argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Industrial Strategy — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. He will see that one of the differences between our approach to industrial strategy and policy—it is important to note that industry, for this purpose, means the services sector as well as manufacturing—and previous approaches is that our approach will not be about simply addressing the needs of incumbents; we want to make Britain the best, the most competitive and the most contestable place for business to locate. I would be grateful if my hon. Friend contributed to it. I think that he will find that it is music to his ears.
Industrial Strategy — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to meet the right hon. Lady about this, but I can give her some news on steel that I think she will welcome. I can announce today that the Government are going to publish their demand for steel, through public sector bodies, to 2020; that will be 3 million tonnes. We are updating the procurement guidelines for steel to include the health service and local authorities and to drop the previous threshold of £10 million for which those guidelines apply. That will be good for the steel industry generally and for all firms within it.
Industrial Strategy — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Small-scale manufacturing in firms that often have fewer than half a dozen people is key to the local economy in Kettering and is responsible for a lot of the employment opportunities. Will the Secretary of State make sure that small-scale manufacturers are a key priority in his industrial strategy?
Industrial Strategy — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Education
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes; universities are very important. We have had a number of very constructive sessions with university leaders and researchers. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that science does not recognise boundaries. Universities and researchers in Scotland have a fantastic record of success. In fact, with 8.5% of the UK population, Scotland attracts 10% of UK research funding, which shows that it can prosper and thrive with the new changes we are making on funding.
Industrial Strategy — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Technology
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): It follows from what I have just said—science does not respect boundaries—that the science community is very global and international. Of course, as the hon. Gentleman would expect, we will in the negotiations reflect the importance of that not just for Scotland, but for the whole United Kingdom.
Industrial Strategy — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): A bit of optimism on the part of the hon. Lady would not go amiss, especially in this Christmas season. In fact, there is huge enthusiasm in businesses right across the country and huge engagement with us in developing our long-term policies. Perhaps she has been distracted by some of the events in her party in recent months, so let me summarise the things we have done since July. We have given the go-ahead—she may have missed this—for some very important strategic infrastructure projects: Hinkley Point C, the third runway at Heathrow and the next phase of HS2. We have secured investment in Nissan, close to her constituency, as we announced a month ago. We have ratified the Paris agreement, and we have secured the extra investment that my hon. Friend the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation talked about. We have done more to put our industrial future on the right footing in five months than the previous Government did in 13 years.
Business Numbers — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): There has been no special deal for Nissan or any other part of the motor industry. Whatever arrangements are made to support different sectors of the UK economy are fully transparent. The general picture is that we are proceeding vigorously and with some care towards a rather attractive destination.
Business Numbers — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Technology
Questions: Superfast broadband is essential to many small businesses. Does the Minister agree that it is very disappointing that many villages in my constituency of South East Cambridgeshire do not have connectivity and face delay in getting it? Will he join me in encouraging and supporting further connectivity across the region?
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. and learned Friend is right. She will know that I have been a pretty tireless campaigner for superfast broadband, especially in relation to BT and Openreach. I agree with her about the importance of broadband. The autumn statement announced a £1 billion package for fibre and 5G connectivity, prioritising business connections across the UK. That follows the superfast broadband programme, which is due to deliver 91% coverage in South East Cambridgeshire by mid-2017 and a new universal service obligation.
Self-employed: Support — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Agriculture
Sheryll Murray (Conservative, Centre-right): In South East Cornwall we have some fantastic self-employed people who make a host of excellent food products. Does my hon. Friend agree that there will be opportunities for them to grow their businesses and be released from excessive red tape once we leave the European Union? What advice does she have for them?
EU-derived Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Labor
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister has made it clear that the Government will not, as a consequence of our withdrawal, allow any erosion of rights in the workplace, whether those rights derive from EU or UK law. She has further made it clear that the Government are determined to deliver an economy that works for everyone, and fundamental to that is the preservation of existing workers’ rights.
EU-derived Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Labor
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): Such rights will be upheld by British courts after we leave the European Union. The UK enjoys record employment at the same time as employment rights that exceed what is required by EU law in the important areas of maternity leave, parental leave and statutory annual leave.
EU-derived Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Labor
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman prejudges the situation by saying that we have had a chance to break Brexit promises before we have even started the negotiations. The Prime Minister could not have been clearer—she has been supported in this at the Dispatch Box by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union—that workers’ rights will be protected and possibly even enhanced.
EU-derived Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Labor
Peter William Bone (Conservative, Centre-right): As always, I am very reasoned, Mr Speaker, but really, the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey) was talking absolute rubbish just then, which is not unusual. Does the Minister agree with the democratic principle that the Government of the day will decide on employment rights? Is that not what we want—employment rights decided in this House, not in Europe?
EU-derived Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Labor
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): This House will decide on employment rights, but it is important to remind my hon. Friend that during the lifetime of this Government, the Prime Minister could not have been clearer that workers’ rights will be protected after Britain leaves the European Union.
