argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: The latest fiscal sustainability report was published by the Office for Budget Responsibility just over an hour ago. Knowing what a quick reader my right hon. Friend is, what assessment has he made of the implications for the long-term health of the public finances?; The autumn statement revealed the Brexit bombshell that growth will be a massive 2.4% lower than previously predicted. What further impact does the Chancellor expect that leaving the single market will have on GDP growth in the years to come?; Businesses, including restaurants and guest houses in my constituency, curtail their business to keep within the VAT threshold, but that has a negative impact on economic activity and jobs in west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Will the Chancellor consider increasing the VAT threshold as soon as the opportunity arises?; Last week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority began a statutory consultation on UK Government plans to cut final salary pensions across the nuclear estate, which will have an impact on 16,000 workers, including hundreds in my constituency. Is the Chancellor aware that this is a betrayal of promises made by Margaret Thatcher to nuclear workers when the electricity industry was privatised?; The Solent region has a deficit of 6% in its gross value added compared with the rest of the south-east. Much of that is due to the lack of investment in local transport infrastructure; for example, there has been no significant rail investment for 50 years. Can Ministers confirm that the new national productivity investment fund can be used to address that deficit?; The Halifax reports that the number of first-time buyers is at its highest since 2007 and cites Government schemes such as Help to Buy as making a major contribution. What more can the Government do to back aspiration and get more people on the housing ladder?; The Government are investing in major infrastructure projects, including Heathrow airport, HS2 and, I hope, a new A36-A46 link road through my constituency. What is my right hon. Friend doing to ensure that we provide sufficient funds so that this work can be conducted in a timely fashion?
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): Changes to the rateable value for solar panels for organisations mean that business rates for organisations with solar rooftop installations, such as schools, hospitals and SMEs, could increase dramatically—six to eightfold—in April. Do the Government recognise the huge damage that this will cause to organisations that have installed panels in good faith, as well as the solar panel industry?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: The latest fiscal sustainability report was published by the Office for Budget Responsibility just over an hour ago. Knowing what a quick reader my right hon. Friend is, what assessment has he made of the implications for the long-term health of the public finances?; The autumn statement revealed the Brexit bombshell that growth will be a massive 2.4% lower than previously predicted. What further impact does the Chancellor expect that leaving the single market will have on GDP growth in the years to come?; Businesses, including restaurants and guest houses in my constituency, curtail their business to keep within the VAT threshold, but that has a negative impact on economic activity and jobs in west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Will the Chancellor consider increasing the VAT threshold as soon as the opportunity arises?; Last week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority began a statutory consultation on UK Government plans to cut final salary pensions across the nuclear estate, which will have an impact on 16,000 workers, including hundreds in my constituency. Is the Chancellor aware that this is a betrayal of promises made by Margaret Thatcher to nuclear workers when the electricity industry was privatised?; The Solent region has a deficit of 6% in its gross value added compared with the rest of the south-east. Much of that is due to the lack of investment in local transport infrastructure; for example, there has been no significant rail investment for 50 years. Can Ministers confirm that the new national productivity investment fund can be used to address that deficit?; The Halifax reports that the number of first-time buyers is at its highest since 2007 and cites Government schemes such as Help to Buy as making a major contribution. What more can the Government do to back aspiration and get more people on the housing ladder?; The Government are investing in major infrastructure projects, including Heathrow airport, HS2 and, I hope, a new A36-A46 link road through my constituency. What is my right hon. Friend doing to ensure that we provide sufficient funds so that this work can be conducted in a timely fashion?; The Government will be aware that north Wales has among the lowest productivity rates in the UK, at about 73% of the UK average. With that in mind, what plans do they have to work with the six north Wales councils, the Mersey Dee alliance and the Cheshire and Warrington local enterprise partnership to deliver a local growth deal?
