argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Westferry Printworks Development — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Government Operations
Navendu Prabhat Mishra (Labour, Centre-left): Westferry has all the hallmarks of some of the murkiest cash-for-favours scandals we have sadly borne witness to over the years. Despite the Secretary of State’s denials, the facts remain that he approved the Westferry printworks scheme just 12 days before the developer donated £12,000 to the Conservative party, and the approval came just two weeks after the Secretary of State sat next to Mr Desmond at a party fundraiser at which—the developer subsequently admitted—he had raised the scheme with the Secretary of State.
Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Transportation
Steven Mark Ward Reed (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Has the Speaker received notification from the Secretary of State for Communities that he wishes to give a statement on the documents he has recently released regarding the Westferry decision? There appear to be significant discrepancies between what the Secretary of State told the House and what is revealed in the documents, specifically: that he did not immediately notify officials following his dinner with the applicant, Richard Desmond; that rather than closing discussion down with the developer as the Secretary of State implied, he instead initiated contact with him the next day via text; and that the letters confirm that he rushed through the decision deliberately to help the developer avoid a £30 million to £50 million levy payable to Tower Hamlets Council.
Protection of UK Food Standards — House of Commons, 2020-06-24
Topic: Agriculture
Taiwo Owatemi (Labour, Centre-left): I commend the hon. Member for securing the important debate. Like him, I have received countless emails and letters from my Coventry residents who are rightly concerned about a number of our protections, particularly food standards, post Brexit. Does he agree that we should aim for the highest possible standards and protect those that we already enjoy here in the UK?
Workplace Pensions — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): Auto-enrolment, the creation of the last Labour Government, has transformed the lives of millions, with 10 million more now saving into a workplace pension, but 5 million people are still not covered because they are too young, because they earn too little or because they are self-employed The hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) is right that 8% cannot be the summit of our ambition to ensure security and dignity in retirement. Does the Minister agree that 8% cannot be right, and will he agree to cross-party talks on putting right that wrong?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister said last week that any workers who need to self-isolate because of the coronavirus and who are not eligible for statutory sick pay could claim UC. However, people have to meet a work coach at the start of a claim for UC, there is a five-week wait for the first payment and anyone asking for an advance also has to go to a jobcentre to have their identity verified. So how will people who have to self-isolate be able to claim UC?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): A major cause of difficulty in transitioning to UC is the five-week delay between applying and being entitled to benefit. The Work and Pensions Committee, at its first meeting last week, chose to make this the subject of its first major inquiry, and I am grateful to the Minister for the conversation we have already had about this. Will he confirm that the Department will do all it can to assist the Select Committee in its inquiry?
Universal Credit and State Pension Payments — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Mark Richard Tami (Labour, Centre-left): The announcement in the written statement on Thursday was extremely welcome and a great victory for hundreds of thousands of pensioners throughout the country. I thank all Members from all parties who signed early-day motion 129, which highlighted the issue. As it was clearly a bad policy in the first place, what redress will the Government offer to those pensioners who have already suffered loss?
People with Disabilities: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): We all want to see more disabled people supported into work, but it is also vital that they receive the support that they are entitled to through employment and support allowance and personal independence payments. It has recently been reported that vulnerable and disabled people who have appealed against decisions to deny them those benefits are being pressured to accept unrecorded telephone deals that pay thousands of pounds less than they may be legally entitled to. The Minister’s Department is accused of telling some people that the offer would be withdrawn if they did not accept it within minutes. How can that practice possibly be acceptable?
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Stephen James Morgan (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for that reply. The Child Poverty Action Group has published a study that detailed the lives of children who go hungry and the impact on their health, education and friendships. It showed that some were ashamed to invite friends home because they have no food to offer them. When will the Government give child poverty the priority that it needs?
