argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Universal Credit (Reducing Poverty) — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): I welcomed the Minister’s confirmation last week of no appeal in the universal credit court case that the Department lost, but has he yet grasped the full scale of the problem that that issue has raised? He said in the House last week that, at most, 1,500 people were affected and suggested that 85,000 was a figure that had come from the Opposition. I wonder whether he has now had the chance to see that that 85,000 figure comes from the decision of Lady Justice Rose in the Court of Appeal last week. Did he also see that Lord Justice Underhill said: "It is not simply a matter of uneven cash-flow…affected claimants will receive substantially lower payments".
Supporting Employment After Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Macroeconomics
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): New analysis suggests that up to 1 million people could be added to the current jobless total unless more support is provided from August, with sectors like aviation being harder hit. We have learned from covid to plan early and to work together. However, last week’s DWP Committee report said that the Secretary of State has not provided any persuasive reason for her refusal to share her economic downturn plans. Why is a plan that is the basis of how we get millions of people back into work such a secret? Will she now work with her colleagues for a back-to-work budget so that local partnerships can plan together for what is coming?
Covid-19: Support for People Self-isolating — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): At DWP questions on 11 May, I asked the Minister whether his Department would increase legacy benefits, such as employment and support allowance, to help shielding and disabled people cover the increasing costs of basic items such as food, toiletries and personal protective equipment for themselves and their carers. Seven weeks on, can the Minister update us on how much progress his Department has made? As we move towards planning for a potential second wave, it is vital that we get this right.
Covid-19: Food Insecurity — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) on her promotion to the shadow Cabinet The Government say that the aim of the benefit cap is to make people work more hours or move to cheaper accommodation. Neither of those options has been possible during the covid crisis, so what possible justification have the Government got for persisting with that policy, which prevents families from receiving what the Department for Work and Pensions itself believes to be necessary?
Women: State Pension Uplift — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Labor
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): Case after case is being uncovered of retired women being underpaid on their pension. To this day, many do not know about the Department’s mistake, and some have tragically died before learning of it. This must be properly investigated. Crucially, those women deserve justice. When will the Department work out how many women have been affected, and who they are? Will it bring forward a plan to contact them so that the women who built Britain get the justice in retirement that they deserve?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Labor
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, the Pensions Regulator introduced an interim regime to cover so-called superfunds, which are funds that aim to bring together several corporate pension schemes to be run collectively. This is a sensitive area, because breaking the link between an employer and their pension scheme means that the employer cannot in future be called upon to fill any deficits. Given that sensitivity, will the Secretary of State explain, first, why the Government have not legislated for this area in the current Pension Schemes Bill; secondly, why the regulatory requirements for these superfunds are so much lower than they are for a buy-out from an insurance company; and, thirdly, whether the Governor of the Bank of England is right to say that this lack of action by the Government is a potential risk to the UK’s financial stability?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Labor
Grahame Mark Morris (Labour, Centre-left): Will the Minister confirm that senior management in the Department for Work and Pensions are suggesting that an additional 31,000 staff are needed to cope with increased universal credit claims? We have heard from Ministers that this week they are reopening jobcentres and reintroducing conditionality and sanctions, at a time when the Department has nowhere near the required number of staff available. Surely this action will heap stress and suffering on claimants and staff alike, so what measures will the Minister introduce to avoid this chaos?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Rushanara Ali (Labour, Centre-left): The Child Poverty Action Group and the Church of England estimate that by April 2020, around 230,000 families had been hit by the two-child limit, causing huge distress to children and their families in the middle of the pandemic, and that 1.3 million children will be forced into poverty—or, if they already face poverty, into deeper poverty. When will Ministers scrap this cruel and vicious policy that is punishing children?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Labour, Centre-left): ExcludedUK estimates that around 3 million taxpayers are ineligible for the furlough and self-employed income support schemes. Among the left behind are thousands of freelancers on short-term PAYE contracts, particularly in the creative industries. What is the Minister doing to ensure that support is reaching those who make such a vital economic and cultural contribution to this country?
