argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-23
Topic: Defense
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): That is because I know what I am doing, Madam Deputy Speaker, as you well know Let me say this to the Minister for Defence People and Veterans. We always try to find the maximum consensus, but I rather suspect that we just cannot agree on this Bill. He is not willing to change it to the degree I would like to see it changed, which in essence would mean scrapping it and letting the review come forward. When we table amendments in Committee, it will be interesting to see what they say; I am sure the Minister will be interested to read them, and it will be interesting to see how the Government approach them. As I say, we all know what is going to happen: the Government have a huge majority and are not going to accept anything that they feel they do not have to. We do not agree with them that the Bill is moderate at all, which is why we will vote against its Second Reading tonight.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-09-23
Topic: Defense
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It is a pleasure, as always, to follow the hon. and gallant Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart), whose hair is looking glorious this afternoon as well. I declare an interest because, as most Members will know, my husband is a veteran. [Interruption.] He is also an Ulsterman: I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for pointing that out I must pick the hon. and gallant Member for Beckenham up on one thing. It is not true to say that all members of the armed forces want this Bill, as that is not the case. None of us wants a repeat of the shameful Phil Shiner episode, and no person in this House would disagree that we need protections in place for our personnel and veterans. Unfortunately, however, the Bill is not the vehicle to do that. Our armed forces are the gold standard for militaries around the world and that must include the structures we have in place to deal with behaviour that falls short of our expectations Like the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones), I have submitted a series of written questions to try to get a feel for the scale of this problem. I was hoping for a bit of information, but I have yet to have any answers to these questions. The Minister has not been in touch. Despite what the Secretary of State said— it is a pity he has gone now—about the Library impact assessment having all those numbers in it, it does not. It has numbers relating to part 2 of the Bill, not part 1. It is worrying that we are bringing forward legislation to tackle the industrial scale of vexatious claims, but we cannot get a handle on how many there actually are As we know, many conflicts involving our personnel are in parts of the world that are now experiencing a fragile peace. To put in place a statute of limitations on prosecutions assumes that normality and the structures of a democratic society will be promptly established post conflict. This, of course, is not the case. If we are to rely on investigations that have taken place, we must have confidence in those original investigations.
Nagorno-Karabakh — House of Commons, 2020-10-13
Topic: Defense
Alyn Edward Smith (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. I have two very concrete points. We are all concerned about the risk of a proxy war within this, because there are more than two sides to the conflict. What steps are the UK Government taking to make sure that no UK-made armaments, or indeed UK citizens, are finding their way into this theatre?
International Funding — House of Commons, 2020-09-24
Topic: Culture
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): As we have already heard from Members in this Chamber this morning, the culture sector has been hit hard by the covid pandemic and many organisations are struggling to simply survive. EU membership is not a requirement of the programme, so why are the Government ending the UK’s membership of Creative Europe?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-09-24
Topic: Health
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Now that we have seen a rise in covid cases and a return to stricter regulations, public messaging is more important than ever. The BBC has rowed back on its decision to end covering the Scottish Government’s covid updates, but can the Minister understand the concerns of many about the BBC’s inclusion of party political punditry following the First Minister’s very important public health briefings?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-10-05
Topic: Health
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The delay in entering almost 16,000 covid cases into Government databases has resulted in last week’s case numbers being totally inaccurate. The Secretary of State says that the updated statistics would not have led to additional measures, but are there any new areas of heightened concern? PHE has blamed the problem on test result files being too big to load on to its central system. Was that, as has been suggested, due to the transfer of data between formats? If the underlying issue was due to the rapidly rising number of positive cases, why was that not anticipated or identified sooner? Can he be sure that something like this cannot happen again Just as importantly, this means that none of those cases was registered with the tracing system. While, as the Secretary of State says, people with a positive test got their result and, we hope, self-isolated, they did not get direct advice and they did not give the details of their contacts. From the Government’s data, people with covid report an average of three to four contacts each, so that would represent 50,000 to 60,000 contacts who were not identified and asked to isolate and therefore will have continued to spread the virus. While up to 10 days have lapsed and the opportunity to prevent onward spread may have been missed, the Secretary of State mentions that 51% of cases have been contacted, but on what timescale does he hope to reach all the contacts of those cases? Given that only about 60% of community contacts in England are currently reached, will he involve local authority public health teams in what is now a massive contact-tracing operation?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-10-05
