argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Robert Butler (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend has been consistent throughout the crisis in insisting that we balance the need to keep people safe with the vital need for children to continue their education. In the light of that, can he reassure parents of primary school children in tier 4 areas such as Aylesbury that he has fully considered the safety of pupils and staff in reaching his decision that those primary schools can reopen next week and continue their very valuable education?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend will recognise, at every stage the safety of pupils and those who work in schools is at the very heart of every decision we make. We all recognise the impact of not being in school on children’s life chances. It is always important to balance the need to get children in with ensuring that they are in a safe environment. The measures we are taking on testing go so far to ensure that children not only get the benefit of that brilliant education but have the surety and confidence of knowing that they are going into a safe and secure environment.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): I declare an interest in that my daughter is a teacher. I agree with the approach the Secretary of State has outlined today. In a constantly changing situation, it is a sensible approach, but may I return to the question of vaccinations for teachers and staff? Clearly, in tier 3 and 4 areas it would be valuable, and coupled with the testing regime it would give teachers and parents the confidence that is needed. I accept that it is not in his remit, as he said, but may I urge him to press his Government colleagues to look again at it?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I can absolutely confirm that I will respond to my hon. Friend’s pressing me to press others to do that. I know how important it is and what a heroic job so many in our schools have been doing to ensure continuity of education for all our children.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I join the hon. Lady in thanking all those in her constituency who have done so much to ensure continuity of education for so many children. The great city of Liverpool is one of the areas that have experienced very high infection rates. The teaching staff and communities making sure that schools stayed open and that children were able to get the benefit of education are a real testament to the hard work done by so many in the teaching profession Over 500,000 of the laptops have already been distributed to children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Many hundreds of thousands more will be distributed in the coming weeks. That will benefit the hon. Lady’s constituents, mine and the constituents of us all.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Esther Louise McVey (Conservative, Centre-right): Those who are due to sit their A-levels and GCSEs in 2021 have suffered, and continue to suffer, far more disruption than those who were due to sit them earlier this year. Will the Secretary of State accept that the only sensible and fair course of action is to cancel these exams too, to ensure that those students’ prospects are not damaged by taking exams that will have been rendered virtually meaningless?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): That is why we took action to ensure that the generosity of grading mirrors that of 2020 and have announced the exam subjects with advance notice, so that teachers and students, in the final months in the run-up to the exams, can focus on the topics and areas that will be examined. We believe that unless there are exceptional circumstances, exams are the fairest and best form of assessment. All the evidence points out that children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds and children from black and ethnic minority communities are most disadvantaged by non-exam assessment and are given the greatest advantage when they sit exams.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
David Anthony Andrew Amess (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Will he join me in thanking all education providers in Southend West for their heroic efforts during the coronavirus pandemic? Most importantly, will he ensure that when they return to school there is clarity in a practical sense regarding testing and the arrangements for the summer examinations?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising the wonderful work that educators, teachers and support staff have done in providing the Rolls-Royce education that we want all children to benefit from. We have already published considerable guidance and support for schools as they roll out mass testing; we have also published information about the funding that they can receive, so that they can properly budget and provision for the type of support that they need to roll out that mass testing. With respect to the—I hope—small number of schools that have particular problems in establishing a testing regime, the armed forces have kindly stepped forward, along with Ofsted, to provide and establish support in the exceptional circumstances in which schools and colleges are having real problems.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): We always listen to what the teaching profession says and act taking its advice and guidance into account. That is how we crafted our response, including the creation of the covid catch-up fund and the national tutoring programme, which were very much targeted at children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. My right hon Friend the Minister for School Standards said he would be absolutely delighted and looks forward to meeting the hon. Gentleman and the wonderful professionals in his constituency who are so committed and dedicated to delivering the very best education for every child in Liverpool, West Derby.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
William Peter Wragg (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and recognise the invidious choices he has to make as Secretary of State. I also thank all the teachers and, in particular, the leaders of schools in the Hazel Grove constituency for their hard work over the Christmas holidays to prepare for mass testing on the schools’ return. Does my right hon. Friend think it somewhat ironic that later on today’s Order Paper is a motion to extend the Adjournment of the House to 11 January? What message does that send to our schools?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly join my hon. Friend in thanking the teachers and support staff in Hazel Grove for all the work that they do. We all recognise that we are placing great burdens on so many public servants. Our job as a Department is to give them as much support as possible. As a former Chief Whip, I think it is always best to focus on the Department and job that one has, which is why my focus is on education and schools.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that the best place for children to learn is in school, which is why we have at every stage driven as hard as possible to ensure that schools are open and remain open. That is why we are taking the actions we are—whether that is the mass testing regime or the fact that primary schools will open up on 4 January—because we realise that the best place for children to be is in school. We looked at the needs of schools for additional laptops and digital equipment and have expanded the original provision of 200,000 laptops to more than 1 million. As I touched on earlier, that distribution of additional laptops is currently ongoing and will continue over the coming weeks.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
