argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Schools that work for Everyone — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. We cannot have a series of side conversations and Members chuntering from a sedentary position across the Chamber in evident disapproval of what the other is saying while the Secretary of State is trying to respond to questions. I was speaking to a very large group of school students in Ochil and South Perthshire on Friday, and the habitual refrain—[Interruption.] Order. I am sure that the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully) will be interested in this, and if he is not, he ought to be. The habitual refrain of quite a number of the pupils was, "Why is it sometimes in Parliament that Members are discourteous to each other?" We should try to set a good example. What is required is the statesmanlike demeanour personified by the Minister for Schools, the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr Gibb), who is sitting in a solemn and reflective manner. There are many examples of Labour Members who are sitting in a similar way. We should learn from them.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Civil Rights
Alun Hugh Cairns (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is clearly missing the purpose of what we are trying to do. We are seeking to devolve responsibility for local elections to Wales, but because the franchise for those elections is linked to that for the elections for police and crime commissioners, any change to the franchise for local government elections in Wales will have a consequential effect on that for PCC elections, which are non-devolved. We are therefore seeking to separate the franchises, so that the same people have the right to vote as is currently the case. That will give the Welsh Government the freedom to change the franchise for local government elections as they see fit, should they, for example, wish to change the voting age. It would not be appropriate for such changes to be extended to elections for police and crime commissioners. That is the purpose of the new clause.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alun Hugh Cairns (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the way in which he has made his intervention, but I would still underline the stability of the existing system and the certainty it provides. The title of the St David’s Day agreement was "Powers for a purpose" and I am still seeking to understand what additional purpose would be provided to anyone living or working Wales should there be a separate jurisdiction.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Civil Rights
Alun Hugh Cairns (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will of course make swift progress, as you have requested Amendment 61 seeks to devolve legislative competence to the Assembly over Welsh language broadcasting and other Welsh language media. The Welsh language is a critical part of our cultural heritage in Wales, and the Government’s continued commitment to Welsh language broadcasting is a key element of preserving the language. It is a source of great pride for me that S4C was established by a Conservative Government over 30 years ago, and I note the welcome from a number of stakeholders for the statements made by the BBC on the funding of the channel. This demonstrates our commitment to the Welsh language. The proposal is not recognised by stakeholders and operators in this field, and neither was it called for by the Silk commission or the St David’s day agreement Amendment 66 would remove the requirement for the Assembly to seek the consent of UK Government Ministers for an Act of the Assembly that would modify the functions of a reserved authority if such an Act related to a Welsh language function. It is obviously right that the Welsh Government should have the freedom to act in the interest of the Welsh language, but it is also right that when those policies or obligations extend to reserved matters, a UK Government Minister should also approve them. This means that the UK Government have the responsibility to see the Welsh language protected in reserved areas too. That is not the sole preserve of Members of the Welsh Assembly; we all have a responsibility towards the Welsh language Amendments 68 and 69 seek to provide that future Assembly legislation altering the specification or number of constituencies or regions, or the number of Members they return, would be subject to agreement by a majority of Assembly Members rather than a super-majority. I think the hon. Member for Newport West is being rather mischievous in tabling these proposals, particularly in the light of the news—which Members heard about today and which will be made public tomorrow—about the potential changes to constituencies that send Members to this place The Smith commission recommended a two-thirds majority for Scottish Parliament legislation seeking to change the franchise, the electoral system or the number of constituency or regional Members. This was provided for in the Scotland Act 2016 and the UK Government committed in the St David’s Day agreement to implement the same arrangements for Wales. I believe that I have explained clearly why I cannot support the Opposition amendments and, on that basis, I urge Opposition Members to withdraw them in due course.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Christopher Paul Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I, too, sat through many Welsh Affairs Committee inquiries and lots of evidence from academics and legal experts on this matter. Yes, they all wanted a separate or a distinct legal jurisdiction, but the hon. Lady has not explained how it would work and, more importantly, how it would benefit the people of Wales to have a separate legal system.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Civil Rights
Guto ap Owain Bebb (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) asked a pertinent question: what are the advantages to Wales? The St David’s Day agreement was about powers for a purpose. Has the hon. Lady read the fantastic article by Gwion Lewis in this month’s issue of Barn, in which he highlights the way in which the Supreme Court met in Cardiff and made a decision in relation to Welsh language education in Denbighshire, a decision which I am sure the hon. Lady would welcome? What would a distinct legal jurisdiction have decided differently in that case?
