argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I will ensure that it is on the record My right hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick) raised the important issue of guidance for the local government pension scheme which will, in effect, prevent bodies from engaging in boycotts, divestment and sanctions activities. In our manifesto, we committed ourselves to stopping public bodies running their own direct or indirect boycotts, and the wider BDS movement. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for the all the hard work that he has done to draw the House’s attention to this important issue. I also pay tribute to Lord Pickles for his work.
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry, but I must make progress The Government have been paying particular attention to the arguments that my right hon. Friend has put forward, and I assure him that we take this issue very seriously The BDS movement has nothing to do with pensions and everything to do with politics. It has had the chilling effect of legitimising antisemitism among the hard left, leading to kosher food being taken from supermarket shelves, Jewish films being censored, and the disgusting spectacle of Jewish university student societies being threatened with bans.
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): On the contrary, it has everything to do with BDS, because, rather than promoting co-existence, debate and dialogue, it sows hatred and alienation. There is evidence of divisive BDS campaigns in public bodies, including too many Labour-led local authorities attempting to declare boycotts. Only this week we saw concerning, but sadly unsurprising, reports of a councillor in Wirral leading demands for Wirral’s pension committee to pass a BDS motion. Even under the leadership of the new Leader of the Opposition, Labour politicians continue to endorse the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and call for boycotts of Israel.
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Civil Rights
Andrew Theakstone Percy (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for confirming that the new clause does indeed have everything to do with BDS—as it should, because it is an important contribution to making Jewish people in this country feel safe. I am afraid that we heard some embarrassing comments from Opposition Members earlier, featuring the false narrative of "Everything good is always on the left, and everything bad is always on the right." As the Minister says, we see Labour activists and Labour councillors endorsing what is a fundamentally antisemitic campaign. I thank him for his words today, and I hope the Government will accept the new clause, because it is so important to fighting the scourge of antisemitism.
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time I would like to make a short statement about our involvement with the devolved Administrations. Officials worked closely and collaboratively with the devolved Administrations throughout the Bill’s passage, and I am pleased to report that the Scottish Government, the Welsh Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly have each passed a legislative consent motion. I am grateful for their continued engagement It has been a great pleasure to lead on the Bill’s progression through the House. I extend my thanks to hon. Members across the House for their engagement, particularly of course the members of the Public Bill Committee. This is an important Bill that consolidates and strengthens the legal framework for pensions across all our main public services—the NHS, the judiciary, the police, firefighters, the armed forces, teachers, local government and the civil service. The Bill will ensure that those who deliver our public services continue to receive guaranteed retirement benefits that are among the best available on a fair and equal basis The Bill also addresses the resourcing challenges facing the judiciary, recognising the unique constitutional role of judges. It is clear that we are agreed across the House about the principles of fairness and equal treatment for public servants. Furthermore, a number of important amendments have been made, most notably to the provisions that cater for local government workers, which I am pleased have enjoyed cross-party support I extend my thanks in particular to my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland), my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill), the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq), the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) and the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant) for their detailed engagement throughout the Bill’s passage. I also convey my gratitude to the noble Lords in the other place, whose excellent contributions have helped ensure the Bill is as robust as possible Finally, I thank the Bill team, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, officials across Her Majesty’s Treasury, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, all Government Departments with responsibilities for public service pension schemes, and the devolved Administrations for their extensive support. There is a lot of technical detail in the Bill, and the team’s guidance and expertise has been exemplary.
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Member for his point of order and his notice of it. I have been given no notification that there will be any statements today, but that could change tomorrow or in the rest of the week. Should that happen, the House will be informed in the usual way.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Other
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said, we have brought forward measures that go further than the recommendations of that report. I will impose discipline on myself, even if the House is not going to impose discipline on itself, to stay focused on the statutory instrument.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his assistance. We are lucky that both officials in the Box and Hansard note takers in the Gallery have taken note of that individual. I remind the House that it is a long-standing convention that we do not discuss future targets of sanctions designation by name to prevent those sanctions potentially being less effective than they might otherwise be, but I can assure him and the House that that name has been noted.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): Quite a lot of people would like to speak in this time-limited debate. At this stage, I suggest not going beyond 10 minutes. I will not impose a time limit, but I want to get everybody in.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): Hon. Members have been most disciplined in keeping their speeches to around 10 minutes, but I hope that now Members will keep their speeches to around eight minutes. We have managed without a formal time limit and it would be better if we could continue without one. If people keep to around eight minutes, everyone will have an equal chance to speak.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Other
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): With the leave of the House, I will make a few concluding remarks and address some of the issues, queries and concerns that have been brought up by hon. and right hon. Members on both sides of the House. Those in the House who have been in government know that it is never a particularly fun experience at the Dispatch Box being questioned and criticised by both sides of the House.