David Anthony Evennett (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome my right hon. Friend’s flexibility and pragmatic approach at this difficult time, and also his determination to keep schools open. I praise all the teachers in my borough of Bexley for their commitment and hard work. However, as a strong supporter of social mobility, I am naturally concerned about the effect on the education of our most disadvantaged children during this coronavirus pandemic. Can he confirm that the additional financial support he has given will help to prevent them from being left behind in their education?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for highlighting something that he and I care so passionately about: ensuring that children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are not left behind. That is why the national tutoring programme and the covid catch-up fund are so vital, not only for his constituents but for my constituents and all our constituents from those most disadvantaged communities. We recognise that this pandemic has impacted every community up and down the country. It is vital that we do everything we can to get them back on their feet, learning and closing that gap once more.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Technology
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I will certainly happily provide the latest information on the distribution of laptops in the hon. Member’s constituency. The reason we announced the uplift to the distribution of 1 million laptops is that we recognise that the challenges of the pandemic require more digital provision. That is why we took the move to increase it from 500,000 to 1 million.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I can absolutely assure her that the roll-out of mass testing in secondary schools is properly supported. Schools will be getting the first batch of both equipment and tests on 4 January, and this is being distributed right across the country, with additional tests very rapidly following, to ensure that all pupils and all staff within schools can be tested. As I touched on in my statement, we are also looking at rolling out the testing mechanism, the screen testing and the serial testing for staff in primary schools. As I am sure the hon. Lady will appreciate, the ability to deliver testing in primary schools does present some challenges, because the age of pupils in primary school means they are not necessarily able to do it themselves. However, when we are in a position to go further on testing and home tests can be distributed, we will look at expanding the role of mass testing in schools even further.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Jason McCartney (Conservative, Centre-right): I would like to thank all the wonderful teachers and support staff across my constituency and to welcome plans for all secondary and college students to receive two rapid tests at the start of term. The Royal Air Force has already been helping to deliver rapid tests across Kirklees as part of mass community testing. Has the Secretary of State considered using military support on the ground in schools and colleges, having done such a wonderful job in extreme circumstances in the past few months, to help deliver mass rapid tests and take the pressure off some of our teachers?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): I join my hon. Friend in his thanks. I know that he served in the Royal Air Force for a number of years, so he has a particular fondness for our armed forces, as we all do. The armed forces have done an amazing job. Looking at the sheer number of schools across the country and the whole workforce within them, we felt that it would not be right or proper to ask the armed forces to deliver testing in every single secondary school. That is why we have provided additional financial support for schools to help them deliver the mass testing regime. We are very fortunate that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has agreed a Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request that means that we are able to provide military support to schools that are really struggling to set up a testing regime. We believe that when they are set up, schools will be in an excellent position to keep running and have a real impact in driving down coronavirus infection rates in my hon. Friend’s constituency and all our constituencies.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Education
Gavin Alexander Williamson (Conservative, Centre-right): We are providing schools with the resources to deliver the testing programme themselves. We would look at providing armed forces personnel only in the most exceptional circumstances where a school, for whatever reason, is unable to set up a testing regime. We have given schools the extra time as well as the £78 million in order for all secondary schools to establish a regime. In exceptional circumstances we have teams, supported by the armed forces and Ofsted as well as the Department for Education, to help get a regime up and running and support schools so that every secondary school can have a mass testing regime.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Government Operations
Charles Ashley Rupert Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): The great disappointment felt by many colleagues, who appreciate that the Government are under enormous pressure, is that the House rose on the Thursday, and the decision was made pretty much the next day. It is a great shame that the House was not recalled on the Friday, or possibly even the Saturday before Xmas, to scrutinise the new regulations. That is where the sense of disappointment lies. Most families are more than capable of making the right decisions for their relatives without being instructed to do that in law.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Government Operations
Desmond Angus Swayne (Conservative, Centre-right): The reality is this. These are the questions that my constituents put to me, and I am reduced to saying, "It’s one of life’s great mysteries." The decision-making process is entirely opaque. That is why I voted against it when I had the chance.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Government Operations
Mark James Harper (Conservative, Centre-right): Can I look into that point a bit? I thank the Opposition spokesman for giving us so much time to deal with the things we did not have time to deal with in our limited remarks. On the point about looking at the data—I listened carefully to a number of colleagues, and I had this in my constituency—I genuinely do not understand how my constituency was put into tier 3 starting at midnight on Boxing day, and after only three days had elapsed a decision was taken to move it to tier 4. What data had changed? Nothing significant happened between those two dates. Other colleagues went through three tiers in a matter of days. The problem is that that does not engender confidence among our constituents that the decisions are being taken for understandable reasons. Will the Minister say a little bit more about the decision-making process so that we can take that back to our constituents to try to give them a little more confidence?
