argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: Considering that my right hon. Friend has managed to complete 99.2% of the common agricultural policy payments in England, what assistance and co-operation can he offer the devolved Administration in Edinburgh, who have managed only to reach 90.4%?; Although the Government provide support for cattle farmers affected by TB, can the Secretary of State reassure me that goat and sheep farmers in Cheshire will get comparable compensation?; Is“thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus”an appropriate description to use for a fellow Cabinet member? If hard Brexiteers in our Government are falling out in that way, how on earth can the Secretary of State expect our European Union partners to take our negotiations seriously?; Farmers in west Oxfordshire welcome the Government’s assurance that CAP funding will be guaranteed until 2020 and for structural schemes for the lifetime of the scheme. Could the Government give further assurance as to what assistance will be given to farmers who plan on a five-year cycle?; Many of my constituents in Blaydon have suffered badly from landfill sites on their doorstep. What plans does the Secretary of State have, first to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, and secondly to ensure that environmental protections are not only preserved but strengthened in the Brexit process?; My hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) has drawn the House’s attention to the fantastic show in his constituency. I wish to draw hon. Members’ attention to the most spectacular summer’s day out in Worcestershire, the Hanbury show, which is held in my constituency. However, the farming communities in Inkberrow, Hanbury and the Lenches, who take part in the show with their fantastic produce, are concerned that, post-Brexit, there will be standards that affect the import and export of their products and have a negative impact on their trade. Will the Minister give us specific reassurances on that?
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): May I return to the issue of animal welfare? The Secretary of State will recognise that the use of antibiotics in farming is part of an animal welfare regime. However, there is massive concern that overuse of antibiotics is destroying their effectiveness, both for animals and humans. What can be done to reverse this trend?
EU Referendum Campaign — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The commission has published two reports that include its assessment of the rules on campaign funding for the EU referendum. The commission has also completed investigations of issues with a small number of campaigner spending returns, none of which related to impermissible donations. It is continuing to consider issues with some campaigners’ spending returns, in line with its published enforcement policy. The commission publishes the outcome of all investigations on its website once investigations have been completed.
EU Referendum Campaign — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: International Affairs
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The commission is aware of media reports that allege that there could have been Russian involvement in the EU referendum. These cover a wide range of alleged activities that are beyond the commission’s remit. Any allegation with evidence that a registered campaigner accepted impermissible donations from Russia would be investigated in line with the commission’s enforcement policy, but I am sure that officials from the commission would be more than happy to meet my right hon. Friend to discuss this matter further.
EU Referendum Campaign — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. He will know that the 381 electoral registers are maintained by different electoral registration offices across the country, and it is not currently possible to interrogate them collectively in order to identify duplicate entries or voting in more than one area. The commission will be happy to work with the Government to consider potential solutions to reduce this risk.
Election Expenses and Political Donations — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The Electoral Commission continues to regulate the rules on UK political finance in a way that is fair and proportionate, focusing on helping parties to comply with the law. Since 2013 the commission has been calling for changes to improve enforcement and sanctioning of the political finance rules. It has recommended increasing the maximum penalty it can impose and extending its enforcement responsibilities to some candidate spending rules. The commission will publish a report in the autumn on the regulation of election expenses and donations to political parties in the 2017 general election.
Election Expenses and Political Donations — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman is right to make it clear that the Electoral Commission is of the view that the maximum fine of £20,000 could well be seen as the cost of doing business. The commission has called for an increase in the maximum penalty it can impose on political parties and other campaigners. It is of the view that the penalties should be more proportionate to the income and expenditure of larger and well-funded campaigners.
Emergency Proxy Voting — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What assessment the commission has made of the suitability of the rules on emergency proxy vote applications for people who have suffered a family bereavement.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The commission has recommended changes to the qualifying circumstances for appointing an emergency proxy since 2011. It recommends extending the qualifying circumstances to include those who have unforeseen caring responsibilities or who have experienced the death of a close relative. In its September 2016 response to the commission’s statutory report on the 2015 general election, the UK Government confirmed that they had no plans to extend the qualifying circumstances for appointing an emergency proxy.
Emergency Proxy Voting — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What assessment the commission has made of the suitability of the rules on emergency proxy vote applications for people who have suffered a family bereavement.
Luke Pollard (Labour, Centre-left): Rules and procedures on proxies, emergency proxies and postal votes are good only if they are followed. What action is the Electoral Commission taking to address the shambolic handling of the general election in Plymouth, which resulted in 1,500 postal votes not being sent out, and 6,500 votes not being included in the declaration on the evening of the count?
Emergency Proxy Voting — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What assessment the commission has made of the suitability of the rules on emergency proxy vote applications for people who have suffered a family bereavement.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The commission is collecting information from returning officers about their experience of the 8 June general election. I am sure that it would also welcome the views of my hon. Friend, should he wish to share them with representatives of the commission, either in writing or through a meeting, which I am sure they would be happy to attend.
Emergency Proxy Voting — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What assessment the commission has made of the suitability of the rules on emergency proxy vote applications for people who have suffered a family bereavement.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman will be aware that different arrangements relating to identity are in place in Northern Ireland. However, any concerns about possible criminal activity would be a matter for the police force, and I suggest that he encourages anyone with evidence of criminal activity to report it to the police.
