argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Northern Ireland Economy — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Laurence Anthony Robertson (Conservative, Centre-right): When the Minister discusses these matters with the Executive, will he consider discussing—along with corporation tax, which he should raise—the levels of VAT on tourism and air passenger duty? I understand that both have been reduced in the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland Economy — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Other
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): As the right hon. Gentleman will know, the commitment is to have the legislation in place by the end of the year, but there will of course have to be discussions through the usual channels as to the precise timing.
Northern Ireland Economy — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Immigration
Simon James Hoare (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the House for returning me to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee A strong economy requires access to a skilled, motivated workforce. Clearly, we have to ensure that the skills base in Northern Ireland is supported and grows, but will my hon. Friend assure me that the voice and needs of the Northern Irish economy will be heard loudly in the Home Office as we finesse our immigration policies?
Northern Ireland Economy — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Immigration
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend on his re-election as Chair of the Select Committee. He makes a very important point, which I have also heard loud and clear from Northern Ireland businesses. I think they welcome some of the indications from the Migration Advisory Committee report. Of course, the Northern Ireland Office will ensure that the concerns and interests of Northern Ireland businesses are communicated across Government, including to the Home Office.
Barnett Formula — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring that additional funding allocated to Northern Ireland is subject to the Barnett formula.
Julian Richard Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I can confirm that we will look after everybody after we leave the EU, but I am also reticent, sitting so close to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in making any commitments about the forthcoming Budget.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): May I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that not all deprivation is found in urban areas, and that places such as Cornwall, which have had a raw deal on central Government funding because of the formula put in place by the Labour party, have for decades received lower levels of funding, despite being some of the poorest parts of England? It is this Government, with the fair funding review, who are going to put that right.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Other
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I will give way in a moment It is absolutely clear that only the Conservative party has a mandate to unite our nation as we move forward from a decade of recovery to a decade of renewal.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Desmond Angus Swayne (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend’s mandate extends to God’s own county of Hampshire, where we are very much looking forward to the fair funding review on the grounds that we get to spend £1,650 per person, but we look north to the local authorities that have been enumerated today that have an additional £500 per person. We spend—
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alicia Alexandra Martha Kearns (Conservative, Centre-right): I am confused on that exact point. The new funding formula has not been published, yet the Labour Front-Bench team claim to know exactly what it is going to be. They also claim that the shires are going to benefit, yet Leicestershire and Rutland are the worst funded in the country, so the idea that the shires will do best out of this is most inaccurate. Does my right hon. Friend agree?
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I do agree. I wonder how much attention the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish pays to his horoscope, because that prediction that has as much accuracy as the figures he has gone through today. Of course, the LGA itself said—in what was an extraordinary intervention from its chairman—that the figures were based on an old formula. It acknowledged that a new formula was being worked on and that therefore no further predictions could be made from those figures.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Housing
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not throwing accusations around. I suggest the hon. Gentleman checks Hansard because whatever the funding gap may be, it would have been much bigger if he and his colleagues had got their way. He voted against more funding for social care, and I suggest he remembers that when he is giving out the lectures In addition to helping councils address the complexity around the delivery of social care, I recognise that councils in rural communities face some unique challenges. The services they provide are often delivered over a long distance, to disparate communities. That is why we are proposing to continue the rural services delivery grant at £81 million—the highest ever to date. This funding will continue to support residents in rural counties— including Labour-controlled Cumbria, which is a beneficiary of it and which I am sure welcomes the funding, given the challenges it faces around rurality—and people who live far from local services so rely on them being delivered by their council We have consulted widely on negative revenue support grant, and have concluded that eliminating negative RSG through business rates income, at a cost of £152.9 million, is the right thing to do. This will deliver on the Government’s long-term commitment to the principle of sustainable growth incentives in the funding settlement The new homes bonus is a very important part of how we fund local councils. It rewards councils that do the right thing by building new houses to help tackle our housing crisis. We want to ensure that they continue to be incentivised, which is why we will provide £907 million of new homes bonus allocations this year Council tax for the average dwelling went up by 112% under the last Labour Government. That’s right—Labour doubled people’s local council tax. Of course, in Wales they have managed to triple it, but they only doubled it here in England. That is why this Government have made a commitment to give local residents the final say on excessive council tax increases. We are determined, in a way that no Labour Government ever were, to protect the interests of hard-working taxpayers while granting local authorities the flexibility they need to raise resources to meet their needs. For this reason, we propose to continue with the council tax referendum limits.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Other
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not; I am concluding Let me finish by thanking our councillors and our officers, as well as the Opposition for calling this important debate and giving us an opportunity to discuss the Government’s exciting agenda.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Other
