argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Education
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): From a Waveney, a Suffolk and an East Anglian perspective, this Budget is very much a step in the right direction, but there is a great deal of work that remains outstanding and some anomalies that need to be corrected. Much good work is already under way. In Lowestoft, construction has already begun on two vital infrastructure projects—the Gull Wing bridge and the Lowestoft flood defence scheme—and East Suffolk Council is busy working out the details of the various projects that are included in the successful towns fund bid that was announced in the March Budget From a Suffolk perspective, the headline from the Budget was £1.7 billion of new, direct Government funding to enable a large-scale nuclear project to proceed, and they very much have Sizewell C in mind. This funding is linked to the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill, which has its Second Reading on Wednesday. Subject to the development consent order being granted, construction will begin next year on the project, which could bring enormous benefits to Suffolk people and businesses. It is vital that once the 12-year construction period has ended, we leave a lasting legacy of knowledge, skills and infrastructure Investment in infrastructure is important, but to achieve meaningful levelling up, we need to invest in people, so that they have the skills to secure the well-paid, exciting jobs that are emerging in the green economy and new technologies. It is welcome that the Government recognise that, are funding the lifetime skills guarantee, and are continuing to provide an education recovery fund. However, I have some concerns. There is no commitment to increasing per-student funding for adults. By the end of 2024-25, it will not have gone up for 14 years. There is also a worry that there is a lack of support for level 1 and 2 qualifications. Level 3 qualifications and T-levels have an important role to play, but we need to put these rungs on the ladder if as many people as possible are to embark on that lifetime learning journey In the short time remaining to me, I will briefly highlight two barriers that need to be removed if we are to deliver meaningful, enduring levelling up in the east of England. It was disappointing to learn that the New Anglia local enterprise partnership’s proposal for a regional fund had not been accepted. Along with the south-east and London, from which we are very different, we are now the only area in the UK without such a facility. In the same vein, it is concerning that page 56 of the Red Book explicitly states that the Government will invest in research, development and innovation outside London, the south-east and the east of England. Speaking from an East Anglian perspective, I strongly urge the Government to review that, as Suffolk and Norfolk are very different from London and the home counties. Failure to recognise that will undermine levelling up, particularly in coastal East Anglia, which I represent.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Douglas Gordon Ross (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that time is tight tonight, but I cannot let the speech from the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant) go without some response. It was lacking much coherence and any credibility. We heard from him that the covid-19 pandemic should have been predicted. His party have been in government in Scotland for almost a decade and a half, and I do not remember at any point, prior to covid hitting, warnings about that pandemic As for credibility, I would have had a little bit of support for the hon. Gentleman if he could at least recognise that this Budget delivers £600 million of additional funding to the Scottish Government this year; and that, for the next three years, it delivers an additional funding pot of £4.6 billion each year for the Scottish Government added on top of what they already have, making it the most generous settlement since devolution in 1999. The SNP now has more money to spend as a Scottish Government than any of their predecessors, and it has to recognise that this has been a very good Budget for Scotland The hon. Gentleman spoke about a local distillery in his constituency and how the Government should look at the taxation scheme to support the employees in that distillery. I hope that he considers that when he goes to the SNP conference later this month, because a motion is laid down in its conference papers right now calling for his party to look at "raising additional revenue by taxing the significant profits of the Scotch whisky industry".
