argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Better Jobs and a Fair Deal at Work — House of Commons, 2021-05-12
Topic: Social Welfare
Kim Marie Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): Yesterday, my constituents and millions of people across our country desperately needed to hear a Queen’s Speech that rose to the scale of the challenges our country is facing. In a year when the pandemic has been particularly brutal for the poorest and the most vulnerable, millions of families are no more than a pay packet away from disaster, with children out of school going hungry, and the elderly and disabled have suffered at the hands of a deeply inadequate social care system. Instead, the programme for government we were given showed just how far removed this Government’s priorities are from tackling the widening inequalities, poverty and insecurity that define the lives of so many of my constituents and millions more across the country The Government outlined detailed initiatives for a shameful new plan for immigration, voter suppression, legislation and constitutional reform to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, but they dedicated a mere nine words to their plans for social care. That speaks volumes about the warped priorities of the Government, as they seek to increase their powers and to limit accountability, at a time when they have presided over a catastrophic pandemic response resulting in more than 130,000 deaths This Government talk big about levelling up. I asked the Prime Minister how he could say those words with a straight face. He has missed an historic opportunity to level up workers’ rights and end disgraceful fire and rehire practices—legal loopholes that allow bosses to undercut workers’ rights and conditions with absolute impunity. Nearly one in 10 workers have been told to reapply for their job on worse terms and conditions since the first lockdown in March. One in four workers in the adult social care sector are on zero-hours contracts. Care workers in the independent sector earn barely half the average UK annual wage. That is a disgrace, not least after the sacrifices that they have made to keep our elderly, disabled and vulnerable cared for during this difficult year When I asked the Prime Minister last month whether he would commit to legislating against the draconian fire and rehire practices that are already outlawed in several countries, stunningly, he did not even know what I was talking about. Instead of bringing forward legislation to lift millions in work out of poverty, this Government have betrayed working families on low wages and precarious contracts The task before us is immense—to rebuild from the ashes of the pandemic a society that prioritises health, education and wellbeing. The lessons from the past year have shown just how undervalued our key workers are. In their name and in recognition of the sacrifices that they have made for all of us this year, we must continue to fight for a society run by them and for them.
Better Jobs and a Fair Deal at Work — House of Commons, 2021-05-12
Topic: Labor
Katharine Helen Brooks-Osborne (Labour, Centre-left): This is a Queen’s Speech that fails working people and seeks to further curtail people’s rights and freedoms. In 2019, the Government promised to bring forward an employment Bill, which, they said, would make the UK the best place in the world to work and include measures to strengthen workers’ rights and protections. Many of these measures were also promised back in 2018 on the back of the Taylor review Yesterday, the Government put out a statement saying that they have taken all steps to protect workers, so why has this Queen’s Speech failed to deliver an employment Bill that would repeal the current anti-trade union legislation and make it illegal once and for all for employers to fire and rehire their staff on much worse pay, terms and conditions? It has shown that the Government are not prepared to do anything about how weak employment rights have caused unsafe workplaces and economic insecurity, all of which have been an issue for many years but have been exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic This Government’s inaction—they have not done anything—on rogue employers using fire and rehire practices is, once again, a clear example of how they are not the party of working people. Fire and rehire is a disgraceful practice where employers, who have often made millions, or even billions, during the past 12 months or so, are now using the pandemic as a cover to reduce pay, strip back pensions and steal holiday entitlement from their hard-working staff We have had plenty of lip service from the Prime Minister and his Ministers on fire and rehire. On 13 January, the Prime Minister said: "We regard fire and rehire as unacceptable, and we will continue to make that point and seek further means of redress."—[Official Report, 13 January 2021; Vol. 687, c. 294.] On 23 March, the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), said: "We will not kick this into the long grass. We will tackle it. We will not allow bully boy tactics."—[Official Report, 23 March 2021; Vol. 691, c. 790.] Just today, the Chancellor said that fire and rehire should not be used as a negotiating tactic. He went on to say that the Government await the findings of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service report—but the Government have had the report since February I am afraid that this Queen’s Speech has shown that the only thing that workers can expect from this Government are empty words. Can the Government seriously talk about levelling up across the country when they are doing nothing about the fact that pay and terms and conditions are being levelled down across the sectors and the economy because of the Government’s failure to protect and enhance employment rights If the Government really cared about working people, they would have used this Queen’s Speech to protect workers, to strengthen their rights and to end fire and rehire once and for all.
