argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
TV Licences for Over-75s — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): The decision that has been made is to transfer that responsibility to the BBC. How the BBC chooses to exercise its responsibility is, as it and we say, its responsibility. The point that the hon. Gentleman makes is a fair one, and it needs to be heard by the BBC as it decides what more it can do to help those who are in particular need or are particularly vulnerable. That is exactly the conversation that I am having with the BBC at the moment, and that we will continue. The decision for the hon. Gentleman is how he intends to back up the pledges that he has so far made to take that responsibility back to the taxpayer, and how he intends to fund that change.
Youth Services — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I am excited and proud to be working cross-Government, with this Department leading, on developing a new youth charter for our young people—the Government’s vision for the next 10 years—and that work has continued this week. The Government invest in the Centre For Youth Impact to support sector-led evaluation and to build evidence of the impact of local youth services, and we are working with the National Youth Agency and partners to renew the youth worker qualifications and review that curriculum.
Youth Services — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): "Positive for Youth" was the Government’s last comprehensive youth policy document. It contained many good examples of joint project working between local authorities and charities and philanthropic businesses, a pledge to youth-proof Government policy, and a pledge to publish annually a set of national measures to demonstrate progress in improving outcomes for young people. When does the Minister plan to update the House on that progress?
Youth Services — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his pertinent reminder to the Government and the House to focus on our youth. I believe that the youth charter will reaffirm the Government’s commitment. It will state that our young people should have a strong voice, and that we must listen to it and take note of the issues that they care about. It will set out how we should act on what they tell us and, more importantly, it will state that we are actively involving them in key policy making. It is vital that we do that. I had the youth steering group in with me just this week. So the sector is very much being heard, and will be reported back and listened to.
Commercial FM Radio — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: What steps he plans to take to increase the provision of FM frequencies for commercial radio in (a) the UK and (b) Morecambe Bay.
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK’s independent broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, is responsible for radio spectrum planning, and Ofcom’s view is that due to the general scarcity of FM spectrum, the scope for additional frequency resources to be made available to commercial radio is extremely limited. Ofcom’s current priority for the use of remaining FM spectrum is community radio, and I hope that will be of benefit to Morecambe Bay.
Commercial FM Radio — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: What steps he plans to take to increase the provision of FM frequencies for commercial radio in (a) the UK and (b) Morecambe Bay.
David Thomas Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Minister carry out an investigation of the audit suitability for FM spectrum in the north of Lancashire as soon as possible, to free up any spectrum service that should be licensed, to facilitate a new local service, as we need more local services in that region?
Commercial FM Radio — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Technology
Questions: What steps he plans to take to increase the provision of FM frequencies for commercial radio in (a) the UK and (b) Morecambe Bay.
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend that we need more local services, but there is more than one route to that. I cannot undertake to commence a review of the north-west specifically, and it is for the independent regulator Ofcom to distribute remaining FM frequency, but I would like to reassure my hon. Friend that the development of small-scale DAB multiplexes will provide many opportunities for community radio stations, not least in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.
Tackling Loneliness — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): As we have heard this morning, the UK is a world leader in tackling loneliness, and the first Government loneliness strategy was launched last October. It has been globally recognised, and includes the £11.5 million building connections fund, announced over Christmas, which is a partnership between the Government, the National Lottery and the Co-op Foundation. The first progress report is due later this year. Last month, we launched the Let’s Talk Loneliness campaign, which is all about reducing stigma. The hashtag alone has had 5.5 million impressions globally.
Tackling Loneliness — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Gillian Keegan (Conservative, Centre-right): I am proud of the work that the Government are doing on loneliness, but according to Age UK more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone. Loneliness is thought to be as harmful to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In Chichester, we have some fantastic projects such as the Rotary Club’s Building A Generation, in which every two weeks older people go into Chichester College and meet, and share experiences with, college students. What more support is available to encourage such innovative, community-based solutions for tackling loneliness and to help to spread them more quickly across the country?
Tackling Loneliness — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for all the work done by all the great charities in her community to tackle loneliness at all ages. Support is available for community-based projects, including two pots of Government funding. There is £1 million for the Tech To Connect challenge—I know my hon. Friend is interested in tech—to address social isolation, and the fund will be managed by Nesta. We also have the Space To Connect fund, which will be part-managed by the Co-op and will have £1.6 million to open up community spaces. Everything happening in Chichester is helping people come together, and I welcome that.
Tackling Loneliness — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I particularly remember that meeting and I welcomed the opportunity to join her. We currently have 60 different policies across nine Departments, but I would like to point out that loneliness and isolation can affect people at any age and at any time—including young carers and care leavers. We need to support everybody of every age and every gender. I hope that the new policies that we are working on and will announce later this year will have a youth focus.
