argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): For reasons I set out some time ago to the Treasury Committee, and for the reasons set out by the Chancellor, operationally the concern is that while there will of course be many legitimate circumstances where people wish to make a claim, unfortunately there will also be significant risk of fraud. I pointed to the fact that within the House itself part of the challenge is how we ensure we have the right balance between the speed of delivery—we move quickly to get schemes to people—with the operational controls we put in place. That is why we have taken the position we have.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right to point to the pivotal nature of leisure centres in our constituencies. I think all Members would agree with that. I draw her attention to the £4.7 billion of additional funding we have given to local authorities as part of our response to covid, and to the discretion we have given local authorities so that they can apply that funding with the local knowledge they have and target it in the most effective way.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Caroline Elizabeth Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I would like to welcome the unprecedented innovative package of support the Chancellor has put in place, which has undoubtedly helped to support businesses and families in my constituency. What more can my right hon. Friend do to support the coach tourism sector specifically? Small family companies such as A & P Travel and Sleafordian Coaches have done so much to make their transport covid-secure. However, while the venues they support have received funding from the culture recovery fund and enhanced local authority grants, they have not. We need to ensure that when the theatres, museums and the like are able to reopen there is still a viable coach tourism industry to get their customers there.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): Several times now I have quoted what was said. The Prime Minister said that the Government will always be there to provide support to all parts of the United Kingdom. It is worth taking a step back and looking at the fact that the UK-wide ability to act is how we have been able to provide so much support across the UK with schemes such as the furlough scheme, the self-employed scheme, the loans, extensions and so forth. It is our ability to act across the United Kingdom that has helped many businesses to weather the storm.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): First, it is perfectly fair and reasonable to target a level of support shaped by the rateable value of the property, which is what my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has done. The hon. Lady is right to point to the fact that within different local authorities there are different pressures, which is why in the £1.1 billion that has been allocated, we have given discretion to local authorities in their ability to then target support to businesses in the way that best meets local needs.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Largan (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the extra support for the self-employed and the news that many of those who did not qualify for the initial furlough scheme will qualify under the extended scheme, but I want to ask the Minister about the bounce back loans, which have been a lifeline for so many businesses in my constituency. Back when they made the applications for those loans, businesses would not have foreseen that disruption would have gone on for so long, so can steps be taken to ensure that they can apply for top-ups to their initial loan and get through the difficult winter ahead?
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): In short, yes they can. My hon. Friend raises a valid point, which is that a number of businesses will have taken out loans for what they felt was their need at that time. Further restrictions have been placed on businesses, which is why we have extended the period for availability of loans to the end of the year. He is right about that, and I can provide him with that reassurance.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests I welcome the extension to the coronavirus loan schemes and the ability to top up bounce back loans. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that that ability to top up loans also applies to the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme? Will he also look at bounce back loans for customers of non-bank lenders? According to research by the all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking, which I chair, around 250,000 businesses currently bank with non-bank lenders who do not have access to these schemes because they do not get access to the Bank of England term funding scheme. Will he look at that problem?
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): I drew attention earlier to the fact that more than £13 billion had been allocated to the self-employed income support scheme and through the income support grant. That indicates the support that the Treasury has given. The hon. Gentleman draws out, as the Chair of the Treasury Committee did, the specific issues around company directors. I have set out to the House the difficulty of clarifying precisely what is earned income as opposed to dividend income, but it is worth drawing the House’s attention to the fact that more than £13 billion of support has been allocated.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Housing
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): There is, of course, a balance to be struck between the interests of those who are renting and those who rent out properties who also have financial pressures. The hon. Lady referred to the support that has been given, but the best support that can be given to those facing such bills is to help as many of them as possible to retain their jobs, and that is fundamentally what the package of support that we have put in place seeks to achieve.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Jack Edgar Brereton (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to the points about supply chains, many manufacturers in the ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent very much depend on industries such as hospitality and retail, so will my right hon. Friend agree to look at what more support can be given to those industries where order books have severely diminished?
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Michael Jon Wood (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly hospitality and retail have had a particularly difficult time since the spring, but, as hon. Friends have said, there are very many businesses that may not quite come under hospitality, retail or leisure but rely almost entirely on those sectors for their business. Will my right hon. Friend look at how industries such as brewing, pub supply chains, events and weddings can access the support that the Government have provided, such as through the grants and business rate holidays, so that they can protect their jobs and still be growing and thriving once this pandemic is beaten?
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Selaine Rachel Saxby (Conservative, Centre-right): Tourism and hospitality businesses have worked hard to get back on their feet, so although I welcome the additional support that my right hon. Friend has announced, will he do all he can to help them to welcome back visitors in the spring?
