argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 Section 3(5) — House of Commons, 2019-10-16
Topic: Government Operations
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been absolutely clear that we will bring forward this legislation. Clearly, if the Executive were restored, it would be for them to take action on this matter, but we are talking about a matter of days. We are taking forward the necessary steps to ensure that we can put the regulations into place, as the hon. Lady says, by March 2020.
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 Section 3(5) — House of Commons, 2019-10-16
Topic: Government Operations
Maria Colette Caulfield (Conservative, Centre-right): When the issue of historical institutional abuse was raised during debate on the Bill that became the Act, the Secretary of State promised that there would be legislation, and it was mentioned in the Queen’s Speech. Has the Minister any idea of the date when that legislation will be introduced? It will affect thousands of people in Northern Ireland.
Portishead Railway — House of Commons, 2019-10-16
Topic: Transportation
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): I am extremely grateful to the hon. Lady, and she is right that we deserve better public transport in the Bristol area. Bristol is one of only two cities in the United Kingdom, outside London, that produce a net benefit to the economy, and we deserve a level of spending commensurate with that level of economic contribution to the UK economy.
Portishead Railway — House of Commons, 2019-10-16
Topic: Transportation
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): It is not simply a specific case; it is also a generic one. We need to see major improvements in our railway capacity for exactly those reasons and for the environmental benefits that will come from not having the pollutants from slow-moving traffic congesting our towns and villages As a result of the Department for Transport announcing its £31.9 million funding share, the four local councils and the West of England Combined Authority have now committed to their £84 million share of the funding for the railway project. I make it clear that the railway reinstatement cannot be completed without the Department’s £31.9 million, so can the Minister make a clear commitment tonight that the Department’s funding will be solely on the basis of there being a good business case?
Portishead Railway — House of Commons, 2019-10-16
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Heaton-Harris (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I agree with the hon. Lady. She is absolutely right in what she says. As a Minister in the Department, I welcome the cross-party nature of the support that is being given to my right hon. Friend and this proposal. These services that I was talking about when I took the hon. Lady’s contribution will ensure that the rail network can meet the growing passenger demand and will allow more trains to run in the future. My officials are working with Network Rail to secure funding to upgrade Bristol East junction to support future service enhancements and, importantly, to enable the capacity needed to run the second phase of MetroWest services. These works will also improve the resilience of the network, so passengers in the area will benefit from a more reliable railway As my right hon. Friend knows, the coming December 2019 timetable change will bring a significant increase in services making use of this new infrastructure, which is already providing performance benefits along the route The investments that we are making in the area are not just on the railways. As I am told by many people who live in and around Bristol, it is an exciting time for Bristol and the wider area. There are plans to develop the Bristol Temple Quarter enterprise zone, including Bristol Temple Meads station, for business, housing and education, including a new university campus. That work is progressing and is being led by the West of England Combined Authority and Bristol City Council. The combined authority will also receive £103 million from the Government through the transforming cities fund to transform connectivity in the city region On roads, the area has benefited from £36 million through the local highways maintenance challenge fund. Three separate awards provided by the Government, totalling £113 million, have been provided towards the metrobus scheme, which will provide a 50 km bus rapid transit network in the greater Bristol area Then, of course, there is MetroWest. The Government continue to be highly supportive of its development and recognise the benefits it will bring to the area. The plan is that MetroWest will help to reduce congestion in the centre of Bristol, get people out of their cars and create a cleaner environment for people in the city with a decrease in carbon emissions. That demonstrates the Government’s commitment to decarbonisation through moving journeys from road to rail and helps to meet our ambitious, legally binding target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Terminally Ill People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: Is the Minister aware that there can be severe financial stress for the carer when a terminally ill person dies? One of my constituents was forced into serious debt as a result of missing payments after trying to migrate from the carer’s allowance and premium to universal credit. Where is the promised ministerial guidance on this sensitive subject?
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): Part of the evaluation is about looking at the whole process, including not only the six-month rule but the process before and after. I believe that there has been a case in the right hon. Gentleman’ constituency, so it would be helpful to have further information on that as part of the evaluation.
Contracted-out Health Assessments — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) efficiency of contracted-out health assessments for (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payments.
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. She works tirelessly in this area and is held in great respect by all Members on both sides of the House The integrated assessment is looking at how, with the claimant’s permission, we can share the evidence they have already gathered. We know that the majority of successful appeals contain additional written and oral evidence, often because the claimant had previously struggled to get that evidence. If the evidence is already in the system, we should be making it as easy as possible for the claimant to use it a second time.
Contracted-out Health Assessments — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) efficiency of contracted-out health assessments for (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payments.
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I would be very happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman, who has a huge amount of expertise in this area. Of those who have transferred from disability living allowance to PIP, there are 144,000 claimants who were not on enhanced mobility under DLA but who now are under PIP.
Contracted-out Health Assessments — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) efficiency of contracted-out health assessments for (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payments.
