argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me make a little progress First, the Bill ensures that investment fund managers cannot exploit tax loopholes to avoid paying capital gains tax. We will also address a tax planning risk in which corporate groups could exploit tax rules for asset transfers between connected parties. This ensures that profits are brought to tax Finally, the Bill modernises HMRC collection powers by allowing HMRC to recover tax and tax credit debts directly from a debtor’s accounts. This measure will tackle those who seek to play the system and who are avoiding paying their fair share of tax, which they can afford to pay. This measure will also, of course, be subject to robust safeguards and the most vulnerable will be protected. Taken together, these measures will protect our public finances and send a clear message that everyone in Britain must pay their fair share of tax.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): That is not a measure contained in the Bill. Let us be clear: as a consequence of the Bill, the UK’s competitive position has been strengthened, not least in a reduction of the rate of corporation tax from 20% to 18%, a measure I am delighted to say that the Labour party supported in Committee Before I conclude, I want to thank hon. Members on both sides of the House for their scrutiny of the Bill. In particular, I want to thank members of the Committee, who provided diligent but efficient scrutiny, concluding our proceedings in just nine hours. This smooth and efficient running was due in part to the support of the Whips, my hon. Friend the Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride), the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn) and, before him, the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) I also want to thank the Opposition. We did not always agree in full, especially on the need for a fair number of reviews, but I was grateful for their insightful and reasonable scrutiny and their gracious support where we did agree. Finally, I want to thank the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin), and the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), for their support in setting out the Government’s case, and my hon. Friends on the Back Benches for their valuable contributions In conclusion, the Bill supports working people and business and protects our public finances, and it marks the next step forward in securing the country’s economic security. I therefore commend it to the House.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Government Operations
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): With the leave of the House, we shall take motions 9 to 24 together Ordered, Armed Forces Bill That Oliver Colvile, Judith Cummins, Byron Davies, Kate Hollern, Nusrat Ghani, Kevin Hollinrake, Kris Hopkins, John Howell, Mr Kevan Jones, Jack Lopresti, Kit Malthouse, Kirsten Oswald, Mr Gavin Shuker and Ruth Smeeth be members of the Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill Communities and Local Government That Angela Rayner be discharged from the Communities and Local Government Committee and Liz Kendall be added Culture, Media and Sport That Steve Rotheram be discharged from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and Julie Elliott be added. Defence That Conor McGinn be discharged from the Defence Committee and Phil Wilson be added Energy and Climate Change That Melanie Onn and Ian Lavery be discharged from the Energy and Climate Change Committee and Rushanara Ali and Tom Blenkinsop be added Environmental Audit That Holly Lynch and Jeff Smith be discharged from the Environmental Audit Committee and Mary Creagh and Geraint Davies be added Environment, Food and Rural Affairs That Sarah Champion be discharged from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and Angela Smith be added Health That Rachael Maskell, Liz McInnes and Emily Thornberry be discharged from the Health Committee and Mr Ben Bradshaw, Julie Cooper and Emma Reynolds be added Home Affairs That Anna Turley and Keir Starmer be discharged from the Home Affairs Committee and Naz Shah and Mr Chuka Umunna be added Justice That Richard Burgon, Sue Hayman, Nick Thomas-Symonds and Christina Rees be discharged from the Justice Committee and Mr David Hanson, Dr Rupa Huq, Andy McDonald and Marie Rimmer be added Petitions That Justin Madders be discharged from the Petitions Committee and Jim Dowd be added. Public Accounts That Clive Lewis, Nick Smith and Teresa Pearce be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Chris Evans, Caroline Flint and Bridget Phillipson be added Science and Technology That Liz McInnes and Daniel Zeichner be discharged from the Science and Technology Committee and Stella Creasy and Valerie Vaz be added Treasury That Bill Esterson be discharged from the Treasury Committee and Rachel Reeves be added Women and Equalities That Tulip Siddiq and Cat Smith be discharged from the Women and Equalities Committee and Siobhain McDonagh and Mr Gavin Shuker be added Work and Pensions That Debbie Abrahams be discharged from the Work and Pensions Committee and Steve McCabe be added.—(Bill Wiggin, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.)
