argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Transport Infrastructure Funding — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to hear about the economic growth that is happening in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I know that her local councils are a key part of driving that. I am pleased to say that the Government announced today a £5 billion package to support local transport infrastructure such as buses and cycleways, alongside our existing £3.6 billion towns fund, which 16 different places across the east midlands have benefited from.
Transport Infrastructure Funding — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Nicola Faye Richards (Conservative, Centre-right): Andy Street’s vision to revolutionise our transport networks in the west midlands, coupled with the continuation of the HS2 project, will hugely benefit my constituents in West Bromwich East, especially those in Great Barr. The vision that Andy set out only last week included the expansion of the West Midlands Metro system. Ahead of the Budget next month, will my right hon. Friend look at what further funding can be made available to level up our transport infrastructure in the west midlands?
Transport Infrastructure Funding — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance of local intra-city transportation. Obviously the Prime Minister will be making a statement later about national infrastructure. We heard what Andy Street had to say. We are engaging with the Mayor on his exciting plans for intra-city transport and the expansion of the metro line in the west midlands area.
Transport Infrastructure Funding — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to tell the hon. Gentleman that this Government are committed to improving transport infrastructure across the United Kingdom. Obviously, some matters are devolved. Network Rail has a £48 billion plan for rail infrastructure. I would be happy to hear from him about the specific projects that he is interested in taking up with it.
Transport Infrastructure Funding — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am a passionate believer in improving east-west connectivity across the north. I am pleased to say that I met the leader of Bradford Council just the other week. Bradford has an exciting future as one of the younger cities in the country. I believe that the plans that NPR has put forward include Bradford. We are happy to look at those. Transport for the North is actively engaging with local stakeholders on the various routes for improving connectivity between Manchester and Leeds, and that includes Bradford city centre.
Net Zero Emissions Target — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Environment
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): The clean growth strategy sets out our proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy through the course of the 2020s. This year, the Government will be setting out further detail on plans to reduce emissions in key sectors such as transport, energy and buildings, as well as publishing our net zero review.
Net Zero Emissions Target — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Environment
John Michael Howell (Conservative, Centre-right): The next UN climate conference is the perfect opportunity to set out exactly what we are doing to get our emissions down to net zero by 2050. Can the Minister assure me that the Government are committed to doing all they can to achieve that and to delivering the green jobs that come with it?
Net Zero Emissions Target — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Environment
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I am a passionate believer in the net zero agenda, and I believe that it is perfectly congruent with economic growth. COP26 presents a huge opportunity for the UK and globally. We are already a leader in tackling climate change, having reduced the emissions intensity of our economy faster than any other G20 country. We will be doing more at Budget.
Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK’s 5.8 million small businesses play a vital role in our economy. We have lowered corporation tax from 28% in 2010 to 19%. We have introduced the employment allowance, to reduce employers’ national insurance contributions bill by £3,000 every year, and we have reduced the business rates burden, so that more than 675,000 of the smallest businesses pay no rates at all.
Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Foreign Trade
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): We are working closely with the representative organisations to understand those concerns, but it is important that we move forward, secure a free trade agreement and give certainty to small businesses. Their principal concern over the past year is a lack of progress, and it is our responsibility to remove that uncertainty and reach a clear position.
National Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): Infra- structure is a top priority for the Government, which is why we are publishing the national infrastructure strategy alongside the Budget. It will set out further details of the Government’s plan to increase investment to transform the UK’s infrastructure.
National Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Paul John Holmes (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to vital national infrastructure, but does he agree that bespoke local infrastructure projects benefit the national infrastructure network by increasing connectivity? An example is the much-needed Chickenhall Lane road link in Eastleigh, for which my constituents have been waiting for over 20 years.
National Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. Local transport is the backbone of our community, which is why hopefully a welcome announcement will be made today on buses and cycling—a new £5 billion package on local transport. There is also the £150 million fund for smaller projects to deal with congestion hotspots. I would be pleased to consider the Chickenhall Lane link road in the next available competition.
National Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Transportation
Claire Coryl Julia Coutinho (Conservative, Centre-right): Thanks to heavy usage by HGVs, Surrey is sometimes called the pothole capital of England. What steps is the Department taking to invest in tackling potholes nationally, which I am very keen to see in East Surrey?
Off-payroll Working Rules Review — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Labor
Questions: What progress his Department is making on its review of the implementation of changes to the off-payroll working rules; and if he will make a statement.