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to talk about the impact on businesses in Northern Ireland and part of that coming through its interconnectivity with the rest of the United Kingdom. As I said in an earlier answer, we will update the Northern Ireland Executive this week on the enhanced Barnett guarantee, but that unprecedented action taken to give an up-front guarantee will enable the Northern Ireland Executive to provide support to businesses. Of course, it will be for them to determine the exact scope of that business support.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Derek Gordon Thomas (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hope it is worth waiting for Can I thank the Chief Secretary for all that is being done to help my constituents in west Cornwall and on Scilly? One of the great successes of recent years is the job growth across Cornwall, and that is because small businesses have been set up by entrepreneurs—individuals who know they cannot get a big job in big business, because they do not exist in Cornwall, so they have set up their business. The problem is that they are very early in their business, and they are growing, maturing and flourishing, but this year has been a disaster for them. They are at a point now where they just do not know if it is worth continuing, because of his second lockdown being announced, and they just do not know what the future holds. Will the Chief Secretary look very carefully at how we can encourage these people to stick with it, but also look at, as we have discussed already this afternoon many times, the support that is available to these fledgling businesses so they really have the finances to sustain these jobs? We must make sure these businesses can be part of the recovery that we will so badly need next year and beyond.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend knows, it was largely down to his representations that specific support was put in place—for example, to maintain the ferry link that I know was critical for his constituents—and he deserves great credit for the convincing case that he presented to the Treasury, which secured that additional funding. On the wider point about support to the business community, it is in recognition of the importance of those small businesses that the Government have allocated over £13 billion of support to the self-employment income support scheme, but it is also why the Chancellor has put in place additional measures, such as extending the loans that are available to help those businesses get through this period to, hopefully, the more beneficial period as we come out of the winter period.
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry, at the end of this session, to have to raise the issue of furlough yet again but, as my right hon. Friend knows, the economies of north Wales and the north-west of England are very closely integrated and Welsh tourism and leisure businesses in particular are heavily dependent on trade from across that border. The Welsh lockdown imposed by the Welsh Government is due to come to an end on 9 November—some four days after the lockdown in England is anticipated to begin. Welsh leisure and tourism businesses will not be precluded from reopening by the Welsh Government, but in reality it will be purposeless for them to do so because the trade from England will not be there. Can my right hon. Friend say whether Welsh businesses that are affected by lockdown measures imposed in England will be able to access the coronavirus job retention scheme?
Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): In order to allow the safe exit of hon. Members participating in this item of business and the safe arrival of those anticipating the next item of business, we will suspend the House for three minutes.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Immigration
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for putting forward ideas he believes may be useful to bring about the goals that we all want. I am unsure about the effectiveness of that one, but I am willing to receive any ideas from him. We will continue working, and to explore ideas with whoever puts them forward. I commend the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn for engaging with us regularly. Ultimately, we are all—across party and right across the House—trying to achieve a resolution and to have the British dual national detainees returned home.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Immigration
Paul Bristow (Conservative, Centre-right): I, too, commend the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) for her relentless work on behalf of her constituent. I also commend the Minister for all the work that he is doing to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Will he join me in urging the Iranian Government now to release all UK dual nationals who are being arbitrarily detained and allow them to return home to their families in the UK?
Personal Statement — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her personal statement. Senior Members of this House ought to know better than to make more noise than is necessary at a time when someone is making a personal statement, which they have the right to do in silence. Just because we are socially distancing and people cannot whisper, they will have to learn to make what would have been whispered comments rather more quietly Virtual participation in proceedings concluded (Order, 4 June).
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. That is a perfectly reasonable question, but, although it is not exactly unparliamentary language, perhaps the Minister, speaking as he does with dignity from the Front Bench, might use a different phrase than "complete rubbish"—just something a little bit different.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. Just for clarification, in the silent exchange that the right hon. Gentleman and I have just had, I was trying to indicate to him that it would be helpful to the House if he concluded his remarks quite soon. I know it seems that he has not been speaking for very long, but it has been 22 minutes. I appreciate that he has taken a lot of interventions and this is important. I am requiring not that he finishes now but that he takes into consideration that there are many points of view on this Bill and that there are many people who wish to speak and, although we have a long time, we do not have long enough for everyone to take more than 20 minutes. He has some serious points to make, and I trust he will make them as quickly as possible.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Sarah Elizabeth Dines (Conservative, Centre-right): Could the right hon. Gentleman take a moment to reflect on what he said in his opening remarks, when he said there was near silence from Conservative Members in Committee? I was there, and I did not hear silence, but his contributions probably put us to sleep. With respect, could he think about it again for one moment On our side, we had valuable contributions from Members of Parliament who have served this great country of ours, like my hon. Friends the Members for Wrexham (Sarah Atherton) and for Wolverhampton South West (Stuart Anderson). They know what they are talking about. Would the right hon. Gentleman care to think again about saying they were silent?
