argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Terrorism Act 2000 (Video Recording with Sound of Interviews and Associated Code of Practice) (Northern Ireland) Order 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Alexander Carlile (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I start by making a general statement based on a lot of observation in Northern Ireland. The House should recognise the enormous progress that has been made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and its clear understanding of the ethical matrix in which it absolutely must operate I also think that we should pay tribute to the judiciary in Northern Ireland. If one reads the judgments in the relatively small number of non-jury trials that take place in Northern Ireland, one can see that the quality of scrutiny, as well as of the judgments given, shows the judiciary to be absolutely up-to-date on the issues that have rightly been raised by noble Lords in the debate. For example, an issue was raised a few moments ago about possibly dishonest interpreters. It is absolutely clear—it barely needs saying to those of us who practised in the criminal courts—that an interpreter who is revealed in any way to be dishonest or not translating properly will be warned very clearly by the court. His or her interpretation will be replaced with somebody else’s and they might well face criminal prosecution Next, I support what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Garnier, and the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, said with such clarity. I will not repeat what they said. The noble Lord, Lord Browne of Belmont, referred to body-worn video, which is a very important development in police forces throughout the United Kingdom. It has meant that the public, as we have seen recently, have been able to see what really happened during an incident. The police have been protected, in many cases, by body-worn video showing that allegations made against them might well have been false. It covers everybody and provides greater safety and assurance I have a concern that body-worn video might provide a solution to. I ask the noble Viscount, who opened the debate so clearly, to deal with this, either today or in writing. The definition of an "interview" is sometimes not hugely clear. Sometimes what is judged to be an interview takes place outside a police station because of necessity and the exigencies of events. Can we be assured that, when such events take place, they will always be on body-worn video? If they are not, the police must understand that the likelihood of that evidence being admitted is low.
Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-10
Topic: Environment
Indarjit Singh (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, Sikh teachings stress the importance of living in harmony, respecting not only those of different creeds and beliefs but the earth and the environment that sustain us all. Sadly, over the years we have failed to respect a different pace of life and, in our short-sighted greed, we have done serious damage to our environment. Legislation to ban plastic straws, plastic-stemmed cotton buds and plastic drink stirrers is a small step in the right direction, although billions of these items are involved. Such steps can help nudge us to understand our wider responsibilities to our environment and to future generations.
Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-10
Topic: Environment
Rosel Boycott (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, this SI is a welcome step. What we need now is to significantly scale-up our ambition in order to transition to a circular economy that makes much better use of our finite natural resources. We can design out waste and pollution, keep materials and products in use, and regenerate natural systems. This means focusing on two things. The first is the standards in our design. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 80% of environmental impacts are determined at the design stage. Incidentally, it has further found that circular economy strategies could reduce emissions by 40% by 2050 if applied to four key industrial materials—cement, steel, plastic and aluminium. The second point is that, as we work on design, we must ensure that citizens and consumers understand the impact of current usage and shift their attitudes to see waste as a design flaw. What are the Government doing to support better public understanding of this?
Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-10
Topic: Environment
Nicholas Trench (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, the creative industries clearly have a huge role to play in finding substitutes for objects now unacceptable for general use, such as those covered in these regulations, as well as developing new uses for biodegradable materials. Everything around us that is manmade is the result of a series of design decisions, including the materials used. A mantra of a younger generation of designers is, "Waste is a design flaw". Is there an ongoing dialogue between Defra, BEIS and DDCMS that connects concern for the environment with the encouragement of design solutions? If not, might there be one A second, related concern is that we should not replace one set of problems with another—namely, plastics biodegradable only under industrial conditions ending up in landfill. Good designers are aware of this. What progress has been made since last year’s call for evidence on standards for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics? How does the department intend to educate the public in this area, including the use of labelling?
