argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Immigration
Questions: It is not just the coastal areas of Lincolnshire that are particularly prone to flooding. While the Government have invested record amounts in concrete defences, inland areas are also susceptible to flooding. What role can natural flood management play in protecting properties and people?; The Secretary of State will surely have the good sense to join me in speaking up for the free movement of workers as the easiest way of avoiding horrendous labour shortages in the food and drink industry.; In the interest of customer choice and transparency, is it not about time that all halal and kosher meat products were properly labelled at the point of sale? That would benefit those people who particularly want to buy such products, as well as those who particularly do not want to buy them.; The 25-year food and farming plan, the 25-year environment plan, the cycling and walking strategy: those supposedly environment-enhancing strategies were all promised to be published before the summer—summer 2016. The Secretary of State has clearly failed the environment, failed farmers and the food industry, and failed to keep her promise. People are now losing their jobs and incomes on her watch. When will those plans see the light of day?; Further to the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), will the Minister please give my constituents across north Northumberland the reassurance they need that, should the European Commission choose not to follow the EFSA recommendation and decide to ban the use of glyphosate anyway, the UK Government will ensure its continued use remains possible in the UK regardless?; Littering and fly tipping blight our countryside and often cause real problems for those, including farmers in my constituency, who have waste dumped on their land. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the steps the Government are taking to tackle that problem?
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, absolutely. As I said, the Home Office is looking closely at future needs for businesses. We absolutely recognise that for businesses in the UK to thrive they will need access to some of the brightest and the best from around the world, and the Migration Advisory Committee and a consultation with businesses will be looking at those needs later this year.
Cancer Drugs: Funding — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Public Lands
Questions: What assessment the Commission has made of the effectiveness of the National Audit Office’s scrutiny of the long-term viability of funding for cancer drugs.
Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan (Conservative, Centre-right): I would like to ask the Second Church Estates Commissioner, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Dame Caroline Spelman), what the Church of England is doing to help to protect churches throughout Northumberland from the theft of metal from their roofs.
Religious Dress and Symbols: Workplace — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What assessment the Church of England has made of the implications of the European Court of Justice ruling of March 2017 on wearing religious dress and symbols in the workplace.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Church of England was very concerned by the judgment of the European Court of Justice that stated that blanket bans on the wearing of political, philosophical or religious signs do not amount to cases of direct discrimination, because that conflicts with the pre-existing rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. By leaving the European Union, we presumably stand some chance of resolving such inconsistencies.
Religious Dress and Symbols: Workplace — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What assessment the Church of England has made of the implications of the European Court of Justice ruling of March 2017 on wearing religious dress and symbols in the workplace.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, and it was completely at odds with the statutory purpose of the Church of England, which was put far better than I possibly could by the head of the Church, Her Majesty the Queen, when in 2012 she made it clear that the Church of England "has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country." That is what we should be able to do if we can resolve this inconsistency.
Marriage: Preparation and Aftercare — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Church of England takes to monitor the number of marriages recorded and the extent and quality of marriage preparation and marriage aftercare provision within each parish.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): I must pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his long-standing support of the institution of marriage. I am very pleased to tell the House that, since he last asked this question in 2011, the Church of England has launched the successful new initiative, "Your Church Wedding", which is designed to increase the profile of church weddings, highlight the possibility for those seeking to be married, and offer more consistent marriage preparation and aftercare.
Marriage: Preparation and Aftercare — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Church of England takes to monitor the number of marriages recorded and the extent and quality of marriage preparation and marriage aftercare provision within each parish.
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful for that answer, but the fact is that marriage rates have unfortunately declined in recent years. I know that my right hon. Friend will agree with me that there is nothing inevitable about that, given that for a decade, between 1962 and 1972, they rose. As this is a real social justice issue, with the decline in marriage rates having a particularly significant impact on lower-income families, will the Church appoint a bishop to promote healthy marriage, with the aim of spreading best practice in every single parish across the country?
Marriage: Preparation and Aftercare — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Church of England takes to monitor the number of marriages recorded and the extent and quality of marriage preparation and marriage aftercare provision within each parish.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): I genuinely believe that this new initiative will spread best practice. I am sure that all bishops regard themselves as a bishop for marriage. However, there is no doubt that there has been a decline in church weddings, and that is in part due to the fact that there has been liberalisation of the legislation around where couples can get married. None the less, we should celebrate the fact that they want to get married. I will finish with one good new trend: women over 65 are getting married in increasing numbers.
Number of Vocations — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): The number of people selected for training for ordained ministry within the Church of England has been stable for some time. However, the age profile of serving clergy means that larger numbers are retiring, leading to an overall decrease in the number of active clergy. The Church seeks to address that by increasing by 50% the numbers training for ordained ministry: an increase from about 500 to 750 by 2020.
Number of Vocations — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Quite simply, we need to make it easier for people who feel the call to enter ministry to do so more flexibly. The Church offers not only a three-year residential course to become an ordained minister, but part-time peripatetic provision. As a result of the apprenticeship levy, resources will be available to the Church for people to learn on the job. That should make it a whole lot easier for people to enter ministry.