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The review of the off-payroll working rules reform was announced on 7 January 2020. The reform is due to be extended to medium and large-sized organisations in all sectors from 6 April. It is determining whether any further steps can be taken to ensure smooth and successful implementation, and a series of roundtables with stake- holders have already been conducted. The review will conclude by mid-February, after which recommendations will be made public.
Off-payroll Working Rules Review — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What progress his Department is making on its review of the implementation of changes to the off-payroll working rules; and if he will make a statement.
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): We have a question about the loan charge later on, so I look forward to my right hon. Friend’s further question then. He can answer on the number of pillars because I am sure he has scrutinised the Committee’s hearings very carefully. What I can tell him is that the fundamental principle of tax is that it should be properly collected from people who owe it and who may be avoiding it, and that is what this is designed to do.
Zero VAT Rate: E-publications — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that there are benefits associated with extending the zero rate of VAT in this area, as in others. The task for Government is to work out what is the right thing to do, all things considered. All I can say is that we have responded to the Cairncross review in part of this area, and we continue to keep all taxes under review, especially in the lee of a budget.
Zero VAT Rate: E-publications — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): While agreeing with the point made for the SNP by the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day), does the Minister not find it somewhat ironic that the only way we can reduce the rate of VAT to zero is through Brexit, yet the SNP wishes to remain in the EU, and we would therefore not be able to reduce VAT if that were the case?
Zero VAT Rate: E-publications — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a very telling point, and I draw the House’s attention to the parallel issue of sanitary products for women, on which I am pleased to say we will be able to act after we have left the EU.
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased to say that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is undertaking a review of the funding formula for local government, and I am sure that Enfield Council has participated in that. There will be a formal consultation later this year, and I encourage the council to input its particular needs if those are not adequately captured by today’s formula. In the forthcoming financial year, Enfield can look forward to an almost 6% cash increase in the spending power it has available for its residents and communities.
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): In my previous role I had many conversations with councils up and down the country. Indeed, in this job I take representations from the Local Government Association, the District Councils’ Network and the Core Cities consortium, among others. The point is that this will be an evidence-based formula that looks at the various needs of all authorities up and down the country. It is being done in partnership with independent academics to help us arrive at a formula that is fair for every part of the country and every local authority.
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The figures the hon. Gentleman refers to are pure speculation. The formula has not been concluded yet, so it is a bit difficult to talk about the conclusions in advance of that. There will be a consultation. Regardless of the type of area that any Member in this Parliament represents—rural or urban, north or south—it will be an evidence-based formula. All the various criteria that drive local government spend, whether it is rurality or deprivation, will be taken into account. All Members can have input into that process and can have confidence that the final formula will be fair and, importantly, evidence-based.
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Education
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (Conservative, Centre-right): In addition to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has my right hon. Friend had a chance to speak to the Secretary of State for Education about the pressure on school budgets from the local government pension scheme? On a visit to the excellent Hanley Castle High School in my constituency last week, I discovered that almost half its payroll is covered by the local government pension scheme and that it is experiencing a lot of budgetary pressure from that.
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Education
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The local government pension scheme is fully funded, which means that all local authorities contribute on an annual basis. It is right that that is taken into account when setting annual budgets. I am pleased that the Government have outlined a three-year school settlement, which will take school funding up by £4 billion in real terms over the forthcoming spending period. Those extra resources will allow schools to deal with the pension pressure and invest in our classrooms, which is where the money needs to go.
Local Authority Funding: Discussions with Secretary of State — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of allocations of funding for local authorities.
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): Local government deserves enormous praise for the hard work that it did in helping to restore this country’s public finances to a sustainable state. We all know why we were in that situation a decade ago, but we can now look forward with confidence. Local government is benefiting from a very significant increase in spending power this year. The hon. Lady is right to highlight the pressure on social care, which is one of the largest areas of spend, which is why the Government have just committed an extra £1 billion in social care grant to help local authorities to alleviate that pressure this year and into the future.
Equity of Economic Opportunity — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): We will level up opportunity across the UK to ensure that every region and nation benefits from growth, including through better infrastructure, public services and investment in skills. I will set out more details in the Budget through the national infrastructure strategy.
Equity of Economic Opportunity — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Thomas William Randall (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of my constituents are delighted about the Government’s plans to level up funding across the country. Will my right hon. Friend tell me what that will mean for the people of east midlands and my constituents in Gedling?
