argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2021-08-18
Topic: Defense
Julian Murray Lewis (Independent, Unknown): I am glad that my right hon. Friend approves of the strategy, but I said earlier that this speech on defence is, if anything, in my capacity as a former Chairman of the Defence Committee. I am not in a position at this stage to say anything publicly about what the ISC might or might not agree to do, but obviously his suggestion is pertinent The point about strategic base and bridgehead areas is that they contain integrated forces that are ready to strike and then withdraw, and then to strike again whenever and wherever needed––in Afghanistan or in any other susceptible state that becomes what our Defence Secretary and now our Prime Minister have rightly described as "breeding grounds" for al-Qaeda or similar international terrorist groups. Proportionate military initiatives could be taken, and interventions made, without undue logistical complexity and without getting sucked into full scale counter-insurgency campaigning while the terrorists redirect their efforts to neighbouring countries, leaving us mired in the original countries from which they operated Active containment is the hard-headed solution to an otherwise intractable dilemma: whether to allow terrorists to attack us with impunity or whether to shoulder the unending burden of indefinitely occupying every reckless rogue state that shelters and supports them. It is okay for people to say, "This is over. There is no way we are going back into Afghanistan." However, I do not want to be here, in the years or months to come, after another spectacular al-Qaeda type attack on a western country, with people looking around once again for a strategy because we are in a situation, as it seems we are, where the President of the United States can see only total withdrawal on one side or endless commitment on the other There is a flexible middle way, and it is an adaptation of the way in which we successfully saw off our cold war confrontation. It worked then, in a very different context, and it would work now in this context, too.
Covid-19 Update — House of Lords, 2021-06-15
Topic: Health
Claire Fox (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): The Minister has said several times that there are grounds for optimism. Does he not realise that this delay has caused despair? The Minister urged opponents to sit in the seats of decision-makers. Can I urge him to sit in the seats of the trashed events industry today and those likely to lose their jobs in hospitality, sport, theatre and so on? I appreciate that many people and the public remain nervous of living with the virus, despite the wonders of the vaccine. However, is it not the job of the Government to lead with courage, to reassure people not to be unduly frightened or succumb to fatalism, and to protect the unquantifiable non-Covid-related social fabric of society, which they are tearing up?
Trident Renewal — House of Commons, 2015-01-20
Topic: Defense
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): The shadow Defence Secretary has just laid out very clearly to the House the current Front Bench position of Her Majesty’s Opposition. Will he add to that clarity by confirming that he believes at present the most cost-effective way to deliver continuous at-sea deterrence is with a four-boat solution?
Health and Social Care — House of Lords, 2021-12-06
Topic: Health
Natalie Bennett (Green Party, Left): My Lords, the first paragraph of this Statement says that it outlines "the preparations we are making so that health and social care services remain resilient … and available to patients" How does that square with the fate of the residents of Berkeley House in Kent, which was home to adults with severe learning difficulties and autism, who were told at 7.30 in the morning that they would have to leave by 5 that evening? Among them was one resident who had to be sedated to ensure he could safely be moved. Berkeley House is owned by Achieve Together, one of a chain of companies registered through the tax haven of Jersey that ultimately appears to be owned by AMP Capital, a global investment firm based in Australia. How does providing a "resilient … and available" social care system line up with homes such as this being run for profit, not for the public or the residents’ good?
