argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-12
Topic: International Affairs
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to the hon. Gentleman, who I suspect does not share the views of the Labour party at Holyrood on this matter, that he should address his concerns and criticisms to his own Front-Bench team. It was their decision to divide, but it was approaching the ridiculous for us to have three separate Divisions on whether the word "necessary" should replace the word "appropriate". It was open to the Opposition to accept a single vote grouping those three amendments, but they chose not to, and that has used up a significant amount of our time We have ensured that no existing power will be taken from the devolved institutions and have provided for a significant increase in the decision-making powers of the devolved Administrations after exit. In doing so, however, we have also made sure that we do not compromise on those important common approaches we have to safeguard our internal market, manage our common resources and allow us to be an open and competitive trading nation as we develop new arrangements to replace the EU frameworks.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-12
Topic: International Affairs
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): There is a balance between my giving way frequently and allowing more time for others to speak. I repeat to the hon. Lady that it was the choice of her Front-Bench team to have 11 or 12 Divisions, in a number of cases duplicating in one Division what had already been determined in another I will turn now to Lords amendment 25 on the Northern Ireland border. In many ways, the amendment is, as a number of noble Lords noted, a statement of Government policy and was prompted very eloquently in the Lords by my noble Friend Lord Patten. It seeks to ensure that we will not act incompatibly with the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and that we will have due regard to the joint report of December last year. It seeks to protect north-south co-operation between Northern Ireland and Ireland and to prevent, among other things, physical infrastructure on the border with Ireland.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-12
Topic: International Affairs
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Lady knows, Ministers in the United Kingdom Government have no power to direct or even give guidance to the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland or the Northern Ireland Policing Board. The Government could not have been clearer about our commitment to ensuring no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. That was a key element of the joint report agreed last December, and it is a commitment that the Prime Minister described in her Mansion House speech as a fundamental underlying principle of our approach to our negotiations with the European Union We said in the House of Lords that we agreed with the spirit and intent of Lord Patten’s amendment, but that it was not drafted in a legally appropriate way. We therefore tabled a number of amendments to try to tidy it up and ensure that it was in a fit form, which I hope will command consensus in the House. It reflects the reality that the withdrawal agreement—
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-06-12
Topic: Government Operations
Robert Andrew Raymond Syms (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Many of us on the Government Benches are disappointed that the matters of devolution did not have more debate. That was a consequence of the Opposition calling so many Divisions, thereby reducing the amount of time. What additional help can the House authorities give in time management training for the official Opposition so that, on future occasions when we have a clearly defined time for debate, they can decide when they are going to vote and when they can allow free-standing debate?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-06-12
Topic: Government Operations
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): The answer is that, if I may say so, scrutiny is a process, rather than a fact. It is not a matter of an isolated incident or a single statement, gesture or occasion. It is a process of—if you will—remorseless inquisition. It is perfectly open to the hon. Gentleman, who has fast become familiar with the mechanisms of House scrutiny, to scrutinise the Government through written and oral questions, pursuit of Adjournment debates and the like on the matter of the Executive’s adherence to the Sewel convention, or, as he sees it, their non-compliance with it. I do not want to get into a great attempted exegesis of the Sewel convention but, from memory, the convention stipulates that the Government will "not normally" proceed on matters without a legislative consent motion. But, as the hon. Gentleman will know, the presence of the words "not normally" does admit of exceptions. That is the reality of the matter. It is a political matter, rather than one that lends itself to a ruling from the Chair.
Sexual Exploitation: Newcastle — House of Commons, 2018-06-12
Topic: Law and Crime
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): Could we discuss that in the meeting? We have always tried to ensure that local commissioners are commissioning the services that they feel are needed in their area, but I am happy to hear the hon. Lady’s thoughts on that in the meeting that we will have with my officials In conclusion, I thank the hon. Lady once more for securing this important debate. Victims and survivors of the most appalling crimes rely on us, both in government and on both sides of this House, to represent their needs and to ensure that they receive the support to which they are entitled. It will be a privilege to continue to work with colleagues across the Government and across the House, and with representatives locally, to ensure that victims in Newcastle and in all areas of England and Wales are heard, are supported and are able to recover Question put and agreed to.
