argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: Considering that my right hon. Friend has managed to complete 99.2% of the common agricultural policy payments in England, what assistance and co-operation can he offer the devolved Administration in Edinburgh, who have managed only to reach 90.4%?; Although the Government provide support for cattle farmers affected by TB, can the Secretary of State reassure me that goat and sheep farmers in Cheshire will get comparable compensation?; Is“thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus”an appropriate description to use for a fellow Cabinet member? If hard Brexiteers in our Government are falling out in that way, how on earth can the Secretary of State expect our European Union partners to take our negotiations seriously?; Farmers in west Oxfordshire welcome the Government’s assurance that CAP funding will be guaranteed until 2020 and for structural schemes for the lifetime of the scheme. Could the Government give further assurance as to what assistance will be given to farmers who plan on a five-year cycle?; Many of my constituents in Blaydon have suffered badly from landfill sites on their doorstep. What plans does the Secretary of State have, first to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, and secondly to ensure that environmental protections are not only preserved but strengthened in the Brexit process?; My hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) has drawn the House’s attention to the fantastic show in his constituency. I wish to draw hon. Members’ attention to the most spectacular summer’s day out in Worcestershire, the Hanbury show, which is held in my constituency. However, the farming communities in Inkberrow, Hanbury and the Lenches, who take part in the show with their fantastic produce, are concerned that, post-Brexit, there will be standards that affect the import and export of their products and have a negative impact on their trade. Will the Minister give us specific reassurances on that?
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is right. He was a brilliant fisheries Minister, who was responsible within the EU for ensuring that the common fisheries policy, imperfect as it is in so many ways, was reformed to deal with discards and to develop our fish stocks on a more sustainable basis. Outside the EU, as an independent coastal state, we can do even more, but he is right that conservation must be at the heart of our policy
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: Considering that my right hon. Friend has managed to complete 99.2% of the common agricultural policy payments in England, what assistance and co-operation can he offer the devolved Administration in Edinburgh, who have managed only to reach 90.4%?; Although the Government provide support for cattle farmers affected by TB, can the Secretary of State reassure me that goat and sheep farmers in Cheshire will get comparable compensation?; Is“thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus”an appropriate description to use for a fellow Cabinet member? If hard Brexiteers in our Government are falling out in that way, how on earth can the Secretary of State expect our European Union partners to take our negotiations seriously?; Farmers in west Oxfordshire welcome the Government’s assurance that CAP funding will be guaranteed until 2020 and for structural schemes for the lifetime of the scheme. Could the Government give further assurance as to what assistance will be given to farmers who plan on a five-year cycle?; Many of my constituents in Blaydon have suffered badly from landfill sites on their doorstep. What plans does the Secretary of State have, first to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, and secondly to ensure that environmental protections are not only preserved but strengthened in the Brexit process?; My hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) has drawn the House’s attention to the fantastic show in his constituency. I wish to draw hon. Members’ attention to the most spectacular summer’s day out in Worcestershire, the Hanbury show, which is held in my constituency. However, the farming communities in Inkberrow, Hanbury and the Lenches, who take part in the show with their fantastic produce, are concerned that, post-Brexit, there will be standards that affect the import and export of their products and have a negative impact on their trade. Will the Minister give us specific reassurances on that?
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The Veterinary Medicines Directorate and our chief vet have been working very closely with the Department of Health on plans to reduce the use of antibiotics. Great success has been achieved in sectors such as poultry, where there has been a substantial reduction of some 40% to 50% in antibiotics use. Often it is about adopting different approaches to husbandry to reduce reliance on antibiotics, but although a lot of progress has been made, there is more to do.
EU Referendum Campaign — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend—and she is a friend—agree that not only is illegal funding wrong, but so is electoral fraud? May I invite her to ask the commission to conduct a proper inquiry into having a national voter register, to ensure that people do not double and triple vote in general elections and other elections?