Trident Renewal — House of Commons, 2015-01-20
Topic: Defense
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree absolutely. Armageddon is seldom faced by anyone with equanimity I was an officer who spent several years in the 1st British Corps in Germany, supposedly preparing to face a Soviet threat from the east. We knew that the group of Soviet forces in eastern Europe had a huge conventional advantage over us and realised that our chances of survival would be very slight if the balloon went up. But we also trained and practised the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The Soviets knew that full well and it gave those of us due to be positioned right up against the inner German border some comfort. We felt that our possession of nuclear weapons was definitely a deterrent that the Soviet Union would have to take seriously. Most of my fellow front line officers agreed with me. Some did not, but the majority did Remember: smaller NATO countries such as Denmark also have aeroplanes fitted with bomb racks to pick up tactical nuclear bombs from American stockpiles to fly and to use them. It is not just the nuclear members of NATO Most of us in 1st British Corps felt that our possession of nuclear weapons was a very sound insurance policy. Of course the situation is different today, but I use the example to explain how possession of a nuclear capability can help conventional forces I hate the idea of war. Who doesn’t? All my friends in the military are of the same mind as Winston Churchill, who once said that "jaw-jaw" is better than "war-war". But in truth jaw-jaw often depends on the ability to have war-war. In the 1960s, I remember the US strategic nuclear bombers had a special motto that they painted on the noses of their B52s—"Peace is our profession" Nuclear weapons are a fact in our world and potential enemies may use them whether we like it or not. So I believe that we as a nation must also possess them. If you want peace, prepare for war—so that you deter it.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-06-08
Topic: Health
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch, Mr Speaker. What recent discussions has the Secretary of State had with the Home Office regarding the successful clinical trials in the use of psilocybin in helping to deal with depression? It is a natural chemical found in fungi.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Health
Stephen Charles Brine (Independent, Unknown): I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. Many of my constituents will be very surprised indeed to hear that, from this morning, anyone over 18 can walk into a vaccination centre. Will he give me an update on the Hampshire situation May I ask my right hon. Friend about the NHS covid pass being rolled out to 12 to 15-year-olds? That is such a welcome announcement; it is something the Secretary of State promised this House he would bring back, and I thank him for that. How exactly will it work? Many of my constituents will be travelling within the next few days, and certainly within the next week and over Christmas. How exactly will they be able to access this pass, given that they cannot access the NHS app in the same way that adults can?
Trident Renewal — House of Commons, 2015-01-20
Topic: Defense
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think there is a parallel. The people who own handguns as individuals are not accountable for their behaviour. We have a licensing system in this country that is vigorous, makes people much more accountable and limits the number of such guns in circulation, particularly when it comes to people who might be less accountable. I can understand the hon. Gentleman’s rather trivial point, but it is a rhetorical debating point, so I am not going to spend much time on it There is another question that we keep hearing: "Is this really an independent deterrent?" I have spent plenty of time around a deterrent and around people who know about the deterrent, and if the Americans had some secret switch in some bunker in the United States that could disable our deterrent and prevent us from firing it, I think that we would know about it. That switch does not exist. The fact is that once the submarine is at sea, the command and control of the firing of the weapons system is completely autonomous. One of the factors that give us leverage over American policy is that if this country were in trouble, or if Europe were in trouble, America too would be in trouble, because the possibility of a nuclear exchange would bind it inextricably into the conflict. Europe and the United States have many mutual interests, and there are many reasons why we should support each other’s security policies, but, in extremis, we can strengthen that position by means of the capability that we possess Another question that we keep being asked is, "Does deterrence work?" There is evidence that it does, and those who argue that deterrence had nothing to do with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war are flying in the face of that evidence. There was an arms race, and the options that were available to the Soviet Union as it sought to solve its internal problems by expanding were contained by deterrence. It lost the arms race because it could not afford to keep up with the cost of the technology that the west could afford.
Brexit Opportunities — House of Lords, 2021-09-16
Topic: Health
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, the Minister referred to medicines and the MHRA in his Statement. Can he give your Lordships’ House assurances that the issues around the delivery and supply of medicines to Northern Ireland will be resolved in an amicable manner with the European Union? When do the Government expect to bring forward legislation to deal with that issue?
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Julian Murray Lewis (Independent, Unknown): I supported the requirement for people working with vulnerable people in care homes to be vaccinated or, if they would not be vaccinated, to be removed from direct contact with vulnerable people. Can the hon. Gentleman tell me—I did not get a chance to ask the Secretary of State—whether this proposal for members of the NHS who have not been vaccinated will affect only frontline staff who interact with the vulnerable, or whether it will apply to people throughout the NHS who might have no contact with the vulnerable? That will affect the way I cast my vote today.
Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2021-07-08
Topic: Defense
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Now, with over a quarter of a million civilian lives lost, 457 British soldiers dead on Afghanistan’s plains, and thousands more at home maimed in body and mind, will the Prime Minister, unlike some of his predecessors, please give me his frank assessment: is the terrorist threat really eliminated, will the Taliban not just reverse the progressive gains of the past 20 years, and were those lives lost and ruined in vain?
Patient Transport: VAT — House of Commons, 2021-07-13
Topic: Health
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Non-emergency patient transport services provide vital support to those who have no other way of reaching hospital and medical appointments, in addition to those who require specialist transport. An inconsistency in the VAT treatment of providers currently means that some can claim VAT relief while others cannot, despite providing the same services in the same type of vehicles. Would the Minister consider meeting representatives of the sector to better understand the impact and, hopefully, find a way forward?
