argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Defense
John Healey (Labour, Centre-left): May I join the Secretary of State in paying full tribute to the military’s essential and continuing role in helping the country through this covid crisis? In the same spirit, he talked earlier of the lessons from covid for the integrated review. He is uniquely placed as the Defence Secretary and a former Security Minister to turn adversary into advantage, so will he use this period to consult widely in the armed forces and with the public, industry and experts, just as Labour did, on the challenges to creating a 21st-century armed forces? That is the way to banish any suspicion that this integrated review is driven from Downing Street, not by the MOD, or driven by financial pressures, not the best interests of Britain’s defence, security and leading place in the world.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Defense
Emma Ann Hardy (Labour, Centre-left): Further to the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey), legislation can have unintended consequences, and I am concerned that the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill could result in the MOD paying less compensation to servicemen and women. Will the Secretary of State therefore commit to publishing the likely impact of the legislation on the amount of compensation paid annually by the MOD?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Defense
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The RFA Fort Victoria will supply our carrier battle group until 2028. Most commentators say that that ship alone is not sufficient to support the carrier group. When will the Secretary of State bring forward the procurement of the fleet solid support ships? That would not only increase capability for the Royal Navy but be a big boost to UK plc, including the supply chain in the north-east of England, if that procurement were to be placed in UK yards.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Defense
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): Undiagnosed brain injury often leaves a lot of our armed forces personnel with long-term problems in terms of being able to retain memory or being able to work in another environment, whether in service or after they have left the armed forces. Does not the Secretary of State agree that it is now time that we screened everybody on their return from overseas work in the armed forces for brain injury, and in particular before they leave the service so they do not have those ongoing problems for the rest of their lives?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Defense
Alexandra Mary Davies-Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has recently said that the Ministry of Defence’s"greatest asset…is not our tanks or our aeroplanes, it’s people."Will he therefore commit to reversing the cuts that his Government have made to the armed forces over the last 10 years?
Domestic Abuse Bill — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Health
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): I am a little concerned about what the right hon. Lady just said. We have the Abortion Act 1967 and a plethora of regulations and professional standards, so even with the telemedicine currently in place, it is governed by regulation and legislation. I would not want anyone to think that was not the case.
Domestic Abuse Bill — House of Commons, 2020-07-06
Topic: Health
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister knows perfectly well that I do not want to divide the House on my amendments, because I want the whole of the House to be supporting women who have suffered acquired brain injury. Will she simply guarantee that she will meet me and other Members of the group before this goes to the House of Lords so that we can clear up any misunderstandings there may have been?
Economic Recovery — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: Health
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): Our economic recovery will depend much on public confidence, yet polling this morning found that almost half the population believe that the Prime Minister has gone too far. Many have deep concerns that they could put themselves and family members at risk if they cannot properly social distance when they return to work, and it is clear that the workforce and management must agree safe arrangements that people will trust. Will the Government adopt the TUC’s proposals for employers to publish covid-secure risk assessments and urgently increase funding for the Health and Safety Executive, which the Minister knows has been cut by a third since 2010, to enforce these measures?
Covid-19: Strategy — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: Health
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Prime Minister recognise that the covid crisis has exposed grotesque levels of inequality in our society? His statement yesterday has given carte blanche to many employers to try to force people to come back to work, without proper consideration of their health and safety and the dangers they will suffer in travelling to work. Does he recognise that, while the death rate is so high and the reinfection rate continues, his statement will probably make the situation worse, not better? Will he reconsider carefully and not lift the restrictions and the lockdown until it is absolutely clear that we have the corona crisis under control? It is affecting the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society the worst, and I believe his statement will make the inequalities in this country even worse at the centre of this crisis.
Covid-19: Strategy — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: Health
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): Hundreds are dying every day and we still do not have sufficient testing and tracing to measure and control the spread of infection, yet the Government are starting to relax lockdown in a haphazard and confusing manner. The Prime Minister continues to claim his strategy is a success, despite us having the highest death toll in Europe. Is it the Government’s position that as long as the NHS can cope it is less important how many catch the virus and sadly die?