Scottish Goods: US Tariffs — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gareth Thomas (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has threatened to reimpose tariffs on the United States if the Airbus dispute is not settled, but that threat will only carry any impact if the US believes that we have the legal authority to carry it out. Will she agree to publish the UK’s legal advice or our exchange of letters with the World Trade Organisation to prove that she is not bluffing and that we genuinely have the authority to reimpose those tariffs if we need to do so?
Food and Drink Exports — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Agriculture
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): Not enough vets to inspect Scottish fish, not enough customs agents to process border forms and not enough time for exporters to adopt new rules of origin—it is no good the Secretary of State saying that the delays are temporary or promising compensation with money that has been already allocated to modernise the fishing industry, as the Prime Minister did yesterday. The Government have failed to prepare for the new arrangements at the border, so is it any wonder that a company such as John Ross Jr says that the Government have thrown them in the sea "without a life jacket"?
Continuity Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): It has now been 14 days since the provisional trade agreement between the UK and Cameroon entered into force, yet Parliament has still not even seen that agreement, let alone had the chance to examine, debate or approve it. While I fully understand the reasons for that, does the Secretary of State understand why Members of all parties believe that this episode just illustrates why—in fact, it is the latest illustration of why—scrutiny procedures need to be improved, which is the reason many will be voting for changes to them next Tuesday?
Continuity Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): These are serious matters. Cameroon has become, in the last three years, one of the most abusive, repressive and murderous regimes in the world today. We all know that that did not stop the Secretary of State reaching a trade agreement with it, but we do not even know what, if anything, the trade agreement says on this issue. Again, does the Secretary of State understand why Members on all sides of this House believe that there is a need for new laws, next Tuesday, obliging the Government to take proper account of human rights when negotiating and ratifying new trade agreements?
UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kevin Denis Brennan (Labour, Centre-left): I was genuinely interested in what the Secretary of State would say, because so far none of the 30-plus free trade deals that she has rolled over with non-EU countries since 2019 is actually set to deliver any increase in exports compared with what was previously forecast. According to her own economic impact assessments, even the Japan trade deal, which she has lauded, will result in only a £2.6 billion increase in UK exports, not the £4.3 billion forecast inside the EU. Can she explain—preferably without reverting to wishful thinking, personal attacks or party political rants—exactly how Britain is going to be better off?
UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): Over the last two years, the Government have placed, as the Secretary of State tells us frequently, more than 30 new trade agreements before the House. Every single one of them, of course, has been accompanied by an economic impact assessment The Secretary of State’s October agreement with Japan set a new standard for these documents, with over 100 pages analysing the impact of the deal on UK exports, jobs, business and growth. May I simply ask the Secretary of State, when are the Government going to publish the economic impact assessment for the UK’s trade agreement with the European Union?
UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): I was not asking whether the Secretary of State was responsible; I was just thinking that, since she was in the Cabinet, she might know when the impact assessment was going to be published The reality is that we only need to watch the news to see the devastating economic damage being done to businesses across our country—especially the Scottish fishing industry—as a result of the new rules facing our exporters and the shocking way in which they are being implemented. Can the Secretary of State explain the logic? Why have the Government published full economic impact assessments for the trade agreements signed last month with Moldova and North Macedonia, but not for our trade agreement with the European Union?
Human Rights Clauses: Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): Following on from the Minister’s response, successive UK Governments have believed in the principle that all new trade treaties should contain clauses allowing those treaties to be suspended if the other party engages in serious abuses of human rights, yet the UK recently signed new treaties with Singapore, Vietnam and Turkey, none of which had those clauses, despite ongoing concerns about the records of those countries. Can the Minister please explain why?