Kelvin Peter Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): Inflation is still below the Monetary Policy Committee’s official target, and the economy has long been at greater and more worrying risk of deflation than inflation. Will the Chancellor therefore be seeking to dissuade the Governor of the Bank of England from any thoughts of raising interest rates, which would simply inflict wholly unnecessary damage on the economy?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Ivan Lewis (Labour, Centre-left): In truth, Northern Ireland has lurched from one political crisis to another in recent years. Is it not time that the Government urgently reviewed the constitutional arrangements covering power sharing, including issues such as the title of First and Deputy First Minister and a whole range of other issues? Is that not how the Government could add value in terms of long-term stability?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Vernon Coaker (Labour, Centre-left): We all wish everyone in Northern Ireland well in trying to resolve these current difficulties. May I press the Secretary of State on what he is doing on working in partnership with the Irish Government? The British and Irish Governments are co-guarantors of the Good Friday agreement, so what plans does he have to work with the Irish Government to help to resolve these difficulties? Is he planning a summit? Is he planning talks? Is he calling everybody in? What concrete measures is he planning to take to work with the Irish Government to help to resolve these difficulties?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): The connections between the people of Merseyside and the people of Northern Ireland are many, and they run deep. May I press the Secretary of State on what he is doing, given the current political situation and the effect on Stormont’s budget, to absolutely ensure that the people of Northern Ireland do not lose out?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Conor Patrick McGinn (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has my support as he charts the course set by the Good Friday and St Andrews agreements in re-establishing the devolved institutions, but the Prime Minister’s commitment today to a hard Brexit will cause widespread concern in Northern Ireland. Will he outline how he will work in full partnership with the Irish Government on this matter while the Assembly and Executive are not functioning?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Karin Marguerite Smyth (Labour, Centre-left): The people of Northern Ireland are magnificent. They have got used to living with a sense of peace over the past 18 years. They need hope going forward. I just listened to the Prime Minister’s speech, in which she talked about making practical arrangements for the border, and making that a priority. In today’s context, those are warm words. She has managed a phone call, but she should be here, and she should have been there. I have listened to the Secretary of State talk about his phone call and his activity over the past week, and with due respect, I think that is wholly inadequate. The elections are about not only the future of Northern Ireland but all our futures—those on the island of Ireland, and those who live on this island. What meetings will the Secretary of State have with the Irish Government and the Taoiseach in the next few weeks, and what will those conversations involve? What hope can he offer today to the people of Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland Assembly Election — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Government Operations
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you for your generosity, Mr Speaker. As I am sure you will agree, "In our constitution, Parliament is supposed to be sovereign…We…need a system that gives Parliament real powers over ministers…and the transparency to restore public trust"— not my words, but those of the now Prime Minister in 2007. I will be scrutinising a Minister shortly on the implications of Brexit for Wales, but do you share my concern that on one of the most fundamental issues facing this country in a generation, the Prime Minister chose to be accountable not to the House this morning, but to the media and foreign ambassadors? Churchill would not have done it; Thatcher would not have done it; but it seems that when it comes to this House, this lady is not for turning up.
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): Mr Speaker, let me give three examples without the details: the European Aviation Safety Agency, which deals with safety; the European Medicines Agency; and Europol, which I worked with for many years. Those are the bits of the EU that we should be seeking to retain, not throw away It was the previous Prime Minister who got us to this place without any forethought or planning. This Prime Minister has now chosen a risky implementation plan. She owns the consequences now, in 2019 and beyond.