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): According to the Department’s own figures, the majority of households hit by the two-child limit are in work but on low incomes. This policy pushes working families further into poverty, when our social security system should be giving people a route out. Will the Minister have a strong word with the Chancellor and end this pernicious policy in this week’s Budget, and why not support the Daily Mirror’s "Give Me Five" campaign while he is at it?
Support into Self-employment — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Kevin Denis Brennan (Labour, Centre-left): I am very interested to hear about the Minister’s roundtable, because one of the great barriers to people in self-employment, particularly women in freelance-type occupations, is the fact that, unlike employed people, they cannot share their parental leave with their partner. Will she, as part of her roundtable discussions, and discussions with other Ministers, ensure that the Government change the system so that self-employed freelancers can share parental leave?
Personal Independence Payment Assessments and Outcomes — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for claimants to receive personal independence payment assessments and the outcomes of those assessments.
Emma Ann Hardy (Labour, Centre-left): As the Minister will be aware, PIP assessments can be incredibly stressful and traumatic for claimants. That is why I am working with Disabled People Against Cuts to provide recording equipment for anyone living in Hull West and Hessle who is going for an assessment. But it should not be down to individual MPs to provide that. So will the Minister look at providing recording equipment for every PIP assessment that takes place right across the country to improve transparency and fairness?
Claimants with Disabilities: Number of Assessments — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): Before Errol Graham was found dead after his employment and support allowance was stopped, he wrote a letter to the Department for Work and Pensions, pleading with officials. He said: "Please judge me fairly. I am… overshadowed by depression." That letter was revealed to the public weeks after the National Audit Office published a damning report showing that the Department has investigated 69 suicides linked to social security, which are just the tip of the iceberg. Will the Secretary of State finally make a statement on that report, and will she now commit to an independent inquiry into the deaths related to social security?
Claimants with Disabilities: Number of Assessments — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): That passion certainly does not seem to be demonstrated in recent tribunal cases—the Department for Work and Pensions has lost more employment tribunals for disability discrimination than any other employer in Britain. Is the Secretary of State shocked by her Department’s own disability tribunal record, given that it should be, as the Minister said, leading by example? What will the Secretary of State do to rectify that?
Claimants with Disabilities: Number of Assessments — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Neil Coyle (Labour, Centre-left): For a decade, disabled people and disability organisations such as the Disability Benefits Consortium have highlighted the absurdity of testing people with learning disabilities and progressive conditions every six months, as well as the stress for them and the cost to the taxpayer and the NHS. The Minister says those assessments will be reduced. When can they expect them to be reduced?
State Pension Age Equalisation: Financial Support for Women — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Sharon Hodgson (Labour, Centre-left): Approximately 6,100 of my constituents have been affected by the equalisation of the state pension age, and many have told me of the financial hardship that they and their families are suffering because of the change and their inability to work any longer. Last week, there was another lobby of Parliament that I, together with lots of people who will be in the House today, attended—it was packed. Another one is coming up soon. These women stressed to me last week that they are not going away and are not going to give up, so what is the Minister going to do to give some justice to those amazing women?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Margaret Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The Government tried to justify introducing the new bereavement support payment in April 2017 on the grounds that it modernises support, but couples who are not married or not in a civil partnership are not eligible. Last month, the High Court in England found that that is incompatible with human rights legislation and discriminates against children of unmarried parents. The Prime Minister has admitted that that is an injustice, so when will the Government put it right?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Government Operations
Harriet Ruth Harman (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State made it clear in his answer to the urgent question that parliamentary accountability is fundamental—that is evidenced by so many Members on both sides of the House rising to raise myriad issues —yet despite that acknowledgment we are hearing reports that after Easter the House might be suspended until September. Will he give an undertaking that that will not be the case? Will he recognise that, as a big organisation of 650 MPs and thousands of staff, we can play our part in containment without opting for the nuclear option of closing down accountability altogether? Other measures could be considered, such as using Westminster Hall on a UQ basis, so that we have continuous accountability for what the Government are doing through Parliament, albeit in a different form.
