argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Productivity — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It is a huge disappointment. The Chancellor does not even have the dignity to apologise to Derek Mackay for making this announcement only in the media. Furthermore, the right hon. Gentleman may not be aware, but 11 March is the date by which councils in Scotland legally have to set local tax rates. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has described this delay as extremely worrying. Its resources spokesperson, the Conservative councillor Gail Macgregor, has said that this will significantly impede local authorities and disadvantage Scotland’s communities. Will he tell me whether he thinks it is fair that Scottish local government must set its budgets blindfold without any notion of what its block grant will be? Is not the truth that the Chancellor has given absolutely no thought to Scotland at all?
Net Zero Emissions — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Environment
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): As always, the Scottish Government are ahead of the UK Government when it comes to climate change and taking steps to tackle this. The Minister rightly acknowledged that the UK Government have to do a lot more. Does he agree that they need to take away the subsidies to nuclear and actually reinvest in onshore wind in Scotland, and allow greater offshore deployment as well?
Middle East: Security — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: International Affairs
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. We on these Benches of course hold no candle for General Soleimani or, indeed, for the actions of the Iranian Government, but I would simply say to the Secretary of State that it is not anti-American to question and press the Government on what they are doing in relation to their closest ally. He says that the US is confident that General Soleimani had co-ordinated the 27 December attacks and was planning further attacks, but how confident is he that that is correct? There is certainly no consensus on Capitol Hill among congressional leaders that that is the case. The Secretary of State mentioned that he had seen intelligence that had perhaps convinced him, but have the UK Government done their own legal analysis of whether the strike was lawful? I ask him simply: does he believe that the strike was lawful? And why has it taken four days for the Government to convene the National Security Council, given the gravity of the situation we now face? On UK forces, the Secretary of State tells the House—this is the killer paragraph—that all training has been "suspended" and "contingency planning" is going on, which can be taken to mean planning to leave Iraq, so can it be taken as read that there is now no active fight against ISIS in Iraq because of the actions of the President of America On de-escalation, will the Secretary of State mount the most robust and unapologetic defence of international law and order? Does he agree with the International Committee of the Red Cross that the threat to target cultural sites, as made by the US President, would be unlawful? Will he work to ensure that the UN Security Council can finally step in and do its job? Will he condemn the fact that the Foreign Minister of Iran has been prevented, against international law, from taking part in UN proceedings? On the JCPOA, I welcome what the Secretary of State has to say, but we really need some detail as to how he will get the plan resurrected with Iran and the United States We hear a lot at the Dispatch Box about the international rules-based order, but our closest ally is ripping it up before our eyes, whether we like it or not. I ask the Secretary of State to be unapologetic in standing up for it and to mount the most robust defence of it—America is a close friend, and that is what a close friend should do. If the Secretary of State does that, he will have the support of those on the SNP Benches.
Middle East: Security — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: International Affairs
Carol Frances Monaghan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Of course, many of us have great concerns about the repercussions of this event and the fact that rather than de-escalating the situation we see the opposite happening. In whatever discussions the Secretary of State has with his US counterparts, will he, if he manages to have any influence with them, state very clearly that we do not support this method of taking out our enemies and that winning the battle of hearts and minds has much more effect, in the long term, than this?
Middle East: Security — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: International Affairs
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It is unwise to threaten it once; it is deeply alarming to threaten it twice. If US President Trump does intend to target Iranian cultural sites, what will the UK response be? To what extent will that response be influenced by the UK Government seeking a trade deal with the US?
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Government Operations
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Analysis by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, which is the equivalent of the House of Commons Library and is therefore independent, notes that clause 3 empowers UK Government Ministers acting alone to make provision in devolved policy areas. The Government’s delegated powers memorandum states that they will not normally do so without the agreement of the relevant devolved Administration, but as the Secretary of State will be aware, the Sewel convention does not apply to delegated legislation. Does he therefore agree that this power shows that the Bill is indeed the power grab that the Scottish National party has always said it is? If it is not, why is it there at all?
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Government Operations
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am sorry, but the Secretary of State is simply wrong about that. On any legal analysis, it is quite clear that clause 3 gives UK Ministers acting alone the power to make regulations in relation to areas of devolved competence. I reiterate my question: why is that power there at all if the Government are not intending to use it to take powers away from the Scottish Parliament and other devolved Administrations?
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Government Operations
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Could I probe that a bit further? In clause 4, proposed new paragraph 11B specifically provides that Scottish Government—and indeed Welsh Government —Ministers cannot make any provision outwith devolved competence. However, there is no equivalent provision in clause 3 saying that the British Government cannot not use the powers to make regulations about devolved matters. If this is just technical, as the Secretary of State says, why will he not agree to include a similar qualification in relation to the British Government’s powers? If he will do so, could that perhaps be addressed in the House of Lords?