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-11-30
Topic: Health
Stephen Charles Brine (Independent, Unknown): I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments, which will have been heard on the Treasury Bench. I do not understand the timing here. What will we really know in three weeks’ time that we do not know now? This causes me to question the three-week rule. South Africa does not give us the insight into the progress of the virus, and of this variant, that we were able to take from, say, Italy—with a broadly similar European population—this time last year. South Africa has a much younger population, and, sadly, a greatly under-vaccinated population. As we heard from the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire, it was spreading like wildfire among students, who, of course, are younger and fitter and therefore less susceptible to serious illness as a result of this variant.
Urgent care centre at Chippenham Hospital — House of Commons, 2015-03-25
Topic: Health
Duncan Hames (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I wish to present a petition on behalf of my constituents calling on the Government to fund an urgent care centre at Chippenham community hospital. The proposals come from Chippenham’s doctors. The town’s three GP practices came together to draw up the plans, which would bring urgent services together in one place—accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week—relieving pressure on accident and emergency departments at nearby hospitals in Bath and Swindon. The petition is signed by several hundred local residents on paper and online The petition states: The Petition of residents of the Chippenham constituency, Declares that an urgent care centre at Chippenham Hospital is needed to improve access to urgent health services and to relieve pressure on nearby Accident and Emergency departments The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to fund an Urgent care centre at Chippenham Hospital as proposed by Chippenham’s GPs And the Petitioners remain, etc [P001486]
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-11-29
Topic: Health
Gregory David Clark (Independent, Unknown): Sir Andrew Pollard, who developed the Oxford vaccine, predicted in June to my Select Committee that new variants would escape the vaccines by being more infectious, but said that protection against severe illness should continue. Will my right hon. Friend avoid taking any panic measures if we see a rise in infections in the weeks ahead, as seems inevitable, and concentrate instead on the vaccine’s effectiveness against severe illness and hospitalisation?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-11-29
Topic: Health
Stephen Charles Brine (Independent, Unknown): I welcome the widening of the booster programme that the Secretary of State announced, but my constituents still have no walk-in access in Winchester. I would therefore really appreciate his help with that, on behalf of the increasing number of constituents who are contacting me The measures we will be asked to approve tomorrow night will likely appear rather small in and of themselves, but the Secretary of State knows that the wider impact of the past few days is absolutely huge. Nativity plays have been cancelled or moved online—these are moments that we just do not get back—and community events are being cancelled just in case. The Prime Minister said this lunchtime that if you are boosted, we know your response to this variant is strong. What evidence base is that drawn from, and when might we reasonably expect data from the scientists on how, if at all, the variant hits vaccine efficacy?
Public Contracts Regulations 2015 — House of Lords, 2015-03-25
Topic: Health
Philip Alexander Hunt (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for his response. He said that the imperative of the Government to introduce the regulations early is because of the economic benefits. Let me say at once that I have always accepted that there are some benefits in these regulations. I particularly welcome the social enterprises provisions, but my concern remains, rather like that of the right reverend Prelate, that the introduction of the regulations applying to care services now as far as local government is concerned, along with the existence of NHS regulations, will cause a great deal of confusion I also think that the noble Earl is underestimating the confusion out there in the health service about which services should be tendered and which should not. I do not believe that clinical commissioning groups accept the kind of view that he is putting forward. They are getting legal advice that actually makes them very risk averse. The noble Earl said that the requirement to advertise does not mean that people have to tender, but once you advertise you are inevitably on a route towards tendering Finally, on Staffordshire, my issue is that essentially the CCGs are outsourcing commissioning decisions which they as the statutory bodies ought to be taking for 10 years, and they are failing to engage with the public. They will not appear at public meetings to defend the position. The noble Earl will know from MPs in Staffordshire that there is a lot of concern about this, and if a Labour Government are elected we will certainly want to call in on what is happening Before I beg leave to withdraw the Motion, perhaps I may say to the noble Earl that he has been the Minister for Health in this Chamber for five years, and on behalf of my noble friend Lady Thornton and myself I would like to thank him for the courteous way in which he has responded to our many debates. I particularly thank him for the way he has agreed to meet a number of small charities over those five years on issues that I have raised. That is very much appreciated. I should also say that we have enjoyed working with the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, as well.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2015-07-21
Topic: Health
Francis Hare (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, may I just remind your Lordships with this particular concern that health visitors have recently been put under the responsibility of local authorities, so this may be an opportunity to have a little test of how well local authorities manage health provision? I am sure that health visitors would be very grateful if your Lordships would keep a close eye on their development in the new circumstances, because we do not want to see a falling off, as we have seen in the past, in health visitor provision.