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: Health
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): This would be a difficult situation for any Government, but there are questions that must be answered and lessons that must be learned if we are to come out of lockdown safely. The large number of fatalities in this country was not inevitable. My heart goes out to those who have suffered a loss. The Government have made a religion of cuts and non-intervention, which led them to delay the decision to go into lockdown. Why did we ignore the warnings from other countries ahead of us in the epidemic? In Italy, lockdown began on 9 March; in Spain, it began on 15 March; in France, it began on 16 March. We finally entered lockdown on 23 March. Only Italy had more deaths at lockdown than the UK The lack of urgency was repeated over PPE and testing. We hear of frontline staff terrified of going to work without appropriate PPE. As late as 13 March, covid-19 guidance for care homes was issued. It stated that facemasks do not need to be worn in residential settings, and stressed: "It remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected." That guidance was not changed until 2 April—10 days after lockdown. Why was it not changed earlier? How has it contributed to the epidemic in care homes? There is a worldwide PPE shortage, yet we hear even now of companies in the UK offering to supply PPE and being ignored by the Government. Why did the Government not act earlier to set up a secure supply structure here at home On testing, we have had announcement after announcement. On 18 March, the Prime Minister announced that we had a target of 25,000 tests per day. That was not reached for more than five weeks. On 25 March, he said that testing will "hopefully very soon" reach 250,000 per day. On 29 March, the Health Secretary tweeted, "We’ve reached 10,000," but that was not correct. On 2 April, the Health Secretary announced that we will reach "100,000 tests per day by the end of this month." That was achieved by sending 40,000 tests out in the post, and the 100,000 target has been missed every day since. This is more about media management than giving the public solid facts This far into the crisis, why are we sending tests to the USA? Why have we ignored the laboratories around the country in hospitals, universities and the private sector, many of which said they were geared up to answer the call to help that never came? The Prime Minister has changed the message to be alert, but it is the Government who must stay alert. Without an effective and efficient tracking and tracing system, this is a reckless move. It has already caused confusion. People were given 12 hours’ notice to go back to work today, but the detailed guidance is not being published until today, with some further guidance due tomorrow Too slow to lock down and secure the supply of PPE and testing; too rushed to end the lockdown in a coherent and planned way; the performance of the people has been superior to the Government’s. The Government must improve if we are to keep people safe as we come out of this crisis.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: Health
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers) on her contribution. The devastating effect of covid-19 on care homes is being felt in Blaenau Gwent and across the world. A quarter of New York’s fatalities happened in care homes, 200 people died in just one care home in Italy, and in England, a full 16% of covid-19 deaths have happened in care homes. This is clearly a far-reaching issue. Today, though, I want to talk about a local tragedy in my constituency Blaenau Gwent has one of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases per head in Wales. A brave care home staff member contacted me to say that, early on in this crisis, their care home had inadequate PPE. It was also reported that a resident showing symptoms of covid-19 was discharged back from hospital and allowed access to communal spaces. I have sought confirmation of that from the health authority, but the exact situation remains unclear. Altogether, 16 residents have died My question is, were the processes in place so that care homes could deal with this crisis? We knew that the coronavirus would hit the elderly and the vulnerable hardest, and that those in care homes were most at risk. More should have been done at the start of the outbreak to protect residents and staff This has been a dreadful time for my constituents, for care home residents, their relatives and hard-working staff. Almost daily, I have been raising my concerns on this one issue with a range of local decision makers. Those decision makers have been pulled in 101 different directions. I know they are doing their very best, but the truth is that health officials have had a focus on the NHS and we have been playing catch-up with care homes. Social care is a vital sector, but we have not been treating it that way This crisis has revealed to me that we need to mend the broken structures of accountability. We need fast action to shield those who are most vulnerable and daily updates on deaths in individual care homes. There must be an open discussion about the issues that respects the rights of residents and the needs of staff. We need to build something better I end by paying tribute to our care workers across the country who are putting their lives on the line. I have been lucky enough to visit many care homes over the years. At their core, they are places of love. Those cared for are more than residents; they are like family. For the homes, coronavirus deaths are not just numbers; they are painful losses. It is vital that we ensure that tragedies of this scale are never allowed to happen again.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-11
Topic: Health
