argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: As we are congratulating football teams, I am sure the House will want to join me in congratulating Hibernian football club, which has returned to the top league in Scotland.The Chancellor of the Exchequer has a brass neck when he talks about a stable and resilient economy. The growth in the money supply, which has been trending at around 6%, is mainly down to an increase in personal borrowing and credit card debt. When are we going to get fiscal measures that will stimulate the economy, rather than relying on the boom and bust we are seeing again?; The House may be aware that Plymouth Argyle were also promoted yesterday.I am the chairman of the all-party group on south-west rail. Last November, the peninsula rail taskforce published a report on the future of rail in the south-west. One key recommendation was for a resilient railway line through Dawlish. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that there is enough money in the kitty to deliver that?; Co-operatives and worker-owned businesses tend to be more resilient and are more productive. Does the Chancellor agree that regulation and law should not disadvantage their development? Will he consider redirecting tax incentives away from company executives and towards employees looking to buy their own workplace?; Given the large proposed increase in probate fees, and bearing in mind that deceased people’s bank accounts are frozen, will the Chancellor or the Chief Secretary look at allowing the fees to be paid after probate has been granted and the estate has been wound up?; We have heard today an awful lot about a stronger economy and the need to improve productivity. What discussions has the Chancellor had with his Cabinet colleagues about skills and education funding? There is concern that children in Blackburn are about to lose £284 per head under what the Government call a fairer funding formula.; Although the south-east is the financial powerhouse of the UK, it does none the less have some less prosperous areas such as the Isle of Wight. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach all corners and all islands of the United Kingdom?; Britain’s coastal communities have enormous potential for sustainable economic growth in the trade, energy, fishing and tourism sectors. Much good work is being done, but I would be grateful if my right hon. Friend gave us an assurance that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that coastal Britain realises its full potential.; The taxpayer has benefited from the return to private ownership of Lloyds and UK Asset Resolution, but can my right hon. Friend provide an update on the sale of the Royal Bank of Scotland?
Dennis Edward Skinner (Labour, Centre-left): In the real world, seven years ago, a Tory Chancellor stood at the Dispatch Box and said that we had to cut the money to every single local authority in Britain by up to 40% because we needed to get rid of the deficit. Now, seven years later, that deficit is still more than £60 billion. Will the Chancellor apologise to the people of Britain for that lousy mistake?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): In the light of the American Vice-President’s current visit to the region to consult, one hopes, South Korea and Japan, among others, on the most effective way of containing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and reflecting on the Foreign Secretary’s own experience at the recent G7 summit, does he think that there is the potential for further economic sanctions directed at Pyongyang? Does he think that China would fully support such a step?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Ann Clwyd (Labour, Centre-left): In 1988, I took a cross-party group from this House to see some of the survivors of the Halabja attack. There was lot of discussion about who was responsible, and people such as Professor Alastair Hay went out to Halabja and brought back soil samples and evidence. I wonder whether experts in the UK are again being used to find out who perpetrated this terrible carnage and suffering on the Syrian people. Has the Foreign Secretary talked to such people, who could be of help again due to their experience in dealing with chemical weapons?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
David Julian Winnick (Labour, Centre-left): I do not regret any of my votes opposing military intervention in Syria, because at various times we were asked to oppose one side or the other, but if there had been no military retaliation in response to the chemical attack, is there not a case that it would have encouraged Assad to do it again?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Gisela Stuart (Labour, Centre-left): Hannah Bladon was a student at Birmingham University, and our thoughts and prayers are with her, her family and her friends. As a result of her having been stabbed to death in Jerusalem, has the Foreign Office changed any of its travel advice?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Michael John Gapes (Labour, Centre-left): The Foreign Secretary’s original statement was comprehensive and measured, but it had one significant omission—there was no mention of Turkey. There are 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey and, as he knows, the Turkish Government and President Erdogan have called for a no-fly zone. Others, including myself, have called for a no-fly zone over Idlib. What discussions are ongoing about how to protect civilians in Syria, not just from chemical weapons, but from barrel bombs?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement. Of course, it is not for any of us in this House to decide who runs Syria; that is a choice for the Syrian people We should judge recent events in Syria as being successful only if they form part of a comprehensive strategy to protect civilian life. What conversations has the Foreign Secretary had with the Secretary of State for International Development about getting the aid that we as a country have paid for to those who need it in Syria? Thanks to you, Mr Speaker, we were able to call for such action for Aleppo, but we failed. Now, people in Idlib are being targeted in a way that we have discussed in this House previously. What strategy do we have to save civilian lives, to get aid in, to get people out of Syria so that they can receive medical attention, and to help to save each and every life that we can?