Voter Registration and Boundary Commission Review — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What discussions the Committee has had with the commission on the effect of (a) recent rises in voter registration and (b) the 2017 general election on the conclusions of the most recent Boundary Commission review.
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): The commission is correct to highlight the discrepancy between the 1 December assessment of our electorate, and the electorate in our most recent election. In my constituency, the difference between the 2015 and 2017 elections was 8,000, which is over 10%. Would the hon. Lady welcome an investigation by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee into how we deal with such discrepancies?
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): First of all, may I congratulate the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) on her appointment to her role representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission? I thought she did a very good job of answering the questions Seventy-five per cent. of churches collect food, 38% provide volunteers, 29% help to manage a food bank, and 21% distribute food vouchers. Churches also work in partnership with organisations such as Citizens Advice and Christians Against Poverty to tackle the underlying causes of food poverty.
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Christians Against Poverty is proactive in trying to tackle the underlying causes by offering free debt advice and financial education programmes, for example. The charity has just appointed Dickens Heath church in my constituency to provide those courses over a wide region, so I suggest that the hon. Lady may like to approach it about doing the same in Bristol.
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): As Members of Parliament, it is important that we address the underlying causes. I had a letter from the Trussell Trust just last month, which said that people "may be reassured to hear that, on average people are only referred to Trussell Trust foodbanks two times in a 12-month period", and that the model is "designed to help people in a crisis" As Members, we need to address the nature of the crises that make it necessary for people to get help.
Rural Parish Growth — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Rural parish funding is primarily the responsibility of the individual diocese, but the Church Commissioners have made available national support under the strategic development fund. To date, the fund has provided £34.6 million for 32 projects in 25 dioceses.
Rural Parish Growth — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Education
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): The Church is committed to doubling the number of people entering training by 2020, and it has made very good progress with the push on training ordinands. Since 2014, we have seen an increase of 14% in the numbers training for priesthood, and my hon. Friend may be interested to hear that there has been an above-average number of women—14%—and that 25% of that cohort is under the age of 32.
Rural Parish Growth — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Education
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said, the Church has set itself a target—that is the important thing—of doubling the number of people entering training by 2020, and it is making progress by increasing the numbers coming into training It is perhaps worth noting that the Church has changed the ways in which people can train for the priesthood. They can train by residential course, as is traditional, but they can also train on the job and through peripatetic learning, which makes it generally easier for a much wider range of people to train for the priesthood, if they feel called to do so.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Julian Murray Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for saying that no decision has yet been taken about which Department will run the inquiry. Does she agree that perception is as important as reality in this matter, and therefore will she gain from this occasion a mindfulness of the weight placed by hon. Members, on both sides of the House, on the idea that the inquiry perhaps would be perceived to be more objective if some other Department took the lead?
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Jacqueline Doyle-Price (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to my right hon. Friend, and I have repeated this in other discussions as well, that the Cabinet Office is very closely involved in this, and this opportunity has given me the time to make that clear to the House. The Government are listening; we want to consult as widely as possible. No decision has yet been taken, but the Cabinet Office is closely involved in all the consultation we are currently having.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): The letter from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) started by expressing gratitude to the Government for the progress made so far. That would have been welcome decades ago, but it is right to acknowledge it now. The letter included three practical points that it put perhaps slightly better than the shadow Minister. The machinery of government cannot work overnight normally and the questions and answers today will help the Government and the Prime Minister decide whether the right solution is, as has been suggested, having another Department or the Cabinet Office take on the consultation with the Department of Health helping as far as it can. The one point for the Department of Health now is whether it can guarantee the third point in the hon. Lady’s letter, which is that no records will be destroyed and that they will all be available to the inquiry.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): I warmly welcome the fact that the inquiry is now happening, and that the Government made the decision to undertake it, given the decades that have gone past since this issue first came up and the scandal occurred. Will the Minister reassure the victims that, in terms of any judicial involvement, which is almost certain in this case, the identity of the judge concerned will be selected by the Lord Chief Justice, and not by any Government Department?