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: International Affairs
Anthony Tudor St John (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, in my allotted two minutes I wish to make five points and pose two questions. Clearly this is a global disease that mutates at a staggering rate, so we cannot afford to leave any disease reservoirs untreated if we are to be successful Britain is leading the world in funding a vaccine and we should seek to lead in other medical solutions. We need new global leadership by the UK in the absence of China and America. This provides the United Kingdom with the opportunity to redefine our trading partners post Brexit A prolonged lockdown has dire economic consequences, with massive global unemployment, and it will take us until the end of 2021 to fully recover The pandemic has accelerated the rate of deglobalisation that started with the US-China trade wars. As several noble Lords have already mentioned, Africa is an obvious case in point that will require enormous support from the developed world in countering this pandemic. This offers the West the opportunity to displace Chinese influence on the continent Finally, we need to develop the capability to test and track for various strains in the pandemic. I recently had the antibody test and, to my surprise, found that I was IgG positive, meaning that I have had the virus but am fully recovered and no longer contagious. What is more, I had no idea that I had the virus. Obviously I am relieved that I now have the antibody I have two questions for the Minister. First, what are our Government doing to support international trade and the movement of capital and people, thereby promoting the United Kingdom as a bastion of fine free trade? Secondly, what efforts are being taken to promote a unified and international approach to tackling this pandemic?
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: International Affairs
David Hugh Alexander Hannay (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, this is an important and necessary debate on the day that the World Health Assembly is holding its annual meeting. Here are some observations and questions, which I hope the Minister will be able to cover in her reply First, no one should try to argue that the international community and multilateral organisations have so far put in a stellar performance during this crisis. There have been gaps in the international response, slowness in reacting and failures. These are lessons to be learned and applied when the next pandemic comes along, as it will Secondly, neither denial, as in the early stages in China, or as in the US, Brazil and Russia, which has proved pretty disastrous, nor scapegoating, as with the US freezing of its contributions to the WHO, has done other than make a bad situation worse. That US action was deplorable. Are the Government standing by the WHO and joining with others to repair the damage Thirdly, it makes no sense to blame multilateral organisations—the UN, the WHO and the EU—for not exercising powers that their members have not been prepared to give them Fourthly, on health aspects of the crisis, do the Government agree that the research into vaccines and into antibody and other tests should, as a matter of principle, be open-sourced and available to researchers worldwide Fifthly, do the Government agree that, once developed, these remedies should be patent-free and that a major effort should be made to boost availability to the poorer countries? Sixthly, do the Government see merit in the idea that all Governments should accept a legal obligation to stock PPE equipment, modelled loosely on the response to the 1973 oil crisis Seventhly, on the economic and financial consequences of the pandemic, do the Government accept that not only debt postponement but debt write-off will be needed for developing countries and do they support the unlocking of special drawing rights that are being unused Finally, do the Government agree that the highest priority needs to be given to keeping open world trade under the rules-based system of the WTO? A protectionist response, which in the 1930s turned a financial crisis into a world slump with disastrous political consequences, is an avoidable catastrophe.
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: International Affairs
David Alton (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, in welcoming the Minister’s opening remarks, perhaps I might pursue some issues about which I have written to her, particularly about people facing Covid-19 without safety nets—in war zones, shanty towns, slums or refugee camps, or as one of an already persecuted minority. What is the international community saying about the stigmatisation and violence directed at Muslim minorities in India, who are blamed for the spread of the virus, or Christian and Hindu minorities in Pakistan, who are denied access to food packages In Nigeria, under the cover of Covid, terror groups such as Boko Haram have intensified the frequency of attacks. Are we getting help to victims, seeking to end the violence, and seeking to bring perpetrators to justice? In the many places without safety nets, what is our assessment of the likely impact of the inevitable world recession and hunger following Covid, and the reversal of development gains What of China, which has been increasing Africa’s indebtedness and dependency? With African countries accounting for more than a quarter of United Nations member states, this dependency and indebtedness has serious consequences for the conduct of international relations. It has emboldened China in resisting calls for an independent international inquiry into the causes of Covid-19 and into the role of the World Health Organization, as we have heard from many preceding speakers. What is the Government’s assessment of the extent of the WHO’s complicity with the Chinese regime, the extent of the Chinese regime’s influence over the WHO, and the prospects for reform of the WHO With 120 countries, including the UK, today at the assembly renewing the call for an independent inquiry, can the Minister tell us how the international community intends to take forward that proposal, establishing the genesis of a virus which is claiming hundreds of thousands of lives all over the world and doing incalculable damage to fragile societies and economies, and societies without any kind of safety net?