Topic: Health
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The First Minister said on Friday that work was under way to improve the interoperability of the two test and trace apps. As they do not both work at the same time, as I experienced for myself, I wonder whether the Secretary of State can say a little bit more about how discussions between the Scottish and UK Governments are progressing and whether there is some sort of timescale for allowing the two apps to work together.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-10-05
Topic: Health
Kenny Wright MacAskill (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It was a political, not a health, decision to pursue a private sector route for testing. Scotland has chosen differently, but there are concerns that ongoing capacity issues in England and Wales will have an impact on Scotland. Will the Secretary of State confirm that Scots will not be prejudiced by the Tory Government’s preference for private profit over public health?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-09-10
Topic: Health
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): With the six-person rule not coming in until Monday, that effectively gives people encouragement to have large gatherings of up to 30 people in their households over the weekend. That is clearly a risk when there is, at the moment, an increase in the spread of the virus. It also means that it is even more important that the Government have the best test, track and trace systems in place. As my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (David Linden) pointed out, the Scottish Government have already got the Protect Scotland mobile app up and running. That has been used by 160,000 people already. When oh when will the Secretary of State and his Government have their tracing app in place?
Tourism: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-09-10
Topic: Culture
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I rise to speak in support of many tourism organisations in the wonderful city of Glasgow, which I am so proud to represent. There have been real challenges for many cultural organisations in the city, not least Glasgow Life, the arm’s length organisation of Glasgow City Council that runs our art galleries, museums and sports facilities. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Riverside Museum in in my constituency, which have only just reopened, are only able to open on a limited basis and people have to book, so they are really struggling to make the money they need to keep going. Glasgow Life has seen a loss of around £12 million since March. I urge the UK Government to be clear about the Barnett consequentials from the Housing, Communities and Local Government measures that were put in place for England, so that Scotland can see if it can get a share as well Smaller organisations such as the Sharmanka Kinetic theatre, the Trongate and Glasgow Police Museum have been able to keep going but their numbers are down, and the effect on the wider tourism economy has had an impact on all museums, whether they are large or small In Glasgow, we have benefited hugely for many years from event tourism through the Scottish Event Campus in my constituency. We have the fantastic SSE Hydro, a 14,000-seater venue that has been one of the top 10 venues in the world since opening in 2013, with over 140 events a year. Its closure at the moment has an impact on the surrounding area of Finnieston, which has amazing restaurants and bars, and on the hotels within the wider city as well. I understand from the Scottish Tourism Alliance that hotel capacity in Glasgow is sitting at only about 11% for the next few months. People are clearly put off from coming if they do not know what is going to happen and they cannot plan ahead The Scottish Event Campus has been hosting the NHS Louisa Jordan over the past few months and has made a great contribution to that, but we need to recognise that, in doing so and having that instead of the SEC, we are losing out on £136 million a year to the Glasgow economy in the events that the SEC brings in with not just music but conferences, exhibitions and other events bringing in half a million visitors per year to Glasgow Lastly, I would like to mention the impact on English language summer schools, such as St Andrew’s College in my constituency. They are seeing a really serious impact, because lots of young people do come and travel to Scotland for these language schools, and they cannot do that now. They bring approximately 10,000 foreign teenagers and employ 500 temporary staff over the summer period. That has gone for them now, and they are very limited in the support they have been able to have. I make a real plea to the UK Government to look more widely at support for the English language teaching sector and to make sure that particular measures are put in place for support through the immigration system as well, so people can come to Glasgow in the future.
Participation in Debates — House of Commons, 2020-11-16
Topic: Health
Thomas Sheppard (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Well, at least the Leader of the House has now accepted that, if Members are not able to be physically present, it is because of legitimate concerns they have about their own and the public’s health, rather than because they are work-shy and trying to avoid their responsibilities. Maybe we should be grateful for small mercies, but really, this is far too little, far too late The Leader of the House keeps suggesting that MPs are key workers, but that does not mean that we need to be in the Chamber in order to do our work. Indeed, in any other workplace, we would be criticising employers that did not provide facilities for their workers to work from home, especially when we know them to be available. Introducing virtual facilities on a restricted basis is not going to work. Members should not have to disclose private information about their health in order to have the right to represent their constituents. That is why he must trust that, if a Member chooses not to be here, it is for a proper and honourable reason, and he must therefore allow all Members to take advantage of the virtual facility.
