahead?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Sara Alice Britcliffe (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State will be aware that Hyndburn and Haslingden have faced restrictions for longer than most in the country. Will he please clarify whether local restrictions are being considered by the Government and, if so, what they might be?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I was not sure from my hon. Friend’s question whether she was referring only to her own area or more generally in terms of local restrictions. In terms of the plans I announced today, the Government will retain some powers for local restrictions, working with local authorities, if absolutely necessary. If she is interested more in the current situation in her own area, I or other Ministers will be happy to talk with her.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
John Charles Baron (Conservative, Centre-right): Very briefly, Madam Deputy Speaker, is there anything that Mr Speaker can do about extending the time that Parliament has to scrutinise this important legislation today? We are raising tens of billions of pounds for a social care reform of which Parliament has had no opportunity to scrutinise the details. In fact, I am not even sure that the details have been supplied. That is the wrong way of going about business in this place and it does not reflect well on us here.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill: Business of the House — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
John Charles Baron (Conservative, Centre-right): I will keep my comments brief because I know that they are eating into our time. For the same reason, I will not divide the House, but I reiterate the concern many of us have that today, in haste, we are discussing very important legislation that will introduce a massive tax increase—bigger than that of some Budgets—and yet we do not have details of the social care reforms being proposed. That is not the way to go about business in this place In my 20 years’ experience in this place, when we have rushed through decisions, as we are doing today—the measure was announced only last week—it has often increased the chance of big mistakes being made. I know that Ministers on the Front Bench are not listening, but I ask them even at this late stage to consider allowing more time to consider this important matter. If we do not know the detail of what is proposed, how in heaven are we to know how much money to raise for it?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Charles Baron (Conservative, Centre-right): We need to give credit where it is due, and the Government are absolutely right to try to grasp this nettle, but many of us are concerned about the haste with which it is being done. Does my right hon. Friend think it is a good idea to raise taxes on jobs ineffectively, and risk choking off an economic recovery before we have even got to know the details of the social care reforms?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend, and good friend, has raised two connected points. The first was dealt with earlier in points of order: it is the will of the House that decides the timings of debates, and the Chair addressed that point. As for the second, we discussed it at length during last week’s ways and means debate. We discussed the wider purpose in dealing with the consequences of covid and the backlog in care that needs to be tackled, but we also discussed grasping the nettle in relation to the long-term challenges surrounding social care—challenges that the House has debated repeatedly over many years The levy will apply UK-wide to taxpayers liable for class 1 employee and employer, class 1A, class 1B and class 4 self-employed national insurance contributions. However, it will not apply where taxpayers pay class 2 or class 3 NICs. It will be introduced in April 2022, and from April 2023 it will also apply to those working over the state pension age. As my right hon. and hon. Friends will understand, it takes time for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to prepare its systems for such a major shift. That is why, as set out in clause 5, in 2022-23 the levy will be delivered through a temporary increase in NICs rates of 1.25% for one year only.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): I have a great deal of sympathy with what my right hon. Friend is saying, and I think the Government deserve considerable credit for grasping this nettle at last, but may I ask for an assurance? When the charge has been introduced, will he ensure that every six months a Treasury Minister comes to the House and tells us what results are being achieved—what money has been raised through the levy and what results have been delivered; in other words, what additional treatment has been achieved—so that we can see and show our constituents why it was right to raise this levy and what they are getting for the money?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): As a former Chief Whip, my right hon. Friend knows better than most that it is for the House to decide which Ministers come to the House and provide updates. Obviously, in respect of regular fiscal events and others—[Interruption.] It is. The right hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth) chunters from a sedentary position, but through urgent questions and other such devices it is always for the House to decide which Ministers come here and, of course, there are regular events such as Treasury and other departmental questions. [Interruption.] He chunters but, as I have said, there are many procedures through which updates—[Interruption.] The procedures to which I referred Under clause 2, this revenue will be ring-fenced for health and for social care—
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): I will make a little progress. I have taken a number of interventions, including one from my right hon. Friend Existing NICs reliefs and allowances will also apply to the levy. That will mean that 40% of all businesses will not be affected owing to the employment allowance. When it comes to individuals, those earning more will pay more. Indeed, the top 14 per cent. of taxpayers will pay about half the revenues. Conversely, at least 6.2 million people earning less than the NICs primary threshold will not pay the levy at all.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): It is not just that the first 40% will not pay anything, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor mentioned. The next 40% will pay less than 1% of their wage bill, and indeed 70% of the employer contribution comes from just 1% of business. To some extent, the hon. Lady’s point was also picked up by the Monetary Policy Committee in its evidence to the Treasury Committee, when it said, "You should not ignore one half of the policy announcement." Of course, one needs to look at the spending implications of the measures, not just—
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): First, in order to meet the quantum of spend, one needs a broad-based tax. That is a point that my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker), who is not in his place, raised in the debate last week. Secondly, I would point to the more than £400 billion—[Interruption.] I do not know why SNP Members are laughing at £400 billion of support. I do not think that this is a point of difference. I think we can all agree across the House that there has been huge fiscal support across the UK through the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom to support business, at a cost of £400 billion to businesses, public services and individuals, and that has a consequence. Most of the business leaders I speak to recognise that, and recognise that the backlog in the NHS needs to be dealt with. I would add the further point that those businesses benefit from the NHS clearing its backlog because it is members of staff in those businesses that are affected.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): Again, this is why, as is standard practice, my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has published the tax information and impact note on the tax change. Of course, that will be dynamic because it will interact with the fiscal forecast that the Office for Budget Responsibility will set out alongside the Budget on 27 October. So that is dealt with in the normal way for measures such as this—