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Nathan Kinnock (Labour, Centre-left): The Chinese Communist party’s brutal campaign of oppression against the Uyghur people is a scar on the conscience of the world. The Labour party stands with the people of China, including the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, and we condemn any actions by the CCP that infringe their human rights. We know that 1.5 million Uyghurs are incarcerated in re-education camps and subjected to ideological indoctrination courses, where they must learn Mandarin Chinese, recite laws banning unapproved religious practices and sing songs praising the Chinese Communist party, and we know that beatings and solitary confinement are routinely used to punish those who fail to comply The accounts that have emerged today about the CCP’s draconian measures to suppress birth rates are utterly horrific—women subjected to forced IUD insertions, pregnancy prevention injections, sterilisation. The CCP appears to be engaged in what some experts are calling a campaign of demographic genocide. Will the Minister therefore confirm that the Government will call for an impartial international investigation into what is happening in Xinjiang? Will he confirm that the imposition of measures intended to prevent births within an ethnic or religious group is expressly forbidden under article II(d) of the UN convention on genocide? Will he confirm that any country that is a contracting party to the UN convention on genocide may call upon the UN to take appropriate action under articles IV, V and VI of the convention, and that the UK Government will therefore now make the necessary representations Does the Minister recognise that the CCP’s actions in Xinjiang reflect a wider pattern of behaviour of increasingly authoritarian policies at home and aggressive expansionism abroad, including in Hong Kong, Ladakh and the South China sea? Will he set out how the Government intend to defend human rights and the rule of law? Will the Government now engage proactively with the European Union, the US and Governments in the Asia-Pacific region who share our democratic values to lead the international response in building consensus against the CCP’s increasingly belligerent behaviour towards its own people?
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Mohammed Afzal Khan (Labour, Centre-left): It is clear that the situation in Xinjiang has deteriorated over the past years. The systematic oppression of a whole ethnic minority group, who are physically abused and psychologically indoctrinated, must be condemned. I am certain that this pandemic has only worsened the conditions in the internment camps and has created a double emergency for the Uyghur community. Will the Minister condemn the persecution of Uyghur Muslims to the fullest? Has he considered using Magnitsky powers for personal sanctions?
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: International Affairs
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour, Centre-left): I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party group on the Uyghurs. This new evidence shows that the Chinese state regularly subjects Uyghur women—hundreds of thousands of women—to pregnancy checks, forced sterilisation and even abortion. Some 25 years ago, we watched as the genocide took place in Bosnia and in 2017 we saw that of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and now it is the Uyghurs in China. It is about time that our Government—our Prime Minister—went to the United Nations and asked for a resolution from the Assembly to establish an independent investigation into the situation in Xinjiang region.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Macroeconomics
Edward Samuel Miliband (Labour, Centre-left): May I start by thanking the Business Secretary for the constructive conversations that he and I have had on the Bill? As he knows, we support the measures contained in it The wider context to this Bill is the economic crisis that we face, the scale of which we have not seen for a very long time. As an Opposition, we have tried to work constructively with Government. Indeed, we have welcomed a number of steps that the Government have taken. We called for the furlough scheme and indeed have welcomed it, though we believe that too many people remain excluded from support. We called for the 100% underwriting of Government-backed loans, and we have welcomed the bounce back loans, too. We have also supported the Government on the difficult decision to move from 2 metres to 1 metre-plus where 2 metres cannot be observed, although we do have concerns about the test, track and trace system I hope that we can agree that the past few months have shown the power of Government to step in and protect jobs and businesses at a time of crisis. My case today is that that power has not gone away, and neither has the need for it to be exercised. The Government must not shrink from that, because, let us be clear, we are not at the end of this economic crisis, but just at the beginning of it Let me deal first with the provisions in the Bill. It is a short Bill and there is a large degree of agreement on it. The headline provisions, as the Secretary of State has said, will enable the hospitality industry to reopen quickly and serve a greater number of customers in a safe environment. We welcome the temporary loosening of planning regulations to enable bars, restaurants and cafés to serve customers outside their premises. I take the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier) has made about the need for some caution here. It is important that local authorities continue to have discretion in these matters because they are best placed to make the judgments about the local impacts. It is also right to put on record the concerns of the shop workers’ union, USDAW, which has worried about the safety of staff. The guidance is very clear about the mitigation and reduction of risk that is needed if 1 metre-plus is in place, and I am sure the Secretary of State agrees that that is really important, and that it is also very important that the Health & Safety Executive takes a tough line in enforcing safety as well We also welcome the measures in enabling construction sites to get back to work more easily through extended working hours. Again, and I am sure that Members across the House will agree with me, it is in the interests of local residents that local authorities have discretion in these matters.