Voter Registration and Boundary Commission Review — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What discussions the Committee has had with the commission on the effect of (a) recent rises in voter registration and (b) the 2017 general election on the conclusions of the most recent Boundary Commission review.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The Electoral Commission this week published a report on electoral registration at the June 2017 UK general election. It highlights that online electoral registration resulted in a record electorate of an estimated 46.8 million people. The commission’s report argues that further modernisation is required to reduce the impact of large numbers of duplicate registration applications, and to ensure that the registration process is more joined up with other public services. The commission does not have any responsibilities in relation to the review of parliamentary constituency boundaries, which are a matter for the UK’s boundary commissions.
Voter Registration and Boundary Commission Review — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What discussions the Committee has had with the commission on the effect of (a) recent rises in voter registration and (b) the 2017 general election on the conclusions of the most recent Boundary Commission review.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): The current review of parliamentary constituencies is a matter for the boundary commissions, but the Electoral Commission has previously recommended that Parliament and the Boundary Commission consider whether it would be more appropriate to base reviews on electoral data taken from the registers used for elections, rather than from the register published on 1 December.
Voter Registration and Boundary Commission Review — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What discussions the Committee has had with the commission on the effect of (a) recent rises in voter registration and (b) the 2017 general election on the conclusions of the most recent Boundary Commission review.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): It will be for the Committee and its new members, when it is constituted, to consider the best way of examining the issues. We all want to ensure that registers are as complete as possible, that people are not missed out and that there is no reduction in the number of people registered to vote, so that the boundary commissions can consider parliamentary constituency boundaries based on the best available registers.
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the right hon. Lady for that response. As she will know, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the president of Feeding Britain, and I was pleased to be able to launch its latest pilot in Bristol on Friday. I appreciate the work that churches are doing in providing food banks, and the other work that she outlined. What more can they do to lobby the Government on the underlying causes of food poverty that cause people to resort to such measures?
Fuel Poverty — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Social Welfare
David Drew (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Lady will be pleased to hear that food banks in Stroud are run largely through the churches, but they are under huge pressure due to the number of volunteers they need and the amount of food that they have to collect. Will she have a word with the Government about the sanctions regime, which is one of the major causes of the increase in food bank usage?
Electoral Regulations (Compliance) — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): Prior to the general election, the commission produced detailed guidance for political parties to help them comply with their statutory reporting requirements. The commission also engaged with a number of parties to discuss our arrangements for compliance. Its advice service for parties was available and well used throughout the campaign. The commission will publish parties’ spending returns for the general election as soon as is practicably possible once the deadlines for submitting the returns has passed.
Electoral Regulations (Compliance) — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Wayne David (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for her response. She should be aware that serious allegations have been made about the use of a call centre in Neath by the Conservative party during the general election campaign. I want to tell the House that I have heard from the Electoral Commission, which has stated in writing that South Wales police are formally considering the allegations.
Electoral Regulations (Compliance) — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. He will know that political parties that spend over £250,000 at the general election have six months to send audited spending returns to the commission, and they will need to include details of all party spending on campaigning at the election It is a potential offence under the Representation of the People Acts for there to be paid canvassing on behalf of the candidate, and any allegations would be a matter for the relevant police force to consider.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Sharon Hodgson (Labour, Centre-left): It is disappointing that we are here again today, so soon after last week’s announcement. A week ago, this House united in agreement to finally facilitate justice for those tragically affected by this scandal. Yet, as we have heard, in recent days Ministers have reneged on last week’s promises and run roughshod over the affected community.
Contaminated Blood — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Madeleine Moon (Labour, Centre-left): This is not a matter of challenging the Minister’s personal integrity; that is not in doubt. What is in doubt is the wisdom of the decision to have a Department that is majorly implicated in the concerns about what happened in the past involved at any point in the consultation and in taking the inquiry forward. I hope that before we go into recess an urgent statement can be rushed out advising that the Cabinet Office or the Ministry of Justice will now lead, not only on the outline of the inquiry but on the consultation. Then we can have trust from those who have been involved.
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Madeleine Moon (Labour, Centre-left): This is the second urgent question today in which the issues have been openness, transparency and trust. The importance of obtaining that public trust and buy-in to the decision that the Secretary of State is going to make means that it is absolutely essential that it comes back to Parliament. May I also remind the House that the BBC has never been investigated for phone hacking or other breaches of honesty and decency?
