argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Council 2016 — House of Commons, 2016-12-19
Topic: International Affairs
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Prime Minister for her statement and for advance sight of it. Following the European Council, it appears that the Prime Minister is leading our country not just out of the European Union but out of the single market and the customs union, neither of which were on the ballot paper last June. If instead remain had won by a whisker last June, would the Government have had a mandate, I wonder, for a hard remain? Would Mr Cameron have been stood there bouncing us into the euro and Schengen? Does the Prime Minister agree that, ludicrous as that sounds, it is no more ludicrous than the extreme rewriting of the referendum result that she now seeks to impose on the British people?
HMP Birmingham — House of Commons, 2016-12-19
Topic: Law and Crime
John David Pugh (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): First the prison was taken over by G4S, and then it was taken over by the prisoners. The report on the prison by the Independent Monitoring Boards states explicitly that staff shortages are a major issue, observing that "on too many occasions, in many areas, the service was reduced by there being insufficient staff" That was the very theme of the report. Brutally, whose fault is this, the private operator’s or the Government’s?
Improving Lives: Work, Health and Disability Green Paper — House of Commons, 2016-10-31
Topic: Labor
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Despite some changes, the work capability assessment system is fundamentally flawed. Surely reform must ensure that, as well as the system judging whether people are fit for a job, the jobs are available for them. Will the Secretary of State look at whether a new assessment can include the jobs available in a local area as well as the claimant’s condition?
Nissan: Sunderland — House of Commons, 2016-10-31
Topic: Foreign Trade
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Secretary of State deserves credit for a significant and substantial achievement, but special deals for the car industry or the financial services sector offer little comfort to the thousands of small businesses the length and breadth of this country—which, incidentally, goes north of Newcastle—that depend on exports for their livelihood. What will the Secretary of State do to ensure that these small businesses, which are the lifeblood of so many of our communities, get the same access to him and his Department as has clearly been given to the big boys in the multinationals?
European Council — House of Commons, 2016-10-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of her statement. It is a sad day when a Government are willing to compromise the safety and security of their citizens to appease the dangerous and irrational ideology of a few, so will she confirm now that we will remain an active member of Europol and that we will urgently opt in to this critical aspect of European cross-border security and policing, for which the regulations were confirmed in May this year, to defend ourselves from terrorists and to combat organised crime, including drug trafficking, paedophilia and people trafficking?
Electronic Voting: House of Commons — House of Commons, 2016-11-24
Topic: Government Operations
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Commission has given no formal consideration to a move to electronic voting in the House. Its responsibility in this matter is limited to any financial or staffing implications of any change to the current system, were a change to be agreed by the House. The Procedure Committee, of which the hon. Gentleman has been a member since 2015, will be well placed to inquire into the matter and come up with proposals.
Contaminated Blood and Blood Products — House of Commons, 2016-11-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman is making some really important points. Does he agree that one area in which the private sector could and should be playing a part is in contributing to the compensation? Is there not an analogy—an off-the-shelf scheme we could consider—in how the thalidomide victims were supported through a composite of public funding and funding from the drug companies responsible? Like the Scottish scheme, that system has introduced annual payments and allowed people struggling with conditions that they contracted because of thalidomide to have some security throughout their lives. The same could be afforded to the survivors or the loved ones of those who passed away because of contaminated blood.
Dangerous Driving — House of Commons, 2016-12-06
Topic: Law and Crime
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Campaigners and families are delighted that the Government have now announced this review, and I pay tribute to all of them, and to all hon. Members on both sides of the House who contributed to the cross-party manifesto in 2014. The direction of travel is clearly welcome, but I just ask that consideration is given to getting rid of the charge of careless driving, because at the moment some of the most dangerous sorts of reckless, criminal driving are called careless, and that is wrong.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-12-06
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: I am sure that my right hon. Friend will agree that an independent judiciary and a free press are two pillars of a free society, and that, while we might not always like how each acts, we should be proud of, and protect, those freedoms.; As has been stated, last June the Government commenced their review of the future of employment tribunal fees. As of yet, we have not seen any results. Will the Minister give me a firm date for the review’s completion and publication? Is it not time the Government abandoned these unfair fees, which cut across the rights of working people?; I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agrees that one of the main challenges facing the justice system is integrating ex-offenders back into the outside world upon their release. Does she agree that this requires the co-operation of employers as well as former prisoners? What is the Department doing to ensure that such co-operation is both encouraged and increased?; The European criminal records information system enables the UK to access information about the convictions of EU nationals, but the future of our involvement is now unclear. What plans does the Department have to ensure that there is effective engagement post-Brexit?; With care applications rising dramatically in the family courts, what steps is the Minister taking to head off what Sir James Munby, the president of the family division, has referred to as a “looming crisis” in the family courts?; What specific actions are my right hon. Friend and the Government taking to ensure that the UK remains a specialist leader in world legal services?