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Douglas Gordon Ross (Conservative, Centre-right): I will come on to taxation, because the Exchequer Secretary is sitting on the Front Bench and I want to make my own comments about that. However, there was nothing from the hon. Gentleman, leading the SNP in the response to the Budget debate tonight, about what his party are putting forward for debate at its conference later this month, which would see taxation on Scotch whisky go up. What we have seen from this Government is a fifth successive UK Government Budget that has frozen taxation on Scotch whisky, and that is something that I welcome for the many distilleries in Moray and across the country. There has been nothing from him or any SNP representatives so far tonight about the £172 million being invested by this Government on levelling-up projects across Scotland. From the borders to Edinburgh, from Ayrshire to Aberdeen, those projects will get funding from this Government The hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan), another SNP speaker today, used a quotation to suggest that he would wash the money coming from the UK Government to deliver these projects. These are projects that have been outstanding in Scotland for years. If the SNP Government had acted to deliver them, they would not be looking for investment from the UK Government, but because we have devolution and Scotland has two Governments, we are seeing the UK Government delivering these projects where the Scottish Government have failed. Finally, I want to comment on the duty freeze on spirits, which is very welcome in Scotland. We know that there is a wider review of alcohol taxation in the United Kingdom; the Prime Minister announced it at Roseisle distillery in 2019 on a campaign visit to Moray. While the Exchequer Secretary is on the Front Bench, will she reassure the distilleries in my constituency and the Scotch Whisky Association that this Government will be true to their word? In their briefing notes on the Queen’s Speech after the 2019 election, they said that the review would "ensure our tax system is supporting Scottish whisky and gin producers and protecting 42,000 jobs supported by Scotch across the UK." That is what I will be holding this Government to. I hope to see a very good response in the near future.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Peter Moore (Conservative, Centre-right): It seems to me that we are hearing the same old speeches from the Opposition. I want to pick up on a point made by the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant), who is no longer in his place. We heard no mention of education in his speech, and I wonder why not. It is because in 2019 and 2020, the proportion of pupils passing three or more highers was only 43%, which is lower than any year in Scotland since 2015. It is a disgrace that the Scottish Government continue to fail the many young children growing up north of the border When we last debated a Budget in this place, the country was in a very different situation from the one we find now. In the middle of the third national lockdown, many businesses in Keighley and Ilkley were telling me that without further support they might not be able to open their doors to customers again. In March, I said it was essential for the Chancellor to extend his world-beating support for businesses, including the furlough scheme and cash grant payments. The Chancellor proved he was on the side of British businesses and workers then and, after last week’s Budget, as we build back better from this pandemic, it gives me great pride to say that this Conservative Government are on their side once again While March’s Budget was about supporting people through an unprecedented time, this Budget is all about giving local businesses the tools and the confidence they need to succeed in the post covid economy. Take small businesses, the backbone of the local economy in Keighley and Ilkley: cuts to business rates for those in the leisure and retail sector will help them to bounce back from months of closures. With the Government’s small business rate relief, £7 billion of tax cuts will be granted to more than 700,000 businesses—businesses that have shown such resilience over the past year. They deserve a Government who are on their side and will put them at the forefront of UK economic growth The Government are acting on another issue that is important to me and many of my constituents: the skills agenda. The Budget will bring skills spending to a total of £3.8 billion during this Parliament, and it will go directly to practical changes that will make a real difference and make levelling up a reality. The funds will introduce T-levels to our national curriculum, create more traineeships and apprenticeships, and build more institutes of technology On a micro level, the Government have already invested and committed £33.6 million in Keighley through the towns fund. At the very heart of that plan is a new skills hub, a new manufacturing, engineering and tech hub and a new health and wellbeing hub, all of which will be built in the centre of my town. I am pleased that the Government have already committed to 40 new hospitals, with a further eight to be announced; I made my plea for a new Airedale hospital this week, and I will continue to do so. This Government are on the side of working people, and I am proud to support this Budget.