Syria and North Korea — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Mark Phillip Hendrick (Labour, Centre-left): In his statement, the Foreign Secretary said, "I stress that we have no intention of dislodging Russia from Syria." Well, we would be fools to think that we could. He then went on to say, "But Russia’s position in Syria does not depend on Assad." For the past seven years, Putin has supported Assad through thick and thin. He will not suddenly develop a conscience, as we can see from his actions over the years in Chechnya and elsewhere. We are left in a position in which Russia, as a member of the UN Security Council, will constantly block any military attempts, which leaves us with a scenario where Trump could take unilateral action, as he did on the Syrian airfield. Although I supported that particular action, how far are we supposed to support Trump in those actions without the backing of the Security Council? Clearly, he could take such action against Assad and against President Kim in North Korea.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: International Affairs
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is it in order for the Secretary of State, while refusing to answer the challenge of a televised debate, to use the opportunity of a statement to make the most extraordinary claims? Perhaps the biggest was that he was unaware of Labour’s position on this matter. We have made it abundantly clear that the way we should have proceeded was for UN inspectors to establish beyond doubt who was responsible and challenge the international community, including the Russians, to take multilateral action against the perpetrator, who is presumably Mr Assad.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): If that is what the hon. Gentleman sees, I suggest that he needs to take off his rose-tinted spectacles We are all aware that the only Conservative idea for the shape of a post-Brexit economy is to turn our once pride-worthy economy into a bargain basement tax haven. That is what the Conservatives want. We have had seven years of slogans from this Government, but we still have no evidence that their negotiations on Europe amount to anything more than something written on the back of a fag packet. They are non-existent, and they have been non-existent for the two or three years since the announcement of the referendum, other than their preparation to sell us down the river to tax avoiders and dodgy dealers across the globe The Government make great claims on tackling tax avoidance in the Bill—we heard the Minister talk about this earlier—but it is a charter for tax avoiders, and no amount of smokescreens and bluffing can hide that fact. The Chancellor wants us to believe that measures to bring some non-doms into tax will really tackle the problem, but throughout the Bill we see measures to preserve the special status of non-doms and to privilege that group over domiciled taxpayers. Even the Government’s headline "deeming" measure is undermined because they have chosen to preserve the non-dom status of offshore trusts. How on earth is this going to get more taxes paid if non-doms are being forewarned that they can simply hide their money away in a trust and still keep it beyond the Revenue’s grasp? When is closing a loophole not closing a loophole? When it is hidden in a magic spreadsheet The Bill fails to introduce any meaningful measures to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, which even this Government admit are costing at least £36 billion a year. In short, this Finance Bill continues to push our country towards a low-tax and low-pay economy in which a small minority of the rich can get wealthier at the expense of everybody else.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): I referred earlier to the money—£70 billion, I believe—that the Government have given away to corporations. That would be a start, and I would welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support for my proposal in the next Parliament We have seen £4.6 billion cut from the budget for social care, which is linked to, and on a continuum with, the NHS. The Chancellor has pledged to return only £2 billion over the next three years—£1 billion for the year 2017-18 and £500 million a year for the two following years—which is half what the King’s Fund has estimated that the social care sector needs not for next year, but today. That is another Conservative broken promise. Missed targets are pushing the NHS and social care into further crisis. The Government are behaving like an ostrich in that regard, and the situation is coming back to bite them I turn to small and medium-sized businesses, which contribute more to the British economy than they have ever done. SMEs are forecast to contribute £217 billion to the UK economy by 2020, but the Finance Bill does little to address the concerns of many business owners. The business rate system continues to be rigged in favour of giveaways for big corporations at the expense of SMEs. How can it be right for the business rates bills of a leading supermarket’s biggest stores to fall by £105 million, while independent shopkeepers struggle with a cliff-edge hike in their rates? That is a fact today. The system needs to be fairer and weighted more in favour of SMEs, which is why a Labour Government would bring in a package of reforms to ease the burden of business rates. Rising business rates and rising inflation are creating a perfect storm for SMEs. Small business inflation has risen to its highest point in eight years, with basic costs soaring by 3.2% last year. SMEs’ costs are predicted to go up by £6.8 billion by the end of this year. All that is happening while the Conservatives continue to look the other way in complete denial.