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The family of Richard Davies of Yeadon are dismayed that the man found guilty of his manslaughter is being considered for a move to an open prison a year before the family was told that that would be considered and after spending only a year in prison. Is that justice?
Rail Infrastructure (Train Operating Companies) — House of Commons, 2016-12-06
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): What evaluation has there been of the time and cost benefits of doing the Oxford to Cambridge line in the way that the Secretary of State proposes, as opposed to having Network Rail do it? Does he envisage other projects being run in this way? If this is about looking for different ways of doing things, will he consider allowing the public sector to bid for train franchises?
Control of Horses Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-16
Topic: Other
David William St John Heath (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am not trying to be clever or unhelpful, but I do think that the normal definition of a horse would include anything that was of the same species as a horse—that is to say equus ferus caballus—which ponies and jennets are. Donkeys are separately identified because they are not the same species. They are equines, but they are equus africanus asinus, if I remember correctly, and therefore they have to be defined separately, but—
Control of Horses Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-16
Topic: Other
David William St John Heath (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Please forgive me, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have not been in the House for very long, as you know, and that is a mistake that incomers make. I do apologise. I also sound like I am lecturing the right hon. Gentleman, but I am not trying to; I am simply saying that I think his amendment is otiose.
Adult Autism Strategy — House of Commons, 2015-01-13
Topic: Other
Questions: With reference to his Department’s publication “Transforming care: A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital”, published in December 2012, if he will take steps to ensure that the statutory guidance implementing the adult autism strategy uses clear language and is mandatory.
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I have to say that I was not aware of the information provided by the hon. Gentleman. I should be happy for him to send me more information, but I make the general point that it is always important for us to base our decisions and expenditure on evidence.
Nuclear Management Partners (Sellafield) — House of Commons, 2015-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): When I visited Dounreay I was incredibly impressed by its work force and management team and I know how much my right hon. Friend has been supporting them over a considerable period. I can give him the reassurances he seeks. The contract with the PBO has worked because it has been easier to specify the scope, as my right hon. Friend rightly pointed out. As a result, significant efficiencies have been made and significant savings to the taxpayer have been accrued, so the PBO model has worked well on that site.
Nuclear Management Partners (Sellafield) — House of Commons, 2015-01-13
Topic: Other
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Yes, I can give the hon. Gentleman that reassurance. Members from both sides of the House have voiced support for the staff and the need to ensure that they get all the training required and that information about the change is properly conveyed to them. I believe that the staff will support the changes.
Nuclear Management Partners (Sellafield) — House of Commons, 2015-01-13
Topic: Other
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): On the final point, I have said that I will write to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex); I do not have that figure with me. On the cash figure, I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the precise amount. I gave it in percentage terms—it is 1% of the annual fee—but I believe that it is less than £500,000 in cash terms. I put on the record that I will need to clarify that in writing.
Nuclear Management Partners (Sellafield) — House of Commons, 2015-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Edward Jonathon Davey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The hon. Lady is right that performance at Sellafield has been mixed—we would not have taken the decision if it had all been going terribly well—but I repeat what I have already told the House, which is that performance improved significantly last year. That is why the focus is on the model. She asked whether we believe that the model will improve performance, and we absolutely do: it will reduce costs and improve the effectiveness of management on that complex site.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating teachers and pupils at primary schools across Ealing on their latest key stage 2 standard assessment test results, which have taken them well above average? It is particularly good to note that pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have done especially well this year.; More than 10,000 people have now signed an e-petition urging the Government to introduce a VAT refund scheme for sixth-form colleges. Does the Minister now accept that it is time to drop this learning tax on sixth-form colleges, which does not have to be paid by schools, academies and free schools?; Parents look for certainty when they are planning family finances and child care can be a considerable cost. Does the Minister share my concern that in announcing unfunded new child care policies, the Labour party could create real and unwelcome uncertainty in the child care market, which will help neither parents nor children?; Is the Minister aware that Chulmleigh academy in my constituency has been three quarters rebuilt for just £3.7 million, compared with the £18 million it was due to have cost under Building Schools for the Future? Given the school’s superb record of delivery and astonishing value for money, will Ministers smile upon the bid now in for funding for the last stage of this superb project?