Fox-Sky Merger — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Matthew Raymond Western (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State, certainly for the first part of the statement, which was about deferring the decision to refer. If she is having problems with her emails, such as getting 10,000 from 38 Degrees, I will happily take her ticket for Wimbledon so that she can spend more time in the office I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich East (Tom Watson) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband). The issue is very serious for us all, and certainly for the public. There is clear evidence of significant corporate failure and—dare I say it?—systemic operational problems with corporate governance. That takes much more time to tackle. Given the gravity of the matter, we cannot rely on just receiving a summer postcard notifying us of the decision. I urge the Secretary of State to wait six weeks and have the decency to announce the decision to the House.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On Monday night we had the farce of the Secretary of State for Transport being dragged to the Chamber to face questions about HS2. Today, the last day of the Session, a written statement has been sneaked out which is of massive economic detriment to the country. It lays waste to any semblance of industrial strategy; it totally conflicts with what was said about electrification at the Dispatch Box on Monday night; and it smashes to bits the Government’s promises to the people of the north and the midlands and especially to the people of south Wales. For the Secretary of State to drop this bombshell on the British people without affording Members the opportunity to hold him to account by way of an oral statement before we break for the summer is completely disrespectful to this House. I seek your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, as to how the Secretary of State can be held to account for his gross omission and explain this disastrous U-turn.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Transportation
Clive James Charles Betts (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Once again the Secretary of State has made a major announcement outside the Chamber on an issue that affects my constituents in Sheffield. The electrification of the midland mainline has been on and off for a number of years; it was on and then paused, then it was on and now apparently it is off again. A written statement has been sneaked out, but no statement has been made in the House. The Secretary of State’s predecessor always came to this House to make such statements. Can you require the Secretary of State to come to this House to explain what is going on with this electrification, which once again has been put on hold?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Transportation
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can we have a statement on the impact of this decision on the proposed electrification of the south Wales valley lines? The statement that has been sneaked out today is appalling.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Environment
Geraint Richard Davies (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Government are required by the High Court to publish an air quality strategy next week because they are in breach of European Union air quality standards, which has led to 40,000 premature deaths and costs £20 billion a year. Yesterday some 60 MPs wrote to me in support of a clean air Bill asking the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to incorporate those provisions in such a strategy. When will we have a chance to debate those matters, and why has a statement not been made today on the issue, given that the House will not have an opportunity to debate it before the deadline imposed by the Court? We knew this would happen and it has such deadly consequences for British people.
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards — House of Commons, 2017-07-20
Topic: Government Operations
Karin Marguerite Smyth (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the comments of the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) and the Leader of the House. On behalf of Her Majesty’s Opposition, I echo the thanks to the outgoing Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Hudson. From my personal experience of meeting Kathryn when I was a new Member, I know just how important the role is in supporting all hon. Members. I thank her for her work I also thank all those who sat on the interview panel for following a robust process and selecting a successor, Kathryn Stone. Her Majesty’s Opposition welcome and endorse the appointment of Kathryn Stone and wish her well in her new role.
Public Procurement Guidelines — House of Commons, 2017-02-08
Topic: Education
Questions: Will my right hon. Friend tell me roughly how many people he has on his departmental staff who have run a small business and who can, therefore, understand the needs and requirements of small businesses when they seek to procure public sector contracts and come up against this continual wall of bureaucracy?
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): Ministers have talked a great deal about linking apprenticeships to public procurement contracts, which is a sensible use of public funds to meet both the skills agenda and to help to narrow inequality in society. However, the Government’s own Social Mobility Commission confirmed last week that only 10% of new apprenticeships are taken up by those from low-income families. Given the Cabinet Office’s unique place to promote this agenda, what is the Minister doing to tackle this unacceptable situation?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-08
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: Safetech Engineering in Frome offers superb expertise in nuclear safety and cyber-security, but to get security clearance and bid for work at Hinkley C or the Ministry of Defence, it needs to be a list X company. The only way to get that status is to be sponsored by another list X company or the MOD. Does the Minister’s Department have plans to let business escape from that circularity and access the markets it needs?
Ian Lavery (Labour, Centre-left): Since 2010, more than 100,000 civil service jobs have gone. With 300 new recruits and funding of £42.7 million for the Brexit Department, is the Minister really serious about the fact that the UK is properly prepared to enter the most complex negotiations for generations? The reality is that it is an absolute shambles.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2017-02-08
Topic: Education
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): The Government chose to launch the pupil premium at Spire Junior School in Chesterfield, where 70% of pupils receive free school meals. The headteacher, Dave Shaw, was going to run the great north run for a cancer charity. However, the Prime Minister’s new schools funding formula means that Spire Junior School now faces the biggest cuts in all of Derbyshire. Running for cash is now the only alternative to sacking staff. Will she go to the finish line and tell Dave Shaw how this is a fairer funding formula?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2017-02-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: Over the last 12 months, as a member of the Defence Committee, I have had the opportunity to look into the Iraq Historic Allegations Team and how we as a country more broadly deal with historical allegations against our servicemen and women. This has been a deeply disturbing experience not only for those of us who have served, but for many Members across the House. I know that the Prime Minister gets this, but will she commit to redouble her and her Government’s efforts to get a grip on this historical allegations process so that never again will our servicemen and women be exposed to the likes of Phil Shiner?
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): My question was about the comments from Samih Kalakeche in Liverpool and why the people of Liverpool are having to suffer these great cuts. Liverpool has asked to meet the Government on four occasions The crisis is so bad that until yesterday David Hodge, the Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, planned to hold a referendum for a 15% increase in council tax. At the last minute, it was called off. Can the Prime Minister tell the House whether or not a special deal was done for Surrey?