Equity of Economic Opportunity — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me tell the hon. Lady what we have seen under 10 years of Tory rule, after Labour’s great recession. We have had nine consecutive years of growth. We have an economy that is nearly 17% bigger than it was in 2010, and 3.9 million jobs have been created—I would think that a party that calls itself the Labour party would welcome that. Unemployment is at its lowest level for 45 years, and according to the International Monetary Fund, our economy will grow faster this year than Italy, Japan, France and Germany.
Co-operative and Mutual Businesses: Tax Contribution — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise the positive impact that co-operatives and mutuals have across all sectors of the economy, including retail, agriculture and financial services. No assessment has been made of the amount of tax paid by co-operative and mutual businesses, but I note that the report last year from the all-party group for mutuals found that mutuals generate over £130 billion to benefit the wider economy each year.
Loan Charge 2019 — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is absolutely right that it is important to crack down on promoters, and at the Budget we will bring forward a package about how to do that. Her wider point, however, is wrong: this is not a retrospective measure. It is also true that the Government have to some extent been vindicated by Sir Amyas Morse, who found that the loan charge was an appropriate way to respond to tax avoidance and, after detailed argumentation, suggested a date in December 2010 as the correct date from which to date the legality of it.
Loan Charge 2019 — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): HMRC did pursue these cases quite vigorously. Sir Amyas found, on the basis of detailed consideration, that the law was clear then, and therefore HMRC rightly believed that people would accommodate it. Of course, it pursued people who had been avoiding tax through disguised renumeration schemes for many years before that, and it will continue to do so for those that have been carved out by the loan charge review.
Loan Charge 2019 — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is quite wrong. We accepted all but one of Sir Amyas’s recommendations, and we did not accept that one because the issue he raised was already being handled very well within the system. If the hon. Lady has a specific concern, she is very welcome to raise it with tax commissioners or, indeed, with me, although on an anonymised basis because obviously I cannot deal with specifics.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): You ain’t no Deputy, Mr Speaker Increasing productivity is the best way to boost wages and improve living standards. We have worked hard to build a stronger, fairer economy, dealing with the deficit, helping people into work, and cutting taxes for families and businesses.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Technology
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): The link between investment in research and development and increased productivity is well recognised. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to encourage more private sector investment in R&D to help Britain become a leader in the fourth industrial revolution?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Technology
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for all the work that he has done to put the UK at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution. He is right to raise the importance of research and development. We are committed to investing an additional £7 billion in R&D by 2021-22 —the largest increase in 40 years—and, as my hon. Friend will know, in our manifesto we committed ourselves to going even further.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): We have ended the uncertainty over our departure from the European Union, and we stand at the beginning of a new chapter. I know that the future is bright as we level up our country and unleash Britain’s potential. We have confirmed that 31 million people will receive a tax cut in April, and in the Budget on 11 March I will continue to lay the foundations for a decade of renewal. We will also set out our plans for an infrastructure revolution and for better investment in our most important asset of all, our human capital.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I can absolutely confirm that to my right hon. Friend. We are blessed with talent throughout our country. Wherever we look, we have talent. Our country is oozing with talent, and that, of course, includes Wales: we have just seen a demonstration of that talent. We need to ensure that there is much more opportunity, which means investment in infrastructure and skills and retaining a dynamic, competitive economy.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I think that I have to correct myself. I said that there was talent throughout the country, but, judging by what we have just heard, I do not think that that includes the Labour party There is all sorts of speculation about the Budget, and I am not going to respond to that. However, the right hon. Gentleman will know that when the Budget is published, it will be published alongside a report by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. Those are the figures that are going to matter, not the ones that are speculated about in the press. As for growth, the right hon. Gentleman will also know that although there has been a fall in global growth, the International Monetary Fund forecasts that Britain will grow faster this year than France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-02-11
Topic: Environment
Questions: Many in financial services will warmly welcome the Chancellor’s remarks in the papers yesterday about equivalence arrangements, but does he agree that the real value to those arrangements is in the length of the revocation period? Will he therefore press for revocation notices of a minimum of a year and preferably three years?; Funding for coal mining ended in 2012, but it carries on for oil and gas, as we saw at the recent Africa summit and in the lobbying for the Petrofac oil refinery in Bahrain. When is the Chancellor going to end funding for fossil fuel projects and take the action that is needed to tackle the climate crisis?
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK takes our climate commitments exceptionally seriously, and we have pledged to end the use of unabated coal here in the UK by 2025. Clearly we want to ensure that that applies to our work overseas as well, and that is something that the Government as a whole take very seriously. It is the subject of ongoing ministerial discussions and we are determined to ensure that we support the right initiatives across the world.