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Other
Guto ap Owain Bebb (Conservative, Centre-right): I cannot allow the slur from the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) to go unresponded to. A significant proportion of the repeats on S4C are children’s programmes. As the father of five children, I am aware that the more repeats there are, the more they enjoy them.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Civil Rights
Guto ap Owain Bebb (Conservative, Centre-right): I suspect that I can offer clarity and reassurance on this issue. There is nothing in the Bill that will affect the Welsh language retrospectively. For example, any standards imposed on a public body as a result of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 will still be imposed by the Welsh Language Commissioner, with no effect as a result of changes in this Bill. If a future Welsh Language Measure were to be proposed, then it would have an effect, but that takes us back to the issue of democratic accountability. After all, the Welsh language is not only the language of Wales; it should also be the responsibility of this House. On the hon. Gentleman’s concerns, there is nothing in the Bill that will affect the 2011 Measure and the way in which standards are imposed under it.
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Civil Rights
Guto ap Owain Bebb (Conservative, Centre-right): I met the Welsh Language Commissioner in August. We have subsequently written to her, highlighting the fact that the concerns raised in relation to the operation of the 2011 Measure have no grounds. In other words, the 2011 Measure is not affected by the Bill. There will be an impact if a subsequent Welsh Language Measure is passed by the Welsh Assembly, but it does not affect the way in which the legislation—
Wales Bill — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Guto ap Owain Bebb (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure there are challenges along the M4 at this point in time, but my understanding is that the distance between Cardiff and Bristol can be covered in an hour On the consultation, we looked widely at a number of options in relation to the impact of the proposed change. The clear point is that we have to take into account the impact of changes to APD on devolution. We need to consult regional airports in England that will be affected and Cardiff airport, the single international airport in Wales. However, the analysis, which we have concluded, shows quite clearly that the scale of the impact of such a change would be detrimental to Bristol to such an extent that it could have a detrimental effect on the availability of flights to south Wales consumers and businesses. In other words, it could have an unintended consequence that would be bad for the economy of south-east Wales, because we would damage Bristol before we saw any upsurge in Cardiff. On that basis, we have concluded that we are opposed at this point in time to the devolution of APD to Wales The Government have listened carefully to the debate about the devolution of APD and are fully appreciative of the importance of the aviation sector for creating jobs and growth in Wales. I understand the reason that hon. Members offer in proposing the change, but we cannot justify the distortion it would cause to the wider economy of Wales and to the economy of the south-west of England. That is why the Government reject the devolution of APD New clause 7 seeks to assign a share of the VAT revenues generated in Wales to the Welsh Government, in the same manner that a share of Scottish VAT revenues will be assigned to the Scottish Government from April 2019, following the cross-party Smith commission agreement and given effect through the Scotland Act 2016. It is important to understand the purpose of VAT assignment, which is to increase the link between the Scottish Government’s policy decisions and their budget, and thereby further to increase their accountability for the decisions they take Of course, that argument could be made in support of VAT assignment for Wales. The Welsh Government have a similar range of economic policy levers as the Scottish Government, and one of our key aims is to increase accountability—that is one of the key aims of the Bill. However, the independent cross-party Silk commission gave full consideration to assigning a share of VAT receipts generated in Wales. It recognised that the main argument in favour of assignment is that it would strengthen the link between the performance of the Welsh economy and the size of the Welsh Government’s budget. However, the Silk commission pointed out that it would also mean taking on additional revenue risks arising from factors over which the Welsh Government could have less control. The commission concluded that assignment of Welsh VAT revenues to the Welsh Government’s budget should not be pursued.