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Technology
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this Adjournment debate. Many of these calls, which affect all of our constituents, up and down the country, originate abroad. Does she have any idea as to how we can bear down on nuisance calls from companies based outside this country, in addition to dealing with the calls from this country?
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) for calling this important debate on nuisance calls. It is interesting that in the previous Parliament, nuisance calls were raised a great deal by Mike Crockart, the then Liberal Democrat Member for Edinburgh West, who is sadly no longer in this House. Without wishing any disrespect to Mike Crockart, whom I miss on many levels, the hon. Lady’s comprehensive and well-balanced speech showed that the issue of nuisance calls has a worthy new champion from Scotland. Although she quite rightly called for further action, she acknowledged that there has been some action in the recent past. Tackling nuisance calls is a priority for us. It is an issue that I have worked on for several years now and it is a very difficult problem to tackle. I echo what the hon. Lady said in her speech about the pernicious nature of nuisance calls to elderly or vulnerable people, who are much more likely to suffer from this plague as they are at home when the phone rings.
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): Having got good marks from you earlier today for a short answer to an urgent question, I now find myself back in your bad books, Mr Speaker. When you were shaking your head earlier, I thought it might refer to the quality of the hon. Lady’s intervention. I am delighted to be corrected and informed that it was merely a constitutional shake of the head, rather than a verdict We moved quickly to ensure that Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office could share information with each other. Those rules came into effect in July 2014. This has enabled Ofcom and the ICO to collaborate much more effectively in the identification and co-ordination of efforts to tackle those who make unsolicited marketing calls.
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Transportation
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): Last year my wife and I were involved in a minor road traffic collision, and for a year afterwards we were bombarded by calls essentially soliciting us to commit fraud by claiming to have suffered an injury which, in fact, we had not suffered. Will the Minister consider banning such outbound calls which solicit members of the public to make fraudulent claims?
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I think that small businesses can be impacted in exactly the same way that individuals can. Although we often focus in these debates on elderly and vulnerable people, and quite rightly, we should also remember that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp) indicated, many people from every walk of life can be plagued by nuisance calls. That includes not only individuals, but small businesses, which is why it is so important to continue to tackle this nuisance The other key change we made this year was to lower the legal threshold for what constitutes a nuisance call. Previously we had the difficult situation in which a nuisance call had to cause significant harm and distress. It was often the case that even when the Information Commissioner’s Office carried out enforcement action and imposed a fine, the company concerned appealed and was able to show with relative ease that their calls had not caused significant harm and distress. We have lowered that threshold, so it should now be much easier to take enforcement action and impose fines. Many hon. Members might say that, looking at the record, not enough has been done, but lowering the threshold should make it easier Ofcom has also introduced a new standardised approach to call tracing. That is now in routine use by the ICO and Ofcom, and it will be improved by the end of this year. We are also looking at how to make it more difficult for callers to use voice over internet protocol to facilitate an invalid calling line identification.
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): There are plenty of perfectly valid suggestions about how we can tackle nuisance calls. However, to be blunt, we are dealing with unscrupulous companies based both here and abroad who will stop at nothing to bombard consumers with these calls. Even if we did introduce such legislation, it would not stop the most unscrupulous companies. That is why it is so important, first, to be able to report these calls, and then to trace them. We will consult on calling line identification to make it absolutely certain that legitimate companies display their number when they call someone. We have worked with the Direct Marketing Association to produce a code of conduct to which companies can sign up. I am sure that any legitimate company that wants to carry out legitimate marketing activity would restrict its calls to what anyone in this House would regard as common-sense hours One reason we have seen this huge increase in nuisance calls is the use of technology that allows automated calling, so we need to combat that technology with our own technology. I was delighted that in the Budget before the election the Chancellor announced a £3.5 million nuisance calls budget. That includes the marketing mentioned by the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran, but also a challenge fund to allow people to purchase call-blocking technology. We are looking at network-level solutions because we want to ensure that we can block some of these calls at source. Indeed, a company that has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, TalkTalk, has deployed network-level solutions that have blocked hundreds of millions of nuisance calls.