Commercial Local Radio — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Technology
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): The regulatory framework for commercial radio on FM and AM set nearly 30 years ago has not kept pace with market changes, and we have taken steps to address that. I welcome Ofcom’s October 2018 changes to the localness guidance, which will reduce the burdens on commercial radio while maintaining requirements for local stations to provide local news and other content.
Commercial Local Radio — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Technology
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, but the localness guidelines are strict and tough, and will require large commercial radio corporations to have local studios. They will have to provide a serious amount of local news content, weather, driving information and so on, so I do not share his concern. It is up to Ofcom to police this, and it is doing a good job. We must remember that for local commercial radio, and indeed community radio, to be sustainable, they needed a lighter touch regulatory regime.
Commercial Local Radio — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Technology
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): The localness guidelines were published as recently as October last year, so I think it would be premature to announce a review of their impact, but I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that they were welcomed by both commercial and community radio stations. Ofcom has received about 700 expressions of interest in the small-scale DAB multiplexes for which we legislated last month. We hope to be able to complete that legislation by the end of the year so that Ofcom will be able to start issuing licences to hundreds of community radio stations up and down the country. I think that we will see a great growth in this fantastic sector.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Government Operations
Jeremy Paul Wright (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. I believe that this is a priority, and I believe that the next Government should see it as such, and I believe that we should see legislation coming forward in the next parliamentary Session. The hon. Lady is right; the consultation on the White Paper concluded yesterday, but as she will have heard me say before, I believe that this is a groundbreaking change that we need to get right, so the Government intend to continue to listen, notwithstanding the fair point she makes about the urgency of the situation.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Michael Jon Wood (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Minister agree that one of the crucial aspects of tackling loneliness is raising awareness of the services, support and activities that are available in local communities, and what are the Government doing to achieve this?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising this point, because it is so important. Nobody walks around with an arrow on their head saying that they are lonely. There are times in our life when we feel lost or isolated and we need someone to turn to, so the 1,000 social prescribers will be very helpful. I know that my hon. Friend has done something directly in his own constituency with an older people’s fair—an event around loneliness—to do just that, and I welcome all constituencies doing this.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Education
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for raising this issue. She and I share a great passion for getting and keeping our young people active. I hope to announce the school sports action plan, alongside colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, before the summer recess. We are very close to this. All money that comes into PE and sport from the premium—the levy has doubled this—is important. I hope to see Government investment in school sport continue in any way, shape or form.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: International Affairs
Nigel Paul Huddleston (Conservative, Centre-right): As this is 4 July, Independence Day, and despite this week’s football result, will the Secretary of State, who like me has an American spouse, comment—positively, of course —on the very many benefits of our special relationship with the US?
Victims and Witnesses in Court — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about how the justice system supports those who come before it, and witnesses and victims are an important part of that. One way in which the CPS supports victims and witnesses is through the pre-recording of cross-examination evidence, which takes considerable pressure off vulnerable witnesses. Following a successful pilot in three locations, the scheme was rolled out last month to a further six courts, including in Chester.
Victims and Witnesses in Court — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The CPS takes seriously its role in ensuring that prosecutions do come before the courts. As the hon. Gentleman will know, a cross-governmental review into rape and sexual offences is under way and has already completed its first stage of collecting evidence. We are now looking at the whole system for rape and other serious sexual offences to see how we can improve every stage, including getting more prosecutions and convictions.
Victims and Witnesses in Court — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Mary Boswell Prentis (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not go into the details, but we have had a sensitive local case in which a victim of child sexual exploitation was not supported. A trial did not take place, through no fault of her own. What further action can the Solicitor General take to ensure that victims are supported at all stages of the process?
Victims and Witnesses in Court — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. Last month, I visited the CPS areas of London North and London South and talked about those very issues. I also visited SurvivorsUK, a charity that deals with male victims of sexual abuse, to talk about how we can support people before, during and after the process, which is a critical time.
Victims and Witnesses in Court — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of collaboration between the CPS and the police. I know that they work closely together, because I regularly meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions, who is working with the police on matters across the board, including several relating to disclosure. I recently met with Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave to ensure that we get people to come forward. The number of recorded serious sexual offences is going up, but we need to improve on that, and steps are being taken by the CPS.