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): If that suggestion came from the Government side, I would say that I would listen to the representations, and we would listen to any representations, so to speak, that would help small businesses Moving on to alcohol duty, the Finance Bill will only further undermine our local pubs, which are already under threat, with 29 pubs closing every week. While we welcome plans to make tax digital, the Government’s plan will shift huge administrative burdens on to small businesses and the self-employed, who are just trying to pay the taxes they owe—so much for the Conservatives being the party of small business. There is no reason businesses should have to submit quarterly digital tax returns, particularly when they lack the time, resources and capacity to convert records into digital standards on a frequent basis. All that comes when they are under stress from business rates. That is why we support the view of the Treasury Committee and of small business owners and the self-employed that it is better to exempt the smallest taxpayers from quarterly reporting and to phase in making tax digital to ensure that implementation is right for all, rather than the Conservative party wasting taxpayers’ money and time by correcting mistakes further down the line. Making tax digital will also place new burdens on HMRC, which is already teetering on the edge after the constant slashing of its resources over the past few years. Thousands of hard-working staff have already been dismissed, and taxpayers are waiting on the phone for hours, which costs far more than the cuts have saved. The closure of dozens of tax offices across the country is still to come, putting thousands of jobs at risk in my constituency alone. How will HMRC cope with the ever-increasing complexity of its responsibilities with just a skeleton staff? How will any of the "reduction in errors" expected from making tax digital actually come about? How will we ever close the tax gap when there are no tax inspectors left to help taxpayers get their returns right and when HMRC has been filched of the resources it needs to run a service? It is a total false economy.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Labor
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): A million people in employment are on zero-hours contracts. Millions of people are in insecure work. Of course I welcome employment, but it has to be secure, well-paid, reasonable, sensible employment that allows people to sustain their families. Under this Government, millions of people are unable to sustain an ordinary life with the wages they receive. That is the reality.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): No, I did not. I was asked earlier how I would pay for the changes, and I indicated that I would start with corporations. In effect, corporations receive £70 billion in relief over a five-year to six-year period through banking levy reductions and so on. That is the starting point for us. As far as I am concerned, the Bill takes us no closer to knowing when the Conservatives will finally meet their target of closing the deficit. A series of failures has led them to borrow more than any other Government in history, and far more than every Labour Government combined. That is the fact of the matter.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): I want to follow the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Dr Davies) in addressing my remarks to part 3 of the Bill and the chargeable soft drinks levy I was struck by the Minister’s comments about the Government’s remarkable record on borrowing. I wonder whether she has had an opportunity to look at the work of Professor Richard Murphy of the University of London, who has done a rather extensive comparative study of Labour and Conservative Governments over a 70-year period, which shows quite clearly that Labour in office always, on average, borrows less than the Conservatives, and always pays back more while in office. That is not quite the impression that the Minister may have tried to convey.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): Yes, of course that is the hon. Gentleman’s belief. However, if we go back in history, I seem to recall Tory Chancellors singing in the bath as the pound collapsed and we were jettisoned from the ERM. I seem to recall crisis after crisis, including one Tory Chancellor who left a note saying, "I’m sorry I’ve made such a mess of it, old chap." I do not think it is quite as the hon. Gentleman remembers. I would say that the Minister’s claims on borrowing are about as reliable as the Chancellor’s reputation for competence proved after the shambles of his Budget Like many others, I would like to know what bad news is coming down the line. Why is it, after five public refusals to call a general election—after assurance after assurance that there would be no election before 2020—that the Prime Minister now needs one? What does she know that the rest of us do not know? I suspect that what she knows is that the NHS is in chaos, our schools are in chaos, the Brexit talks are in chaos, and the economy is heading for the doldrums. That is what I suspect is happening. [Interruption.] I think the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr Jackson) would like to rise and say that for the benefit of Hansard.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): I am loth to give the hon. Gentleman further exposure, but if that strategy was as successful as he believes, why did it not meet its own objectives and we are still discussing the deficit and the very large amount of national debt today?
