argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Other
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend and the fine city of Wolverhampton on their work. It sounds like they are setting an example to the rest of the country in how to manage this matter with compassion and sensitivity. I would of course be delighted to learn more about the work that he and his colleagues on Wolverhampton City Council are doing.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): I say again that the cash amount, which went up by 5%, is only one small part of the support package, which includes free accommodation, council tax paid for, utilities paid for, free healthcare and free education. One has to look at the package in the round. He asked rightly about the advice and assistance available to migrants. There are helplines available through Migrant Help and other organisations via free phones available in these hotels and other places of accommodation, so that where they need assistance and advice they can access it. Of course, asylum seekers are also eligible for the more general support available to the whole of society via local authorities, which have received £3.2 billion to assist those in need at this time of national difficulty.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Joy Inboden Morrissey (Conservative, Centre-right): Can my hon. Friend confirm that maintaining law and order and keeping the British public safe remain this Government’s top priority? Can he confirm that our asylum policy will always be in keeping with that ethos?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I can categorically confirm that. The safety of our citizens is this Government’s highest priority. Where people, including asylum seekers, commit very serious offences, we will take appropriate action through the criminal justice system. But if someone who has been granted asylum commits a very serious offence, we are able, consistent with the refugee convention, to seek to remove that person. If somebody comes here and accepts our welcome and our hospitality but then commits a very serious criminal offence, endangering the public, it is right that that person should be eligible for removal, as allowed by the law.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): The 321 people moved into hotel accommodation in Glasgow have been there for around three months. As I said, work is under way, including this afternoon, between Home Office officials and Glasgow City Council to get them moved back into more regular accommodation as soon as is logistically possible. In terms of risk assessments, I mentioned before that all asylum seekers are interviewed at great length, including about various vulnerabilities, at the point when their asylum claim is made. In terms of ongoing vulnerability assessments, perhaps when people are being moved from A to B, I will have to look into that and get back to the hon. Gentleman.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not for one moment accept the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion that there has been anything hostile in the environment extended to asylum seekers. As I have said several times, but I will say it again, in case he did not hear it, those who come here are given free accommodation, with council tax paid for and utilities paid for, free healthcare, free education and a cash allowance. During the coronavirus crisis, the ordinary operation of the asylum system, where people get asked to move on when their case is decided, has been suspended for the time being. That, in my view, is a compassionate and generous response, and I do not see any reasonable basis for criticising it.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Robert Joseph Roberts (Conservative, Centre-right): Every loss of life is a tragedy, and any crime perpetrated by people coming to these shores is a disaster, but does my hon Friend agree that we must not allow a few bad experiences to turn us into a mean-spirited country and that we should be doing more to support those who come to these shores? To echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South West (Stuart Anderson), the work of my local Flintshire City of Sanctuary in creating a culture of welcome and inclusion is exactly the approach we should be taking. Will my hon. Friend look further at what can be done in that area?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): The sound was a little intermittent, but I think I got the gist of my hon. Friend’s question. I can confirm that we will always seek to extend a welcome to those who are genuinely in need of protection. That is why last year we gave around 20,000 grants of asylum or protection, and of course we want to welcome those people and help them integrate into our society and make a meaningful contribution, as all of us want to. Where there are risks to public safety, we will naturally seek to take robust action to defend the safety of the British public.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Joanna Mary Gideon (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to say that my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent Central has welcomed many asylum seekers in the past, but does the Minister recognise that areas such as Stoke-on-Trent face huge and increasingly strained demands on our local support networks and that the capacity is not unlimited?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I do accept what my hon. Friend says. I know that Stoke-on-Trent does a great deal already, for which all of us, I am sure, are very grateful. There are, of course, natural constraints to how much any given city can do, and one of the reasons that I will speed up the whole asylum process is to alleviate exactly those pressures.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Gentleman will understand, whenever a risk is identified, it is rapidly shared between all relevant organisations, including those that he listed. He mentioned providing sanctuary. Of course, many asylum seekers who reach here have travelled through safe countries first, particularly France, and it is appropriate for people seeking asylum to do so in the first safe country they get to.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Scott Lloyd Benton (Conservative, Centre-right): I associate myself with your comments earlier, Mr Speaker, and pass on my best wishes to those who have been sadly affected Does my hon. Friend agree that this appalling attack underlines the importance of reforming our asylum policy so that we can stop it being abused with false claims and ensure that those who pose a significant threat to our way of life have their claims rejected and are swiftly deported?