Human Rights Clauses: Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): We have spent much time in this Chamber quite rightly talking about the fate of the Uyghurs and China’s treatment of them. Does the Minister agree that that issue needs to be dealt with in any trade deal, to ensure that we are not endorsing such genocidal actions?
Human Rights Clauses: Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: International Affairs
Katharine Helen Brooks-Osborne (Labour, Centre-left): May I ask the Minister very simply why he feels it was appropriate to roll over a trade agreement with Egypt, a country that routinely detains and executes political opponents and religious minorities, persecutes its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and suppresses democratic freedoms, and why no effort was made to strengthen the human rights provisions in that agreement?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister promised barrier-free trade with the EU post Brexit, but local firms that now find costly obstacles in VAT issues are finding the opposite, so could the Government please rectify the situation for firms that import from outside the EU to export to within it, because small British businesses have become less attractive than our EU competitors? Returns mean ruinous, cash flow-killing charges for a reverse transaction. Some of these firms have had to diversify after lockdown shut their shops, and many are on the brink of bankruptcy.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Technology
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Data is the lifeblood of modern economies, but the data provisions in the UK-Japan deal, which Ministers have been boasting about this morning, make it less likely that the EU will grant us the vital adequacy agreement that our researchers and businesses need in just a few months. So can Ministers explain how these contradictions are to be resolved?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: This is largely a matter for the Treasury, but I just want assurances from the Government that when it comes to a freeport bid and the levelling-up agenda, which is at the heart of these new freeports, they will keep in mind the huge beneficial impact that being a freeport would have for Felixstowe. It employs 6,000 of my constituents, and there are deprived constituencies around Felixstowe, in Clacton and Ipswich. So I would like a commitment from the Government that that is very much at the centre of their thinking on these freeports.
Mohammad Yasin (Labour, Centre-left): Small businesses in my constituency are struggling to cope with the complex bureaucracy regarding all aspects of trade since leaving the EU, from navigating immigration rules to dealing with export paperwork. So does the Secretary of State support the Federation of Small Businesses’ calls for the rapid introduction of vouchers worth £3,000 that small firms can spend on the tech, training and advice needed to get through this huge change to their business practice?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: This is largely a matter for the Treasury, but I just want assurances from the Government that when it comes to a freeport bid and the levelling-up agenda, which is at the heart of these new freeports, they will keep in mind the huge beneficial impact that being a freeport would have for Felixstowe. It employs 6,000 of my constituents, and there are deprived constituencies around Felixstowe, in Clacton and Ipswich. So I would like a commitment from the Government that that is very much at the centre of their thinking on these freeports.
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): We all know the tremendous additional challenges that our businesses face in exporting goods to the EU, nowhere more so than the chemicals industry, which supports thousands of jobs on Teesside. The ideal situation would be for the UK to remain part of the EU REACH—registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals—framework, thus accessing the services of the European Chemicals Agency, but Ministers seem to think differently and that could cost us £1 billion a year. How will the Government protect our chemicals industry going forward?
EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Fishing Industry — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the consequences of the EU trade and co-operation agreement as it applies to the fishing industry.
Luke Pollard (Labour, Centre-left): Fishing has every right to feel betrayed and let down by this Government. The industry was promised a better deal, but they have not got one. Fishers fear some of the extra quota is just paper fish—fish that might not even exist, or are hard for British boats to catch. The promise to immediately exclude European boats from our six to 12-mile limit was broken, and the catch app and export systems are cumbersome, bureaucratic, and home-grown Tory red tape that the industry can ill afford. Shellfish exporters feel particularly betrayed: they are unable to export until April, because the Government failed to negotiate a deal that included them Yesterday, the PM promised compensation for those affected by export chaos, but Downing Street seemed to U-turn on this less than six hours later. Fishers deserve better than this incompetent Government, so when will the distant water fleet be able to go to sea again? When will the new avalanche of paperwork be scaled back? When will the £100 million be available for coastal communities? When will British fishers get the extra quota they were promised? When will the requirement to land more British fish in British ports finally be introduced, and when will this Government actually start standing up for our fishers with action, not just soundbites?
EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Fishing Industry — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the consequences of the EU trade and co-operation agreement as it applies to the fishing industry.
Catherine Jane Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Fishing communities across the country feel that their genuine concerns have been used for political purposes and they have ended up being sold down the river. Why does the Secretary of State think that fishers in Fleetwood and across the country feel angry and let down by the way they have been betrayed by his Government’s choices, and how much of the £100 million promised to the industry will be spent on improving port facilities in Fleetwood?
EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Fishing Industry — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the consequences of the EU trade and co-operation agreement as it applies to the fishing industry.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations described the Prime Minister’s EU trade deal as "minuscule, marginal, paltry, pathetic" and some British fishers are now landing their catch straight on to the continent to avoid the Government’s red tape and the impending lorry queues chaos at the border, so does the Secretary of State agree that this is driving jobs away from the UK and hitting hard our coastal communities?
EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Fishing Industry — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the consequences of the EU trade and co-operation agreement as it applies to the fishing industry.
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): The shortage of vets to inspect fish, the lack of customs agents to process border forms and there not being enough time for businesses to adapt to new rules of origin are, I would suggest, a lot more than "teething problems". The Secretary of State might want to rethink his analysis there, but what the fishing communities up and down our country want to know is when he will fix the problems caused by the Government’s failure to prepare for the new border arrangements.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): Abusers exploit lockdowns to increase their control, so I welcome the "Ask for ANI" scheme, which the Home Affairs Committee called for On the vital issue of funding for services, can the Minister explain whether the £11 million that she announced is the same £11 million announced for the second lockdown, or is there any additional funding for this difficult third lockdown? The domestic abuse commissioner called for funding to be extended beyond March. Can she tell us whether that is happening?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): Between April and November last year, referrals from the NSPCC to police and social services about child abuse increased by 79%. Schools play an important role in identifying potential abuse, so with the current lockdown, this is likely to be harder to pick up on. With local authorities already facing considerable financial pressures, what extra resources will the Government be giving them to help detect and prevent child abuse during this lockdown?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): There is a lot to commend in the statement, in particular the "Ask for ANI" scheme, but I put it to the Minister that what is really important is early detection of abuse and abusive behaviour, because that is most likely to lead to behaviour change on the part of the perpetrator. That is why it is so important, particularly during lockdown, that victims are at least given credibility and that early action is taken to support them and to work with perpetrators to break the cycle. That is vital during covid, as it is in normal times.
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexandra Mary Davies-Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for her update and fully welcome the new Ask for ANI scheme. Residents in Pontypridd who have experienced domestic abuse will appreciate the issue being raised here today. As my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Tony Lloyd) has said, tackling the root cause of domestic abuse requires a long-term strategy focused on interventions targeted towards the perpetrators. Will the Minister therefore confirm exactly what support the Home Office is providing and what conversations it is having with organisations working in this area?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Stephanie Louise Peacock (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome today’s announcement of the Ask for ANI scheme. The Minister will be aware that legal aid is a vital service for victims of domestic abuse. To access this service, victims quite often need a letter from a GP to prove that their injuries are a result of abuse. There are reports of GPs charging up to £150 for a letter to do this, which is a disgrace, so will the Government today commit to ensuring that this appalling practice ends?
Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown — House of Commons, 2021-01-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Feryal Demirci Clark (Labour, Centre-left): We know the terrifying impact of lockdowns on those experiencing domestic abuse, and the increased pressure on support services and refuges. What discussions has the Minister had with charities and organisations running refuges for women, men and those of the LGBT+ community about capacity, and what plans are there to ensure that a rise in demand does not mean that some people are left with a choice between staying with their abuser and homelessness?