PCSOs: Neighbourhood Crime — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right; drugs are a scourge across society and they blight communities. We have a great deal of work taking place on drugs, and I will happily meet him and any colleagues to discuss that. Not only do we, first and foremost, have the county lines programme, but we believe in supporting individuals who suffer from addiction, and that is exactly what Project ADDER is doing.
Sexual Violence: Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government recognise that sexual violence is a devastating crime that has a long-lasting impact on victims. The Nationality and Borders Bill, which is part of our new plan for immigration, will strengthen our ability to protect vulnerable people. On 16 September, we published an equality impact assessment, which includes an assessment of the potential impact on people who may have experienced sexual violence.
Sexual Violence: Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): I hear what the hon. Lady says. I am sure that people in Scotland are as concerned as the Government are about people risking their lives in the hands of evil people smugglers, making dangerous crossings of the channel, and all the risks that that presents to life. The fact is that sensible discretion will be built into the whole approach, with various checks throughout, good reasons and a trauma-informed approach. That is precisely what we have committed to; it is exactly what we will deliver.
Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend the hon. Lady for much of the work that she has been doing. I would be very happy to meet her. All the points she raises are absolutely valid: women should be able to go about living their lives freely, safely and without harassment.
Citizenship: Legislative Framework — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): While we do not plan a wider review, the Nationality and Borders Bill will make several changes to the British Nationality Act 1981, allowing people to acquire citizenship where they had previously been unable to do so because of historical anomalies.
Citizenship: Legislative Framework — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): We always look at the practices in other countries, and I would point out that our visitor route is more generous than the equivalent in the Republic of Ireland. I am actually meeting an Irish Minister later today. We are looking at how we can amend nationality law to make processing slightly easier so that we no longer need to look into people’s past immigration history, but we have already done that recently in relation to a grant of indefinite leave to remain or settled status under the EU settlement scheme.
Citizenship: Legislative Framework — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
James Whiteside Gray (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the Government on changing the rules last week with regard to Commonwealth soldiers, who will no longer have to pay for their citizenship if they have served for six years. That was a great decision and I thank the Government very much for it. Does the Minister agree that similar flexibility will be needed in the near future with regard to Afghan refugees who are based here? A young family came to see me in my surgery last Saturday. They are now well settled, but they are concerned about how long it will take them to get citizenship. And of course, quite soon, similar questions will be raised with regard to Ukrainians.
Citizenship: Legislative Framework — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): A lot of nationality law is in primary legislation, which limits some of the flexibility we have, but we will certainly be happy to consider what we can do to support those who want to take that step to become British citizens.
Immigration Policy — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): We have introduced a new global points-based immigration system that works in the interest of the whole of our United Kingdom, including Scotland. We continue to deliver a comprehensive programme of engagement on the new immigration system, including with each of the devolved Administrations.
Immigration Policy — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): I briefly spoke with Neil Gray on Friday, ahead of potentially meeting more formally, about potential options for Afghan nationals currently in bridging hotels and those leaving Ukraine to be both housed and settled in Scotland. If there are individual cases at this stage, please feel free to bring them to my attention, and we will look into them.
Immigration Policy — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will shortly say a bit more on what we are looking to do for Ukrainians. Yes, it was a productive conversation with Neil Gray, but one thing that would certainly help us to support more of those seeking asylum in this country would be if 31 of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland, including the hon. Gentleman’s own, were not refusing to be dispersal areas.
Hate Crime: Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Civil Rights
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government take all forms of hate crime seriously and we will shortly publish a new strategy setting out how we intend to tackle those abhorrent crimes. I assure the hon. Lady that we have sought views from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
English Language Tests — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Questions: If she will take steps to resolve the immigration status of overseas students who have been falsely accused of cheating in English language tests.
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that the judgment is believed to be fairly imminent, it makes eminent sense to wait for it and then announce our next steps fully taking into account what it says and what it concludes. As the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, given the passage of time we have already amended our guidance to make it clear that where a person’s right to a private and family life in the UK is relevant, the interception of a previous TOEIC test is not an invariable ground for refusal if they make an immigration application.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Questions: Will the Home Secretary listen to the 50 organisations, including Save the Children and Amnesty International, that wrote a joint letter in The Times last week calling for the Ukraine crisis to lead to a rethink on the Nationality and Borders Bill, which discriminates against refugees depending on how they reach our shores?
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): First, we will not be reconsidering the Nationality and Borders Bill. The hon. Gentleman has already heard about the amendments we will be tabling to deal with countries such as Russia and the actions of President Putin.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Questions: Will the Home Secretary listen to the 50 organisations, including Save the Children and Amnesty International, that wrote a joint letter in The Times last week calling for the Ukraine crisis to lead to a rethink on the Nationality and Borders Bill, which discriminates against refugees depending on how they reach our shores?; Our failure to stop tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the English channel in the last few years has resulted in them being accommodated in hotels, often in completely inappropriate locations, including a site in Blackpool, at a cost of millions of pounds per week to the UK taxpayer. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the Home Office can process the claims of those crossing the channel as soon as possible and reduce the huge cost to the taxpayer?