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Foreign Trade
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): No one has ever negotiated a trade deal in just 11 months, so is it not likely that we will end up with something incredibly primitive? As for casting up that people voted for this in the election, what they voted for was the Government party saying, "We will achieve that by the end of the year." They did not vote for it saying, "Well, never mind—we will crash out with no deal if we fail."
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: International Affairs
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The political declaration has a huge wish list of aspirations. Are they going to be negotiated later, or does the hon. Gentleman really think that including the European Medicines Agency, the European Chemicals Agency and all the various things that are in the wish list will be achieved by the end of the year?
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is making an excellent point, and I am glad he is raising the issue. I often get families at my surgeries who cannot afford to have their children registered; they might register themselves because they need to work or travel, but they cannot afford to pay for their children. With the decision of the courts on this issue, does my hon. Friend have any view on whether people should be issued with refunds for the children they have already paid for, as the courts have ruled the charges unlawful?
UK Special Forces: Iraq and Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: International Affairs
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the right hon. Gentleman deeply for that intervention, as he is of course entirely correct. I would just come back to the second point he picked me up on, which was about oversight. Nobody wants to deny flexibility; clearly, there has to be an ability to respond. We discussed earlier how the US system is not perfect, but I do not think anyone can say that President Trump feels particularly inflexible as a result of the oversight mechanisms that exist on Capitol Hill. I am not suggesting we mirror those in their entirety, but the right hon. Gentleman is a great authority on these affairs and I think it is time—it is only my proposal at this stage—that if we have a judge-led inquiry that investigates these matters, part of its remit could be to make a recommendation to the Government and the House on the best means of moving forward for proper oversight that does not compromise flexibility and security, because nobody would want that.
UK Special Forces: Iraq and Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Law and Crime
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I hear what the Minister saying and I carry a lot of sympathy for it, but if he does not deal with this properly, quickly and appropriately, the problem will not be courts in the United Kingdom; the problem might well be in the International Criminal Court.
UK Special Forces: Iraq and Afghanistan — House of Commons, 2020-01-07
Topic: Government Operations
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): If I may take the Minister back just slightly, the investigators he mentions who looked at many of these allegations are the same people who have now blown the whistle to the BBC and The Sunday Times. They are the same people who have come forward and said that things have been shut down. He rightly says that he will bring forward primary legislation in the near future. Does he envisage that by that time there will be greater or less resource to investigate as a result of his legislation?
Air Pollution — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Environment
Deidre Leanne Brock (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Will the Minister join me in welcoming the more stringent air pollution reduction targets that the Scottish Government have agreed in legislation, and does she agree that the UK Government should match those targets in their Environment Bill?
Support for Farmers — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Agriculture
David Michael Doogan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The standards of agriculture produce and animal welfare in Angus and elsewhere in these islands is among the best in the world. Is it not the case that the standards of imports are not always up to the standards of UK production? Is it not important that we follow the simple premise that, if something cannot lawfully meet the UK standards of production, it should not lawfully be imported to the UK? Will the Secretary of State enshrine that in the Government’s legislation?
Electronic Voting — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the potential merits of introducing electronic voting.; To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the potential merits of introducing electronic voting.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The commission has had no recent formal discussions on the potential merits of electronic voting. Colleagues on the Procedure Committee have examined what practical and procedural changes to Divisions might be necessary in the context of the covid-19 outbreak and I thank them for their work on that. I know that they will continue to keep the situation under review. Any decision to implement electronic voting would need to be agreed by the whole House. The commission’s responsibility for this matter would be limited to the financial and staffing implications of such a decision.
Electronic Voting — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the potential merits of introducing electronic voting.; To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the potential merits of introducing electronic voting.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for that question. In my almost 20 years in this House I have probably spent the best part of a week traipsing around the Division Lobbies, exercising my democratic obligations as a Member of the House. It is a week that I am certain I will never get back. Last July, the Procedure Committee began an inquiry into the merits of electronic voting, which was interrupted by the general election in December. So far, no decision has been made to reopen that inquiry, but I encourage my hon. Friend to beat a path towards the Procedure Committee to encourage it to take up the inquiry again. Knowing of his determination, I am pretty certain that he will do so.
Covid-19: Remote Working — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Technology
Questions: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what support the Parliamentary Digital Service is providing to hon. Members and staff of the House of Commons to enable (a) remote working and (b) video conferencing during the outbreak of covid-19.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Enabling remote working for hon. Members and staff is a key priority in the Parliamentary Digital Service’s response to covid-19. One focus is the provision of emergency laptops to Members’ staff who are normally equipped with desktop computers. Currently, a reasonable stock of laptops is available, but it should be noted that market supply has been severely disrupted. As of close of business on Wednesday 18 March, 56 laptops had been provided to 41 hon. Members’ offices. Other IT equipment has been made available as requested, such as headsets for Skype for Business use. The Microsoft Office 365 suite of tools is available remotely via personal devices and parliamentary computers. Part of that suite is Microsoft Skype for Business, which offers one-to-one video conferencing facilities. No more extensive video conferencing service is yet deployed.