Victims and Witnesses in Court — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman raises an important point that shows how the CPS and the police are working better together. The CPS is sending cases back to the police because it is reviewing those cases to ensure they are ready and will not fall when they go to court. Having spoken to the assistant commissioner, I know that 93,000 police officers have undertaken disclosure training to ensure they are better trained so that these cases are ready for trial and will secure successful prosecutions.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I know my hon. Friend takes very seriously the importance of getting appropriate sentences for those who are convicted, and he worked closely with my predecessor on extending sentences for those who had received lenient sentences. The ULS scheme remains an important part of the justice system to ensure justice for victims’ families I can tell my hon. Friend that, in 2018, the Law Officers referred a fifth of all eligible cases to the Court of Appeal and, of those, 73% were found to be unduly lenient. In answer to his question, we are looking carefully at the ambit of the scheme.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): It has been a long-standing promise of this Government to extend the unduly lenient sentence scheme to other offences. Apart from a bit of tinkering, they have basically done very little. May I urge the Solicitor General to get on with it and extend the unduly lenient sentence scheme so that we can have appropriate sentences? That would be good for victims and for restoring people’s faith in the criminal justice system.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I assure my hon. Friend that I am looking at this with the Ministry of Justice, but the increase in the number of offences is more than just tinkering. For example, since its inception, the ULS scheme has been extended to some sexual offences, child cruelty, modern slavery and, in 2017-18, a number of terror-related offences. This is something we are looking at.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to do so. A few hon. Members have referred cases to me, and I always write back, so I apologise if that has not happened. If any cases to do with my responsibilities come to him, I would like to know about that. We can discuss how the system works in more detail outside the Chamber but, in brief, a large number of people write to us about cases, which have to satisfy a number of thresholds. The cases have to be referred within 28 days, the sentences have to fall within the scheme and they have to be unduly lenient, not just lenient. There has to be a prospect of the Court of Appeal considering this to be outwith the range. I am happy to discuss these issues with him in more detail.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Anne Villiers (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of my constituents were shocked when a fatal stabbing occurred on a quiet residential street in east Barnet. Will the Government consider whether it is time to introduce a tougher sentencing regime for knife crime?
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have taken a number of measures in relation to knife crime, not only on which weapons can be carried but on the consequences of such offences, including restrictions on the use of the internet and curfews. The Government take this issue seriously, and I am sure the Ministry of Justice, which is in charge of sentencing, is considering these issues.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I point out to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) that 73% of the cases that were referred by the Attorney General’s office resulted in an increase in convictions. The reason for the disparity between the number of cases that are referred to my office and the number that go to the Court of Appeal is that a large number of them do not fall within the scheme in the first place, either because they are out of time or because the offences do not fall within the scheme. We must always remember that the judge has heard the trial, heard the evidence and read the pre-sentence report. Judges up and down the country are doing an outstanding job to ensure that, when crimes have been committed, perpetrators get the sentences that they deserve and victims get the justice that they deserve.
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Charles Geoffrey Cox (Conservative, Centre-right): The Crown Prosecution Service is working closely with the police and other Government Departments to prosecute these increasingly complex crimes. In that great county of Northamptonshire, in which the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone) is situated, the Crown Prosecution Service prosecuted no fewer than 337 defendants for drugs offences and secured 305 convictions in the year to 2018. The conviction rate for drugs offences in England is over 90%, and last year alone 39,000 convictions were secured by the Crown Prosecution Service for these offences.
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Northamptonshire police have done much good work in recent weeks in raiding local cannabis farms and breaking up county lines drug operations linking London with Kettering and other parts of Northamptonshire. Does the Attorney General agree that, when the police catch people doing these awful things, it would help if the Crown Prosecution Service pressed for exemplary sentences to be awarded?
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Charles Geoffrey Cox (Conservative, Centre-right): I strongly agree that it is necessary for us to bear down on drugs gangs, and on county lines drugs gangs. My hon. Friend will know that the Government’s serious violence strategy makes that a priority. In just one week in May, in a targeted effort of co-ordinated law enforcement activity, there were 586 arrests in connection with county lines drugs gangs, and 519 adults and 364 children were entered into safeguarding measures. That is a particularly fine record. I also agree that sentencing must be commensurate with the gravity of the crimes. We will continue to monitor and follow the drugs sentencing guidelines that are connected with these crimes.
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Nigel Paul Huddleston (Conservative, Centre-right): The Attorney General is well aware that drug trafficking is an issue not just for urban areas, but for rural areas, villages and towns. How is he assisting more rural agencies, the CPS and, for example, West Mercia police in tackling drug trafficking?
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Charles Geoffrey Cox (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend asks a good question in relation to rural crime. We must not forget that drugs offending extends into rural areas—quite often from the larger cities—and particularly into coastal communities such as those that I have the honour of representing. It is important that we do not lose sight of the rural dimension of drugs offences. I can assure him that we will be vigilant about ensuring that in the strategies of the Government, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, rural drugs offending is not omitted from our considerations.
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): In Chelmsford, we have found that the increased number of police on the ground, coupled with the firm use of stop and search, has led to a large number of arrests and then prosecutions. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that it is vital that all law enforcement agencies work together to tackle drugs gangs?
Drugs Gangs — House of Commons, 2019-07-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Charles Geoffrey Cox (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree with what my hon. Friend has said, and it applies, if I may say so, not only to law enforcement agencies, but to other agencies as well. We cannot forget that, particularly in county lines offending, there is a wide range of other dimensions at play and safeguarding agencies are also very important.