argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: My constituency of South Cambridgeshire is not just the life sciences capital of the UK or of Europe, but it claims to be the life sciences capital of the world. It has the global headquarters of AstraZeneca, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which is leading the world in genome sequencing, and Abcam, a start-up company now worth £3 billion, which is leading the UK in antibody products, and many of these are exporters. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the commercial opportunities for these firms of a potential UK-US free trade agreement?; Can the Secretary of State confirm that the free trade agreement will benefit the whole of the UK, including my constituency of Ynys Môn in north Wales, which will be disproportionately affected by the collapse of Flybe overnight? And does she agree that the port of Holyhead is a prime candidate to be one of the new free ports?; Last summer, the Government were found to have unlawfully committed arms exports to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen. In September it emerged that this ban had been repeatedly violated. In response, last month the Secretary of State said processes had been updated. If she genuinely wants to give confidence that this Government will not put the interests of arms dealers ahead of human rights yet again, will she commit to an immediate embargo on all arms exports to Saudi Arabia?; [R] Israeli exports to the UK grew by 286% over the last decade, and bilateral trade levels are also at a record high, so it was no surprise that one of the first post-Brexit trade agreements we signed was with Israel. What steps will the Secretary of State be taking to further strengthen and enhance our trade relationship with Israel and go beyond the terms of the continuity agreement that is already in place?; Bearing in mind the latest comments coming from the US, what steps will the Minister take to provide legal safeguards and reassure the British public that our food and animal welfare standards will not be at risk in a US-UK trade deal?; The Secretary of State knows that I am very excited about the prospects for Scotland to grow its exports. Scottish Development International does a good job, but it does not have, as it would concede, the global reach of her Department. So to ensure that Scottish businesses get the maximum support going forward to grow exports, will the Minister commit today to increase the Department’s presence on the ground in Scotland?;   Is the Secretary of State confident that the Government stance in the EU trade negotiations meets the needs of successful horticultural businesses such as Seiont Nurseries in my constituency, whose time-sensitive exports just will not thrive with delays at the ports, regulatory divergence and punitive tariffs?
Graham Charles Stuart (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is correct to highlight the importance of Heathrow and transatlantic links with the US and beyond—not only for exports, but for foreign direct investment. I am sure that he and the rest of the House will be kept informed as Government policy develops.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): On behalf of the Transport Committee, I want to express sympathy for the passengers inconvenienced and, in particular, the staff, who will be devastated and to whom I hope better things will come. Airline insolvency reform was in the Queen’s Speech. I know that the Minister works hard for business, but I want to press her: when will there be an opportunity to introduce legislation, so that we can help airlines as they either unwind or are able to recover?
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question and note his particular interest as Chair of the Select Committee. He is right that we announced in the Queen’s Speech that we would legislate to enhance the Civil Aviation Authority’s oversight of airlines and its ability to mitigate the impact of failure. I am keen to move that legislation forward as soon as possible, and I am happy to give him further updates.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the distress and concern in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and region about the flights operating out of those airports. We have had some good news: Loganair has already committed to ensure that 16 of the routes stay in place. We are hopeful that we will be able to work with industry to pick up some of those routes, and I can assure him that the Department is determined to backfill those routes and maintain the viability of regional airports. He asked me a number of questions. I am more than happy to speak with him afterwards if he wants to go into detail and to speak with Scottish colleagues about the particular effect on Scotland and the PSO routes.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Simon James Jupp (Conservative, Centre-right): Flybe’s headquarters are based at Exeter airport in my constituency of East Devon. This is devastating news for Devon and for regional connectivity in the south-west. Now is the time to invest in the south-west, and my colleagues and I will be watching the Budget next week with great interest. My thoughts are with the people who have lost their jobs as a result of the decision taken by shareholders to walk away despite the support offered by the Government. Everything should now be done to support those who have lost their jobs, and I know that the Department for Work and Pensions is stepping up as we speak. Will the Minister explain what steps are being taken to secure as many Flybe routes as possible?
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, and I understand his particular concern about Exeter airport. It truly is sad for employees in his constituency, and just to reiterate, we do stand ready to do what we can for those individuals. We are working very hard in my Department, as we have been since the early hours of this morning, with the airlines to make sure that we can fill as many of the routes as possible. Those in the airline sector have been great in coming together and working with us in a very constructive way to deliver on that. I give him my assurances that I will be looking at this in the next days and weeks to make sure that we are able to continue our connectivity.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady, but I would disagree with her: we have not let Flybe go to the wall. However, we are assessing—and, as a responsible Government, we are continuing the preparation for—the wider economic impact of coronavirus. It is a moving picture, and as she would imagine, we are keeping things under close review. The Chancellor has said that if action needs to be taken, he stands ready to do so. We must remember that this was a commercial decision taken by an investor that has been affected by the coronavirus. We understand and are looking at the challenges, and we will continue to work to make sure that the economic prosperity of this country survives.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Paul John Holmes (Conservative, Centre-right): Eighty-four years ago, the first Spitfire flew from Southampton airport in my constituency, on 5 March 1936. The news last night will be devastating for the 1,500 people who rely on Southampton airport in my constituency. The Minister will know that 95% of flights at Southampton airport are provided by Flybe, and that the short runway means it is unlikely that other carriers will be able to take the brunt of replacement services. Will the Minister talk to the Treasury as soon as possible to ensure that the APD review concludes as quickly as possible and that local regional airports can expand if they need to?