Covid-19: Remote Working — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Technology
Questions: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what support the Parliamentary Digital Service is providing to hon. Members and staff of the House of Commons to enable (a) remote working and (b) video conferencing during the outbreak of covid-19.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thoroughly agree with the hon. Lady. I think that all Members of the House will now know the value of being able to keep in contact with constituents through video conferencing and other remote methods. All I can say is that the PDS digital support desk will continue to offer a 24-hour-a-day service. Undoubtedly there will be delays due to the volume of calls from people working remotely, but the team will make a real effort to deal with all calls as soon as they possibly can. As I said in my original answer, the PDS team want to ensure that as much facility and resource as possible is given to hon. Members, and I am sure that they will be working to secure and achieve that.
Covid-19: Remote Working — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Technology
Questions: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what support the Parliamentary Digital Service is providing to hon. Members and staff of the House of Commons to enable (a) remote working and (b) video conferencing during the outbreak of covid-19.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): All I can say to the right hon. Gentleman is: let us not go back to the 19th century. Let us hope that our 21st-century resources and infrastructure are able to cope with the increased demand that Members of Parliament and other people across our community will make on them. It is beyond my remit as a member of the House of Commons Commission to be able to comment on the failings of some of the infrastructure and its ability to withstand some of the demands that will be placed upon it All I can say to the right hon. Gentleman is that in the House of Commons, staff in digital services will do everything possible to ensure that we continue to be connected with our constituents. I would suggest to all Members that if they have any concerns about being able to work remotely or concerns about the ability of the network to withstand things, please get in touch with the 24-hour services available from digital services. I am sure everyone knows the number: 2001.
Covid-19: Remote Working — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Technology
Questions: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what support the Parliamentary Digital Service is providing to hon. Members and staff of the House of Commons to enable (a) remote working and (b) video conferencing during the outbreak of covid-19.
Peter Wishart (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I commend the hon. Lady’s creativity in being able to shoehorn restoration and renewal into question about digital facilities. She is absolutely right: the Commission will meet on Monday to consider further measures when it comes to restoration and renewal. The hon. Lady is very closely connected to and interested in this work, and those measures will be communicated when we have concluded our meeting on Monday. It is something, even in the current conditions and with the crisis that is facing us, that the Commission takes very seriously, and we will continue to inform the House of ongoing statements and work in relation to restoration and renewal.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Does the Minister not understand that a universal minimum income guarantee does exactly what it says on the tin? It will provide that minimum level playing field for tenants and their landlords, for business owners and their employees; it will provide everyone with a minimum level of assurance so that they can have some certainty in this time of uncertainty.
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Agriculture
Deidre Leanne Brock (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Our farmers, crofters and fishers are crucially producing our food, but the situation has rocked those sectors to their foundations. Will the Minister outline what specific considerations are being given to supporting those sectors, so that they can continue their vital work?
Coronavirus: Employment Support — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare
David Michael Doogan (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Minister is very keen to point out that he understands the frustration of Members and their constituents. Can I assist him by pointing out that it is no longer frustration, but desperation? What we need are not loans; we need grants. Businesses in Angus are asking me why they should take out a loan to provide incomes for people who cannot work, through no fault of their own. That looks dangerously like welfare, and delivering welfare is the responsibility of Government. When will the Government deliver?
Loan Charge 2019: Sir Amyas Morse Review — House of Commons, 2020-03-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Christopher Charles Stephens (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I entirely agree. The hon. Member’s constituents in Eastleigh and my constituents in Glasgow South West will have the same feelings about this matter and how they are being treated Jason Millington emailed me his thoughts last night, because he knew that the debate was today. He said that he when he was advised of the changes in 2016, he stopped immediately and put his affairs in order, totally unaware that HMRC was looking for back taxes. The requests that are being made are entirely unreasonable. The stress of not knowing how he can ever repay what HMRC is looking for is having a serious impact personally, and indeed professionally. I do not remember the tax avoiders such as Google complaining publicly that they were feeling bullied and harassed, or that they were under stress or feeling anxiety. It seems appropriate to point out, as many hon. Members have, that if the law on tax was changed in 2017, that is when the law should apply from. Going back to 2010 is entirely unreasonable. I support the motion.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for giving way. I can say quite honestly that it is an impressive list of capital spending commitments that he is giving us today. He will be aware that the Office for Budget Responsibility has based its longer term debt forecasts on the assumption that 20% of those capital promises will never actually happen. Does he accept that view from the Office for Budget Responsibility?
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-16
Topic: Social Welfare
Christopher Charles Stephens (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Government are trying to regulate behaviour, so to avoid some of the scenes we have seen at the weekend would he encourage supermarkets to allow the elderly to have one hour a day when only they can shop to get their essentials?
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-16
Topic: Government Operations
Allan Hopkins Dorans (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Following the Secretary of State’s statement, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has announced that its office will be closed, with staff who are able to do so working from home. Its phone lines will be closed, and all inquiries will be answered by email. Will that be the approach of other Government Departments in response to this crisis?