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not putting a time limit on speeches right at the beginning of the debate, but I advise Members to keep an eye on the clock and not to go beyond nine minutes. You do not have to do nine minutes, of course; you can do less. I call Mr Clive Betts.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful. The right hon. Gentleman seems to imply that somehow shire counties are getting a better deal from central Government in terms of spending allocation than metropolitan areas, but that is absolutely the reverse of the truth. The reality is that the shire counties get less than half as much as the metropolitan areas allocated from central funds, and that is why our council tax is, in some areas, twice as much.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s intervention, but I do not accept her point. My point is that we need to look more broadly. The funding given to rural areas is not enough, including in my constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole. I do not accept or recognise her figures. Indeed, I am sure the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate (Luke Hall), will dispute those figures, as the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth did in opening My hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill) said that our local authorities needed greater security through a longer-term financial settlement. I understand what he says, and he makes a valid point about the need for a one-year settlement, but we need a longer settlement to give councils the greater financial certainty that is required. That will mean they can move on and be more strategic in future, so I welcome what the Northern Powerhouse Minister said in opening I hope the Under-Secretary will echo and re-emphasise the importance of this funding and reassure my councils in Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole that he recognises the need for a longer-term financial settlement Councils in Dorset have taken the brave and commendable steps to reorganise and to ensure that frontline services are given the greatest priority. Ever-increasing council tax is not a long-term solution, as I know Ministers recognise. I welcome the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister, and I will support it in the Lobby this afternoon.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Timothy Simmonds (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful, at this point in the debate, for my experience in local government, where a three-minute limit is standard when speaking in chambers. Mindful of the time, I wish to focus on a key point for Ministers to consider as we welcome the consultation The Local Government Finance Acts of 1988 and 1992 are the main underpinnings of what happens in this country when it comes to local government finance decisions. Local authorities’ duties are driven largely by the legislation passed in this House over the years, including the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the Children Act 1989, the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 and many others. We can all recognise that over many years the funding level has not kept pace with the legal obligations imposed on local authorities by the duties agreed in this House. It is therefore welcome that the Government are beginning to think of a funding formula that is fair in that it addresses the fact that, in many parts of the country, funding now lags significantly behind the legal obligations that local authorities have to deal with My own constituency of Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner is no exception in having significant numbers of elderly residents who are asset rich but cash poor, for whom the local authority has a legal duty to provide social care but who would not be recognised in any of the funding formulae we saw under the previous Government, which prioritised poverty in general as opposed to local authorities’ specific duties arising out of their obligations When they take forward the consultation, I urge Ministers to consider the broader picture of local government finance, because the core grant—the revenue support grant, as was—is only a small part of that picture. We have heard Members mention council tax and business rates, but of course elements such as the housing revenue account are a significant factor in local authorities’ ability to deploy resources. Indeed, one challenge we have seen is that the benefit of the new homes bonus has in many areas accrued to district councils, while the costs of providing adult and children’s social care services has to be met by counties. That is one reason why the pressure has become so acute Across the picture, we see a situation in which local government resources are under significant pressure. More flexibility about how we deploy those resources and more recognition of the innovation and entrepreneurial approach that many local authorities have brought to the issue would be welcome, as would an approach that recognises that, given that resources are tight, we must prioritise the meeting of local government’s core legal obligations to our citizens, which is absolutely a fair approach to dealing with local government funding. I commend to the House the approach that the Government have taken.
Local Government Finance — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the shadow Minister said that the business rates system is driving the change on the high street. I speak as somebody who has a number of properties in my business, and that is not what is driving this change. It is a change in consumer behaviour that is driving the change on the high street.
Transport — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): That is not something that I have come across, and I am happy to look into it with my team of Ministers, because public safety measures need to be investigated properly. If the hon. Lady will forgive me, I will write to her with details.
Transport — House of Commons, 2020-02-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): That is just the start. We will work closely with the aviation sector through reduction schemes, by working with international aviation and by producing fuels that do not emit carbon in the same way that fuels do today. The Future Flight Challenge includes £300 million for greener aviation, to make aviation electric. I was not going to repeat the point, but I will now that I have been challenged: we are working on programmes to produce electric and hybrid planes and to use biofuels and other technologies to cut emissions from fuel. That is extremely important.
Full-fibre and Gigabit-capable Broadband — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Housing
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Member is absolutely right that B4RN does really great work and has been doing so for a number of years. It has a huge amount of expertise that I hope we can learn from when it comes to working across the country. One of the issues that we will be raising at the summit that I mentioned, which we will be heading to shortly, is street works. It is very important that that does not hold up works unnecessarily. She is of course also right to say that the voucher scheme needs to apply equally across the country in a way that works wherever people live.
Free TV Licences — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): May I gently remind the hon. Lady that the Government agreed a deal with the BBC in 2015? The director-general at the time said that it was "a strong deal for the BBC", and that it provided "financial stability". It saw BBC income boosted by requiring iPlayer users to have a licence. We have unfrozen the licence fee for the first time since 2010 and, in return for this, we agreed that responsibility for the over-75 concession would transfer to the BBC in June 2020. The BBC needs to honour this agreement.