David Anthony Laws (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree with my hon. Friend that the Government have delivered far better value for money in the capital programme than their predecessor, and that is why we are able to do so much on the capital front. He will not expect me to make a final statement now on the bid from his constituency, but his strong support is carefully noted by Ministers.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating teachers and pupils at primary schools across Ealing on their latest key stage 2 standard assessment test results, which have taken them well above average? It is particularly good to note that pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have done especially well this year.; More than 10,000 people have now signed an e-petition urging the Government to introduce a VAT refund scheme for sixth-form colleges. Does the Minister now accept that it is time to drop this learning tax on sixth-form colleges, which does not have to be paid by schools, academies and free schools?; Parents look for certainty when they are planning family finances and child care can be a considerable cost. Does the Minister share my concern that in announcing unfunded new child care policies, the Labour party could create real and unwelcome uncertainty in the child care market, which will help neither parents nor children?; Is the Minister aware that Chulmleigh academy in my constituency has been three quarters rebuilt for just £3.7 million, compared with the £18 million it was due to have cost under Building Schools for the Future? Given the school’s superb record of delivery and astonishing value for money, will Ministers smile upon the bid now in for funding for the last stage of this superb project?; Will any of the capital programme be available for small village schools, such as Scorton and Winmarleigh primary schools in my constituency, so that real dining spaces can be created? At the moment, they face the daily burden of turning classrooms into dining rooms and dining rooms into classrooms as they carry out the new free school meals policy.
David Anthony Laws (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I can reassure my hon. Friend that the Government have now allocated a total of £175 million to support the universal infant free school meal policy with extra capital. In addition, local authorities have the £1.2 billion maintenance budget from the Department each year, and they are at liberty to use it in any way they want.
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Other
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Bill, has consented to place her prerogative, so far as it is affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Robert Edward Russell (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sorry to bring a note of discord to the proceedings, but I am bound to observe that the whole arrangement is for one denomination of the Christian Church. If we are to have religious people in the other place in the 21st century, surely they should be more representative of all Christian denominations and, indeed, should reflect all faiths.
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester welcomes that support for his cause. He may well rope in the hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) to his campaign in the next few years The hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah), who is not in her place, rightly sang the praises of women clergy in general, and of those in her constituency in particular. That gives me an opportunity to sing the praises of the women clergy in the London borough of Sutton, who also do a fantastic job in the community Finally, the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) said that the Bill is "unopposable". From looking around the Chamber and listening to the speeches made so far, I think he is right that it will not be opposed tonight. I heard and understood his request for wider faith representation but, like the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby, I think that a dilemma is involved. We might want wider faith representation because that is a sensible thing to do in a second Chamber that has faith representation, but how do we reconcile that with the idea of a fully elected second Chamber? The hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby did not have an answer to that, and I am not going to pronounce on it from a Liberal Democrat perspective from the Dispatch Box this evening As hon. Members will have noticed, this is a very short Bill. It addresses a particular problem—namely, the delay in female bishops becoming eligible to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual if they were required to wait their turn under the present rules. Without the Bill, there would be a long wait before female bishops would be represented among their male counterparts in the House of Lords. That would not be fair. The Bill corrects that unfairness by ensuring that the Lords Spiritual benefit from having female bishops among their number as soon as possible. That is the question the Bill has been designed to address, with the support of the Church of England. It is a response to the historic decision of the Church of England to allow women to become bishops, and it is a proportionate and sensible adaptation of the existing rules to accommodate that decision. I commend the Bill to the House Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time; to stand committed to a Committee of the whole House (Order, this day).
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): That is a matter for the Church and I am sure it will want to keep that under review. It will be able to see, through its own appointments process and the legislation, the impact on the number of women bishops and Lords Spiritual. If the Church feels in future that there is a need for the Government to take action, I am sure the Government would want to address that. As the years move by, I am sure that the pressure for equal representation will grow even more significantly, and that the Church and this place will have to respond to it effectively The Church believes that 10 years will be enough to ensure that the Bishops’ Bench in the Lords better reflects the gender diversity of bishops in the country, and to address the inherent inequality presented by the current system in the shorter term. After the end of the 10-year period—effectively at the start of the 2025 Parliament—the existing arrangements will resume.
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Clearly, as I stated earlier, this is a matter for senior clergy, including senior female clergy, to keep under review and to raise with Governments if they feel it has not been addressed within the 10 years. There could be many factors at play that make it impossible to meet any target if they or we were to set one at this point. As I said, therefore, this is a matter for the clergy to respond to. While I personally could make a commitment regarding what will happen in 2025, it would rather prejudge certain factors, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton) knows, no Government can commit a future Government to any particular action. However, it is certainly something that future Governments would, I hope, want to consider positively if a further request were made and if, at the end of the 10 years, the representation of women bishops or Lords Spiritual had not been addressed in a way that the clergy and House of Commons thought appropriate Question put and agreed to. Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 Commencement, extent and short title Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.
Trident Renewal — House of Commons, 2015-01-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nicholas Barton Harvey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I feel I must correct the historical record. In the summer of 2010, a value-for-money study on the successor programme concluded that savings could be made by slipping the time scale slightly. This was not something the Liberal Democrats demanded, although it was something we welcomed. It had the happy consequence of moving maingate into the next Parliament, but it was not something we sought, demanded or—