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Edward Samuel Miliband (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have both more or less admitted today what has been obvious for months—that it will take more than two years to have a trade deal with the EU ready to go. But there follows a crucial question for many businesses up and down the country, which is what the arrangements will be when we leave the EU and that trade deal is not yet complete. From listening to the Secretary of State and reading the Prime Minister’s speech, we are none the wiser what that will be. Will the Secretary of State enlighten us on that crucial point, which matters hugely to families and businesses?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): While the Prime Minister has made things clearer today, and I welcome, in particular, the commitment that Parliament will have a vote on the final deal and that the Government will seek transitional arrangements—both things that the Select Committee called for in its first report—there is one big issue where there is still uncertainty for businesses, and that is the continuation of tariff-free and barrier-free trade. Given the Government’s unequivocal commitment today to that goal, will the Secretary of State tell the House whether, if remaining in the customs union turns out to be the only way of ensuring that—because what we ask for is not necessarily what we will get—that is what the Government will do to honour that commitment to British businesses?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Labor
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister, in the first part of her speech, made a welcome commitment to enhance and protect workers’ rights, but at the end she was threatening to take them away, undercut the rest of Europe and rip up the British economic model if we do not get what we want. Can the Secretary of State now withdraw that threat and be clear that Britain will not do that, because if the Government are prepared to rip up workers’ rights as soon as the negotiations get difficult, how can we trust them to ensure that the rest of Britain’s interests are protected if the negotiations get difficult?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): In 45 minutes, the Prime Minister has not delivered a plan—she has delivered a Pandora’s box. Let us talk of just one example raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn). The Prime Minister said that she wants us to leave the common commercial policy and the common external tariff but to have associate membership of the customs union—a type of membership that does not yet exist and that nobody else has. Can the Secretary of State tell us exactly what this means for deals like the Nissan deal on which thousands of jobs depend, or any others that are in train—or simply, what cake it is that he wants to have and eat this time?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Government Operations
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State was an early advocate of a White Paper. Downing Street has made it clear that there will be no White Paper, and that the Prime Minister’s speech is all we are going to get. Is he disappointed by that, and will he go back and ask her to think again so that we can have meaningful debates, with votes, ahead of the final agreement?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): Russia has been up to its usual tricks in trying to stir up trouble between Serbia and Kosovo this week, and it is of course trying to face down the United States of America and, for that matter, other members of NATO on the border with Poland and Estonia. I believe that the bedrock of our national security is NATO—I hope my party does, too—but on coming back from the EU, successive Foreign Secretaries, Home Secretaries and Prime Ministers have come to this House and said that they are proud to have been able to make sure that the EU keeps strong sanctions in place against Russian territorial aggression. How will we be able to do that in future when we have left the European Union?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Chuka Harrison Umunna (Labour, Centre-left): Trading with the EU under WTO rules would be vastly inferior to our current arrangements, with 10% tariffs on cars, 13% tariffs on clothes and up to 40% tariffs on the agricultural produce the hon. Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins) was talking about. For the sake of clarity, will the Secretary of State be absolutely clear: does the Prime Minister’s commitment to an interim implementation arrangement amount to the Government ruling out leaving the EU with no deal at all, and amount to the Government ruling out ending up trading under WTO rules, because that would be very, very damaging for jobs and businesses in this country?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Philip Wilson (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister said in her speech that we are leaving the single market and that she is going to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU. She said that the free trade agreement "may take in elements of current single market arrangements in certain areas" She continued: "If so…it is reasonable that we should make an appropriate contribution." Will the Secretary of State today confirm that the Government are considering continuing to make a financial contribution on that basis to the EU?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Centre-left): Some 58% of north-east exports are destined for the EU—10% more than the UK average—which leaves our region the most exposed to leaving the single market, so will the Secretary of State say what assessment he has made of the risks and what conversations he has had with business organisations and others in the north-east to ensure that our voice is heard in these discussions and that the jobs that depend on our access to the single market are not put at risk?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): No deal might be better than a bad deal, but is not the reality that no deal means that, despite their best efforts, the British Government have been unable to conclude what they regard as a satisfactory outcome to the negotiations, leaving us therefore with what the other 27 members want to impose on us, and does that not sound like a pretty bad deal?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister has come up with this wish list and a threat of a scorched earth policy of slashing taxes and protections, and inevitably public services, if she does not get what she wants. Many of the Secretary of State’s colleagues would regard that as an ideal scenario—as the economic model that they would love to see implemented—so how will he square those things during the negotiations, and ensure that we hold out for the best deal, rather than this deal, which would be absolutely terrible for this country?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: International Affairs
Albert Owen (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has said that maintaining the common travel area between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is an objective, and he has mentioned the history, but for the first time ever, one partner will be a member of the European Union and one will not. Can he give some clarity to people such as myself, who are by a porous border with the Republic of Ireland, on whether the common travel area will mean the free movement of people, or the free movement of people, goods and capital? Many people who travel do so with goods under these arrangements. Will Welsh ports be subject to customs?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): The EU is in the process of concluding international trade deals with, for example, Japan and Canada, which the UK Government have warmly supported, believing they will be good for the UK economy; I understand that the UK Government estimate that the Japanese deal could be worth £5 billion annually to the British economy. How quickly can those deals be replaced when we leave the EU, and what modelling have the Government done of the potential cost to our economy if they cannot quickly be replaced with new deals?