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend. Regional airports are massively important for the regional connectivity of the UK, and so is air travel in getting people around. There are particular issues with Southampton airport, as my hon. Friend mentioned, given the short runway. The Chancellor was clear about the APD review, and we are clear that we will do the regional air connectivity review. I am very passionate about making sure that our regional airports stay viable and open.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Lady will know, the decision to put the business into insolvency happened in the early hours of the morning. We have stood ready and worked hard to get a response out, and we have CAA and Government officials at some of the airports affected to deal with some of these issues. We are absolutely clear that Northern Ireland is a key part of connectivity around the United Kingdom. I have spoken with some Northern Irish colleagues this morning, and I am very clear that I will continue to work with them to find solutions that work for Northern Ireland in the future.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I can confirm that we are determined to ensure that that route continues, and I will of course work with my hon. Friend and Cornwall Council to deliver that; we are doing so already, but we will step up efforts.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree. I absolutely recognise that the situation is different in Northern Ireland, and the Department and I will work with regional colleagues to understand the specific issues relating to Northern Ireland and make sure that we are able to develop policies that work both for the Northern Irish people and for the economy.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand my hon. Friend’s concern regarding the airport in his locality, but, as I have outlined, we have been clear about having a review of regional air connectivity and making sure that we truly understand the solutions. Once we have done that, we can work out ways to move forward. But today is very much about short-term solutions and the reaction to the collapse of Flybe. There are many issues, and I am more than happy to discuss them with my hon. Friend and other colleagues after the statement.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman will know that we have a fantastic Mayor in Teesside, and I have had discussions with him. One of the things we will be doing is making sure that, as I have said today, we are working really hard within the Department, talking to airlines and to the airports to make sure that we are able to provide and backfill some of those routes and that the airports remain as viable as possible.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
David James Duguid (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously my sympathies go out to the staff affected by the collapse of Flybe, and also the passengers affected in Banff and Buchan and throughout north-east Scotland, because a large number of its flights would have been serviced from Aberdeen. I know the Government are committed to levelling up regional connectivity across the whole United Kingdom, not least from discussions I have had recently with the Secretary of State specifically on the loss of other flights between Aberdeen and London: Flybe’s own flight to London City; Loganair’s to Southend, recently; and the easyJet flight to Gatwick last year. Can my hon. Friend confirm that she will work closely with the industry, the airports and the airlines to minimise the disruption caused by the loss of these Flybe routes?
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand my hon. Friend’s specific concerns, which we have spoken about before. As I have tried to describe from the Dispatch Box today, I am very keen to work with the airlines and those airports to understand the specific issues and challenges that we need to address to enable those routes and flights to continue. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and colleagues.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s concerns. As he will appreciate, I have already had conversations this morning with the airlines and my officials, and we will continue to do that in order to maintain regional connectivity and those routes. The conversations are ongoing, and we will be working through this over the next few days and into next week.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I note my right hon. Friend’s particular concerns about Southampton; a number of colleagues have already addressed some of the challenges there. It is absolutely true that Southampton airport is vital for passengers travelling from the Channel Islands for health reasons. I am absolutely committed to making sure that I work with colleagues, airlines and airports to solve some of the issues following the collapse of Flybe.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman raises a valid point. As I hope he will appreciate, when I came to the Chamber conversations were still going on; we literally had the agreements on rail and with regard to easyJet just before I came in. I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a definitive answer, but I assure him that my colleagues and officials at the Department for Transport are working on those very options to get individuals home.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Mohammad Saqib Bhatti (Conservative, Centre-right): My constituency is home to Birmingham airport, and the collapse of Flybe is extremely worrying. My thoughts go out to all the hard-working staff who will be worrying about their jobs this morning. Will the Minister tell us what measures the Department for Transport will be taking to ensure that Flybe staff are fully supported in getting new jobs? Will the DFT continue to monitor the situation and encourage other airlines to take them on?