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the need to improve mandatory reconsiderations, which is why we brought forward the pilots in the spring. The pilots are proactively gathering the additional written and oral evidence that was often presented at the end of the independent appeal process, which would sometimes take a year or even longer—that was not acceptable. We have been doing this over the summer, and we are now doing it for all PIP and work capability assessments. I attended a PIP mandatory reconsideration in Cardiff over the summer, and we are seeing some fantastic results because, rightly, we are speaking directly to claimants to ask them why they are challenging a decision. That will make a big difference, and stakeholders warmly welcome it.
Universal Credit: Disabled Claimants — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): Universal credit targets additional support at a wider group than the system it replaces, with a much higher rate for severely disabled people than the employment and support allowance equivalent. Around 1 million disabled households will gain, on average, £100 a month on universal credit compared with legacy benefits.
Universal Credit: Disabled Claimants — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): We continue to work with stakeholders and claimants to make sure the system is improved and can operate as quickly as possible. I encourage Opposition Members to support the £600 million of additional support for the severe disability premium and not pray against those regulations.
Universal Credit: Disabled Claimants — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): This Government are spending an additional £9 billion per year—a record high of £55 billion—supporting those with disabilities and long-term health conditions. The universal credit rate for the most severely disabled is more than double the equivalent employment and support allowance group rate, at £336.20, compared with a legacy payment of just £167.05.
Universal Credit: Financial Resilience — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): Universal credit ensures that support goes to those who need it, allowing 700,000 more people to receive benefits than did previously—this is worth approximately an extra £2.4 billion. Those who move to UC from legacy benefits and whose circumstances remain the same will be eligible for protection of their entitlement at the point of transition.
Universal Credit: Financial Resilience — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): The situation is that this is an assessment period and no one has to wait to receive a UC payment; an advance of up to 100% is available to those in need, and significant funding has gone to Citizens Advice Scotland.
Universal Credit: Financial Resilience — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I visited my local jobcentre, and it is very positive about the effects of UC. Specifically on financial resilience, how many people have been helped into work and the security of a regular pay packet as a result of UC?
Universal Credit: Financial Resilience — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes the good point that hundreds of thousands of people have been helped into work, but more particularly this is about the difference between the current system and the legacy system: we now have a dedicated work coach and personalised support; we have scrapped the 16-hour cliff edge; there is more help with childcare; and we have given additional support that was never there under the legacy system.
Universal Credit: Financial Resilience — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Questions: A young constituent of mine could not afford to go to his UC appointment, was sanctioned and then lost his home in York’s resettlement project and ended up on the streets. We were told that the Government would fix the problems with UC as it was being rolled out. Why have the Government not stuck to that commitment?; Several of my constituents have been victims of UC fraudsters, and I have written to Ministers about this on several occasions. I have now received a response to say that only “where there is clear evidence that the claimant had no involvement in that claim”will the Department “consider re-instating legacy benefits” and consider repaying the advance that was made to them. The claimants are being asked to an interview under caution, which is incredibly intimidating, and they have no access to legal advice and support for that. What is the Department going to do to stop intimidating such victims?
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the Secretary of State looks forward to appearing before the Select Committee on Work and Pensions, of which the hon. Lady is a member, next week An advance is available to people in the usual way. Supported by the Treasury Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee, we have brought in the Money and Pensions Service to provide debt advice and budgeting support for claimants. There is no doubt that the extra money for Help to Claim, which is administered by trusted providers—whether that is the citizens advice bureaux or Citizens Advice Scotland—is very much helping the process.
Universal Credit: Financial Resilience — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: A young constituent of mine could not afford to go to his UC appointment, was sanctioned and then lost his home in York’s resettlement project and ended up on the streets. We were told that the Government would fix the problems with UC as it was being rolled out. Why have the Government not stuck to that commitment?; Several of my constituents have been victims of UC fraudsters, and I have written to Ministers about this on several occasions. I have now received a response to say that only “where there is clear evidence that the claimant had no involvement in that claim”will the Department “consider re-instating legacy benefits” and consider repaying the advance that was made to them. The claimants are being asked to an interview under caution, which is incredibly intimidating, and they have no access to legal advice and support for that. What is the Department going to do to stop intimidating such victims?
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): There is much that I could say about the Scottish Government and their approach to welfare, but I will pass on that. The point is surely that this Government have introduced childcare changes, more employment and support on an ongoing basis, including through lower taxes. It is obvious that there is a benefit from the changes and advances we have made.
In-work Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): Since 2010, there are over 3.7 million more people in work and 730,000 fewer children growing up in workless households. About three quarters of employment growth has been in full-time work, which has been proven to substantially reduce the risk of poverty. But it is not enough to have any job; we want people to have good jobs.