New Partnership with the EU — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (Labour, Centre-left): Free trade in goods is much easier to achieve than the free flow of services where non-tariff barriers are the problem. How will the Government seek to ensure the continued success over time of UK financial service exports to Europe when we no longer get a say in the regulatory harmonisation that has facilitated that success so far?
Leaving the EU: the Rural Economy — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Agriculture
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend share my disappointment that, apart from a passing reference to the word "agriculture" in the preamble to the Prime Minister’s speech, there was nothing about the environment, food or farming in the 12 objectives that she set out? Does my hon. Friend think that the Prime Minister should be according these subjects far more importance?
Leaving the EU: the Rural Economy — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Environment
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for that point, and I have certainly scoured the speech to try to find the word "environment" in it, but it was not there. I have serious concerns that the environmental protections that we currently enjoy from the EU will not be there for the future. Of course, as we go forward and the EU makes more progress in these areas, there was no guarantee in the Prime Minister’s contribution today that that will be part of her 12-point negotiating plan or strategy. [Interruption.] I hear the Secretary of State saying that it is non-negotiable, but if it is a key point on which we expect to make progress, we need to see it in the 12-point plan. Clearly, the Prime Minister missed the opportunity to make clear the importance she would place on the environment; that was not stated.
Leaving the EU: the Rural Economy — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Agriculture
Mary Helen Creagh (Labour, Centre-left): I want to speak about the Environment Audit Committee’s report, "The Future of the Natural Environment after the EU Referendum", which is tagged in this debate. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) and to the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow), both of whom are in the Chamber today. Our report, produced by a cross-party group of MPs, found that changes from Brexit could put our countryside, farming and wildlife at risk, that protections for Britain’s wildlife and special places currently guaranteed under European law could end up as "zombie legislation", even with the great repeal Bill, and that the Government should safeguard protections for Britain’s wildlife and special places in a new environmental protection Act. I will talk a little about that, but first I will address the issues around agriculture The Committee found that farmers face triple jeopardy from leaving the EU. Let us not forget that farms and farm businesses account for up to 25% of all UK businesses. First, the CAP provides 50% to 60%, on average, of UK farm incomes, and the figure will be much higher for certain farmers. The loss of the CAP threatens the viability of some farms. Secondly, the new trade agreements could threaten incomes if they result in tariff or non-tariff barriers to export. At the moment, 95% of lamb exports go to the EU. If we are exposed to a common EU customs tariff, it could mean charges of up to 30% according to the Country Land and Business Association. Thirdly, any new trade deals with the rest of the world, such as that proposed yesterday by Mr Trump, could lead to competition from countries with lower animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union told the House that he will do everything necessary to protect the stability of the financial services sector, and again we heard reassurances to the car industry in the UK, but there have been no such reassurances to the 25% of UK businesses that are classed as rural businesses. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said during a question and answer session at the Oxford farming conference that farm exports to the EU will decline post-Brexit. She also did not give my Committee any clarity on whether there will be subsidies for farmers after we leave the EU, and the Committee wants to see clearly defined objectives for future subsidies, such as promoting biodiversity, preventing flooding and repairing peat bogs.
Leaving the EU: the Rural Economy — House of Commons, 2017-01-17
Topic: Environment
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend share my concern that, when the Environment Secretary gave evidence to the Committee, she said that up to a third of environmental legislation will not be covered by the great repeal Bill? That leaves a huge vacuum for environmental protection.