West Anglia College — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What discussions he has had with West Anglia College on his Department’s document “Investigation Report: the College of West Anglia”, published in August 2018.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): The Education and Skills Funding Agency has been clear that West Anglia College cannot undertake any further subcontracting until the ESFA is satisfied that all the proper procedures highlighted in the report are in place. Frequent dialogue with the college continues, and I will keep the hon. Gentleman informed. I praise him for his tenacity in highlighting this issue.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): Apprenticeships are now of high quality, with more off-the-job training and holistic end-point assessment. This ensures that, at the completion of an apprenticeship, the apprentice can demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge and behaviours for their existing employer or a new employer in the future. Forty-four apprenticeships are now at the new higher-quality standard, and training is up from 540 hours to 670 hours, which is a 20% increase —well ahead of where we thought we would be on quality.[Official Report, 19 November 2018, Vol. 649, c. 6MC.]
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): Derwent Training Association in Malton in my constituency offers very high-quality precision engineering apprenticeships, but too often it comes up against headteachers who would rather see their students go to university. What more can we do to make sure that schools promote high-quality apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): We have a lot more to do; there is no doubt about it. Wherever I go, I often hear from student apprentices who say that they had very little support from their school. Since January 2018 schools are required to allow technical education and apprenticeship training providers to come in to talk to pupils, and our apprenticeship support and knowledge project provides schools with resources to help them promote apprenticeships. The apprenticeship ambassador network also visits schools so that pupils can hear at first hand about the fantastic opportunities that an apprenticeship can bring.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not want to fluster my hon. Friend. The Department is doing a great deal to improve apprenticeships. It is important to make sure that apprenticeships offer high-quality education that rivals that of our universities, so we are doing exactly that. There is no doubt that apprenticeships are already offering such education. We have a £10 million development fund available to develop degrees at a high level, and apprenticeship starts at high levels continue to grow—up almost 30% on last year.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Labor
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): Many large firms in my constituency, notably Premier Foods, have great apprenticeship schemes and are using the new system very creatively to improve the quality of those apprenticeships, but it is often more difficult for small companies to do the same. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that small businesses can benefit from apprenticeships as much as large businesses do?
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Labor
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate Premier Foods on what it is doing in my right hon. Friend’s constituency. Levy payers can already transfer up to 10% of their funds to other employers, including SMEs, and we are increasing that to 25% from next year. SMEs have taken longer to put in place their apprenticeship programmes, although many have already grabbed the opportunity.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): I had a wonderful visit to Kirklees College and I was impressed with all I saw there. It is important that young people have a grounding in English and maths. I know this is difficult for some young people, and we are doing a great deal to improve the teaching of maths. Where people have failed after all those years in school, we cannot just go on doing the same thing. We have the opportunity to offer functional skills, which offers those young people an alternative way of getting a good qualification in maths.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): By 2020, there will be £2.5 billion available for apprenticeships. In fact, a lot of apprenticeship training is done by independent training providers, so I urge all further education colleges to make sure they get involved and take up the opportunity that the levy money makes available.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Labor
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): Surprisingly, my question is a segue to that asked by my old boss, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable). Apprenticeships are a great success story for this Government, although they are being terribly undermined by the clunking fist that is the apprenticeship levy. Will the Minister look specifically at the position in the film industry, where apprenticeships do not last the standard length of time? When people are apprentices on a film production, it might last only three months. There needs to be some flexibility in order to support apprenticeships in our award-winning creative industries.
Apprenticeships — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Labor
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): Although I often agree with my right hon. Friend, I disagree entirely with his description of the apprenticeship levy as a clunking fist. It is what has driven all the improvements and is part of the reason we have the £2.5 billion available. I am very aware of the issues in the film industry. I have had several meetings with people from the industry and we are working with it to make sure that where people are working on a contract, or are not on a permanent contract, apprenticeships may be available.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. However, as the party of aspiration, what more are our Government doing to help our young people achieve their dreams? Specifically, what are we doing through the secondary school system, which is formative in developing their future roles?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that. Of course, the attainment gap has narrowed by 10% at secondary school, but she is right to say that we need constantly to be thinking about aspiration, which is why our careers strategy and the work of the Careers & Enterprise Company are so important.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Social Welfare
Adam Afriyie (Conservative, Centre-right): Grouped—I understand, Mr Speaker. I was slightly wrong-footed, as ever Irrespective of political persuasion or ideology, everyone in this House will agree that the state has a special responsibility towards vulnerable children in care. Only 6% or 7% of them get to university, and 60% of them have behavioural and mental health challenges. We must congratulate the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation and Buttle UK on their work in providing bursaries for university. Does the Minister agree that we must look to expand work in this area?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I do agree with my hon. Friend that we need to expand work in that area, and I commend the charities that he mentioned, including for their work to inform local authorities about how to make placements in boarding schools. It is true that for the right child at the right time and at the right school, boarding can create a life-changing opportunity. Encouragement into university is also vital, of course.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew James Offord (Conservative, Centre-right): A recent OECD report stated that the children of poor families are likely to take five generations to start to earn an average income, compared with two generations for families in Denmark and three in Sweden. Why has it taken the United Kingdom so long to bridge this gap?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Macroeconomics
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): These are big topics and, indeed, stubborn statistics that take quite some time to move. As anybody who has compared the 1970 cohort with the 1958 cohort will attest, it is a problem that goes back through multiple Governments, but we need to keep working on it. The most recent OECD statistics show a more encouraging picture than there was previously thought to be. [Interruption.]