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to speak in support of the Budget presented last week by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. After over four and a half years in this place, and over 10 years involved at some level or other in Scottish politics, I am used to the SNP being able to manufacture a grievance out of absolutely nothing. The hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant) gave it a good shot tonight, but I was pleasantly shocked and surprised by his contribution. Granted, there was very little mention of the £176 million that the UK Government invested directly in local communities in Scotland through the levelling-up fund, and there has been no mention from those on the SNP Benches of the domestic air passenger duty cut, which I campaigned for, and which will support regional airports in Scotland as they recover from lockdown and the pandemic, though the hon. Member for Gordon (Richard Thomson), where Aberdeen airport is situated, is still to speak. I look forward to his comments welcoming it There was very little mention—the honourable exception was the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden)—of the spirits duty freeze, which will support the Scotch whisky industry. There has been no mention from those on the SNP Benches of the freeze on fuel duty, which will support commuters, and help people in rural Scotland more than those anywhere else. Also, there has been literally no mention of the increase in the national living wage, which will help so many people across Scotland What shocked and surprised me was the fact that in answer to my intervention, the hon. Member for Glenrothes actually welcomed the largest increase to the lump sum given to the Scottish Government since devolution began in 1999—£4.6 billion on top of the annual baseline figure of £36.7 billion. It is the largest annual block grant, in real terms, in any spending review since devolution was created. It is almost as though, earlier today, the hon. Member, like me, read Mandy Rhodes saying in Holyrood magazine that the SNP have to stop being the "winner at being a sore loser." In that spirit of cross-party consensus, I am reaching out across the aisle and offering an olive branch to my SNP colleagues. I ask them to join the Scottish Conservatives—not in campaigning to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom; that would be too far for them. I ask them to join us in calling for the Scottish Government to spend this biggest ever block grant better; join us in campaigning for the £200 million that was promised to the north-east of Scotland to improve journey times between Edinburgh and Aberdeen in 2016. Where is that money? Join us in—
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Education
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not because there is not much time left. I am sure the hon. Member is speaking later, if not tomorrow, and I will look out for his contribution then. [Interruption.] He has already spoken. Well, I apologise Join us in calling for the Scottish Government to spend more money on education so that we can shrink the now-growing attainment gap in Scotland. [Interruption.] Join us in fixing the bridges in Aberdeenshire, which the hon. Member shouts out about.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): Aberdeenshire has not even applied to the levelling up fund yet—we are applying in the next round. Aberdeen city, which we have heard nothing of in this debate, has received £76 million to level up the city centre—something that I support and I really hope the hon. Member will add his support to as well. This is a Budget that levels up across the United Kingdom In this new age of cross-party consensus, which the hon. Member for Gordon is doing so much to undermine by shouting across the Chamber tonight, I would like to work with my SNP colleagues so that we can press the Scottish Government to spend their money better. In that way, maybe they will see that what the Chancellor said last week is true: that we truly are better, stronger and wealthier when we all work together.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Education
Paul Bristow (Conservative, Centre-right): Last week was significant for me: I got married—[Hon. Members: "Hooray!"]—and the Chancellor gave Peterborough £20 million in his Budget. As wedding presents go, it was a pretty big one To be strictly accurate, my wife and I finally got to hold our wedding ceremony. We had managed to get the legal bit done just before the pandemic, but then we had to wait. In fact, our wait was long enough for the Government to launch their levelling up fund and to identify Peterborough as a priority area, for me to work with Peterborough City Council and others to develop our bid, and for the council to submit the bid back in June I listened to the announcements, and the Chancellor had plenty of good news for Peterborough, including a cash uplift of £1,500 per pupil for our schools and freezing fuel duty for the 12th year in a row. The announcements kept coming, with a £2 billion tax cut for working universal credit claimants, making work pay; a 6.6% increase in the national living wage; much-needed support for Peterborough’s pubs; and help on business rates for 90% of our city’s venues But there was one thing that I was desperate to know: had we got the levelling up money? Our bid was ambitious. For those who do not know, we are developing a new university. I was shocked to hear some Opposition Members speak about the Government not investing in skills and research because the university is not any old university, but one that specialises in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, and is linked directly to local employers. The first stages are through planning, building is under way and partners are on board. Our university project has already benefited from generous Government support, but the levelling up submission was on another level The application underpinned our plans to expand the new university, bring investment to the city and deliver an amazing living lab science block and an entire university quarter cultural hub. Hon. Members have to visualise it to get the points: extra teaching space, innovation and research facilities, 1,700 local students studying in STEM fields, all open to the public and attracting up to 50,000 visitors a year, and all relying on my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer I got hold of the Red Book and leafed through many pages. When I reached page 78, I saw what I wanted. There, proudly listed, was Peterborough. That is fantastic news for my city. The £20 million—the first tranche of levelling up allocations—will transform my city and we are raring to go. One reason Peterborough got the cash was our ability to complete construction by 2024. That is less time spent building the facilities than it took me to get married. I say without hesitation that last week’s levelling up funding was the best wedding present I could possibly have received.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Social Welfare