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): I am generally reassured that asylum seekers receive the necessary support, but it is clear that the process of coming illegally to the UK is fraught with danger. Are we doing enough to disincentivise migrants from making the perilous journey and to bring people traffickers to justice?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. As I said a few moments ago, people should claim asylum in the first safe country that they reach, which very often is not the United Kingdom. Many of the arrivals here have travelled through Italy, Germany, France or many other manifestly safe European countries. They should claim asylum in one of those countries first. They should claim asylum in the first safe country they arrive in. Many of the people who cross the channel on small boats, for example, are facilitated by ruthless and dangerous criminals. We are cracking down on those, prosecuting them and arresting them. We are determined to stop dangerous illegal entry to the country.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): The case that the hon. Lady refers to is the subject of an ongoing investigation, so we will see what the result of that investigation is in due course. I mentioned earlier that there are 24-hour mechanisms for anyone in asylum accommodation who feels like they are experiencing difficulties to report them, and there are health interventions that can then be followed up On the hon. Lady’s more general point about support, many people—asylum seekers and members of the general public—have experienced feelings of distress and isolation during the coronavirus lockdown. That is one of the burdens that we have had to collectively bear as a society in the past few months, but we are thankfully now moving beyond that.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): To follow up the question posed by my good friend the Member for Blackpool tower and the winter gardens—my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South (Scott Benton)—how long after someone’s application to remain has been rejected is it on average before that person leaves our shores?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): That varies a great deal, depending on the circumstances of the individual and the circumstances in their home country. I think it is fair to say, however, that the majority as matters stand do not end up leaving. If somebody’s asylum claim is rejected, and once the relevant appeal processes have been exhausted, it is only fair to the British public generally, and indeed to people who claim asylum successfully, that we ultimately ensure removal; otherwise, it makes a mockery of our immigration system.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): of course I agree that everybody should be treated with dignity and respect, including asylum seekers. On the health support package, I said earlier that it is provided by the local NHS and, in this case, also by Glasgow City Council and I know that it is doing its job effectively.
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (Conservative, Centre-right): I associate myself with your kind works of support for everyone affected by this incident, Mr Speaker. I want to ask specifically about the number of asylum seekers in supported accommodation who are from Sudan. Will the Minister convey to his colleagues in Government the welcome for the announced pledge to support the Government of Sudan in their transition to democracy, which came through last week?
Covid-19: Support and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Hotel accommodation is obviously not the preferred way to accommodate asylum seekers. I am speaking from memory, but I think that, prior to coronavirus, fewer than 1,000 people were accommodated in hotels, so less than 2% of the total. As I said, we are looking to unwind the hotel accommodation as quickly as logistics allow. In relation to the provision of basic things like plasters, there are typically welfare officers on hand in these hotels. I will investigate whether they have those sort of supplies available, because the hon. Lady is certainly right that those things should be available in the hotels.
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) and associate myself, somewhat surprisingly, with the words of the Labour Front-Bench spokesman, the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock)—that is a welcome change I have heard the various comments made by my right hon. Friend and the hon. Gentleman, and I have heard the Minister’s answers, which I support. Will the Minister perhaps look at the companies operating here in the United Kingdom that may have benefited from some of the labour in Xinjiang that he described and explain why they are able to operate here in the UK? Why are they able to use labour from these camps for re-education, at best, and very often for worse? Why are these companies seemingly able to operate around the world as though they were ordinary companies?
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Civil Rights
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chairman of the Select Committee is right to raise that point. He will be aware that bidders for any central Government contracts above certain thresholds are required to confirm that they are compliant with the transparency requirements in the Modern Slavery Act 2015. However, the decision on high-risk vendors did not involve the award of a contract to the telecommunications firm to which I assume the Chairmen of Select Committee may have been referring. We take this issue very seriously, and, as I said in my statement, all British companies involved in the region must consider carrying out proper due diligence to ensure that human rights violations have not been taking place in their supply chains.
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Civil Rights
Alicia Alexandra Martha Kearns (Conservative, Centre-right): Forced sterilisation of women; children ripped from their families; detention centres to treat the so-called pathology of religious and cultural beliefs; forced labour; rape, and DNA databases. In our history, we have learned that we must all take a stand against systematic and industrialised efforts to eradicate religious and ethnic minorities, so will my hon. Friend commit to using Magnitsky-style sanctions to bring to justice Chinese Communist party officials who perpetrate and profit from this cultural genocide of the Uyghur people?
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Civil Rights
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): As well as oppressing the Uyghurs, the Communist Government of the People’s Republic of China discriminate against almost 100 million Christians. Last year alone, over 5,500 churches were destroyed, closed down or confiscated. Does my hon. Friend agree that freedom of religion and belief should remain a major global campaign for the Government, and what is he doing to ensure this is maintained?