End of the Transition Period: Preparedness — House of Commons, 2020-12-09
Topic: Health
Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Dearie me, Mr Speaker. Let me try this one. NHS Tayside has stated that a hard Brexit could "lead to an inability to deliver safe and effective care", and NHS Lanarkshire says that Brexit poses a "very high" risk to the delivery of healthcare services. We also know that the Ministry of Defence is putting plans in place to fly the Pfizer vaccine into the UK to avoid the Government’s entirely self-inflicted border ports chaos. Given that we did not vote for any of this and that 15 polls in a row now show support for independence, does the Secretary of State still believe that the Union is "firing on all cylinders", as he wrote at the weekend?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2020-12-02
Topic: Health
Richard Gordon Thomson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): This week, the Scottish Government announced a £500 bonus scheme for our health and social care heroes who have helped to care for us through the pandemic. The Scottish Conservatives have been trying to claim some reflected credit for that policy over the past few hours. The Prime Minister is not responsible for health in Scotland, but he is responsible for it in England, so will he put his Government’s money where his Scottish colleagues’ mouths clearly are and match that bonus initiative for health and social care workers in England? Will he instruct the Chancellor to ensure that, whenever a bonus scheme like that is introduced, the Treasury will not try to snaffle back the tax from it, but let it be paid tax-free?
Coronavirus Vaccine — House of Commons, 2020-12-02
Topic: Health
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Everyone involved in delivering this great news is to be congratulated, including the Secretary of State. The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said that provided that we receive the first doses of the vaccine as soon as we are expecting them in Scotland, we can start vaccinating people on Tuesday next week. Will the Secretary of State join me in applauding all at NHS Scotland who are going to make this possible?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-01
Topic: Health
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Yesterday, Scotland’s First Minister announced her intention to award a £500 thank you payment to Scottish health and social care staff in recognition of all they have done throughout the pandemic. Powers over tax allowances, exemptions and national insurance are reserved to the UK Government, so will the Chancellor do the right thing and ensure that this festive gift of good will is not clawed back by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs?
HIV Commission — House of Commons, 2020-12-01
Topic: Health
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for giving way. Does he commend the efforts of community groups who are going out and selling that message to their own communities? Those who work for Waverley Care in Glasgow and the Hwupenyu Health and Wellbeing Project are making sure that the message gets out into the community.
HIV Commission — House of Commons, 2020-12-01
Topic: Health
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Secretary of State is talking about the excellent progress that has been made, and I acknowledge that that is true, but one area where there is still significant difficulty is among intravenous drug users, particularly in the city of Glasgow. We want the public health intervention of a supervised drug injection facility, but the Home Office is blocking this. Does he agree that there needs to be a public health approach to this, otherwise we will not be able to treat those remaining percentages of people who still have the virus?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-10
Topic: Health
Kenny Wright MacAskill (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Scotland is making good progress in tackling alcohol abuse, but exposure to alcohol marketing makes children more likely to drink at a younger age and to consume more. Advertising is reserved to Westminster. As the Government have rightly announced a consultation on the total restriction of the online advertising of foods high in fat, sugar and salt, will the Secretary of State do likewise for alcohol? The harm is just as great.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Martyn Day (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It is important that the festive days ahead do not become a five-day mass get-together. Therefore, we should use as little of the flexibility as possible, spread over several days, while ensuring that no one is facing Christmas alone. The concerns from medical professionals that the Christmas covid restriction relaxation will cost lives are not to be dismissed lightly. Does the Secretary of State agree that if people are to form a bubble, it should be kept as small as possible? If so, would it not be better to follow the Scottish approach, which sets a strict maximum limit on the numbers, up to eight people from three households, rather than the potentially unlimited numbers permitted currently in English bubbles?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Christopher Charles Stephens (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Recent studies have shown that vaccine hesitancy is highest among the black, Asian and minority ethnic community and low-income groups, and there is a real fear that these groups are being deliberately targeted with misinformation. Will the Secretary of State tell us how his Department is going to counter that so that people can make informed choices, and to avoid covid health disparities going forward?