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I apply social mobility considerations right across the work of the Department for Education, and I also work with Ministers across Government to make sure that we are doing the same in all that we do.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): We believe that any young person who has the potential to benefit from university should be able to do so, and the existing system helps to facilitate exactly that. More than £800 million is being spent on access encouragement from universities. We need to make sure that that is spent as well as it can be, to make sure that any young person from any background has an equal opportunity to benefit.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to look at things such as the incentives that are inherent in the system. Of course, schools have a notional special educational needs budget, which is what the first £6,000 is supposed to be linked to, but we keep all these matters under review right across the system—in mainstream schools and special schools.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): An independent review of higher education funding is under way. Does the Secretary of State agree that any proposals in that review that are regressive in nature, that would reintroduce a student number cap or that would act in effect as a brake on social mobility are not recommendations that this Government should accept?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): It goes without saying that my right hon. Friend has very considerable expertise in this area and I take what she says extremely seriously. The review that she mentions is informed by an independent panel. That independent panel has not yet completed its work and the Government have not yet considered what recommendations may come forward, but, of course, social mobility must be at the heart.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?; The Secretary of State will be fully aware that the high-needs budget affects certain areas more than others. In Hertfordshire in particular there is concern among many teachers and parents that the system just is not working well enough for them. What comfort can he give to my parents and teachers who feel that the provision for children with special needs is not working well enough at the moment?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The funding for high needs has been going up, and will reach just under £6 billion. In Hertfordshire, it has risen by 4.3% this year. Our reforms from 2014 were the most significant reforms in this area for a generation, but obviously we need to continue to strive more.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?; The Secretary of State will be fully aware that the high-needs budget affects certain areas more than others. In Hertfordshire in particular there is concern among many teachers and parents that the system just is not working well enough for them. What comfort can he give to my parents and teachers who feel that the provision for children with special needs is not working well enough at the moment?; Suffolk has been criticised for a particularly poor range of special educational needs and disability provision. Given the fragmentation of local education decision making in this country now, how would the Minister advise that that could be addressed?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that local authorities work with each other to share best practice and to look at what happens. A whole range of things needs to be considered from, of course, training provision for teachers in mainstream schools, to the availability of places in special schools and so on. I have no doubt that the hon. Gentleman’s local authority will look at all those areas as well.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?; The Secretary of State will be fully aware that the high-needs budget affects certain areas more than others. In Hertfordshire in particular there is concern among many teachers and parents that the system just is not working well enough for them. What comfort can he give to my parents and teachers who feel that the provision for children with special needs is not working well enough at the moment?; Suffolk has been criticised for a particularly poor range of special educational needs and disability provision. Given the fragmentation of local education decision making in this country now, how would the Minister advise that that could be addressed?
Amber Rudd (Conservative, Centre-right): Hastings is one of the opportunity areas supported and funded by the Government, which will be the biggest driver of social mobility for those of us in it in a generation. Although we celebrate the success and work closely with the Department for Education to make sure that it delivers on those changes, such is the success that we are now concerned about the end of the opportunity area funding. May I urge the Secretary of State to think carefully about how that end might be smoothed so that areas such as Hastings, which will get such extraordinary change from the opportunity area, do not suddenly find themselves cut off?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-11-12
Topic: Education
Questions: What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the effect that the reintroduction of higher education student number controls would have on the number of young students from more disadvantaged backgrounds who make it to university?; The Secretary of State will be fully aware that the high-needs budget affects certain areas more than others. In Hertfordshire in particular there is concern among many teachers and parents that the system just is not working well enough for them. What comfort can he give to my parents and teachers who feel that the provision for children with special needs is not working well enough at the moment?; Suffolk has been criticised for a particularly poor range of special educational needs and disability provision. Given the fragmentation of local education decision making in this country now, how would the Minister advise that that could be addressed?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): It is. As someone who has a long passion for and personal professional experience in the sixth-form sector, the hon. Gentleman is right to identify that 16-to-18 funding is tight. That is, of course, something that we need to keep under review and have in mind as we come up to the spending review. There are, of course, things such as the maths premium. For some colleges, the T-levels funding will also be relevant.