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): I may be falling into my own trap, but I remember listening to the hon. Gentleman’s speeches in the previous Parliament when he said that if the deficit was at this level, going on from 2010, that would be a disaster. Now he is saying it is a huge achievement. Can he not understand why the lack of humility makes one cynical about the content of his speeches?
Employment and Support Allowance — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is making an important argument. Did he hear, as I did, the Minister give an assurance only three weeks ago in response to a question from the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) that the Government will provide full mitigation for the losses incurred by ESA claimants in the work-related activity group? Has he yet heard any information at all about any mitigation, let alone full mitigation?
Employment and Support Allowance — House of Commons, 2017-04-18
Topic: Social Welfare
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): I do not want to get the Minister up and down on her feet, but I refer her back to what she said about the additional support that will now be available. The Government’s own impact analysis estimated that half a million people would have £30 a week less—£1,500 a year less. What proportion of those 500,000 people will be in receipt of the additional support that her Department is making available, and to what extent?
Free TV Licences: Over-75s — House of Commons, 2017-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
James Dolan Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): Given that the BBC was not responsible for welfare policy and that this was not part of the Conservative manifesto, will the Secretary of State tell us when the BBC did become responsible for social policy, particularly for welfare?
Free TV Licences: Over-75s — House of Commons, 2017-06-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Tom Watson (Labour, Centre-left): Mr Speaker, it is very good to see you back in the Chair. I welcome back those on the Front Benches, and all new and returning Members Page 66 of the Conservative party’s manifesto says that "pensioner benefits, including free…TV licences" would be continued "for the duration of this parliament." That is until 2022. Is that still a commitment?
Free TV Licences: Over-75s — House of Commons, 2017-06-29
Topic: Technology
Tom Watson (Labour, Centre-left): The Government cannot guarantee free TV licences beyond 2020, as the Secretary of State has just said, without reopening their deal with the BBC. She appears to have no wish to do that. It raises the question of why on earth it was in the manifesto in the first place. Was it inserted against her wishes? Was it a cynical promise she knew she would break? Or was it just a typographical error?
Digital Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2017-06-29
Topic: Technology
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): Slow and poor-quality broadband is seriously hampering a number of businesses in my constituency, from rural Rowlands Gill to the industrialised Tees Valley trading estate, as I am sure it is in other Members’ constituencies. What plans do the Government have to ensure that 100% of areas have access to high-speed, high-quality broadband?
Digital Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2017-06-29
Topic: Technology
Questions: On Monday we were all pleased to learn that the people of Northern Ireland are to benefit from another £150 million of investment in digital infrastructure, which is necessary for the development and growth of their economy and is welcome news. On Tuesday, we learned from Which?, the consumers association, that the poorest average connectivity speeds in the whole country are in Orkney and Shetland. When are we going to get our cash?
Louise Margaret Haigh (Labour, Centre-left): Given the increasing intensity of cyber-attacks and the threats to our national infrastructure, it was frankly shocking to see no mention of cyber-security in the Queen’s Speech. Will the Minister confirm that the Government’s cyber-security strategy relies on a scheme that claims to be a badge of assurance for thousands of businesses and institutions, but is in fact based on outdated technology, redundant hacking approaches and—astonishingly—was itself hacked last week?
Digital Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2017-06-29
Topic: Technology
Questions: On Monday we were all pleased to learn that the people of Northern Ireland are to benefit from another £150 million of investment in digital infrastructure, which is necessary for the development and growth of their economy and is welcome news. On Tuesday, we learned from Which?, the consumers association, that the poorest average connectivity speeds in the whole country are in Orkney and Shetland. When are we going to get our cash?
Louise Margaret Haigh (Labour, Centre-left): I am very generous so I will give the Minister a chance to correct the record. Is it the case that the Cyber Essentials scheme and the "10 Steps to Cyber Security" make absolutely no reference to encryption or to the hashing and salting of passwords, that the take-up of both schemes has been exceptionally low, particularly from small businesses, that neither scheme makes reference to the Cloud, and that the Cyber Essentials scheme was hacked last week?