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Civil Rights
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): It is absolutely the case that the Government remain committed to defending freedom of religion and belief for all people—for people of all faiths or none. The Prime Minister has his own special envoy, my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti), working on this issue, and through our extensive diplomatic network we continue to lobby Governments for changes in laws and practices, and raise individual cases of persecution. We also continue to use our influence to speak up for persecuted Christians and individuals of other faiths in multilateral institutions, including the UN and the OSCE.
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Immigration
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Of course, any asylum issue is a matter for the Home Office. I understand that advice has been put out to take into consideration across our network the situation that Uyghur Muslims find themselves in.
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): I would just say to the hon. Lady that we do raise cases of human rights violations reports. Obviously, we have only had this report in the last 24 hours, and it adds to the concerns we have regarding Xinjiang and the violations there. She raises harvesting, and we are very concerned about human rights abuses in that regard, as well as the mass detentions, discrimination, separating children from their families and issues about religious observation. We do regularly have these uncomfortable conversations with China, and we call on it to implement the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Xinjiang: Uyghurs — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Civil Rights
Steven John Baker (Conservative, Centre-right): It is with the utmost horror that I record what is at stake in this debate: the full might of an industrialised, advanced state, with a single-party Government, appears, under a mounting body of evidence, to be seeking to eliminate from its society a section of people based on their identity—not for the first time in history. In such circumstances, speaking as someone who represents thousands of British Muslims in Wycombe, I must ask: do the Government understand that this is not an abstract and remote call for action, but something of the most profound importance to individuals and families right here in the UK?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Jonathan Edward Gullis (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the measures allowing al fresco dining are essential to allowing the food and hospitality sector to bounce back following lockdown, and will he encourage all those businesses to go and update their ceramics and buy purely from Stoke-on-Trent?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): We are all very grateful for my right hon. Friend’s efforts, particularly to help small businesses. I have noticed in Lincolnshire that small businesses and shops seem to have done better during the lockdown, as people have wanted to shop locally. As we are helping small business, would it not be a retrograde step if we were to reopen Sunday trading laws, since it is our present Sunday trading laws that do so much to protect small shops and businesses from large businesses and supermarkets?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Housing
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): As my right hon. Friend will know, measures related to Sunday trading are not in the Bill, but of course Sunday trading has been temporarily relaxed in the past, during the Olympics, and that was about ensuring support for businesses and consumers. But as I said, that is not in the Bill Through this Bill, we also want to support the construction sector to get Britain building again by enabling the extension of site operating hours and extending until 1 April 2021 planning permissions that have lapsed or will lapse between 23 March and 31 December.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know she is working incredibly hard to support businesses in South Ribble, and I am sure she is looking forward to going to the Tesco’s once it is up and running We also want to support the transport sector by enabling shorter-term licences for drivers of heavy goods vehicles and passenger carrying vehicles and allowing for the risk-based testing of HGVs and public service vehicles. These measures will allow goods and public transport to keep moving. We want to continue to support small and medium-sized enterprises through the quicker delivery of bounce-back loans, which have provided a financial lifeline for more than 920,000 small businesses so far. This measure is retrospective and will disapply elements of consumer credit law.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): I speak as co-chair of the all-party group on fair business banking and support the suspension of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 with regard to bounce-back loans due to affordability issues, but does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital that lenders still comply with the requirement to treat customers fairly in the collection process or if there are debt issues later on and that forbearance is applied?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Housing
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): As ever, my hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. Yes, forbearance is part of these measures, and we would expect that very much to apply Before I turn to the detail of the Bill, I want to thank all those across industry and both Houses who have engaged with the Government to help develop the measures in the Bill. I also thank the Local Government Association, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Home Builders Federation and the British Property Federation for sharing their expertise. I am pleased to say that the measures in the Bill enjoy wide stakeholder support. The LGA, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Beer and Pub Association, UKHospitality, the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association, the Royal Town Planning Institute, the British Property Federation and UK Finance have all expressed their support.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Housing
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I add my name to that long list, but can my right hon. Friend give some confidence to local authorities? There are a lot of planning rules and regulations, and some of our planning officers are quite conservative in their interpretation. Where there is discretion, can we send the message out from this place that decisions must be decided in favour of business and of opening up?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course we want to make sure that businesses open up, and we want local authorities to help local businesses do that, which is precisely the reason for these measures. We will publish guidance alongside the measures in the Bill, and I would ask local authorities to adhere to it. If my hon. Friend has any specific suggestions, I would be very happy to hear from him, as would my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who will wind up this debate.