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: International Affairs
Jean Coussins (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I want to draw attention to the impact of Covid-19 on the British Council and, by extension, on the UK’s international influence and reputation. I declare an interest as co-chair of the All-Party Group on Modern Languages, which is supported by the British Council The Government’s review last year described the British Council as fulfilling "an important and unique role" and as "a world leader in its field." It operates in over 100 countries and employs 12,000 staff worldwide, 1,200 of them in the UK. Eighty-five per cent of its income comes from teaching and examining English, generating export earnings of £125 million a year for UK exam bodies. But the pandemic has forced 90% of its overseas teaching centres to close, shutting down its ability to generate revenue The range of activities and the depth of value to the UK’s global standing and soft power goes far wider than teaching English. It includes skills training for a digital future, combating gender-based violence and programmes that directly benefit UK schools, such as Connecting Classrooms, run jointly with DfID, and the language assistants scheme. All this could be at risk if the council were to fold I know that the FCO has already provided some extra funding and that the British Council aims to furlough around a quarter of its UK staff, but this does not come close to putting the council in a financially sustainable position post Covid. Further support is essential before the end of May to ensure that the organisation has a future. If ever there was a case for a government bailout based on enlightened self-interest, it is this. Will the Minister hold urgent talks with colleagues across government to secure the emergency funds to guarantee a future for this important and unique body?
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: International Affairs
John Montagu (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, this week Christian Aid has a harsh message for all of us. It says Covid-19 "threatens to push the world’s poorest to the brink of survival." The poorest, it says, are already at the tipping point and the virus is pushing them over. To some extent, we are seeing this in our own communities, where people are short of food and the effects of lockdown are taking their toll. But people living in Gaza or South Sudan or in a refugee camp in Bangladesh really are living on the margin. Without adequate health facilities, their lives can become intolerable The International Development Committee—the IDC—took evidence last week from the ICRC, UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee, all international agencies working on the front line in countries such as Syria and Yemen. They say that the two biggest problems are access and funding. Some countries are still denying access to people in most need because of conflict; others refuse to allow the most highly trained health workers into remote or sensitive areas such as refugee camps. Can the Minister confirm that DfID and the FCO are pressing for access in those sensitive areas? Funding is already a problem for regular health services and campaigns such as the malaria campaign, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, said, and with the virus it has become much more urgent. We know that DfID is a world leader in aid delivery, but can the Minister confirm that, as the IRC is saying, the NGOs active in this crisis should be receiving more funding to ensure that help reaches the most vulnerable? Local NGOs are often best placed to enable and train local health workers in their own communities and to spread information on best practice during an epidemic I welcome the Government’s initiative to suspend debt service payments and I hope they can do more to sustain the recovery in the LDCs. I also note that they will address problems of domestic violence and gender equality, as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said earlier.
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: Foreign Trade
Karan Bilimoria (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, the international health crisis has had a dramatic impact on international trade, with steep falls in trade volumes, significant interruptions to supply chains and a proliferation of trade restrictions. The CBI, of which I am vice-president, has identified multiple areas in the short, medium and long term where business and government can work together to ensure that trade helps to restart, revive and renew the UK economy. It is clear that the impact has been terrible. In April, the WTO said that world trade, "is set to plummet by between 13 and 32% in 2020" The CBI’s latest quarterly Industrial Trends Survey says that export sentiment has plunged at the fastest pace since the start of the series in 1961. Forty-nine per cent of manufacturers report shipping delays for raw materials and 44% report shortages of raw materials and imports. As of April, around 76 countries have imposed 106 export restrictions on medical supplies, medical equipment and medicine, according to Global Trade Alert. Can the Minister confirm that the Government are working on these blockages The global community is struggling to find a single voice, with some exceptions. On the plus side, G20 Ministers agreed in March that emergency measures must be "targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary" Central banks are working closely behind the scenes but does the Minister agree that the G20 meeting has been hampered by arguments between the US and China? What about July’s G7 summit? The WTO is already weakened by trade tensions. This is the 75th anniversary of the UN, of which the WHO is a part. Does the Minister think that this is a great opportunity to reform this institution for the better With the emerging trends, countries are phasing their approaches and coming back at different speeds. Will our digital efforts with our contact tracing app be compatible with those in Europe and internationally? If we are thinking of quarantine, are we looking ahead? Will there be quarantine-free bubbles for cross-border travel? We keep hearing that there are shortages of PPE in the care sector and the NHS. Can the Minister assure us that there will be adequate supplies of PPE? Looking forward, does she agree that we need a 10-year strategy for UK trade?
