argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew David Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I also congratulate the hon. Member for Copeland (Trudy Harrison) on a fine maiden speech and thank her for her well-deserved compliment to her predecessor on his service. She spoke with passion, wit and understanding of her beautiful constituency, as well as of Peter Rabbit. None of us envies her speedy transition from by-election to general election, but I do congratulate her I made my maiden speech to this House on the remaining stages of the 1987 Finance Bill, so there is a certain symmetry in my making my last remarks on this one. On the substance of the Bill, it is too often overlooked—the hon. Lady talked about balancing public spending—that, although the Conservative party often talks about balancing the budget, the last Government to do so were Labour in 2001-02. Right now, it makes sense to invest more in productive infrastructure, training and public services, with action to combat poverty and to secure Brexit terms that enable our country to grow and flourish. I wish we had a Finance Bill for social justice that stands up for the many, not the few. That is what we need a Labour Government for It has been a privilege to be an MP, in and out of government, and I thank the staff of the House, the Library, those who keep us safe and you, Mr Hoyle, and your colleagues. I am grateful to all colleagues and wish them well for the future I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have helped me serve the wonderful constituency of Oxford East for 30 years; my family and friends; my neighbours in Blackbird Leys; our party members and supporters; my trade union, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers; my office staff and party organisers across the years; and, most of all, my constituents. Thank you.
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Macroeconomics
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Clauses 8 to 15 stand part Government amendment 4 Clauses 48 to 51 and 124 to 127 stand part Government motion to transfer clause 127 Clauses 128 and 129 stand part Government amendment 10 That schedule 1 be the First schedule to the Bill Government amendments 11 and 12 That schedule 2 be the Second schedule to the Bill Government amendment 57 That schedules 16 to 18 and 27 to 29 be schedules to the Bill New clause 1—Review of international best practice in relation to tax avoidance and tax evasion— ‘(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, within two months of the passing of this Act, commission a review of international best practice by Governments and tax collection authorities in relation to— (a) the prevention and reduction of tax avoidance arrangements, and (b) combatting tax evasion (2) A report of the review under subsection (1) must be laid before the House of Commons within six months of the passing of this Act (3) In this section, "tax avoidance arrangements" mean arrangements broadly comparable in their effect to arrangements in the United Kingdom which have the obtaining of a tax advantage as the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the arrangements."
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Macroeconomics
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: That schedule 19 be a schedule to the Bill New clause 2—Review of VAT treatment of the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service— "(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, within two months of the passing of this Act, commission a review of the VAT treatment of the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, including but not limited to— (a) an analysis of the impact on the financial position of Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service arising from their VAT treatment, and (b) an estimate of the change to their financial position were they eligible for a refund of VAT under section 33 of the VAT Act 1994 (2) A report of the review under subsection (1) must be laid before the House of Commons within six months of the passing of this Act."
Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Christopher Dowd (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely concur with the comments that you have just made, Madam Deputy Speaker, and that the Minister made about my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Mr Smith) and the right hon. Member for Chichester (Mr Tyrie). May I comment on my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South West (Rob Marris), who is also leaving the House? It seems to me that some people have got time off for good behaviour May I just make a point about my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound) and the Perivale scout group? He was very concerned about the insurance premium tax. I do not think he won on that point, but he has won on the sugar tax, which will save the teeth of the scout group. Good news for teeth; bad news for dentists, I suspect I alluded earlier to the fact that, as far as I could gather, this was the longest Finance Bill to be presented to the House. It had 135 clauses and 792 pages. It had clauses on pensions advice, overseas pensions, personal portfolio bonds, an employee shareholding scheme, an insurance premium tax, air passenger duty, duties in general, fraudulent evasion, digital reporting, data gathering and search powers, as well as umpteen schedules. Of course, each of the clauses and schedules has had some degree of scrutiny, but not necessarily the amount we would like, because the general election has rather unhelpfully intervened in our deliberations. But, as they say, that’s democracy. Scrutiny is the fundamental role of Parliament, so when we do not have enough time for that role, we need to ensure that measures are not simply pushed through willy-nilly. I do not think that they have been in this regard We must always have a balance between raising tax and the dampening effect that that can have on business and society. That can be a difficult balance to draw and I think it has been drawn pretty well today I have referred previously to the need to raise our game in relation to productivity in the economy. Higher productivity is a driver of economic growth. Whatever our position, I hope that, to some degree, the Bill will help to push up productivity growth On the soft drinks levy, to which the Minister referred, the primary school PE and sport premium will go up from £160 million to £320 million annually, there will be an extra £10 million for breakfast clubs and, of course, 57% of the public support the levy. The Obesity Health Alliance found that the levy could potentially save up to 144,000 adults and children from obesity; prevent 19,000 cases of type 2 diabetes; and avoid, as I alluded to, 270,000 decayed teeth. I welcome the Minister’s commitment to the review in a couple of years, based on the advice of Public Health England Some measures are no longer in the Bill, some will no doubt come back and we will bring some measures back before the House. We hope that those measures, in one way or another, will be scrutinised.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Government Operations