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise my hon. Friend’s concerns about the use of the property in Blackpool, which he has strongly expressed to me on previous occasions. We are looking to double the number of asylum decision makers and to take forward a programme of simplification and modernisation of processing to increase the number of decisions we make, cut down the backlog and reintroduce a service standard for the time taken for an initial decision.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Questions: Will the Home Secretary listen to the 50 organisations, including Save the Children and Amnesty International, that wrote a joint letter in The Times last week calling for the Ukraine crisis to lead to a rethink on the Nationality and Borders Bill, which discriminates against refugees depending on how they reach our shores?; Our failure to stop tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the English channel in the last few years has resulted in them being accommodated in hotels, often in completely inappropriate locations, including a site in Blackpool, at a cost of millions of pounds per week to the UK taxpayer. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the Home Office can process the claims of those crossing the channel as soon as possible and reduce the huge cost to the taxpayer?
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me refute every single point that the right hon. Lady has made. All intelligence, rightly, has pointed to the invasion for a considerable time, and the Government have been working for that, as we know, in terms of the wider Government response. [Interruption.] If I can start to respond to some of those questions, all hon. Members would benefit from paying attention and listening When it comes to providing visas and support for Ukrainian nationals in the United Kingdom, our schemes have been put in place for weeks—there is no confusion whatsoever. They have been in place in countries switching routes. They have been well publicised and well documented. We have been working through our visa application centres. [Interruption.] Again, perhaps the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) would like to listen, rather than being responsible for some of the misinformation that has been characterised and put out over the weekend. Those routes have been open and available A helpline has been available for weeks. We have had people working in the region and in country in Ukraine for weeks and weeks. We obviously closed down our operations in Kyiv, because we removed staff from there—
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: Will the Home Secretary listen to the 50 organisations, including Save the Children and Amnesty International, that wrote a joint letter in The Times last week calling for the Ukraine crisis to lead to a rethink on the Nationality and Borders Bill, which discriminates against refugees depending on how they reach our shores?; Our failure to stop tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the English channel in the last few years has resulted in them being accommodated in hotels, often in completely inappropriate locations, including a site in Blackpool, at a cost of millions of pounds per week to the UK taxpayer. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the Home Office can process the claims of those crossing the channel as soon as possible and reduce the huge cost to the taxpayer?; Scunthorpe and Ukraine have deep ties rooted in our steelworks and we are horrified by what is happening to our Ukrainian friends. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the support that she has just described will stay in place for however long it is needed?;   The Government should be rightly proud of the action taken to support our police officers, not least through the adoption of Harper’s law, which is due before this House later today. What more can my right hon. Friend do to ensure that police officers get all the mental health support they need, as advocated by the Green Ribbon Policing campaign?; I listened to the Home Secretary’s earlier statement with interest, but clarity is needed. I have constituents who have family members in Ukraine, some of them frail and elderly. Can she assure the House that those Ukrainians who wish to join their families in the UK can do so via a third country without being mired in delays and bureaucracy, and can she further guarantee that those refugees will not be ordered to leave the UK after the nominal 12 months have expired?; North Wales police in my constituency of Clwyd South does an exceptional job in keeping the public safe and tackling crime. Could my right hon. Friend comment on plans to recruit and retain the best and brightest to join our police force, and would he join me in praising our local policing initiatives?; In the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, does my right hon. Friend agree with me that now is the ideal time to review and reform the 32-year-old Computer Misuse Act 1990, as recommended by the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Russia report, and will he meet me and colleagues to discuss how reforming that legislation could not only help to tackle online crime, but unlock our national cyber-defence?
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): We are certainly concerned about the lack of suitable accommodation across the United Kingdom in terms of dispersal areas, which is why we are keen to sign up new areas to become dispersal areas. I am pushing my own council and, as I have already said, there are 31 out of 32 areas in Scotland that could do with signing up as well.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Immigration
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to suggest that we have a very strong Ukrainian community right across the United Kingdom. We are determined to do all we can to support the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom and sovereignty. We are introducing the new Ukrainian humanitarian route, which responds directly to the needs and asks of the Ukrainian Government. This gives British nationals and any persons settled in the UK the ability to bring over their immediate Ukrainian family members. This extension alone will mean that an additional 100,000 Ukrainians will be able to seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom. I am sure that the Home Secretary will outline more details of the scheme in due course.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I announced today that export controls will apply to critical technologies, which will make it much harder to invest in the oil and gas industry, the technology industry and, of course, the military-industrial complex in Russia. The hon. Lady is right that the fundamental issue here is that Putin is reliant on oil and gas revenues, which is where we need to work with our G7 partners. Continental Europe is predominantly dependent on oil, gas and coal from Russia, and we need to help it to reduce that dependency so that Putin has nowhere to source his funds. That is what we are doing through the G7.