Public Service Vehicles (Open Data) (England) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-02
Topic: Transportation
Nicholas Trench (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I welcome these regulations. I want to say a few words about apps I first came across the multimodal transport app Moovit a few years ago when visiting the Rhine-Ruhr area of Germany. I was amazed that it could predict quite a complicated journey involving a bus, a train and a tram, timed down to the nearest minute. I do not know Citymapper so well. Pre-Covid, going up to London by train, most people would be checking the train company’s own app. Ultimately, one would want to use a single app that covers the whole of the UK, rural areas included, and abroad as well. Certainly, this would be true for tourists Of course, these apps are only as good as the detail and accuracy of the information fed to them, although presentation, including the map used, is clearly important. My questions to the Minister are as follows. Will these data for buses, including GPS data, be supplied alongside all other public transport data in a freely available format appropriate for use by any multimodal transport app? What recourse does an app user have if information is found to be deficient, particularly in regard to rectifying data? If equivalent legislation is happening in Scotland and Wales, can the Minister assure us that the data supplied will be easily connectible between countries? The question ultimately begged is: how much of an integrated national transport network exists that will then make sense for passengers These apps strongly emphasise the network aspect of our transportation system; in other words, this is about not just a national bus strategy but a whole public transport network, of which buses and coaches are a significant part. What is particularly interesting about these apps is that they do not recognise a hierarchy of modes of transport. Everything is equal. The question is just how you get from A to B, although the user might take other factors into account. Where the network is weak, that will weaken the network as a whole, such as it exists Last year’s report by the Campaign for Better Transport found that 3,000 bus routes had been lost or been significantly reduced in the past 10 years, which is bad news if we are fighting to protect the environment as well as combat social isolation in rural areas. Due to the Government’s austerity measures, local authority funding of bus services has fallen by 40%, while central government funding over the same period has reduced by 19%. This is relevant to the regulations because, without services, there will be no data. Therefore, I ask the Government not just whether they will reverse these cuts—on top of the financial aid necessary to maintain services during the Covid crisis—but whether they will use these data, or encourage local authorities to do so, to help identify holes and unreliability in the network, in particular with regard to town-centre congestion, which bus companies, whose drivers have been doing such an important and dangerous job in recent months, have limited control over in terms of scheduling.
Higher Education (Fee Limits and Student Support) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-02
Topic: Education
Indarjit Singh (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, investment in education is essential for the future of our country. I fully understand the economic impact of Covid-19 on the national purse and the rationale of limiting the amount spent on student loans by limiting student numbers. However, the over-rigid application of the proposed caps could adversely affect those from deprived backgrounds trying to get a foot on the ladder to economic and social advancement. I believe that those in this category should be excluded from calculations on the proposed caps I am inclined to accept that the funding of English-domiciled students is not strictly a devolved matter. However, not having seen any figures on projected savings, I wonder whether it is really worth the upset, and the financial upset, caused There is a line in an English hymn that states: "New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast with Truth." The Covid pandemic is an opportunity to look again at our national priorities. While I would put health and social care near the top, should we really be cutting and cropping vital services such as education, while spending billions on battleships and the like to fight 19th and 20th-century wars?