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that we need to progress on to Committee, I shall just point out that this is a permanent new role for the Government and a structural increase in the size of the British state. We therefore need a permanent new way to pay for it. The only alternative would be to borrow indefinitely, but that would clearly be the wrong course of action when our national debt is already at the highest it has been in peacetime. Borrowing even more today would just mean higher taxes in the future.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): My comments have been misreported. The origins of the Labour movement and the Liberal movement are in trade unions, co-operatives and friendly societies that came together to look after each other. What I am suggesting is that we get money into such systems to help people look after and pay for themselves in older age. There are myriad ways in which the system can be made much more progressive, and I am on their side in trying to make this more progressive than it is at the moment.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Labor
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is talking about a two-tier system. Is he saying that the millions of people in the public sector and the not-for-profit sector who have auto-enrolled pensions are rather daft to have a sensible pot under their own name, with the flexibility that it brings? Are you calling millions of taxpayers daft?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew Griffith (Conservative, Centre-right): I am just wondering whether the hon. Gentleman’s tax primer in low corporate taxes has enlightened him with any ideas of his own as to how his party would propose to fund this. The proposal on the table is a broad-based tax. How would he fund this?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend share my surprise that the Treasury can be precise in saying that it needs £12 billion from a new tax when it overstated the budget deficit by £90 billion last year, which shows that it does not have a clue about how much money will come in anyway?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes a good point. Yes, it would have been great to have had more detailed context of where we can get to in this economic recovery so that we could know where we were in terms of revenue before we make such momentous changes that affect the aspirations and potential of so many people within the economy. We also need to look at whether this measure will increase costs and cost pressures within the system that we are trying to help. Many local authorities outsource provision of social care to private contractors, and these private businesses will be very much affected by these plans for the tax. We have also heard that the plan will mean that private providers cannot cross-subsidise their state provision of residential care places with private places, which could risk taking capacity out of the system at exactly the wrong moment when we want to get health and social care operating correctly. There are ways of making this measure more intergenerationally fair and I look forward to trying to work with the Government on different and innovative ways of doing that Going back to my original point, I think that we marry in haste and repent at leisure. Let me be clear that I am not referring to my own marriage; it is a very successful one and I love my wife dearly. None the less, it would have been much better to have had more time to think about all the ramifications of this Bill and the associated plan. I hope the Government will engage positively with our ideas about how we can evolve things whatever the outcome today.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Griffith (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Ruth Edwards) for her remarks My constituency has a disproportionately older demographic—those who live there are 50% more likely to be over 65 than the national average—but I want to lay to rest the misperception on both sides of the House that social care is simply about the older generation. More than one in three people in the system is under the age of 65, and because younger adults are in the system for longer, spend on them is proportionately greater, so this is not just about a battle of the generations. I pay tribute to the millions of unpaid carers in society who for years have been papering over the cracks in the system and the capricious nature of continuing healthcare assessments. I have personal experience of some of that as for many years my father was my mother’s unpaid carer and had to deal with that at the sharp end. For that reason, I celebrate the fact that this is a nettle grasped. It is not necessarily the whole solution but it is the start of a package of measures that moves forward a debate that has been stalled for too long. That is one reason why we should all come to the House and use our voice and platform on the hard issues that we face in society I applaud the Government on their selection of national insurance, which is the tax with the broadest reach. It is progressive, and that is why so many of our European neighbours have chosen to fund their social systems through similar measures. It is a chimera to think that there is another way—perhaps Opposition Members have been taking medicinal hallucinogenics—because the national insurance take is more than 10 times that of capital gains tax and inheritance tax combined. No mythical tax on wealth will give us anything like what we need to take this issue seriously—and we should take it seriously.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew William Murrison (Conservative, Centre-right): I am loth to give the hon. Gentleman an extra minute, but I must ask him how much he would put on income tax. I know that his party was famously keen on putting a penny on income tax, but he has just made a whole load of spending commitments—particularly raising incomes for care staff. I assume he has costed that. If so, will he say how many pennies on income tax he proposes to burden our constituents with?
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for highlighting some of the fiscal drags that have been beneficial to the Treasury. In terms of asset price inflation, which has nothing to do with the activities of the taxpayer, other factors of low interest rates are involved. There are big windfalls coming towards the Treasury, in terms of IHT and capital taxes, which were never really forecast and are now bearing some substantial fruit. So I would have hoped that the Treasury Bench might have thought, "Where are those taxes going? Where are the other losses within the system across different Departments? Are there procurement gains? Are we really saying that the way the NHS is run today is the best way of running it?" I would have hoped that that could have formed the new pot to solve our social care problem I am very concerned that this is going to be wasted cash. I am very unimpressed and I will not be supporting the Government tonight.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill — House of Commons, 2021-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): I am listening carefully to the hon. Lady’s interesting speech and her list of what her constituents speak to her about. One of the top issues that my constituents speak to me about is the need to deal with social care and to make sure that older people and people who need social care have adequate facilities and funding, yet I have not heard about Labour’s plan to deal with this important issue.