Nuisance Calls — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Technology
Edward Vaizey (Conservative, Centre-right): I would not expect any legitimate company to call a consumer at 11 o’clock at night. We could debate this back and forth, but I will write to the hon. Lady about the work we have done with the Direct Marketing Association We have also worked with Ofcom on call tracing, helping to trace calls where calling numbers are withheld or disguised. Ofcom has now agreed a new standardised approach to call tracing across and between network providers in the UK and abroad, and that was implemented earlier I do recognise the concerns expressed by the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran, and I am very pleased to see so many hon. Members in the House at this late hour to support her. We have worked on this through changing legislation and working with providers. I will continue to update the House on this. The nods and smiles from the Opposition spokesmen, the hon. Members for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and for Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue), encourage me in my belief that we are doing the right thing and making an impact Question put and agreed to.
Syrian Children: Refugee Camps — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Education
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK-led No Lost Generation initiative means that we fully back the Government of Lebanon’s Reaching All Children with Education plan. Our funding for education in Lebanon this year will increase from £10 million to £20 million, which will support the Lebanese Government’s efforts to double the number of Syrian children enrolled in Lebanese public schools.
Syrian Children: Refugee Camps — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Education
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I absolutely do. Education is vital for all children, but especially children who are refugees: they are children and they should be in school. Many of the children I have met have been through hugely distressing situations. When asked to draw pictures, they draw pictures of places that have been bombed. When they hear a supply plane go over their room, they dive underneath their desks for cover. Education is possibly their main chance of having some prospect of a successful life ahead of them, and that is why it is so important.
Syrian Children: Refugee Camps — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Education
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): In fact, the UK has in many respects pioneered how we ensure that children caught up in emergencies still get the chance to be in school. I pay tribute to the Norwegians for taking up the issue, too. We want more funding in this area. It is absolutely vital if we are to go beyond just providing life-saving supplies today to helping to preserve the futures of children for tomorrow.
Syrian Children: Refugee Camps — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Education
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The main thing we are doing is to work hand-in-hand with the Lebanese Government, who have taken great steps over recent months to make sure that their schools can cope not only with their own children, but with a doubling in the number of Syrian refugee children who now need to use them. That means not just support for teachers, but support in schools, in their buildings and in textbooks as well.
Syrian Children: Refugee Camps — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is quite right to raise that issue. As I have just said, the UK has already increased our investment. In fact, at the UN General Assembly last year, I held a pledge meeting to get international partners to fund more of the educational needs in both Lebanon and Jordan specifically. That raised $344 million at the time, but, as he set out, this is an ongoing requirement and the international community must step up to fund it.
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department for International Development’s private sector work has helped to mobilise £4 billion of investment, and we are expanding this work. We need to recognise that the private sector can often deliver development in ways that Governments and donors cannot. In fact, our development finance institution, CDC, reported last week that CDC-backed businesses directly and indirectly helped to create nearly 1.3 million jobs in 2014 alone.
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The strategic framework on economic development that we published several months ago gives the key pillars of work that we will invest in. As the hon. Lady points out, we are ramping up our investment in economic development. Later, we will have a question about migrants. If we are to stem the flow of migrants, it is vital that we do more to create jobs where those people are.
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): Thinking about the private sector in an alternative way, will my right hon. Friend ask our embassies and high commissions that operate in developing countries and have plants or offices in those places to source materials, including labour, as locally as possible and pay the relative living wage to those whom they employ?
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a very sensible suggestion, which I will certainly pass on to the Foreign Secretary. We work hand in hand with the Foreign Office around the world, not least in countries such as Tanzania, with which we have a prosperity partnership that is helping to create jobs.