Natascha Engel (Labour, Centre-left): With the leave of the House, we shall take motions 4 to 11 together Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), Local Government That the draft Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2017, which was laid before this House on 20 March, be approved That the draft Combined Authorities (Finance) Order 2017, which was laid before this House on 13 March, be approved Criminal Law That the draft Specified Agreement on Driving Disqualifications Regulations 2017, which were laid before this House on 9 March, be approved Income Tax That the draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) Regulations 2017, which were laid before this House on 19 April, be approved Representation of the People, Scotland That the draft Representation of the People (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, which were laid before this House on 8 March, be approved. That the draft Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (Scotland) Order 2017, which was laid before this House on 8 March, be approved Representation of the People That the draft Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (England and Wales) Order 2017, which was laid before this House on 8 March, be approved That the draft Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (England) (Amendment) Order 2017, which was laid before this House on 8 March, be approved.—(Christopher Pincher.) Question agreed to.
School Funding Formula in Calderdale — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Education
Holly Jamie Walker-Lynch (Labour, Centre-left): I rise to present a petition opposing cuts to school budgets in my constituency, which has been signed by 166 people, further to the 1,072 people who have signed it online The petition states The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Education to reconsider the proposed national school funding formula to ensure that Calderdale schools do not lose out and that no school receives less than £4,800 per pupil Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the UK, Declares that the proposed national school funding formula would see reductions to the budgets of schools in Calderdale at a time when finances are already stretched; and further that an online petition on this matter received 1,042 signatures. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Education to reconsider the proposed national school funding formula to ensure that Calderdale schools do not lose out and that no school receives less than £4,800 per pupil. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P002034]
Morningside Post Office Franchising — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Government Operations
Ian Murray (Labour, Centre-left): I rise to present a petition signed by more than 4,000 residents of Edinburgh South The petition states: The petition of Edinburgh South, Declares that the government has forced a transformation programme on the Post Office that has placed Crown Post Offices and local branches in jeopardy; further that the only independent report carried out on franchising found that the Crown Office closure and franchising programme had been bad for customers, ranking franchises worse than Crown Offices across a range of indicators including queue times, service times, customer service and advice on products, disabled access and staffed counter positions; and further that the Post Office has already spent money refurbishing the Crown Offices it is now closing and franchising, with £5.9 million spent since 2010 on refurbishing the 59 Crown Offices that the Post Office announced it would close and franchise in 2016, an average of £100,000 per branch The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to suspend the Crown Office closure and franchising programme and instead ensure the Post Office works with Crown branches, including Morningside Post Office, to make them more efficient and profitable And the petitioners remain, etc [P002039]
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend has put her finger on the point. With Hillsborough, when we finally got to match up documents held at a local level with those held at the national level, the full picture began to emerge. It is my contention that exactly the same would emerge here. The direct examples of a cover-up that I am about to give, relating to individual cases, would then be put together with what we know about documents held—or, indeed, not held, which itself implies wrongdoing—at a national level. In the end, it is the putting together of that picture that gives people the truth and allows them to understand how this happened. I will come directly to that point later I will focus on three cases. I highlight them not because they are the only ones I have seen or been sent, but because I have met or spoken directly to the individuals concerned, have a high degree of confidence in the facts and believe that these cases are representative of many more. The first case is of a gentleman who does not want to be named. I will call him Stuart, but I do have his full details.