argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Public Sector Pay — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I was diligently trying to answer the hon. Gentleman’s question, and I hope that he will listen to the answer We will be allocating a further £500 million from central Department for Education budgets to schools, to make sure they are able to give these pay rises to our hard-working teachers. In every other case, Departments have been able to find savings in their central budgets to make sure those pay rises are affordable. It is a bit rich getting lectures from the Labour party about affordability when its purported policy, along with overthrowing capitalism and making business the enemy, is to create a run on the pound. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman can explain how his party could afford public sector pay rises with a run on the pound, but I would like to hear his answer. The pay rises we are announcing today represent the highest pay rises for almost a decade for public sector workers. We have been able to achieve them because of our management of the economy, because we have seen employment reach a record level and because we are spending less in areas such as welfare, whereas people under the Labour Government were left on the scrapheap. Please can the Labour party welcome the fact that public sector workers are getting a pay rise and that we have scrapped the cap, rather than continuing with their usual Eeyorish nonsense?
Public Sector Pay — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I am keen to accommodate the interests of colleagues, but I remind the House that there is a further urgent question after this and then two ministerial statements and a debate on a motion appertaining to standards, before we get to the summer recess debate, in which no fewer than 30 colleagues wish to take part. I will try to accommodate people now if they pledge in advance to ask a single-sentence question, and preferably a short one, with a commensurately brief reply.
Public Sector Pay — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The figures that my hon. Friend quotes about public and private sector workers are right. My job as Chief Secretary is to make sure that we are properly rewarding public sector workers and that in areas where we are struggling to recruit and retain, pay rises are commensurate, to retain those people. We are also making sure that those pay rises are affordable within our Government budgets, which I think is what taxpayers expect.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. From the very beginning of this conflict, when we were looking at so many displaced people, a significant fraction of the humanitarian aid—or at least, the DFID budget spending—went to surrounding countries that were so generously accommodating to those who had fled, so it is inevitable that a large part of that budget will continue to go to such countries. Of course, in an ideal world, we would like to see Syrians return to their homes, but those have been so devastated that people would be going back only to rubble in many cases. It is inevitable that a lot of displaced Syrians will remain outside their former country for a long time to come.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): We have already offered places to some of the White Helmets and, in the past, if I am right, we have offered 20,000 Syrians resettlement opportunities in the UK. We are working, and will continue to work, with non-governmental organisations that will, as the hon. Gentleman rightly points out, have vulnerable people delivering humanitarian aid in Syria. It is essential that we know where they are and what they are doing and that we do everything we can on the ground, however limited it might be, to work with others to make sure they and their lives are protected.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): The House and our voters can be rightly proud of what we have done since the beginning of this conflict seven years ago. Up to the end of March this year, we had resettled more than 11,000 refugees through the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme. We will also resettle up to 3,000 children and their families from the middle east under the vulnerable children resettlement scheme; up to the end of March, we had resettled more than 700 refugees through the scheme. This is the cause to which we have given the largest ever amount from our own budgets, and we are the second-largest multilateral donor. Our original intention was to help people in and around Syria, so that they did not need to come here, but that has turned out not to be the case, which is why the UK is doing both. We can be proud that we are doing both to a considerable degree.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. As expected, a very large number of Members are seeking to catch my eye. I would like to accommodate as many as I can, but I remind the House that there is a further ministerial statement to follow, another piece of business that may be short but is uncertain in length, and then a very heavily subscribed summer Adjournment debate. There is therefore a premium on brevity, now to be brilliantly exemplified by Mr Steve Baker.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. I think that the initial part of his statement was a backhanded way of welcoming the fact that we have got this out now so that Members of not just this House but all the devolved Administrations have a proper chance to scrutinise the terms of the withdrawal agreement Bill and the implementation period The hon. Gentleman asked about EEA nationals. We are engaged in diplomacy with our EEA partners and separate provision will be made for them. We hope to be able to conclude that reasonably soon. I take on board the hon. Gentleman’s points about consultation with the devolved Administrations. We have been working closely with the devolved Administrations at official and ministerial level to prepare this White Paper. Ministers discussed proposals for the Bill at the last meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on 5 July. Of course, we will respect the Sewel convention, although I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point that there are different views about how that will apply, and that is difficult to judge until we have the entire withdrawal agreement The hon. Gentleman asked about the immigration rules. The changes will be made by statutory instrument—that is the swifter, more flexible way to proceed in accordance with the White Paper—but the process will allow for the scrutiny of those rules in the normal way I hope that I have given the hon. Gentleman some reassurance. I look forward to engaging with him, and all the devolved Administrations and those representing them, as we go through this process.