Christian Communities: Africa — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): I attended that Open Doors event here in Parliament, where a Nigerian pastor spoke movingly about the violent persecution of himself and his congregation in northern Nigeria. With regard to Egypt, I am pleased to say that Bishop Mouneer has secured intensive security measures for the Christian Church in Egypt, including emptying the streets around churches and cathedrals of cars, and putting extra police on duty to protect worshipers before services begin.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): May I pay tribute to you, Mr Speaker, for the support that you have given to the LGBT community ever since you have occupied the Chair and prior to that It is absolutely right that this issue should be raised here, as it has been determined that we have more openly gay Members of Parliament in this Parliament than anywhere else in the world. I was asked in 2010 why I came out. It was partly to send a signal to other people who were troubled about their own sexuality to give them hope and confidence—to say that if people like us can be open about our gayness, then hopefully they will be able to take from that some form of moral support that may help them to do likewise We have made fundamental changes around the rest of the world in looking at climate change, for example. We made massive advances when we brought countries together on that issue. Can we not do the same on LGBT issues so that we can have LGBT change throughout the world? May I suggest to the Minister that one area that might be worth a lot of attention is the Commonwealth, where some of the countries that are part of our family of nations have slid back on LGBT rights? Will he place some concentration on that and show that the British Government are going to lead the way on LGBT change throughout the world?
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): Indeed. One of the other strong messages as we approach a general election is that candidates in any party will be able to stand and be openly gay without being in any way ostracised by their own party, or indeed, we hope, any part of the electorate. That in itself sends a strong message to the world. It is a great tribute to the House and our democracy that over the past 15 years or so we have seen all parties have gays sitting on these green leather Benches. Whatever the outcome of the election, long may that continue. I also hope that that will be reflected in the Commonwealth in the years to come, as my hon. Friend suggests. We must campaign within Commonwealth countries to make sure that they do not fail to reflect the standards that we in the House reflect with regard to the LGBT community.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the right hon. Lady for her tone. I had actually forgotten about the Hitchens article—I am not sure that I want to be reminded of it—but at least I can take pleasure in the fact that now I am but one of many on the Tory Benches. I hope that my statement can be seen as reflecting the Prime Minister and the entire Government’s personal condemnation of the situation. I note the right hon. Lady’s wish to see the issue raised to a higher level of political comment In another of the most contemptible elements of this whole issue, a representative of Chechnya’s Council on the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, Kheda Saratova, who is supposedly charged with the task of upholding human rights in the republic, has said that she would not accept an application for help from a gay person, because the persecution of gay people should not be condemned in Chechen society, even if a person is killed by their own family. The LGBT community in Chechnya is at risk not just of persecution by the Chechen authorities, but of falling victim to so-called honour killings by their own family members. They are not safe inside Chechnya and, as I said earlier, what is happening in that republic is beyond contemptible.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Desmond Angus Swayne (Conservative, Centre-right): Is there an element of reversion to type here, in that it was always a feature of totalitarian regimes to vilify minorities as a matter of routine political management? Equally, it was typical of the former Soviet Union to identify any person who posed a political threat, to brand them as gay and to detain them in a mental institution.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the noble Lord Judd for all the efforts he has made over the years, but I say again that it is for all of us to work collectively across parties, across countries and across all organisations to ensure that the simple rights for people, which should never be denied them, are upheld in all countries across the world.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): The way the hon. Gentleman is going he will be here in another 50 years’ time. He makes a very valid point about the importance of promulgating the truth. When we hear absolute, blatant propaganda, we should not shy away from robustly countering such lies. For instance, Kadyrov’s spokesman has called reports of persecution and murder absolute lies themselves. Indeed, as we heard earlier, he added that "there are no gay men in Chechnya" and that "You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist" Even worse, he went on to say that if they did exist, their own relatives "would send them somewhere from which there is no returning." It is the use of language like that that appears to condone the outright murder of someone simply because of their sexual orientation. That is utterly unacceptable and condemns them in the eyes of the decent world.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words—unusual, I have to say, during this particularly fervent political period, but deeply appreciated nevertheless. I am contemplating their inclusion, in quotation marks, in my election address I note what the hon. Gentleman said about an envoy. It is not for me to say what our policy will be on that, but my personal observation is that a dedicated envoy is not always as effective as action by all Ministers across the board, and, indeed, by all Members of Parliament. If that is in the hon. Gentleman’s manifesto, however, we will let the people decide.