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Jacqueline Doyle-Price (Conservative, Centre-right): We are really looking to settle that question in this consultation. One decision that needs to be taken is exactly what shape the inquiry should take. Clearly, we would normally do this through a statutory inquiry, which would have the powers to which the hon. Lady referred, but equally, Members of the House have made representations that we should have a Hillsborough-style inquiry, which, by definition, would be more fleet of foot. One reason why we are pushing forward with this consultation is to get exactly that feedback, so that we put together an inquiry that inspires confidence among those who have been campaigning for this for so long.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): Far from being negative, the Government should be applauded for their very swift action—recently, not in the past. They are listening and have already committed extra compensation, sorted out the complex system that we had before, and announced an inquiry. Can the Minister give an assurance, particularly to my constituents, that the right Department will be chosen, because we do have to give them confidence that we will not all be here again discussing this? We have the chance to sort it out now.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Jacqueline Doyle-Price (Conservative, Centre-right): The purpose of the consultation is to allow people to make their points about which Department should be chosen to oversee the inquiry, and then we will respond accordingly. All I can say is: please encourage people to participate in this consultation.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Jacqueline Doyle-Price (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, that was the first of what I hope will be many conversations. Arrangements were made for the campaign groups in Scotland to dial into the meeting, so that they could participate. I have already started discussions with the Scottish Government about how this inquiry will play out and affect the position in Scotland. I am pleased to say that we are having those discussions in a spirit of healthy co-operation. In particular, we are looking at how we can make use of what has already been gone through with the Penrose inquiry. We will continue to have dialogue, and we are very sensitive to those issues.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: International Affairs
Jacqueline Doyle-Price (Conservative, Centre-right): I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are very sensitive to the facts as they apply to Northern Ireland, and we will by all means ensure that the requisite dialogue takes place so that we can deal with it sensitively
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Technology
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (Conservative, Centre-right): May I commend my right hon. Friend for not becoming a party to the socialist vendetta against the Murdoch family? When considering media plurality, will she bear in mind that there were four channels when Sky launched, but that there are now hundreds, and that the real opponent of media plurality is the bloated—taxpayer-funded—BBC, which likes to gives millions of pounds to presenters some of us have never heard of?
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Technology
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): I know you do not want me to stray on to the BBC, Mr Speaker, so I will not respond to that point. The report that I asked Ofcom to prepare as part of the phase 1 inquiry found firm grounds for concerns about media plurality. In the absence of further representations with evidence that might change my view, it is important to say that I am still minded to refer the merger on the grounds of media plurality. Should I make the final decision to refer the merger for a phase 2 investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority will be able to flush out the evidence on all those points.
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Technology
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): Broadcasters in the United Kingdom have to comply with the broadcasting code. There are very strict rules and regulations. They are regulated by Ofcom and the broadcasting landscape is very different from that of other countries.
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Technology
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): All broadcasting, including the BBC now, is regulated by Ofcom. There is an obligation on all broadcasters to be impartial. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman alerts Ofcom to instances in which he feels that that has not been the case, and I would be happy to be copied in so that I am aware of his concerns.
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been as transparent as I possibly can within the confines of the parliamentary calendar. However, the parliamentary calendar cannot be allowed to dictate what I do in my quasi-judicial role as Secretary of State. I will continue to be as open and transparent as I can and I will ensure that Parliament is fully informed of any decisions I make. I am always happy, when Parliament is sitting, to come to the Chamber and for my decisions to be scrutinised.