The Royal Sutton Coldfield Green Belt — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Housing
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): I have the honour to present a petition, signed by 11,489 residents of the royal town of Sutton Coldfield, against the proposals of Labour-controlled Birmingham City Council to build 6,000 homes across our green belt The petition states: The Humble Petition of citizens of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, Sheweth, That the proposal to build 6,000 homes on the Green Belt that surrounds the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield should not proceed while accepting that significant new housing should be built in more appropriate places Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House considers this proposal and lays it aside And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray [P001707]
Govia Thameslink Rail Service — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that the RMT strike is totally without justification? There are no pay cuts and no job losses, and there will still be two staff on all the trains. Will he also join me in condemning not just the official strike action, but the equally invidious unofficial strike action held via the very high levels of sickness we see daily?
Govia Thameslink Rail Service — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Other
Jeremy Mark Quin (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great pleasure to welcome my hon. Friend to the Dispatch Box. On the point about compensation, I recognise what he is saying, but the need for compensation has been recognised from the Dispatch Box by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron). As my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) said in his opening speech, it has also been mentioned in Westminster Hall. The sooner we can get that out to our constituents, the better. I hope that "timely" means a rapid announcement, if I may press the Minister on that.
Govia Thameslink Rail Service — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Other
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend may, of course, press me on that. I know that he asked that question of the former Prime Minister and got quite a categorical answer. I assure him that we are working on this important issue on a regular basis, and it is a matter of frequent conversation. It has not been put on the back burner, and I hope he will be getting some helpful news relatively soon.
Govia Thameslink Rail Service — House of Commons, 2016-09-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that our constituents have paid very large sums of money for season tickets this year and have manifestly not received the service they have paid for, would the Minister and his colleague the Secretary of State consider paying each and every season ticket holder a rebate of, for example, 10% of their season ticket payment—[Interruption.] Or 20%; we seem to be conducting an auction. Would the Secretary of State consider paying them such a rebate in recognition of the fact that they have not received the service they have paid for?
PFI Health Projects — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What estimate he has made of the value of assets funded by PFI health projects which will remain in private ownership after the contracts for those projects have concluded.
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman has a consistent track record in opposing PFI, even when the vast majority of the schemes were put under contract by the Government of which he was a member—so I will not take any lectures from him about how to deal with PFI. We will continue to use the new stricter terms as and when appropriate.
NHS Staff Recruitment and Retention — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): We recognise, absolutely, that bills for agency staff have become unsustainable, which is why we have taken deliberate action, including by introducing price caps on hourly rates last November, which has had a significant impact on reducing agency costs. In the year to date, agency costs are some £550 million less than they were last year.
NHS Staff Recruitment and Retention — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Other
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): I am well aware, from representations made by my hon. Friend and other neighbouring MPs, of the concerns that that has caused locally. The Secretary of State has already indicated to me that he does intend to meet my hon. Friend and campaigners in due course.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Other
Questions: What will the Government do to scrutinise and assist the London ambulance service, which has had an appalling and consistently poor record on call-out times for category A emergencies?; Last October, the then Health Minister, the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), confirmed that my constituency fell far below the national average in terms of NHS dental provision. In fact, it is one of the worst in the country. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then. Does the Secretary of State believe it is acceptable that my constituents, including many children, are unable to get an NHS dentist?
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): It is clearly unacceptable if the situation that the hon. Lady sets out is the case. I am happy to meet her and work with her to take the action that is needed to make things better.
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jeremy John Elton Lefroy (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend may well be aware that, in a fairly short space of time, far more Syrian than Lebanese children will be being educated in Lebanese state schools. Does that not speak volumes for the hospitality of the Lebanese?