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Edward Samuel Miliband (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is shaking his head. If things can be done, they should be done, but my point is that the strength of the Government response is that it has been comprehensive. It has used the power of Government and it has not necessarily taken a one-size-fits-all approach. I am worried—we see this in the evidence that has been brought forward—about the one-size-fits-all approach.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Lady is describing very delicately, I have to say, the reality of what this is like when you are living through it. Does she not think that the Government need to recognise that we want businesses to be supported, but the cost to councils, and to the police, of enforcing this and managing antisocial behaviour will be huge?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): I beg to move amendment 2, page 2, line 2, at end insert ", and— (c) to which a temporary traffic regulation order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is operative and will remain so for the time period of the pavement licence, and which has been made pursuant to the Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 as amended by the Traffic Orders Procedure (Coronavirus) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020." The purpose of this amendment is to include pavements where temporary measures are in place already to deal with the effects of coronavirus, by assisting social distancing and enabling active travel, such as cycling and walking.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): Just to pick up on new clause 4 and on the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier), while this from the Government is viewed as continuing into the future, the importance of the new clause is taking stock of the situation and realising how well that has worked. From comments across the Chamber, I am sure that the Minister understands there is concern about or fear of mayhem, because this is being rushed through. Local authorities such as Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council, have few resources, are under huge financial pressure and have little capacity to be able to enforce such changes. I welcome what the Government are trying to do, but I have real concerns about the ability to enforce.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): This has been a constructive debate, and I thank Members across the Chamber for their positive contributions and suggestions, which I hope will be taken up in the other place. I thank the Government, and I thank the Minister in particular for his positive engagement. We are happy to withdraw amendment 2 in my name and those of my right hon. and hon. Friends, and I look forward to moving amendment 3. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 2 to 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 9 Interpretation Amendment made: 3, page 7, line 37, at end insert— "(1A) Subsection (1B) applies for the purposes of— (a) the reference in section 1(5)(a) to a highway to which Part 7A of the Highways Act 1980 applies, and (b) the references to traffic orders in section 3(6)(a)(i) and (b) (which, by virtue of section 3(7), have the same meaning as in that Part of that Act) (1B) The definition of "traffic order" in section 115A(2) of the Highways Act 1980 is to be treated as if it included an order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 made pursuant to subsection (1)(b) or (c) of that section under the procedure provided for by regulation 18 of the Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1215) (procedure for temporary orders made for purposes connected to coronavirus)."—(Mike Amesbury.) This amendment secures that the provisions about pavement licences apply where a highway is subject to a temporary traffic order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for reasons relating to coronavirus. Clause 9, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 10 to 26 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill, as amended, reported. Bill, as amended in the Committee, considered. Bill read the Third time and passed.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): The age- standardised covid mortality rate for severely disabled men is nearly 200 per 100,000, and for severely disabled women, it is over 141 per 100,000. That compares with death rates of 70 and 36 per 100,000 for non-disabled men and women respectively. When poverty is factored in, it will show even higher death rates for disabled people. Will the Secretary of State undertake an immediate analysis of the impact of covid on disabled people living in poverty? Will he speak to his counterpart in the Department for Work and Pensions about releasing data on the disabled social security claimants who have died during the covid pandemic, as to date those data have been very limited?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Labor
Barbara Mary Keeley (Labour, Centre-left): As the Secretary of State has detailed, when areas are put into local lockdown, businesses will have to close, including some that had probably been preparing to reopen this week. Can he confirm that any business impacted by a local lockdown in Leicester, and in other areas in future, will be able to access the furlough scheme as it currently exists, rather than having to subsidise the wages of staff who cannot work?