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not share the hon. Lady’s gloomy assessment. When the detail of the White Paper is made clear to EU nationals here, the focus will be on their substantive rights and the mechanism by which they will be able to rely directly on them in UK courts. There will be an independent monitoring authority not just to take up complaints, but to take legal action. If the negotiations do not reach fruition, separate legislative provision will be made in the normal way through the Home Office. However, we will move quickly to secure the position of EU nationals.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I always argued that we should stay within the European convention on human rights, but that we should look at how it is implemented in UK law. However, the Government’s position is clear on that. More broadly, the hon. and learned Lady is quite right to point out the time pressure that we are under, but we have set out a principled but pragmatic approach. We are bringing extra energy to the negotiations. I am going out to see Michel Barnier again on Thursday and will be offering to see him regularly throughout the summer. If that good will, pragmatism and energy are reciprocated, we will get a deal in October.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to paragraph 104 on page 28 of the White Paper, will my right hon. Friend confirm that payment of the £35 billion to £39 billion that he cited is conditional on the final deal? After all, as he has said, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): There is the substance of the rights, which we have set out and made clear in the White Paper, and a mechanism and procedures will also be available to EU nationals. We will ensure that that information is widely disseminated both through materials and through the work that the Home Office will be doing in the coming weeks and months.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Other
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): It will be incumbent on hon. Members on both sides of the House to think very carefully about how they vote when it comes to the meaningful vote. Unless it is approved and we have a deal, we will not be able to give effect to it. Not only would that be a serious position, but hon. Members on both sides of the House would be held to account for how they voted.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand my hon. Friend’s concern, and I hope he will be reassured that the implementation period will be finite and much shorter than some had been arguing for. We think that strikes the right balance between allowing businesses to make one change to the rulebook and making sure it is a reasonably finite, limited period, for the very reasons he has expressed.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alexander John Gervase Chalk (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome this White Paper and, in particular, the announcement of robust legal mechanisms to secure the rights of EU citizens who have done such an enormous job in the local economy and in the wider community of Cheltenham and elsewhere, but there are a million British citizens living overseas in the European Union. Will the Secretary of State provide a little more information on the steps he will be taking this summer to ensure that British citizens enjoy reciprocal and equivalent rights?
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want a very clear message for EU nationals in this country: we value them, we welcome them, and not only do we want them to stay but we are making provision to ensure they are secure in their rights. In relation to UK expats abroad, the withdrawal agreement will, in the same way as it does for EU nationals here, provide substantive rights. The Commission will perform the role of the monitoring authority, as set out in the White Paper, and of course it will be incumbent on each individual EU member state to make sure it provides direct access and redress in its courts, in the same way as we are doing in our courts for EU nationals.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Civil Rights
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure which bit of the reassurance provided in the White Paper the hon. Gentleman finds underwhelming. He did not mention any in his question, but if he would like to write to me, I look forward to addressing it. I gently suggest that he reads the White Paper first because, actually, the substantive rights and the procedural mechanism for securing them are set out very clearly.
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Other
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much agree with my hon. Friend and thank him for the attention that he has given to this issue over several years. I join him in commending the work of the right hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) and the focus that she has provided on this very important issue.
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s remarks, but say gently that he was a little ungenerous to start by suggesting that the Government have waited until the last day before the recess. We have not been in possession of the report for long and it takes a few days for us to respond to it properly and to come forward with progress on it, so I ask him to reflect on that and approach this issue in a more constructive spirit if he really does want to help, rather than trying to score cheap political points The hon. Gentleman asked about an opportunity to debate the issue; I think that would be good and will raise it with the Leader of the House. The work of Select Committees and others will be very welcome scrutiny. He mentioned the size of the detention estate; I hope he welcomes the fact that the total number of available places, rather than of individual detention centres, is falling. As I said, the number of places has fallen by a quarter in the past year, which shows the direction of travel. I do want to see fewer people being detained. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that detention is a last resort. The default for immigration enforcement policy is not to detain. If someone is detained, it must be a last resort.
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Civil Rights
Nigel Paul Huddleston (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement, particularly the various pilot projects and especially the management of vulnerable women in the community rather than at Yarl’s Wood. Will the Home Secretary explain how that will work in practice and how many women we are talking about?