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): We have held a wide range of discussions with businesses, their representatives, investors, workers and local leaders in all four home nations. We expect that to continue in the coming months to secure UK interests in any exit negotiations.
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): Last week’s news from Port Talbot was hugely welcomed in steel towns such as Corby. It came about because of constructive work not only in the House, but involving Ministers, the unions, the workforce and the industry. As we move towards reaching final agreement, what role does my hon. Friend see the industry playing in the industrial strategy, and what discussions has he had on that in the EU context?
Leaving the EU — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): I stand corrected. We will leave the Foreign Secretary out of this The Minister for Climate Change and Industry, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and other ministerial colleagues have had a series of meetings with steel companies across the production and supply chains, and have been able to give them the support and structure needed in that context.
Energy Bills — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): The retail energy market works well for those who are able and have the time to switch, with customers able to make savings of up to £300 by moving on to the cheapest tariffs. However, we want a market that works for all consumers, not just those who switch supplier. That is why we have been clear that we want energy companies to come forward with proposals on how they are going to treat their loyal customers fairly.
Energy Bills — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. It is not right that customers are penalised for their loyalty. We want energy companies to treat all their customers fairly, and not just customers who switch between suppliers. That is why we have challenged them to come forward with proposals to ensure that all their customers get a fair deal.
Energy Bills — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): We have an ongoing dialogue with Ofgem on a number of issues, but apropos the cost of supporting investment in low-carbon technologies, this is expected to increase, but so too are the savings from energy efficiency policies. This means that by 2020 household energy bills are still estimated to be lower on average than they would have been in the absence of those green policies.
Advanced Manufacturing — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): High-value manufacturing is extremely important to our future—it presents many opportunities but also presents risks that we have to manage—and so will be an important part of our industrial strategy. On the broader concerns about tariffs, the hon. Gentleman has heard it often enough, so he should start believing it: the Government are listening carefully, as I witnessed yesterday, to manufacturing and other sectors about their priorities and concerns as we shape and finalise our negotiating position.
Advanced Manufacturing — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Minister, or one of his ministerial colleagues, meet me and representatives from M+W Group and DBD from my constituency, which are part of a consortium bidding for a vitrification project in China’s nuclear sector? It would give them a lot of confidence if he and his team could meet them and help them to win the contract, which would create hundreds of jobs in this country.
Advanced Manufacturing — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): We are reviewing our priorities in relation to the energy innovation portfolio, which sits inside our Department, and the hon. Gentleman will have noticed the comments by the Chancellor at the autumn statement. We are reviewing our priorities and will announce them shortly.
Energy Supply — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): National Grid’s electricity capacity report for this year was published in July and includes a forward look on electricity security. Through competitive capacity auctions, we have already secured capacity from 2018-19 to 2020-21, and in January we will hold a further auction to secure capacity for 2017-18. Our most recent gas security analysis was published in October and shows that our diverse and flexible gas supply can meet demand even under severe weather conditions.
Energy Supply — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Jeremy John Elton Lefroy (Conservative, Centre-right): The importance of substantial gas storage to electricity generation and avoiding damaging price hikes was highlighted by the partial closure of the Rough storage facility. What are the Government doing to tackle the question of increasing gas storage for the future?
Energy Supply — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a proper and important question. Our gas supply arrangements are quite diverse, and we have more than 30% spare gas capacity even on a cold winter’s day. The system has been tested, and has responded well in the past to shocks, including higher than expected demand for heating or power and restrictions to supply infrastructure, but it is certainly something we keep under constant review.
Energy Supply — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Questions: The success of carbon capture and storage is important to our energy security, which is why it was so disappointing that the Chancellor slashed £1 billion from the ring-fenced capital budget in the autumn statement. What are the Government doing to promote CCS?
James Stephen Heappey (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Minister join me in congratulating Avalon community energy on completion of its solar PV installation at Brookside school in Street? Does he agree that such schemes create a greener and cheaper energy system and afford us greater security of supply?
Energy Supply — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Questions: The success of carbon capture and storage is important to our energy security, which is why it was so disappointing that the Chancellor slashed £1 billion from the ring-fenced capital budget in the autumn statement. What are the Government doing to promote CCS?
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Gentleman will know, the gas capacity market auction was an enormous success. It secured a widespread diversity of supply at low cost and in higher amounts than ever before, and it included some innovative new technologies. The Department should be celebrated for managing this.
Steel Council — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Labor
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly join the hon. Gentleman in welcoming and congratulating the workforce, trade unions and the employers on their very constructive set of discussions. It is important that the membership is consulted, but this is a positive step forward and he is right that this will provide greater comfort to employees this winter. The hon. Gentleman will know that it is right and proper for the independent Pensions Regulator, rather than the Government, to approve and be content with pensions arrangements. It would be wrong for the Government to intervene in that.