Translarna (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) — House of Commons, 2015-06-02
Topic: Health
Questions: When he expects NHS England to reach a decision on access to Translarna for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and if he will make a statement.; When he expects NHS England to reach a decision on access to Translarna for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and if he will make a statement.
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The reality is that NHS England has failed to respond to letters or to turn up for meetings, and it has behaved in an utterly unaccountable manner in regard not only to Translarna but to Vimizim, which is used to treat Morquio syndrome. We have still not had confirmation that an interim decision will be made on 25 June, but we are now being told that there will be a decision from NICE on 5 June. Will Ministers finally get a grip on this and give the families affected by these various conditions some sense of when they might get the treatment that could improve their quality of life?
National Security Capability Review — House of Lords, 2018-01-15
Topic: Defense
Nicholas Baines (Bishops, Unknown): My Lords, would the Minister agree with me that it is important in any public statement that the people of this country are properly apprised of the fact that, if we say yes to and prioritise some elements of our defence capability, we are inevitably saying no to others, and that we are given a proper appraisal of what our capability actually is? In this country, particularly in some of our newspapers, we still hear statements that imply almost that Britannia still rules the waves. Our rhetoric and prioritising ought to match the reality of the situation in which we find ourselves.
Covid-19: Response — House of Lords, 2020-06-03
Topic: Health
Natalie Bennett (Green Party, Left): My Lords, in answering the question of the noble Lord, Lord Turnberg, the Minister said that a test is available to anyone who wants one, and that this is being advertised on the M4. I am looking right now at the nhs.uk website page headed "Ask for a test to check if you have coronavirus". Highlighted on that page, it says: "Please help the NHS by only asking for tests for people who have coronavirus symptoms now." Can the Minister explain that? Also on that page, it lists the three symptoms for which it suggests we should have a test. Yet when I go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website—the US body—it lists 11 lots of symptoms, including: fatigue; muscle ache; headache; sore throat; congestion; nausea or vomiting; and diarrhoea. Have the Government considered expanding the list of symptoms, and if they have not, why not?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-14
Topic: Culture
Jennifer Jones (Green Party, Left): My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, has covered the issue in an extremely lyrical way, so I will keep my remarks short. We all know how hard the arts scene and theatres have been hit by this health crisis. Amendment 51 is a thoughtful contribution to easing some of that burden and allowing the arts to make their own socially distanced recovery. Imagine a summer of outdoor performances and displays—hoping the weather is good—reconnecting communities safely. Physical distancing does not mean we have to be socially and emotionally distant. It would be wonderful if the Government could facilitate this amendment; they would be rightly celebrated for doing so. I am sure that the Minister is a keen supporter of the arts and so will look favourably on this amendment.
Britain and International Security — House of Commons, 2015-07-02
Topic: Defense
Martin John Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am glad that the Secretary of State has mentioned the threat posed by the Russian Federation, especially its recent manoeuvres on the borders of NATO allies Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Given that we have already spent more than £900 million on redundancies in our combat-ready forces over the past four years, how are we going to be capable of invigorating our combat forces and ensuring that they will be ready to deal with any threat from the east?
Online Safety Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2015-12-11
Topic: Defense
David John Ramsbotham (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, at Second Reading, I picked up on "duty", which is the first word in the clause, and suggested that there is nothing more important than the future well-being of our children and the nurturing and developing of their talents. The clause should be very much on the script of the National Security Strategy Committee, because it is up to government to ensure that the points made by my noble friend in moving the amendment, such as evolving technology, are taken into account continually I am sure that, in that connection, the whole House, not just this Committee, admires the determination of my noble friend in pursuing this issue over many years, not least following her recent sadness.
Online Safety Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2015-12-11
Topic: Health
Elspeth Howe (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I am very grateful to everyone who spoke in support of the amendment. I am somewhat disappointed by the reply of the Minister, though clearly she approves of the effect of some of what we have achieved along the way. As we tried to make clear, we think the time has come for rather more fat to be added to make rather less of this material available. As has been mentioned, more children could be damaged by it in the run-up to the next meeting, when we have yet another Bill to look at. However, this is Committee and we will no doubt look at coming back to all this on Report. For the moment, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.