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): The total number of women currently in detention in Yarl’s Wood is roughly 260, which as I said earlier is around 9% of the total of number of people currently in detention. We will be working on the pilot project with the UNHCR and possibly with a non-governmental organisation. Those organisations will lead the design of the pilot, but its aim will be, in cases in which the individual may ordinarily have gone to Yarl’s Wood, to work with them on a plan instead, with a contract to which they agree, and for them to be settled in the community and therefore kept out of detention centres.
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Civil Rights
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): I am a former member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and we were given access to two of the case files of the Windrush generation who appear to have been illegally detained. I very much welcome the Home Secretary’s response to the Shaw report today. Will he confirm that he is putting in place systems to ensure that no one is detained against the evidence?
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Civil Rights
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her comments and for her welcoming of the pilot regarding vulnerable women. I will happily take a proper look at that report. I have seen a summary of it, but as I am looking for some more summer reading to do, that is a very good suggestion. When Parliament is back after the summer, I would be very happy to meet her and her colleague.
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): It is good that the hon. Lady has visited Yarl’s Wood, because that is the kind of scrutiny that we need. [Interruption.] I have just heard her say that it took time to get permission. I am sorry to hear that. However, it is good that she has visited and seen the centre at first hand. That does not necessarily mean that I agree with her entire assessment following her visit, but I am very happy to listen to her experience and her thoughts. Although I said at the start of my statement that administrative detention plays an important role when done properly in our immigration system, I do think—this is where we could agree—that there should be more alternatives to detention so that people can be held in the community, rather than in a detention centre, while their cases are being looked at. I hope that she welcomes some of the announcements that I have made today, but I am looking to do more and would be happy to hear her ideas about alternatives.
Immigration Detention: Shaw Review — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Immigration
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. Just to be clear, I talked about a review of time limits, but this is not just for asylum seekers; we do not detain asylum seekers as a matter of policy at all. The intention is always to deal with cases in the community. I just want to clarify that I am talking about looking at the time limit for detentions full stop, regardless of who is in detention. I will look into the hon. Gentleman’s further question and write to him.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Other
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to that point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am grateful for your response to the point of order raised by the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick) If I speak in the Adjournment debate, I shall be referring to something with discretion, which I hope will not invite the Chair to intervene Can we ask for the Procedure Committee to decide whether any letter of that kind should always be sent to the Member of Parliament involved, as well as to the Speaker, so that the Member of Parliament knows what is going on behind the scenes? Can it also be clarified that this applies to courts of first instance, and does not normally apply to appeal courts, which are thought not to be influenced by what happens in Parliament?
Summer Adjournment — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. Clearly, this is a debt of honour that we have agreed to pay. The debt is still outstanding, and until it is paid, we will keep going. I say forcefully to those on the Front Bench that we will keep going with this until the Government pay up I have a number of other issues that I briefly want to mention before I sit down. We are rising for the summer recess, but we should remember that the majority of survivors of Grenfell Tower have yet to move into their permanent homes. I trust that, when we return, every single one of them will be moved into a permanent home that is suitable for their needs I also wish to raise the plight of Pinner Wood School in Harrow, which was found to be sited on an old mine and was in danger of collapsing. Very rarely do I congratulate Harrow Council, but in this case it took the very sensible decision to knock down the school and make it safe. However, the Government have refused to fund that decision, and are suggesting that the council and the council tax payers should pay for the cost of that safety measure. That is a shame. I do not believe that that is the right decision by the Government, and I trust that I and other hon. Members in Harrow will carry on applying pressure to make sure that the Government cover that cost Let me turn now to a couple of local issues. I must take this opportunity to raise the need for disabled access at Stanmore, Canons Park, Harrow and Wealdstone and Queensbury stations. They are all either in my constituency or border my constituency. I have been campaigning on these issues for 14 years. We still carry on the work. The fight will go on until we get proper access at those stations Equally, we need to face the challenge of the tri-borough arrangements for policing. This is a retrograde step for policing in London. I believe that there will be a further problem over the summer and I have been making representations on this issues for quite some time. I am concerned that we are not getting the police service that we need on the streets My office is experiencing a dramatic increase in the amount of immigration casework right across the piece. This is a concern because action by the Home Office is clearly causing this increase, and I trust that this will desist Madam Deputy Speaker, I end by wishing you, Mr Speaker and the whole House a very happy recess, when we will not be on holiday; we will be working.
Summer Adjournment — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: Housing
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his good wishes Just before I call the Front Benchers, it might be helpful for the House to know that, following the point of order raised earlier by the hon. Member for City of Durham (Dr Blackman-Woods) about the availability of copies of the national planning policy framework, I can tell the House that the framework has now been laid before House and copies are available in the Vote Office.