Dronfield Station:150th Anniversary — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Just to help the Minister, as we know, even the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) cannot link himself to 150 years of Dronfield railway station, hence he is not here. As much as he would love to and as much as he may find a connection, I could not put him on the right track for this one.
Free Trade Agreements: Environmental Protection Standards — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Environment
Stephen James Morgan (Labour, Centre-left): There is no point in the UK achieving our own zero-carbon targets if the trade deals we reach with other countries are pushing them ever further away from achieving theirs. Can the Secretary of State ensure that all future FTAs agreed by the UK reinforce the legal primacy of emission targets established in the Paris climate change agreement?
Free Trade Agreements: Environmental Protection Standards — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Agriculture
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): Food standards were not a matter for the Agriculture Bill—at least that is what MPs, including Conservative Back Benchers, were told on Report. They were told that they would be included in the Trade Bill. I am sure agriculture Ministers were telling the truth, so will the Government accept Labour’s amendment to the Trade Bill to enshrine in law the principle that food imported under any free trade agreement must maintain our farming industry’s high production and safety standards?
Free Trade Agreements: Environmental Protection Standards — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Environment
William Roffen Esterson (Labour, Centre-left): In March, the Government said that Japan must show "increased ambition" and set a higher headline target on reducing carbon emissions ahead of COP26. Is that still the view of the Secretary of State? Will she show increased ambition and include more stretching, measurable and binding climate targets in the new free trade agreement she puts in place with Japan?
Covid-19: Import of Essential Medical Products — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Foreign Trade
Rachel Louise Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): As the Minister will be aware, many imports such as medical products enter the UK as cargo in the hold of passenger flights. Given that the imposition of an illogical quarantine is having a negative impact on passenger confidence and flights coming into many of our regional airports, such as Luton airport in my constituency, will the Minister confirm whether he made any assessment of the impact of quarantine on the import of medical goods, and, in the light of that, does he agree with me that the quarantine should be lifted for less blunt measures, such as fast-track testing, to facilitate the import of medical goods and support the recovery of our aviation industry?
Covid-19: Import of Essential Medical Products — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gareth Thomas (Labour, Centre-left): At the last International Trade questions in May, my hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) asked about reducing global tariffs on soap, which average at 17% among World Trade Organisation members and range as high as 65% in some countries. The Minister of State said that it was a very good question and that the Government were working tirelessly to reduce or remove those sorts of barriers. I am sure that that has been the case, so will he tell us what progress he has made on the specific issue of soap tariffs over the past month?
UK-US Free Trade Agreement — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): In the absence of any final agreement between Britain and the EU on trading arrangements beyond the end of this year, is it not impossible for the UK and the US to have a meaningful discussion about the extent to which the UK’s regulatory framework can diverge from the EU’s in any future trade deal? Does that not mean that the chances of actually getting a deal with the US done and through Congress before the November election are virtually nil?
Support for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: Foreign Trade
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Labour, Centre-left): Do the Government recognise that, aside from covid-19, one of the biggest threats to small businesses in the UK is reaching the end of the transition period with no trade deal? What assessment have they made of the number of SMEs in the UK that would go bust if faced with the toxic combination of covid-19 and a no-deal Brexit in December?
Free Trade Agreements: Human Rights — House of Commons, 2020-06-18
Topic: International Affairs
Kim Marie Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for his response, but does he agree that the Government’s de-prioritisation of human rights in favour of trade has been exacerbated and highlighted by Brexit, and has been part of a long-running trend dating back to the coalition Government? Pragmatism on human rights has been particularly clear when it comes to the promotion of trade, and there has been a conscious decision not to seek the inclusion of clauses relating to human rights in most of the post-Brexit agreements. The Government have listed 16 countries and trading blocs where negotiations are ongoing about rolling over existing EU trade deals beyond 31 December, so can the Minister tell us whether human rights are part of those discussions, and will he guarantee the inclusion—