Persecution and Detention of LGBT Citizens: Chechnya — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Points of order should really be raised after the business question. Does it relate to the urgent question? No. The hon. Gentleman is such a patient fellow. We can always hear from him later. In fact, there will be a great sense of anticipation in the House as to what he is planning to raise.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Lest any of us were unaware of the sheer extent of the hon. Gentleman’s reach, whether physical or metaphorical, such concerns have been comprehensively allayed by his—I use this term non-pejoratively—opportunistic attempt to raise a bogus point of order. We are grateful to the hon. Gentleman.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I think there is a degree of linguistic licence available to, and sometimes deployed by, Members in all parts of the House, including those who sit on the Treasury Bench and on the Opposition Front Bench. If the Prime Minister felt the need to clarify her remarks she could do so, but I have no sense that she feels any such need. I hope the hon. Lady will understand if I say that I do not think this is a matter into which it would be proper for me to intrude. It is substantially a matter of interpretation and debate. The hon. Lady, with some skill, has used her opportunity to flag her concern and it is on the record. I know how persistent a terrier she is, so if she is dissatisfied doubtless she will pursue the matter.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): We now come to the first Select Committee statement. In a moment I shall call the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Mr Bernard Jenkin, who will speak on his subject for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of his statement, I will call Members to put questions on the subject of it, and to do so briefly. I will then call Mr Jenkin to respond briefly to those questions in turn. Members can expect to be called only once. I reiterate that interventions should be questions, and should be brief. Front Benchers may take part in questioning.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question. I will not tangle with all the things that he raised, but we have a pretty resilient system. The fact that the vast majority of votes cast are pencil or pen marks on bits of paper that are physically counted means that it is basically an impossible system to hack. What we need to be aware of is the vulnerability of electoral registers and systems. The dispersal of our electoral register among different electoral authorities is another source of resilience: there is not one system to hack. However, we need to be aware of what certain countries might want to be seen to be doing—what they might want to be seen to be attempting to influence the result of, or want to be thought to influence the result of. I do not think that any country influenced the result of the leave vote in the EU referendum. I do not think that the result in any election in any major country would have been altered, but we need to understand why certain countries are doing this and what psychological effect they are trying to create by attempting these things, and we need to be alert to the vulnerability of our systems.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I do. We made a specific recommendation that a new body be established to monitor cyber-activity in relation to referendums and elections. However, I emphasise that we are in a much stronger position than countries that have electronic voting or single population registers. I have confidence in our system, although we need to be more alert in order to maintain public confidence; that is the main point.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a fact—I make no comment on it, as an impartial Chairman of my Committee—that referendums are constitutional matters and therefore are reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament. I recognise that there is some demand for a new referendum in Scotland, but even the Good Friday agreement says that there should not be a referendum more than once every seven years. There needs to be a respectable interval between referendums, otherwise they just become meaningless. How many times in the European Union have we seen another referendum called when the first gave the wrong result? I do not put the Scottish National party in that category, but calling referendums too often is actually a contempt for democracy.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I ask the hon. Gentleman: why stop at 16? Why not 14 or 12? These are subjective judgments made by different bodies in different parts of the constitution. That franchise is a devolved matter; it is a matter for the Scottish Parliament. Personally, I favour maintaining the status quo in the UK.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): With respect, I have asked that question, and I feel I have been rather brushed off by Ministers, perhaps on the advice of officials who are perhaps not as knowledgeable as the Committee is about the technicalities, algorithms or indeed the cognitive approach taken by some of the countries with which the Committee has made itself familiar. I am always grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s contributions to the Committee—I think he is our longest-serving member—but personally I do not agree that this threatens the credibility of our elections. In 1880, one of my predecessors in North Essex conducted his election with his wife walking behind him down the high street handing out gold sovereigns. We have come a long way since that kind of corruption in elections, but we need to be alert to the things that the hon. Gentleman draws attention to, and to be ever more alert to the fake news that appears on the internet and is designed to manipulate people’s expectations.
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I think there is always an advantage in what one might call a post-legislative referendum, or a referendum on a proposal on which a White Paper is produced. The devolution referendums in 1997 were both premised on pretty well developed Government policy. One might even pay tribute to the Scottish National party and say that at least it produced a comprehensive document. The leave campaign did produce 600 pages explaining what leave might look like, but the Government had done no preparation, and it is for the Government to prepare for the outcome of a referendum that the Government initiated. I agree with the hon. Gentleman, and perhaps he will join us on the Committee again; I miss him.
Justice Committee — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): We now come to the second Select Committee statement. In a moment I shall call the Chair of the Justice Committee, Mr Robert Neill, who will speak on his subject for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of his statement, I will call Members to put questions on the subject of the statement, and to do so briefly. I will then call Mr Neill to respond briefly to those questions in turn. Members can expect to be called only once. I reiterate that interventions should be questions, and should be brief. Front Benchers may take part in questioning I call the Chair of the Justice Committee, Mr Robert Neill.
State Pensions: UK Expatriates — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): No one could have prepared better for this debate than my hon. Friend, and by the end of it I hope we will have set forces in train that lead to a curing of this injustice.
State Pensions: UK Expatriates — House of Commons, 2017-04-20
Topic: Other
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that that remark may have been addressed to just some of the things we said, but one of the things we said was that what is happening at the moment is not fair, not logical and not right. Is the Minister trying to say that it is fair, logical and right?