Daniel Owen Jarvis (Labour, Centre-left): In South Yorkshire, where I am also the Mayor, the coronavirus has infected more than 4,500 people and, tragically, killed 576 people. My thoughts are with all of those who have suffered and lost, and those who are doing so much to keep our people safe and our society functioning. I will always seek to work constructively with the Government, but we do have a duty to test their policies and to hold them to account. One of their most crucial tasks is to keep the confidence of the British people, and without clarity, we will fail. So I have four immediate concerns The first is that "Stay alert" is vague compared with "Stay at home". I am glad that the Prime Minister provided more detail today, but many people will still be confused, and confusion risks contagion. Secondly, we cannot ask people to go back to work if they cannot get there safely. Social distancing means much lower capacity on our public transport systems, and a switch to cars would mean instant gridlock. That means that getting people to walk and cycle is central to easing the lockdown. To be fair, the Government seem to understand that, but we urgently need to translate that into action together Thirdly, we cannot force people back to an unsafe workplace. The Government must monitor and support businesses to implement rigorous protective measures, in close collaboration with employees and unions. Until that is done, those workers should remain furloughed. Fourthly, the Government must be careful not to create suspicion, justified or not, that they are motivated by any concern other than fighting the disease. Things such as testing targets that are met just on the one day needed to avoid negative headlines inevitably undermine that vital public trust; this is no time for politics as usual. So the Government must be utterly transparent about the data, the advice they are getting and the compromises they are choosing. There must be a clear line between the science and the political decisions based on it. That applies right across the UK, and the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority has led in supporting and informing local communities and businesses, in getting them the help they need and in championing their concerns at Westminster. We have kept our businesses and our light rail system running. We have lined up our local industries to supply PPE to the NHS, and we are developing a recovery plan that truly reflects local needs, but the Government must bring us in to the heart of their response, and fund and empower us accordingly Finally, that response must also serve a wider purpose, We clearly need massive—[Inaudible.] This is the moment for a green new deal, for fixing our crumbling infrastructure and for addressing the unacceptable inequality between our regions and nations. History will not forgive us if, as after 2008, we make such sacrifices only to see inequality grow and the planet burn ever warmer. For all our sakes, the legacy we aim for now must not be a return to the status quo; it must be a national renewal.
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Health
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): The Chancellor has talked about courage, but I will tell him what takes courage: fighting this pandemic on the frontline without adequate protective clothing. Will he commit right now to doing whatever it takes to ensure that every single frontline healthcare worker has the protective clothing they need if they are working exposed to this virus?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Health
Alexander James Jorden Norris (Labour, Centre-left): Like colleagues, I spent today talking to businesses in my community. They wanted to know that, when they follow health advice to the letter, and if they keep all their staff on payroll, as they desperately want to, their business will be safe. As a result of the package the Chancellor announced tonight, can I give them that categoric assurance first thing in the morning?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Health
Gerald Jones (Labour, Centre-left): All our constituents will require realistic statutory sick pay if they are required to self-isolate. Will the Chancellor do whatever it takes to ensure that happens, and will he include the self-employed and those on zero-hours contracts in his measures?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Health
Apsana Begum (Labour, Centre-left): I, like many others in this House, have been contacted by constituents who are extremely anxious and worried about the uncertainty and disruption in the months ahead. This includes constituents who are self-isolating, especially those who are expected to self-isolate for extended periods, who may face loneliness and other mental health challenges. Is the Chancellor planning to allocate any funding to address this?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Health
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): Many decisions the Government have taken on isolation, at-risk groups and testing limit the ability of NHS staff to go to work. It is easy to say, "Whatever it takes," but how can we be sure that our hospitals in particular have the resources to save every life that can be saved?
Economic Update — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Health
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): Making announcements is one thing, but, to use the Chancellor’s words, operationalising at speed is quite another, so can he be more precise about the resources available for the civil service and local councils? A simple example—a Canadian nurse phoned my office today so frustrated that she cannot help the NHS because we cannot sort out the equivalent qualifications. It will be the same for many others, particularly Bangladeshi nurses working in the care sector.