Local Enterprise Partnerships — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Macroeconomics
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for standing up for his LEPs at a difficult time for them as a result of the allegations made. I assure him that LEPs are at the heart of the process of feeding into the industrial strategy; we are absolutely clear that that industrial strategy needs to reflect deep understanding of the different challenges and opportunities each area faces, which is why the Secretary of State has allocated ministerial champions to each LEP.
Local Enterprise Partnerships — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Government Operations
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): As was said the other day, never trust Labour Members when they say they are going to be brief The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important point about LEPs. This is taxpayers’ money and, as he would expect, we take extremely seriously any allegations about it being spent inappropriately, particularly when there are allegations of conflicts of interest. We are reassured by the prompt and robust response of LEPs to the individual allegations, including the one in Bristol, but we continue to press and make the point very strongly that we expect full compliance with the requirements of the strengthened national assurance framework.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): Over the last month we have made substantial progress across the Department’s responsibilities. Our recently published review of corporate governance will make sure Britain is not only an excellent place to do business, but also is where business is done best. We continue to tackle climate change, ratifying the Paris agreement. My hon. Friend the Minister for Climate Change and Industry played an important part in the climate discussions in Marrakech, and he and I had the great pleasure of opening the Siemens wind turbine factory in Hull, creating 1,000 new jobs in that great city. By providing an additional £2 billion a year for research and innovation by 2020 and giving British homes and businesses certainty that their electricity demands will be met for the next five years, we are investing in our country’s economic future.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Questions: New research from Edinburgh university finds that electricity generation from wind farms cuts even more greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought: almost 36 million tonnes over six years, the same as taking 2.3 million cars off the road. Meanwhile the Government’s own figures predict their renewables cuts will see 63 million tonnes more CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Will the Minister clarify how the Government plan to continue cutting emissions, as the Leader of the House confirmed to me last week regarding ongoing commitments to climate change targets, while bringing in policies that will bump them up?; I thank the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James), for the recent meeting in relation to my private Member’s Bill on the regulation of certain laser pens. Will she clarify when the consultation’s call for public evidence will start and when the Government will come forward with their conclusions?; A review by academics at the Leeds University Business School and the University of Exeter found that every pound invested in the Union Learning Fund results in a return of £12.70, leading to an estimated net contribution to the economy of £1.45 million and an estimated return to the Exchequer of £3.57 for each pound spent. With that in mind, what steps are being taken to ensure much better engagement with the unions?; A construction business my constituency has alerted me to corporate mandate fraud, by which a fraudster pretends to be a company and asks its customers to change the bank account details for future payments. What steps can the Minister take to alert all businesses to such criminal behaviour? What discussions has she had with the Home Secretary about bringing the perpetrators to justice?; Research published this week by Scottish Renewables shows that Scottish expertise in renewable energy is in demand around the world, with Scottish companies involved in projects worth £125 million over five years across 43 countries. What support will the UK Government give to the sector in the industrial strategy?
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): The transition to a clean energy system is fundamental to our energy strategy, and significant supply chain opportunities will flow from that. As for the Government’s commitment to renewable energy, this country has seen one of the fastest deployments of renewable energy across Europe since 2010, and the hon. Gentleman will be aware that we have renewed that commitment through the contract for difference auctions.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-12-13
Topic: Energy
Questions: New research from Edinburgh university finds that electricity generation from wind farms cuts even more greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought: almost 36 million tonnes over six years, the same as taking 2.3 million cars off the road. Meanwhile the Government’s own figures predict their renewables cuts will see 63 million tonnes more CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Will the Minister clarify how the Government plan to continue cutting emissions, as the Leader of the House confirmed to me last week regarding ongoing commitments to climate change targets, while bringing in policies that will bump them up?; I thank the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James), for the recent meeting in relation to my private Member’s Bill on the regulation of certain laser pens. Will she clarify when the consultation’s call for public evidence will start and when the Government will come forward with their conclusions?; A review by academics at the Leeds University Business School and the University of Exeter found that every pound invested in the Union Learning Fund results in a return of £12.70, leading to an estimated net contribution to the economy of £1.45 million and an estimated return to the Exchequer of £3.57 for each pound spent. With that in mind, what steps are being taken to ensure much better engagement with the unions?; A construction business my constituency has alerted me to corporate mandate fraud, by which a fraudster pretends to be a company and asks its customers to change the bank account details for future payments. What steps can the Minister take to alert all businesses to such criminal behaviour? What discussions has she had with the Home Secretary about bringing the perpetrators to justice?; Research published this week by Scottish Renewables shows that Scottish expertise in renewable energy is in demand around the world, with Scottish companies involved in projects worth £125 million over five years across 43 countries. What support will the UK Government give to the sector in the industrial strategy?; With engineering and textiles doing particularly well in Huddersfield and Colne Valley, will the Department continue to commit to an industrial strategy that builds on our regional economic strengths?
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. Like him, I commend Ofgem for the arrangements that it put in place. He raises a reasonable point, and as Chairman of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee he will want to work with me to ensure that the right arrangements are in place.