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Immigration
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has made his point with great eloquence We are not using the opportunity—if I may put it in that way—to provide an education for the children in the camps, given that they at least constitute a captive audience. Every child in a camp in one of the surrounding countries should be receiving an education. There should be education and training, and, indeed, there should be opportunities for the countries that are receiving all the refugees to have free access to the European Union for their goods and services. That is not happening. Moreover, because some countries have failed to pay their dues to the United Nations in some of the camps, the children and adults there are receiving only half the rations that they should be receiving, and they are down to starvation rations at that.
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I have operated under a no-fly zone. It is practical and it can work, but it is quite difficult at a low level. That requires us to have seriously good surveillance over the target areas. If we have that, we can deal with it. We cannot have just a no-fly zone; we need good surveillance as well.
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): While we all look for peace, does the hon. Lady agree that sometimes backing down, looking weak and hiding one’s head achieves quite the reverse? It encourages violence, treachery and the brutality that we are seeing today.
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) made a succinct speech from the Front Bench; that is the length of speech that I know the Scottish National party spokesperson will seek to imitate.
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): While the UK Government are right to focus their efforts on providing aid in the region, the refugees we have agreed to take, particularly under the community sponsorship scheme, include only 2% of Christian refugees from Syria, despite the fact that religious minorities constitute up to 12% of the Syrian population. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we need to make more effort to reach out to frightened religious minorities in Syria?
Aleppo and Syria — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her speech. There have been some exceptionally powerful speeches in the debate already As I am keen to accommodate everybody and for everybody to have the chance to make a decent length speech, and in anticipation of us all wanting to hear the Foreign Secretary respond comprehensively to others’ speeches, I appeal to colleagues to try to stick to seven minutes each. I call Mr Gavin Robinson.
Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): Small charities in my constituency include the Leasowes walled garden project, which is part of the Halesowen Abbey Trust—a small organisation dependent on small donations. What plans does the Minister have to communicate to those small charities the benefits of the scheme that she is outlining?
Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend might be interested to know that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has a team that goes out promoting these schemes. I was really impressed to read that since 2014 it had given more than 600 presentations to charities of all sorts of sizes, up and down the country, but he is right to say that we can always do more. I really hope that as a result of the Bill and this debate, colleagues will feel that they, too, can play an important role in telling charities in their area the good news that the scheme just got easier. Obviously, we all have a lot of contact with smaller charities in particular, and we get to know them over the years in which we represent them. The changes are the result of months of consultation and constructive discussion with the charity sector. I thank the hundreds of charities, representative bodies and other organisations that worked with HMRC to make this review work Let me turn to the first of our proposed changes. The Bill will make an important change to the criteria for eligibility for the gift aid small donations scheme. Currently, to be eligible, a charity must have been registered for at least two full tax years, and have claimed gift aid in at least two of the previous four tax years, without a gap of longer than a year; obviously, that is around the assurance process. The Bill removes both those criteria, allowing newer and smaller charities to access the scheme sooner. As we all know, for a charity, those early years are important. The change will provide a welcome financial boost when it is most needed. This is a substantial simplification of the scheme; the only remaining eligibility criterion that charities and community amateur sports clubs will need to meet is the gift aid matching requirement, under which charities must claim £1 of full gift aid for every £10 claimed under the small donations scheme There are two reasons why we feel it is necessary to retain this rule. The first is to incentivise charities to engage with the full gift aid scheme, which will provide them with even greater income over the longer term. The second is to protect from fraud the small donations scheme, which has substantially fewer record-keeping requirements than gift aid—an important factor that was looked at when the scheme was first designed back in 2012. It is by retaining the rule that donations under the scheme must be matched with gift aid donations that we can best do that. We are simplifying the rules on eligibility as far as possible to allow as many charities as we can to benefit, while protecting the integrity of the scheme.
Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill — House of Commons, 2016-10-11
Topic: Other
James Philip Duddridge (Conservative, Centre-right): While I fully support the point that the Minister makes, I can conceive of a time when it is decided in a review that that link is not the correct one. Will the Minister consider adding a clause in Committee that would allow us to take out that requirement without going through the cumbersome primary legislative process in this House again? That would effectively allow her successors to make a slightly different decision in future, without having to come back to the House.