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Energy
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Gentleman has, essentially, set out, investment in infrastructure, particularly energy infrastructure, is vital. The work in Nigeria has led to a doubling of the power supply that is available to Nigerian people and businesses, which I am sure he would support.
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Phillips (Conservative, Centre-right): The ICAI report of May this year said: "Collaboration between business and aid agencies has the potential to deliver major benefits for the poor" of this world. However, the report also noted a "lack of clear targets" and oversight by the Department. Will my right hon. Friend indicate what she and her excellent officials are doing to remedy that?
Developing Countries: Private Sector Development — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Foreign Trade
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The revelations were, as ever, not quite what they seemed. The export enhancement grant is not a mechanism that DFID is involved with at all; it is a Nigerian Government policy that was being misused and abused. We do work in the leather sector, but that work relates to helping local markets to develop. We became aware of issues with the export enhancement grant, and DFID worked with the Nigerian Government to encourage them, in the end, to shut it down, which they did about 12 months ago.
Mediterranean Migration — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen James Metcalfe (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend believe that the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean would be far higher were it not for our aid programme that is helping to keep people in or near their own countries, thus preventing them from coming to Europe?
Mediterranean Migration — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: A recent report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact—the Government aid watchdog—gave Ministers an amber-red rating for their interventions in security and justice, and stated that they were not yet making“a real difference to fragile and conflict states”.Getting this issue right is crucial to solving some of the underlying reasons behind the migration crisis. What more is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that DFID funding is spent wisely?
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman highlights a difficult area, and the issue of security and justice for a country such as Eritrea is one of the main drivers of people leaving that country. At the same time, our standards on human rights mean that we would not work with police forces, for example, if we thought that abuses were taking place while we were carrying out a programme. We try to strike the right balance and, as he mentions, tracking the results of that can be long term and not uncomplicated.
London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK is delivering on the commitment we made and our programmes are protecting millions of people from these diseases. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for International Development participated in the recent launch of the third progress report on the London declaration.
UK-funded Projects — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): Driving the best value for money is a top priority for the Government. Robust processes are in place for the 86% of aid spent by my Department. Business cases are required for all projects, and their performance is also appraised and monitored.
UK-funded Projects — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the Secretary of State will want to give an explanation for how she will ensure value for money in her Department. May I give her one project for which I could ensure value for money, where it takes four to five weeks to see a doctor, the roads are filled with potholes and the police are in crisis? I refer, of course, to that tribe inhabiting the frozen plains of the north, the Lincolnshire yellowbellies.
UK-funded Projects — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): As ever, my hon. Friend makes his point very eloquently. I can assure him that my Department is probably the most scrutinised of any in government. We have the Select Committee on International Development, the aid watchdog and the Public Accounts Committee. I can assure him we are rising to that challenge.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): Last week, at the Overseas Development Institute, in a wide ranging speech, I recognised the high value we place on our partnerships with civil society organisations and announced work on strengthening our relationship further. Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining the Prime Minister at an event for courageous recipients of the Ebola medal. In Sierra Leone, we continue to adapt our approach, including transitioning over the running of Kerry Town treatment unit from the Ministry of Defence. I will attend the international conference on Ebola in New York later this week. Next week, I will be at the Financing for Development Conference in Addis.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-07-08
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: I am sure the Minister will join me in congratulating Malawi on reaching its 51st anniversary of independence this week. DFID’s aid tracker shows that funding to Malawi has reduced from a peak of more than £120 million in 2012-13 to just under £60 million this year. If DFID continues to cut its budget for Malawi, will he consider ways of assisting the Scottish Government in helping to maintain and grow their important links with the country?
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not recognise the hon. Gentleman’s figures. We provide £72 million, plus another £10 million from the UK taxpayer through the Scottish Government, and that is just in bilateral aid; of course, there are then the multilateral and international programmes. In total, it probably adds up to more than £150 million to Malawi.