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): It is not just coronavirus and dealing with it that needs parliamentary scrutiny. The Government cannot continue levying income tax unless we have another Finance Act, and they will not be able to use emergency powers under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for longer than 28 days, so Parliament will have to keep on sitting, won’t it? The Secretary of State is wrong, as it is not for the House authorities to decide whether this House sits. The only person who can table a suspension of Parliament is a Government Minister, so will he just rule it out now?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): Millions of people in this country live alone, and many elderly people rely on their relatives visiting them to keep them able to live in their own homes. This activity may well be disrupted if people get ill or have to be isolated. How then will those vulnerable people, who rely on outsiders to be able to live, get their food delivered and be looked after, possibly cope?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): To follow up on the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (John Cryer), there are 4.7 million self-employed people, and currently they will not be entitled to statutory sick pay or contributory jobseeker’s allowance. The company Hermes, working with the GMB, has already said that it will offer support to its workers who cannot come to work because they have to self-isolate; other companies have not. What pressure are the Government putting on businesses such as Uber, Deliveroo and DPD to ensure that the people who deliver their services will be able to self-isolate?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Education
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): I have been approached by some parents who want to know what option they may have to withdraw their children from school for a short period, perhaps prior to the Easter break, if they wish to do so, and agree with the school an arrangement for a period of home study. Is the Secretary of State working with his Department for Education counterparts on any contingency plan should home schooling become necessary?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): Industries such as the hospitality industry employ people on zero-hours contracts, and I know of one major hotel that has laid off a number of people. What can the Secretary of State do to ensure that people are not left in financial difficulties due to their employers taking these decisions?
Coronavirus — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has called for a national effort on a number of occasions. What is his take on the request from the TUC, which has called for a joint emergency taskforce between trade unions and businesses to make sure, for example, that statutory sick pay issues are addressed as well as keeping public services afloat?
Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Transportation
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): Many of the facilities, for example the aquatic centre in Smethwick, will be used after the games have ended. Is there not a need for consideration of longer-term changes to transport arrangements? Will they be included in the legacy plans to ensure such facilities are properly used and enjoyed in the future?
Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Shabana Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Minister agree that one way we should evaluate the success and eventual legacy of the games is by how successful they are at getting jobs, skills and volunteering opportunities to those furthest from the world of work? He will know that my constituency has the highest rate of unemployment in the country and that many other Birmingham constituencies are afflicted with the awful problem of long-term, systemic worklessness. The games are an incredibly important opportunity to turn this around. Does he agree that this must be front and centre of all decisions when it comes to the jobs and skills the games will provide?
Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Transportation
Khalid Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): The Mayor and the West Midlands Combined Authority are trying to introduce a bendy bus under the current diesel structure that would cost £35 million just in the Perry Barr area. Would it not be more constructive to have electric buses running for that price, along with normal buses to make environmental changes for Birmingham?
Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Khalid Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): I appreciate what my right hon. Friend is saying about the young leaders programme. We have more than 160 nationalities living in Birmingham. The Commonwealth programme will be hugely welcome and hugely appreciated, but, more importantly, it will provide the leadership for the next generation, and I thank him for raising that.
Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Transportation
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making some extremely important points. As a neighbouring MP in the west midlands, I welcome the games coming to our region. She talks about Edgbaston being a world-leading cricket venue. Leamington, of course, is the world-leading venue for lawn bowls—[Hon. Members: "Hear, hear."] I thank hon. Members for their encouragement. While we welcome the event coming to Warwick and Leamington, sustainable transport is one of the issues that we face. Does she agree that we need to see this as a fantastic chance to invest heavily in restructuring the sort of transport links that we need for the future?
Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: Labor
Liam Dominic Byrne (Labour, Centre-left): When the Minister does so, will he clarify for the House whether anyone in his Department has told the organising committee that it should not become an accredited living wage employer? I tabled a parliamentary question on that, and it is fair to say that the answer was not crystal clear.