Christmas Adjournment — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Christopher Charles Stephens (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Let me join others, Mr Deputy Speaker, in wishing you and all parliamentary staff a good and restful Christmas This has been an excellent debate. I am becoming a veteran of these events. I was particularly struck by the number of Members who raised international issues, including issues of religious persecution. I, for one, believe that we should always discuss and raise these matters in this House A large number of topics were dealt with, some of great importance. We heard about digital exclusion, which we will have to deal with, the fact that Remembrance Day was not quite the occasion that it usually is, and of course Southend’s city status. Let me just say to the hon. Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess) that I am also supportive of this, but I hope that in 2021 we can reinstate flights from Southend to Glasgow. How good would that be? This year there was no mention of the rail service to Southend, so I do not know if it has improved, but perhaps it would be a good 2021 for the good people of Southend if we could reinstate flights from Southend to the centre of the universe The debate was of course dominated by covid. A number of hon. Members have said that it is not easy, and it is not. It is not easy for anybody. I was particularly pleased earlier today when the Secretary of State said in answer to my question that it is vital that we deal with the misinformation about the vaccine. We know that people have been deliberately targeted with misinformation, and it is important to deal with that Let us hope that the vaccine is rolled out, if for no other reason than to see the tartan army descend on Wembley stadium for the Euro championships and what I am sure will be an easy group game for Scotland.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on vaccinations for all, I absolutely welcome the authorisation of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Storage in normal fridges will make it much easier to deliver here, and particularly so in low and middle-income countries, which would have struggled to maintain the cold chain at -70°, as required for the Pfizer vaccine Delivering the vaccine will still be a herculean task for all four UK health services, and they will struggle if they are also dealing with surging covid cases. Hospitals in London and the south-east are already reporting shortages of critical care beds and even oxygen, so there is an urgent need to get the new variant under control. Does the Secretary of State recognise that, when dealing with a spreading infection, getting ahead of it is critical? Taking action only once cases in an area are soaring is simply too late to bring it under control. All three devolved nations are already under level 4 restrictions to try to prevent the new variant from getting a grip and getting out of control. Given the greater levels of the new variant in England—as the Secretary of State just stated, cases are rising everywhere—does he not think it is time to put the whole of England under tightened tier 4 restrictions?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Martyn Day (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Covid is a truly horrible disease that poses potentially long-term consequences for even the young and the healthy, so today’s vaccine approval is truly welcome news and makes eliminating community transmission of the virus more possible than ever before. As such, is it the UK Government’s plan to loosen restrictions only when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated or when a vaccine has been given to a significant proportion of the population as a whole? If so, what will that proportion be?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Many public health experts have questioned the use of Innova lateral flow tests for mass community testing, especially as the manufacturer does not recommend them for detecting coronavirus in people who are asymptomatic. The Secretary of State must be aware of the paper from the University of Liverpool, based on his own Department’s quality assurance programme, which has raised serious concerns about their accuracy when used in the community testing project in Liverpool. A comparison of lateral flow tests with PCR tests in over 3,000 people revealed a sensitivity of just 48%, meaning that more than half of those with the virus would be falsely reassured that they were negative. The test even missed 30% of those with a high viral load—those most likely to be infectious I understand the wish to use quick tests for case finding, but surely the Secretary of State should now delay rolling them out to 67 other local authorities and should not proceed with plans to spend £43 billion for a test that is so inaccurate. Would it not be better to focus funding on easier and quicker access to PCR tests? With more than half of all positive cases being missed, does he accept that despite the proposal by Baroness Harding, these tests cannot be used to release people who are contacts from isolation? On the basis of that study, the Liverpool health protection board has abandoned plans to use lateral flow tests to check visitors to care homes, so will the Secretary of State be recommending that local authorities and providers should return to PCR testing for care home staff and family visitors to reduce the risk to the most vulnerable residents?