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
John Robert Cryer (Labour, Centre-left): Further to the previous question, is the Secretary of State saying that the publication of the report by Public Health England into the wildly disproportionate level of deaths among ethnic minority communities was delayed purely because further work was needed on elements of it? In that case, at what point will it be published?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): I very much welcome what the Secretary of State has said about the PHE report and the need to get to the bottom of why these racial disparities seem to be a thing, but it is not enough to work out after the event why there have been so many more deaths among the BAME community. What is he doing to support the public health function in local authorities so that they can work with local community groups to try to identify people who are more likely to be at risk, to prevent the illnesses and deaths from occurring in the first place?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Rachel Louise Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): My constituency of Luton South is super-diverse, with a large BAME population, and it has significant pockets of deprivation. Given those risks, what do I say to my constituents who tell me they simply do not believe that it is safe to relax shielding, given the Government’s confused messages and apparent endorsement of breaches of public health guidance, with the lack of action taken over Dominic Cummings?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Mary Kelly Foy (Labour, Centre-left): Public health professionals I have spoken to tell me that the success of the Government’s track and trace system is limited by the turnaround of up to five days for coronavirus test results. That delay severely impacts the ability of public health teams to prevent onward transmission and protect the population from the virus. Does the Secretary of State recognise that problem? If so, how does he plan to achieve a 24-hour turnaround for every test? When will that be achieved?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Barry Strachan Gardiner (Labour, Centre-left): Professor Newton spoke today of the vital importance of increasing serology to tackle the virus. Capillary blood from fingerprick tests has long been used to test and control viruses, from measles to dengue fever. Will the Secretary of State therefore explain why the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency guidance asks providers of fingerprick tests to stop offering the service? Can he point to any published scientific data that suggests a clinical difference between capillary and venous blood? If not, why is he blocking the serology roll-out that Professor Newton considers so important?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): I agree with the Secretary of State that retaining the public’s trust is absolutely crucial if we are to tackle the virus, but that trust needs to be earned and honoured. I want to put on record my constituents’ deep frustration at the Government’s response to Dominic Cummings breaking the rules. There are deeply felt fears among doctors, nurses and other frontline health professionals about coming out of lockdown too quickly and all the sacrifice that so many people have made going to waste. We know that some people are asymptomatic and could be spreading the virus unchecked, so how will test, track and trace work for those people if they are not being tested?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): No disrespect, Mr Speaker, but I would rather be in sunny Manchester today, being cautious and careful, than here. None the less, does the Secretary of State agree that public confidence is critical in this next phase of dealing with the virus? There is no doubt that confidence has plummeted over the last few weeks. Does he agree that to restore that confidence we need a great deal more transparency about the test, track and trace system—numbers, who has been contacted, and so on—so people feel that if they are contacted action will follow?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will know of the exceptionally high rate of infection in the north-west and he will also be aware that local authorities such as mine say that the peak of demand for social care has not yet been reached and will actually hit later in the summer. In order to facilitate transparent information to the public and good capacity for local planning, will he commit to regular publication of the R value on a regional basis?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Karen Patricia Buck (Labour, Centre-left): The pandemic has exacerbated mental health conditions and made it harder for people to access appropriate mental health services in many cases. This morning, I received an email from a constituent whose child has a severe psychiatric condition exacerbated by covid. The child has been in our local hospital for six weeks waiting for a specialist bed and is now hoping that there might be a bed in Birmingham—they are in north Paddington. What can the Secretary of State do to make sure that such urgent mental health conditions are responded to?
Covid-19 Response — House of Commons, 2020-06-02
Topic: Health
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi (Labour, Centre-left): Secretary of State, Teagan Appleby has been in intensive care twice in the past 10 weeks because her family were unable to pay for the medical cannabis that they need to keep her alive The families of these epileptic children have been put on the back burner by Brexit, a general election and now covid. The sums of money we are talking about are tantamount to what the right hon. Gentleman’s Department spends on paper clips. Will the Secretary of State make a call to NHS England immediately and right this wrong?