In-work Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I totally disagree with the hon. Gentleman’s comments. We are committed to helping lone parents into a job that fits around their caring responsibilities. There are now more than 1.2 million lone parents in work. To support parents into work, the Government spend £6 billion on childcare each and every year.
In-work Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (Conservative, Centre-right): Has the Minister read the report from the Resolution Foundation that stated that "Low pay is falling for the first time in four decades" and that women were the biggest beneficiaries? It pointed out that since the national living wage was introduced in 2016 the percentage of employees on low pay has fallen from 20.7% to 17.1% last year.
In-work Poverty — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising that matter. I have not seen the report, so I will go away and dig it out. We have invested £8 million to develop the evidence on what works to support people to progress in work, including enhancing our operational capability to support claimants to make good decisions on job switching.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): This Government are committed to providing targeted support for all our young people, to give them the best chance of getting into work. That includes the youth obligation support programme, Jobcentre Plus support for schools, and the recently introduced mentoring circles.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Edmund Francis Hughes (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that answer. I welcome the Government funding given to Go Train, which provides recruitment and training services to businesses at no cost to business. Will she visit Walsall North in November, when a course will be provided specific to the Birchills area of my constituency?
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I was recently nearby, at one of our universal credit service centres, with my hon. Friend It was absolutely clear that opportunities for young people in his constituency and the surrounding area are vital. The Department for Work and Pensions is working with the West Midlands Combined Authority to bring together local skills, employment support and Jobcentre Plus services. We are investing £1.2 million in the west midlands for extra resources, including helping young people to tackle the biggest hurdles to finding employment.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Speaking of young people, they will welcome the decision to grant the living wage to people aged 21 to 25 at £10.50 an hour, but are the Government satisfied that there will not be any impact on young people and their job opportunities as a result of their being paid the same rate as those who have more experience in the workplace?
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement to bring more people, including younger people, into the scope of the national living wage over the next five years. Employers will continue to select the best person for the job, based on multiple factors. Like me, they will take confidence from the fact that young people will have a chance to take advantage of the support offered to make sure that they are ready to meet those challenges and be the best person for the job. So local labour markets will still be strong.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Wonderful passion—that is very much appreciated. And I make no apology for bringing passion to this new role when it comes to youth unemployment. In fact, I explicitly asked the Secretary of State that I could continue with my focus on young people in this role. Please do not forget that youth unemployment has almost halved since 2010 under this Government.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Place-based support and understanding is really important in devolving down and making changes on the ground. There is a great opportunity in the coming changes to the European social fund, in the shared prosperity fund and in the ability to work with local enterprise partnerships and local mayors, because young people may have fantastic employers around them, but never know that those opportunities exist.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend knows that, if it were up to me, I would love to extend the national living wage down to 18, but sadly this is down to the Treasury; I will question the relevant Ministers accordingly.
Employment: Young People — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Education
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Everybody in this Chamber speaking up for our young people do all our communities a great service. We need a mixture of chances and opportunities for young people, including through mentoring. I am particularly interested in the work that we do with schools around engagement with jobcentres. [Interruption.] It is not all about money; it is also about skills and opportunities. I hear the hon. Gentleman, as do many colleagues, and I hope the Treasury will too.
State Pension: Women — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): We have extended the right to request flexible working, abolished the default retirement age, and introduced and financed the returner programme. I have seen the success of the returner programme through the company Release Potential, which is based in my Hexham constituency and which I have seen help many people back into work.
State Pension: Women — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): I spent 20 years as a lawyer, and my last client was a Mr Ed Balls, when he was Secretary of State for Education. I can assure my hon. Friend that this Government will abide by court decisions and follow the law. If there are any changes—two independent High Court judges heard the case and made the decision— clearly the Government will obey that decision.
State Pension: Women — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): I say with great respect and gentleness that the right hon. Lady, I believe, served in the Department for Work and Pensions as a Minister during the period when the state pension age was raised by successive Labour Governments. The Court in the judgment last Thursday—[Interruption.] She asked me a question, and she should let me finish. The Court in the judgment last Thursday indicated that the state, including the Labour Government of 13 years, acted appropriately by giving due notification in the way that it did.
State Pension: Women — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Julian Murray Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I accept everything that the Minister just said, but does he accept that successive Governments, despite their best efforts, failed to get the message across to enough people that the retirement age for women was rising exponentially? Will the Government try to look at some of the proposals from people such as Baroness Altmann for ways in which alternative schemes could mitigate the problems that have resulted?
State Pension: Women — House of Commons, 2019-10-07
Topic: Labor
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): This is the matter of a court case which may be the subject of appeal. With great respect to the hon. Gentleman—who is, to his discredit, a friend of mine—the honest truth is that he should be consulting with a 1950s-born woman who was Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions: the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), who is also his wife and who was responsible for the continuation of the self-same policy that he now objects to. For 13 years, the Labour party did the perfectly proper thing of taking due account of equality and the rises in life expectancy, and it should stick to that, having made those decisions for 13 years.