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. Let us get this straight. Interventions will also be brief this afternoon. We want interventions because there is a serious debate to be had. As I look around the Chamber, I see experienced parliamentarians and others who understand that this is a very important Bill, and much of it is very sensitive, so let us try to behave with sensitivity and consideration for others.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Giacomo Lopresti (Conservative, Centre-right): Surely the right hon. Gentleman realises that the proposed six-year time limit applies from the point of knowledge or the point of diagnosis, so it is not clear what point he is trying to get across.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I had been hoping to manage this afternoon’s proceedings without a time limit, but I do not think that is going to work; therefore, I am now obliged, in order to try to get a fair and equitable debate, to start with a time limit of eight minutes, but that will be significantly reduced later in the debate. If hon. Members who have eight minutes choose in an honourable way to speak for less than eight minutes, that would be remarkable.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry, but the right hon. Member is completely wrong. If he reads "The Fog of Law" written by—oh—me in 2013, a paper for Policy Exchange written alongside actual lawyers, rather than me, such as Richard Ekins, with a foreword written by Lord Moses of the Supreme Court, he will see exactly what I am talking about. If he reads "Clearing the Fog of Law", which explains the situation, he will see clearly why this is a problem. This is absolutely an issue.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Article 3 of the Geneva conventions covers torture and crimes against humanity, and there is a convention on torture itself. When I was a member of the armed forces, we were subject to that as our highest priority. Indeed, I often used the Geneva conventions to justify my actions, and the Geneva conventions guide the armed forces. All those people who go on operations are guided by the Geneva conventions, I promise that.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Sarah Elizabeth Atherton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am just about to say that they, too, should be afforded certainty that the unique operational pressures placed upon them will be taken into account. Prosecution decisions are made on alleged historical offences, and I understand that there will be some debate in this House on that matter I have spent the past few weeks scrutinising the Bill line by line in the Public Bill Committee, along with a number of other Members. Is the Bill perfect? No, it is not, but it is infinitely better than where we are now. No Bill or Act will ever suit all people in all circumstances, but which group would object to this Bill the most? It is the group who would lose out the most: the unscrupulous human rights lawyers. Service charities welcome the Bill, although I acknowledge that they have some reservations. But all service personnel and veterans want to be and should be supported by the Government, their politicians and their people. After all, they are prepared to, and do, put their lives at risk for us, and this is the duty of care these service personnel want. This Bill goes some way in offering that support, and I welcome it.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
Stuart Paul Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): I was not in the Chamber when that was said earlier, but it is fair to say that I made over 40 interventions in the Back-Bench debate, so I certainly contributed to the Bill Committee in that regard, as did many other Members. It would therefore be unfair to say that there was no contribution from Conservative Members.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Civil Rights
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): Having been spared the commitment of serving on the Bill Committee, I am fortunate also to have been spared some of the polarisation that has affected this Bill, so I talk today from a position of complete objectivity. Having also tracked this important journey very carefully for many years, both professionally and personally, I believe this is an essentially good piece of work that deserves a fair passage through Parliament As I stated on Second Reading, any new legislation needs to be set in the context of the prevailing macro-conditions and previous legislation. This Bill fills a void where little has previously existed, so I commend the Minister for his vision, resilience and fortitude to date The bottom line is that this Bill delivers on the Conservative manifesto commitment to address the issue of vexatious claims and makes the first substantial amendments of their kind to the Human Rights Act by limiting the time during which claims can be brought. I can say from experience that this is what our armed forces want. They aspire to better protected in law. They want to know that the country values their service. They need to know that they will be supported if they pull the trigger lawfully and, after the misery of the ambulance-chasing years, they want the threshold for prosecution to be raised so that the endless knocks at the door finally stop. This is a no-brainer.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Civil Rights
John Luther Mercer (Conservative, Centre-right): It may be helpful if at this stage I restate to my hon. Friend the commitment in the Conservative manifesto, which we do not resile from one bit—that those who served with such distinction in a very, very difficult time in Northern Ireland will be entitled to equal treatment when that Bill is brought forward. They have not been jettisoned, they have not been forgotten about, and we will not leave them behind.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my good friend the Deputy Speaker and the hon. Lady for allowing me to intervene. I do not understand why she thinks a war crime will not be a war crime after five years. A war crime is a war crime forever, and if the Attorney General considers it to be a war crime, it will be brought to a court. I do not think this Bill stops a war crime being prosecuted if a British soldier, sailor or airman carries one out.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: Other
John Luther Mercer (Conservative, Centre-right): I appreciate all the contributions made this afternoon, some of which were very thoughtful I know that Members get upset when I think that they are disingenuous, but the amount of misinformation that has come over today is quite extraordinary. The right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey) just said that the Royal British Legion has said that this directly breaks—