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Labor
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the staff and some of the challenges. We are lucky today to have the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies), on the Front Bench. She will roll out the rapid response service for those staff As I have outlined, Loganair has agreed to prioritise some of Flybe’s former staff. We will be working really hard with it and the rest of the industry to make sure that we can get those people into new jobs. Some of them are highly skilled and have great experience. We need to make sure that we find them new roles as soon as possible.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman knows that I am personally very interested in and care a lot about the Northern Ireland economy and some of the differences there compared with mainland UK. I reiterate that we are committed to regional connectivity, and I will work hard on that in this role. We had a manifesto commitment to consider the devolution of short-haul APD in Northern Ireland. We will work with the restored Northern Ireland Executive to consider any proposals submitted for the devolution of short-haul APD, and I stand ready to engage with Northern Irish colleagues at any time to take particular issues forward.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Labor
Marco Longhi (Conservative, Centre-right): As somebody who, many moons ago, trained up as an airline pilot, I have a lot of sympathy with former colleagues. The sector is very much seen as a specialised sector, so will my hon. Friend work with the Employment Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies), who I am grateful to see in the Chamber—to address the perception of specialisation? Other employers might see that as a barrier to entry, as opposed to looking at people’s transferrable skills.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Labor
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): As the right hon. Gentleman will appreciate, we are working across Government—across the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions—on the response to the collapse of Flybe, to make sure that all the issues and troubles, particularly for staff, are addressed and that we are able to respond. I am happy to give him more updates at our briefing later in relation to specific, detailed questions on some of the issues that he raises. We stand ready to make sure that we deliver for individuals who have been made redundant. We also learned a lot from Thomas Cook’s collapse, but I remind him that this is not at the same level as it was with Thomas Cook.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): The regional air connectivity review is something that I am particularly interested in, and I am glad, as the Minister just appointed, that I will be heavily involved in it. As the hon. Gentleman would imagine, I am pushing for the review to be done as soon as possible.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): For many, domestic flights are sometimes the only viable option. Does the Minister agree that no business should be held back by poor transport links, and that we must do more to build up infrastructure in certain parts of the country?
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely, and that is what this Government are committed to delivering on. We are committed to delivering and levelling up all regions of the country, and that includes air, rail and other forms of transport. In the Department for Transport we are determined to do that and to deliver on the Government’s objectives.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I support the airport, but I do not support football much. But Newcastle is a great team. The hon. Lady raises a key point. As I have outlined, we are working with transport providers to make sure that people who planned to use Flybe are able to travel. I will take that forward as a specific action. I thank the hon. Lady.
Flybe — House of Commons, 2020-03-05
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the hon. Gentleman’s question and his concerns. At the moment we do not have any plans to change the APD policy. Our policy is as per the Exchequer Secretary’s response to the Welsh Affairs Committee report in September 2019: "The UK Government has carefully considered the evidence gathered by the Welsh Affairs Committee and your final report, alongside reports commissioned by the Welsh Government and Bristol Airport."
Voluntary and Community Sector: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government announced an unprecedented £750 million funding package supporting frontline charities to continue their vital work during the covid-19 outbreak, and we have unlocked a further £150 million from dormant bank accounts and building society accounts. In addition, there is the coronavirus job retention scheme and a host of other measures announced by the Chancellor yesterday.
Voluntary and Community Sector: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): I, too, pay tribute to the extraordinary work of charities in Wansbeck and beyond. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we need to focus on the vital work done by so many small charities. That is precisely why the £750 million of funding is being administered in the way that it is, and we are working as hard as we possibly can to get it to those charities as quickly as possible.
Voluntary and Community Sector: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Technology
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The fact is that the BBC has had a generous licence fee settlement, and it is deeply disappointing that it has chosen to go down the path that it is apparently going down. I hope, of course, that there is yet time to reconsider that, because the hon. Gentleman is right to say that television has been a vital comfort for many people in the past few months, and it is a vital part of our national economy as well.
Broadband Delivery — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Technology
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are investing £5 billion to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible to ensure that the hardest parts of the country to reach are not left behind. We are also removing barriers to roll-out, for example by introducing legislation to make it easier for operators to connect to blocks of flats, and £1.8 billion has already been spent in making sure that 96% of the country can now access superfast broadband.
Broadband Delivery — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Technology
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, we have an ambition to deliver gigabit-capable broadband as fast as possible, and we are working with the Scottish Government to deliver that. I look forward to another meeting with my Scottish counterpart, Paul Wheelhouse, next week, because it is vital that we work together on this. The geography of Scotland is, of course, uniquely challenging, but we should not let that serve as a barrier to our ambitions.
Broadband Delivery — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Technology
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): We have put an additional £21 million into Scottish broadband, on top of the £101 million already invested in Scotland by the UK Government. The hon. Lady is right that we need to go as far and as fast as we possibly can, which is why we are working with the Scottish Government to make sure that it is possible to increase coverage and that Scotland does not miss out on anything that it needs in this 21st-century connected environment. It is vital that we do that, and the challenging geography will not be a barrier to our ambitions.
Broadband Delivery — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have been clear that we will go as fast as we possibly can. We are removing the barriers that the hon. Gentleman discussed, but it is also right to say that it is an immensely challenging target. Going as fast as possible is the right thing to do, and we will work as hard as we possibly can to go as far as we possibly can by 2025. My ambition is absolutely to reach the number in our manifesto that the hon. Gentleman describes.
Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme — House of Commons, 2020-07-09
Topic: Technology
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The programme to deliver rural gigabit connectivity is making excellent progress, with nearly 500 rural primary schools—200 more than planned—having an arrangement to fund a gigabit-broadband upgrade. We continue to connect other rural hub sites, including health sites, and issue vouchers to rural residents and small and medium-sized enterprises. We will work with devolved Administrations, local authorities and other Government Departments to ensure that as many public sector sites as possible can be included in the programme.