Hydrogen Energy — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): Both the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan and our energy White Paper, which we published yesterday, set out our bold ambition for the UK to be a world leader in low-carbon hydrogen. As set out in the White Paper, we are determined to make tangible progress in this important sector, including by investing £240 million through the net zero hydrogen fund and supporting industry to begin a hydrogen heating trial in an entire neighbourhood by 2023. We will publish a comprehensive hydrogen strategy early next year.
Hydrogen Energy — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
James Michael Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): The development of hydrogen energy can lead to thousands of new jobs UK-wide, including an estimated 6,000 in my region through the HyNet project. Will my right hon. Friend do all he can to help HyNet access industrial decarbonisation challenge funding to allow it to progress?
Hydrogen Energy — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right: this is all about jobs—high value-added jobs. He, along with other colleagues in the House, makes the case at every opportunity for the HyNet project, and it is very lucky to have him as a champion. As he will know, HyNet has already received funding through phase 1 of the industrial decarbonisation challenge, as well as £13 million of support through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy energy innovation programme. We will announce the winners of the next phase of the industrial decarbonisation challenge in spring next year.
Hydrogen Energy — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Duncan Charles Baker (Conservative, Centre-right): Bacton gas terminal in my constituency harbours a significant percentage of the natural gas intake into the UK. What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the potential opportunities presented for the manufacture of blue hydrogen at Bacton, creating low-carbon jobs for the east of England?
Hydrogen Energy — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend again raises the issue of jobs. Of course, creating these low-carbon jobs across the country is a priority for the Government. As I have set out, in our 10-point plan and the energy White Paper we have put forward policies for the creation of a significant number of jobs. The Oil and Gas Authority is currently conducting an in-depth feasibility study into blue hydrogen at the Bacton gas terminal. I very much welcome that work, and my officials and, indeed, Ministers would be very happy to engage further with my hon. Friend on this matter.
Hydrogen Energy — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): We will have to look at what bids come in in respect of how that funding is used, but I say again—I made this point yesterday at the Dispatch Box—that it is not just public money; we are also talking about private sector money coming alongside it. The hon. Gentleman will know that Hydrogen Strategy Now, a campaign group of more than 50 companies, has said that it is ready to invest £3 billion in hydrogen projects, and that was after the publication of the 10-point plan.
Low-Carbon Industries: Employment Growth — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): Our 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which we set out last month, has an ambition to support 250,000 highly skilled green jobs across the UK by 2030. The plans we published yesterday in the energy White Paper will further position the UK as a global leader in the future energy industry, not least by supporting the development of jobs and green infrastructure in low-carbon energy such as hydrogen, carbon capture, usage and storage, and of course nuclear.
Low-Carbon Industries: Employment Growth — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer. The scale of the opportunity for employment growth in low-carbon industries is immense. If the right approach is adopted, there can be enormous benefits to coastal communities such as Lowestoft and Waveney. How does the Secretary of State intend to transform the UK’s approach to energy skills in order to capitalise on these great opportunities?
Low-Carbon Industries: Employment Growth — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Energy
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): Once again, a Conservative colleague talks about jobs, which is what the energy White Paper and the 10-point plan are all about. My hon. Friend is a tireless champion for offshore wind, and for jobs and growth, in supporting his constituency. He will know that we have set up the green jobs taskforce, which was launched in November and is led by the Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, my right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng). The taskforce brings together businesses and trade unions to assess how our jobs and skills should adapt to allow us to build back greener, and how the Government can support people in transitioning industries.
Covid-19: Support for the Self-employed — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Labor
Paul Stuart Scully (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have already paid £13.5 billion through the self-employment income support scheme. In November, we announced an increase in the overall level of the SEISS grant, equivalent to an additional £7.3 billion of support to the self-employed through November to January alone. This scheme is among the most generous in the world.
Climate Action — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Environment
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): As conference of the parties president, I have held bilateral meetings with over 40 countries and spoken at around 50 international events over the past months. Throughout, I have called for world leaders to be as ambitious as possible with the climate action targets. The UK is showing real leadership in this area. On 4 December, we announced our new, ambitious nationally determined contribution and on 12 December, we co-hosted the Climate Ambition Summit, which saw 75 world leaders coming forward with 45 NDCs, 24 net zero commitments and 20 adaptation resilience plans.
Climate Action — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Environment
John Robert Lamont (Conservative, Centre-right): The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow next year as the UK hosts the UN Climate Change Conference. This is a huge moment in our fight to stop climate change, so how will the UK Government engage with schools in Scotland and across the whole United Kingdom to promote this important event?
Climate Action — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Environment
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right: it is going to be a big moment for the UK in Glasgow next year and, of course, in the lead-up to it as well. I have been very encouraged and impressed by the commitment that young people are showing in tackling climate change. They have a vital part to play in ensuring that we deliver an inclusive and diverse COP26. In the run-up to the summit, we will be working closely with schools and young people, including by co-hosting the COP youth event, which will bring together 400 youth delegates from around the world to discuss a range of climate topics.