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to close this debate. I thank the many right hon. and hon. Members who have spoken today for their speeches. The number who have spoken and the passion of their speeches demonstrates just how much we want levelling up, in this Chamber and in the constituencies that we represent Levelling up is the defining mission of this Government and it is a golden thread running through this Budget and this spending review. We believe that the place where a person grows up should never dictate their prospects, yet, as the Chancellor said last week, for too long, the location of people’s birth has determined too much of their future. Right now, communities throughout the country are held back by disparities in health, education and jobs Levelling up is about no longer accepting the consequences of a skewed economy, no longer accepting lower expectations, no longer accepting limited life chances, and no longer accepting that each new generation must choose between their family and their future, forced to travel to far-flung cities like modern-day Dick Whittingtons in search of opportunity. Levelling up is a new and optimistic future for the whole country—a future where a person’s hard work determines their success no matter whether they live in Burnley or Bromley. It is a future where there is a chance to succeed in your education, to follow your dreams and to achieve your ambitions wherever you live What does that mean in practice and how are we going to do it? First, we are investing in people across this country so that they have the skills they need to seize opportunities. We will start at birth and in childhood, with an extra £500 million investment, recognising the importance of the first 1,001 days of a child’s life, continuing through school and into adulthood with £3.8 billion extra spending on adult skills, welcomed I know by my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) among others We are investing in places and in the infrastructure that connects them. We are investing £130 billion in infrastructure, including £21 billion in roads and £46 billion in railways. I was delighted this afternoon to hear colleagues welcoming our investment in roads, rail, buses and broadband across the country. May I congratulate many of those who have secured investment in the first round of the £4.8 billion levelling-up fund, including my hon. Friends the Members for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton), for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Jo Gideon), for St Ives (Derek Thomas), and for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish). I should also mention my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) who not only argued for more of the pie, but who probably got the highest word count per minute achieved in this Chamber this afternoon—a position that was hotly contested.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure that the hon. Lady well knows, having followed this debate and recent conversations about the Budget, that constituencies and Members on the Conservative Benches and on the Opposition Benches have received funding from the levelling-up fund, including Members of the Opposition Front Bench. I encourage the hon. Lady’s constituency to bid in future rounds of the levelling-up fund. So far—[Interruption.] If she would please listen to what I am saying rather than continuing to shout at me. She asked me a question and I am responding. It is important to her constituency that she listens. Her constituency is clearly seeking levelling-up funds. I would be delighted if it received them. It will have the opportunity to bid for further funding in future rounds, along with other Members and constituencies that have expressed an interest in doing so Across the UK, we are creating the conditions for businesses to invest and flourish, because businesses create jobs and drive the growth that will see people’s living standards going up. This was an argument that was made skilfully by my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (Dr Evans) among others. Hence, we have a £1.4 billion global Britain investment fund and £1.6 billion additional funding for the British Business Bank’s regional funds As we pursue levelling up, we are empowering local leaders to shape and drive the transformation in their communities—local leaders who know best what their communities need. That was a point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell) among others and exemplified by the £5.7 billion five-year consolidated transport settlements for the eight city regions During today’s debate, I heard several colleagues make comments such as "Don’t forget about the south", from my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Royston Smith); "Don’t forget about London", from my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond); and "Don’t forget Suffolk and Norfolk", from my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous). I also heard, "There’s not enough money for the north." I assure hon. Members across the House that levelling up will happen across the UK, in all regions and nations of the United Kingdom.
Budget Resolutions — House of Commons, 2021-11-01
Topic: Macroeconomics
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to pick up on the hon. Member’s comments. I am surprised that he did not welcome the level of funding—the highest ever block grant—that Scotland is receiving as part of the Budget and spending review. We are making much-needed reforms to the alcohol duty system, which has been recognised by many commentators over the years as dysfunctional and in the interests of neither public health, nor our economy. We are now moving to a fairer system that taxes more alcoholic drinks at a higher level. This is also fair to whisky. The hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant) called for whisky and wine to have the same duty rate by unit of alcohol. That is exactly what we are proposing in the reforms that will be introduced in 2023, because we recognise the importance of many parts of the sector—whether it is beer, cider, English and Welsh sparkling wine, or whisky—to the UK economy We are ensuring that regions that have historically received less investment are no longer overlooked. For example, some £500 million of the £1.7 billion of the first round of the levelling up fund will indeed go to the north of England, but there are examples of levelling up fund investment all around the country.