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I fear that my hon. Friend is right once again. I am aware that individuals received Crown immunity to protect the Government from litigation at the time. That paints a strong picture, and that is why we need to see the papers and find out what happened. I do not want to stand here and accuse Ministers in that Government of anything—that is not my aim—but let us have a look at the papers, so that we can at least see whether any misleading statements were made The cases that I have brought before the House provide evidence of several things. First, people were used as guinea pigs. Secondly, people were given inappropriate treatment, as Stuart was. Thirdly, tests were done without people’s knowledge or consent. Fourthly, the results of tests, even when they were positive, were withheld for years—decades, in some cases—from individuals. It has even been suggested that those individuals, who were simply living their lives and did not know that they were HIV-positive or hepatitis C-positive, subsequently infected others who were close to them. Fifthly, as we saw in the case of Ken Bullock, medical records were falsified with slurs and smears to suggest that liver disease was self-inflicted. These are criminal acts.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): It is a case of at least defamation. A range of potential offences, such as misconduct in public office, could be considered. It remains the case that people have not had access to their full medical records. There are just so many examples of people saying that crucial pages are missing. They obviously cannot prove that, but I have put on the record things that I think are provable and are, in my view, criminal. This cannot be left there, and the Minister is going to have to answer that point directly when she responds.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I think it has such a feel. For me, the whole thing about finance—it is always about finance, and about whether we can give them a bit more—has been helpful to the Government, because it has meant that they have never focused on the issue they should really focus on. As I said at the beginning, if this had been known about, the wave of support behind the people struggling to find out the truth would have been massive—absolutely massive—and the Government would have had nowhere to go and would have had to respond. Consequently, people are still struggling, such as my hon. Friend’s constituent, and I hope that they will not have to struggle for much longer.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): It is a total disgrace. Absolutely there must be full, fair compensation now. I say to the Government, do not delay; do what Ireland and other countries have done. They should do that now. They raised expectations and they should do it. We would all support it Mrs Bullock, whom I mentioned, is reduced to sending begging letters. She has had to sell the family home and move away from everything. She is sending begging letters to the Skipton Fund for a stair-lift. She is not well herself now. How can that be right? We are making a woman who has lost everything send begging letters for a stair-lift, as she tries to cope on her own because her husband is no longer there. On the point about medical treatment, I understand that Mr Bullock may have been refused a liver transplant because his notes said that he was an alcoholic. There is injustice upon injustice here. It is absolutely scandalous. I hope the House now understands why, as I said at the beginning, I could not live with myself if I left this place without telling it directly what I know to be true.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I will not be here, but I make a plea to the hon. Gentleman, if he is returned—do not rule out Labour in Scotland, it is on the way back. I make a plea to everybody here in the Chamber today and to the candidates who may be coming here that they must act on this information. They cannot leave this where it is. Their conscience must tell them that they have to do something about it When the Government ruled out an inquiry into Orgreave, despite the existence of clear evidence of serious wrongdoing by the police, they did so on the basis that "nobody died". I am afraid that that threadbare defence will not hold here. People have died—2,000 in all—and they have been the victims of both negligence and a cover-up. In its heart of hearts, this Parliament knows that to be true, and so the question is: what are we going to do about it I will end with a quote from an email I received from another victim, Roger Kirman, who became infected with Hepatitis C in 1978 but only found out by accident when having a hip replacement operation in 1994—this despite having raised his family in between. His brother George died from AIDS in 1991. He wrote: "I have been fortunate to make it as far as I have but I have a real sense of anger against successive governments for their indifference to the plight of so many. Politicians should not be surprised at the loss of confidence in Parliament when candour is not forthcoming and they are seen as interested only in preserving their own position and the status quo." I suspect that Roger speaks for every single family affected by this scandal It has been an enormous privilege to serve my constituents in the House, and it is with real sadness that I prepare to leave, but in my 16 years here I have also had my eyes opened to its shortcomings. The simple fact that since Hillsborough I have been approached by so many justice campaigns—many of them from the 1970s and 1980s—tells me that this place has not been doing its job properly. Westminster will only begin to solve the political crisis we are living through when, in the face of evidence, it learns to act fearlessly and swiftly in pursuit of the truth and gives a voice to those of our fellow citizens who through no fault of their own have been left in the wilderness Collectively, we have failed the victims of contaminated blood. I do not exempt myself from this, and I wish to apologise to all those affected for coming so late to this issue in my speech tonight. I also apologise to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the length of my comments—but in a way I do not actually: the House should be delayed tonight on this matter. Truth and justice have been delayed for people, so the House should be delayed tonight, as it hears directly what they have been through. I hope that we have given a flavour of that tonight. I say to Members here and those who might follow: it is never too late to do the right thing. [Interruption.]