Grenfell Tower — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and congratulate him on keeping the House up to date with progress thus far My right hon. Friend is right in saying that there is a lack of confidence in the local authority in Kensington and Chelsea. The taskforce that he is going to nominate, hopefully later today or tomorrow, is vital to restore confidence. Will he update the House on the exact powers that the taskforce has? Clearly, if control is passed back to Kensington and Chelsea Council, that raises the question of who can direct the council to do things, and what happens if there is a dispute over what is done. For example, the shadow Secretary of State mentioned individuals almost being blackmailed into accepting a property that they do not want. Does the taskforce have the power to direct the local authority to take certain actions, and will my right hon. Friend personally intervene if it needs extra help?
Grenfell Tower — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): As I mentioned earlier, a number of charities have set up dedicated funding efforts to provide help and support to the victims of this tragedy. The Department has been working across Government; for example, we are working with the Charity Commission to help to co-ordinate the use of those funds as they are distributed, and with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that they are disregarded for benefits purposes. Over the next weeks and months, we will continue to do what we can to help those charities to help the victims.
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me begin by putting on the record the gratitude of the House for the work undertaken by Kathryn Hudson since her appointment in 2013. She has played an important role in the work of the House. New Members will be able to testify to her valuable advice on their conduct and responsibilities. She has investigated and reported on complaints with all the diligence that we and the public would expect of her. She has also, of course, ensured transparency through the operation of the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and the other registers I would also like to make it clear that we owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of the House who support the commissioner in delivering standards, and to the Chairman of the Standards Committee for his work Although I have not personally been involved in the recruitment process, I am encouraged by the remarks of the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake). We are all grateful to the selection board for sifting the candidates. Kathryn Stone will no doubt serve the House with the same diligence as all her predecessors. On that basis, I hope that the House will endorse the motion.
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Alexander Paul Beresford (Conservative, Centre-right): As a member of the Commission and, for some time, a member of the Committee on Standards, I support the motion. I endorse the positive comments about Kathryn Hudson, who worked extremely hard. She arrived at a difficult time, when the Standards Committee first had lay members; there was a steep learning curve for the lay people and for Kathryn Hudson. She faced problems because every time she was perceived to have slipped, the press were after her. It is a difficult role, which she played exceptionally well. I wish her well in her retirement and thank her on my behalf and on behalf of the Standards Committee. I suspect that the right hon. Member for Rother Valley (Sir Kevin Barron) will support the motion shortly As has been said, applicants were extensively sought, and 81 were reduced to six. Those six appeared before a small panel for interview. It included two Members of Parliament —the right hon. Member for Rother Valley and me. It was chaired by the Principal Clerk of the Table Office, whom I thank for her exceptional chairmanship. All interviewees were put through their paces gently—and sometimes not quite so gently. All their advantages and, indeed, some foibles, were drawn out. The panel’s final decision on the two who went forward for final selection was unanimous and solid. I endorse Kathryn Stone’s appointment. Having been part of the interview process, I believe that she will prove an excellent choice and I look forward to her joining us in due course.
Summer Adjournment — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: International Affairs
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend—I will call him that here—for that intervention and I trust that he can persuade the members of his own party, not only in this House but in the other place, to support the Government on doing what we want to see happening for British Hindus up and down the country The final area I will touch on is the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. I have tabled an early-day motion, which I believe seven other hon. Members have signed, in relation to the attack on innocent Hindu pilgrims in Anantnag by Lashkar-e-Taiba, an internationally recognised terrorist group, led by Abu Ismail. The UK must stand with India to combat this international terrorism and to prevent the situation from escalating still further. There have been attempts in this country to celebrate Burhan Wani, who died last year. He was a murderous Islamic terrorist and the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. There was an attempt in Birmingham to hold a demonstration about his death, which would have been a direct challenge to the UK’s values of harmony and tolerance. I am delighted that that demonstration was shut down before it happened, but the Government must do more to target all those who celebrate terrorists Madam Deputy Speaker, may I wish you, your colleagues—the other Deputy Speakers and Mr Speaker—and all right hon. and hon. Members in the House a very happy recess? We will all be working in our constituencies, as has been mentioned, on behalf of our constituents, with—no doubt—a brief holiday in the next few weeks.