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): Tourism contributes £60 billion to the UK economy each year and my Department is committed to encouraging visitors from across the world to visit the whole United Kingdom. Our strong and growing tourism industry is good news for the economy and local communities, supporting small businesses and jobs up and down our country. The tourism sector deal will help to solve some of the industry’s challenges and establish tourism zones in areas with great tourism ambitions. The £45 million Discover England fund encourages visitors to travel beyond London, contributing to levelling up across the country.
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lee Benjamin Rowley (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for her response. As she will know, in constituencies such as mine, the tourist industry is heavily based on our industrial heritage and history. The Chesterfield Canal Trust is midway through a restoration to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2027; it is restoring the final nine miles of the canal. May I invite my hon. Friend to visit the Chesterfield canal to see the fantastic tourist offer in North East Derbyshire?
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Public Lands
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that my hon. Friend has been working hard and lobbying a range of Ministers to support the regeneration of the Chesterfield canal—rightly so, as it is a fabulously ambitious project to restore that historic and beautiful waterway in time for its 250th anniversary. I would be delighted to visit to find out more.
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is correct that our wonderful coastline, including in his constituency, is one of the great things that our country has to offer visitors. We are supporting coastal tourism, including with the £45 Discover England fund. The Government have also invested £229 million in the Coastal Communities fund—including in his area—and there is the English coast path. I completely agree, however, that we could and should be doing more to support our seaside attractions. I would be delighted to meet him to discuss his constituency’s infrastructure requirements and to arrange a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport to lobby on his behalf.
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree with the hon. Member. I am very keen as a Minister to ensure that visitors to the UK go beyond London and the great cities, important though those are, and get to the towns and further afield. That is one of the things that the £45 million Discover England fund supports, including with bookable packages to enable international visitors to come and travel further afield. I want that to go further in the months ahead.
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Immigration
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As she will know, once we have left the EU with the withdrawal agreement on 31 January, visitor arrangements will not change. The arrangements for the future, however, will be subject to the relationship negotiations with the European Union. We are shifting to an immigration system that will deliver on the needs of the United Kingdom, rather than being dependant on where people come from. We will continue to engage with the tourism sector and the creative industries to ensure that the system works as they need it to.
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend will know that north Wales is one of the pre-eminent tourist destinations in the country, with over 30 million visits per annum. Increasingly, the area is specialising in adventure tourism, with such attractions as Plas Menai and the world’s only inland surfing lagoon. Is she willing to meet me and representatives of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board to discuss the possibility of creating an adventure tourism zone in north Wales?
Tourism Industry — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): That sounds very exciting, particularly the inland surfing lagoon. I am not sure whether my right hon. Friend is asking me to visit the destination itself, but I would be delighted to meet him and colleagues to discuss the opportunities.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): There are over 1,000 UNESCO world heritage sites globally. The UK is the proud home to 32, six of which are in Scotland. The Government take their responsibilities under the world heritage convention very seriously. In recent years, we have sadly seen some of the world’s great cultural treasures destroyed by conflict or natural disasters. We are working around the world to help to protect world heritage sites.
Commonwealth Games 2022: Benefits to West Midlands — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): Birmingham ’22 will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the west midlands, with the region set to benefit from £778 million of public investment, and with venues spanning the whole region, from Cannock Chase in the north to Coventry and Leamington Spa in the south. With a cultural programme running alongside the games, there will be an opportunity for everyone in the west midlands to get involved.
Commonwealth Games 2022: Benefits to West Midlands — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Julian Carlton Knight (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister has proven a doughty champion for the Birmingham Commonwealth games. Will he take up his not inconsiderable cudgels once again and ask the Chancellor to provide the money requested by our regional Mayor, Andy Street, to fund the trade, tourism and investment programme to herald the start of these magnificent games?
Commonwealth Games 2022: Benefits to West Midlands — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly will, and may I say that no one has done more than my hon. Friend to ensure that women’s T20 cricket is included in the roster of sports for the games, which is very important? Birmingham 2022 offers fantastic opportunities beyond sport, and the Government are particularly keen to maximise those opportunities. The evidence from previous games demonstrates the positive economic impact that such events can have. The Glasgow 2014 games, for example, contributed more than £740 million to the Scottish economy.
Commonwealth Games 2022: Benefits to West Midlands — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): May I first welcome my hon. Friend to his place? I know that he has done an awful lot of work for his local area as a councillor, and that he will be a fantastic voice for Dudley North. We are working closely with Andy Street and Birmingham City Council, with which we engage regularly. We want to make the most of the opportunities that my hon. Friend has rightly highlighted. The organising committee is expected to recruit 45,000 staff, contractors and volunteers. There will be 400 new jobs in the athletes’ village alone, including 50 new apprenticeships.
Leaving the EU: Creative Industries — House of Commons, 2020-01-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Adams (Conservative, Centre-right): The creative industries are one of the leading lights of our economy, outpacing growth by two to one and employment growth by three to one. All our sectors, including films, television, music, fashion, publishing, design and advertising, are globally renowned for their creative excellence. We are working closely with industry representatives on a range of issues to ensure their continued success in a post-Brexit world.