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Government Operations
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I accept that there have been two inquiries—Penrose was commissioned by the Scottish Government—but it is not acceptable for the Government to point to Archer. That was not a Government-backed inquiry. It did not have access to all the Government papers. The Minister cannot use that as an excuse or say, "We don’t need an inquiry because of Archer."
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime
George Edward Howarth (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) made a direct comparison between this case and the Hillsborough scandal. Following Hillsborough, there was the Taylor report, which was produced hurriedly but was actually useful. There was then the Stuart-Smith inquiry. Between the two, there were all the coroner’s inquests. It was not until the process that my right hon. Friend described, involving an independent panel that was able to look at all the documents—as an independent panel would be able to do in this case—that the truth finally emerged. The Minister ought to accept that that process is the best way to get at the truth. She cannot guarantee that everything that has gone on so far has got at the truth.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Murray Burnham (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful for the opportunity. The Minister was very kind in her remarks, but the point that perhaps was missed when referencing Archer and Penrose is that I am calling for a different process that takes documents at a very local level and matches them with documents higher up the chain. It is only then that we can put the jigsaw together and start to understand why someone was acting in a certain way in a particular hospital. That is what we are looking for, and that was the strength of the Hillsborough independent panel: it was able to paint that canvas and put all the pieces of the jigsaw together I will send the evidence to the Department. The amended police statements only came to light properly just before the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough. What I have presented to the House tonight is altered medical records—that is a fact; that has been given to me. In my view, that is the same trigger and it should be looked into so that the facts can be established. That is new evidence that the Government now need to consider, to take a new decision on this.
School Funding: Chelmsford — House of Commons, 2017-03-20
Topic: Education
Harriet Ruth Harman (Labour, Centre-left): Thanks to increased investment and the work of teachers, other teaching staff, supportive parents and the local community, standards in our schools in Southwark have massively increased, but our schools are not overfunded. Surely it cannot be right that, per pupil, we will see a cut of £1,000 per year as a result of this so-called fair funding formula. It is not fair. Whatever levelling up the Secretary of State needs to do in other parts of the country, she should please go ahead and do so, but do not cut schools funding for the poorest children.
School Funding: Chelmsford — House of Commons, 2017-03-20
Topic: Education
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): Vera Lynn was a pupil at Brampton Primary School in my constituency and, along with every other school in my constituency, its budget is going to be cut under the Secretary of State’s proposals. Ministers often tell us that the schools budget as a whole is not being cut. Should not that guarantee apply to individual schools such as Brampton Primary School as well as to the system as a whole?
School Funding: Chelmsford — House of Commons, 2017-03-20
Topic: Education
Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (Labour, Centre-left): I have to say to the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Sir Simon Burns) that he is not seeing the wood for the trees. The Minister for School Standards recently wrote to the Chelmsford Weekly News about the uplift of 1.9%, which the Secretary of State mentioned, but there is a denial of the wider picture that £66 million is being withdrawn from funding in Essex overall. Will she explain how Chelmsford County High School for Girls, which is estimated to lose £300,000, will make its cuts?