Commonwealth in 2020 — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I gently suggest that sometimes we want both. I have an idea: why not allow all British high commissioners in Commonwealth countries to fly the rainbow flag when there is a pride demonstration going on in that country?
Commonwealth in 2020 — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister and wish everyone a happy Commonwealth Day. I know his passion for Africa and the Commonwealth from the inquiries and trips we did together on the IDC As the shadow Foreign Minister covering the overseas territories, I want to mention their important role in the Commonwealth while highlighting that five of them—these are not even Commonwealth nations—do not recognise same-sex marriage, and it was this Government who, last year, rejected the recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Committee to make Orders in Council to require them to recognise same-sex marriage. If we cannot get it right for even our overseas territories, one wonders if we have any hope of persuading our Commonwealth friends. I will come on to that in a bit The Commonwealth is more important than ever as we leave the European Union in a world in which there is currently a grave lack of global leadership, in which the credibility and relevance of our great international institutions are under daily threat and in which human rights and the rule of law are being disregarded by dozens of Governments and deprioritised by dozens of others. In a world like that, we desperately need global leadership and co-ordinated international action, and that is what the Commonwealth should and can offer We desperately need a strong and united Commonwealth to demonstrate to the rest of the world why such institutions are so important. We desperately need a Commonwealth that will defend and promote respect for human rights and the rule of law. If the Commonwealth can do all those things, it will remain a vital force for good in our world and a centre point of Britain’s multilateral relationships, because we see the Commonwealth countries not simply as trading partners but as essential partners in the challenges faced by the world and by each of our nations With our common history and common future, the Commonwealth should be about sharing our wealth and knowledge, but we cannot deny that much of that history was not of a common wealth but of the UK taking, stealing and mistreating the countries that form most, but not all, of the current Commonwealth. Although we have impoverished those countries, we cannot change history or rewrite the past, but we can do the brave thing and apologise when we need to apologise and, where necessary, make concerted efforts to improve the lives of those who, by our colonial laws, are still discriminated against or who, by our discriminatory payments, lost out when serving to keep our country safe.
Commonwealth in 2020 — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Yes, we did that two years ago, in 2018, at the CHOGM London meeting, but the Government failed to put this on the agenda of that meeting and to include it in the communiqué. I agree that we should be leading by example, but that means that when we have the chairmanship of Commonwealth positions and we do not raise these things, even gently, we are failing.
Commonwealth in 2020 — House of Commons, 2020-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Usually, where someone goes into a shop and smashes a vase, they have a responsibility to fix it, or at least to pay for it to be fixed or replaced. If we go around the world smashing some people’s civil rights up, we have a responsibility to help sort it out. The question I asked the Minister was: how are we supporting the activists on the ground in those countries to make sure that they can pressure their Governments on laws that we imposed? I am afraid that if the hon. Gentleman cannot understand that, we are not going to see eye to eye on history or diplomatic relations Going back to where there is perhaps a glimmer of hope in the Commonwealth, the CYF brought together 500 delegates from around the Commonwealth, and it started to show us the future direction of many countries. Some 60% of the Commonwealth’s 2.4 billion population are under 30, so what are our Government doing to ensure that those young people’s voices are heard and amplified? As my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne) suggested in the previous debate, we need to start to take Commonwealth youth service seriously, so that we can support those young people to hold their leaders to account. Will the Minister commit to training and funding young people to ensure that they are able to participate in the Commonwealth youth forum at this year’s forthcoming CHOGM? I am talking about supporting people from Britain and from some of the poorest countries from around the world that are Commonwealth members. I have attended three CHOGMs, and this year’s will be the first to be held in a country that has never been a part of the British empire or part of a realm of the Crown. It will be held in a country where gender equality has been achieved by its Parliament, where the median age is 22.7 and where 69% of people are under 30. The CHOGM in Rwanda provides a real opportunity for gender equality and young people to be at the heart of the Commonwealth, and to put right some of the missed opportunities we had in London.