argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Scott Lloyd Benton (Conservative, Centre-right): Although the aviation industry will face significant challenges in the months and years ahead, regional airports across the UK will continue to be well placed to increase economic growth and boost connectivity in the longer term. Does my hon. Friend agree that restoring commercial passenger flights from Blackpool airport in the longer term could boost tourism, increase economic growth and really help to deliver the Government’s levelling-up agenda?
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right; regional airports can have such a major impact on the local communities they serve, and there is much pride in having an airport within one’s area. These airports are absolutely part of our levelling-up agenda and of being able to increase and improve our UK’s connectivity, not just within the UK, but abroad. That is absolutely part of our recovery and planning for the future,
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I have outlined the point quite clearly, and I have answered a number of questions in the same vein. I will continue to do what I can to make organisations in the sector aware that we would rather they used the unprecedented Government support available to them before making redundancies. I absolutely understand the concerns of the workers affected, and we will continue to look at all the options we as a Government have to make use of.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right about the scale and importance of the aviation sector in the UK compared with other parts of the world, and also about the level of employment that it creates in the UK. I am committed, as the Secretary of State is, to working with the Treasury and across Government—with all Government Departments—to find solutions for a sector that has been affected badly, and obviously may experience a slight lag in the restart due to the nature of the work it does. I am committed to working with my colleagues across Government to find solutions to those questions.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I know very well the impact the coronavirus has on Southampton airport, which is a great asset on the south coast. We are engaged constantly with the airports. I am committed to doing that and to having such conversations about what we can do to help those regional airports, and that will continue. We fully understand their pressures, and where we can act, I will do my best to achieve that.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question. The Department for Work and Pensions stands ready to help and support anyone who is affected by this. I must reiterate that terms and conditions are for negotiation between the employer, the employee and/or their representatives and that the Government are not part of those discussions. If terms are not agreed to, there are still options for recourse. I am monitoring the situation closely. Many constituencies are affected. We will keep an eye on what happens in relation to the point that she raises, but, absolutely, I want all employees to be treated fairly and given the respect that they deserve for the contribution that they have made to the businesses in which they have worked.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Minister for confirming that the Government would be willing to enter into bespoke agreements and arrangements with airlines. Given that British Airways in particular is ultimately a private company and thinks that it can behave as disgracefully as it wishes, how do the Government intend to mitigate that?
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words, particularly in regards to our regional connectivity. Being able to continue that connectivity with Northern Ireland is a key priority, and it has been good to be able to continue to do that with Government support. We will continue, as I have outlined, to work together across Government with the aviation taskforce, working with the sector, working with experts, and working with our stakeholders in order to try to find solutions. The reality is that, with regard to aviation, there has to be consumer confidence to travel. We need to ensure that we are not only tackling consumer confidence, but creating the right environment with our policies in order to get airlines back in the air. I am committed to working with all our colleagues across Government, as is the Secretary of State, to deliver that.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Laura Rose Farris (Conservative, Centre-right): Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 creates not just a general duty to consult with employees, but a specific duty to consult on avoiding redundancies, reducing the numbers of those selected for redundancy and mitigating the consequences. Will my hon. Friend commit to including an employment judge or an impartial employment lawyer in the steering group to assess whether BA and other airlines are meaningfully engaging with their statutory obligations and make this a condition of further Government support?
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for questioning me on that particular point in the Transport Committee. I very much recognise his support for his constituents. The point I will make is that this has been a commercial decision taken by British Airways. We would absolutely expect any organisation entering into this process to do so with fairness and in the right way for its employees. I will do my best to work with colleagues across Government to deliver the support needed by those affected, and to try to our best to mitigate the job losses that are coming because of an unprecedented reduction in the number of flights that is not specific to the UK.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Douglas Gordon Ross (Conservative, Centre-right): Moray is well served by Inverness airport, which has been operating only essential flights during the pandemic. Will the Minister outline what support the Government have given and will continue to give to regional airports such as Inverness, which serves people in Moray and across the north of Scotland?
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): We will continue to work with our regional airports to understand the full impact coronavirus is having on the operation of their businesses. As I outlined, regional connectivity is a priority for the Department. I will continue to work with individual regional airports to deliver on what we can do. Policy levers are available to us, and we will be exploring that more within the restart and recovery unit.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Jerome Patrick Burke Mayhew (Conservative, Centre-right): Much of the anger that has been expressed in this House is because British Airways has taken advantage of a Government scheme intended to protect jobs and used it as a convenient funding stream for a long-planned corporate restructuring. It is a breach of faith. Does my hon. Friend agree that British Airways should pay a price for that breach of faith?
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): My Department and I engage with the unions with regard to the impact on jobs. I have some other meetings coming up with the unions. Within the Department, we have been very clear, and as I think the unions would agree, we have been working with them over this period. We are committed to doing that to deliver on behalf of workers as far as we can.
Covid-19: Aviation — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Thomas Patrick Hunt (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, British Airways is a private company, but the reality for many employees and customers is that it is a national institution. Many employees have perhaps shown more loyalty to British Airways because of that than they would have shown a normal airline, and that also includes customers. There have been occasions on which I have paid more to fly with British Airways because I felt some loyalty towards it as a British citizen. Will the Minister take into account both the employees who have been most acutely affected and those of us who, as nationals and citizens, have shown loyalty to British Airways when she decides how to deal with British Airways and how it has behaved over the last couple of months?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been clear and I have outlined them. I even provided dates to the House, and I have given examples of the number of airports, territories, airlines and flights that were monitored throughout the period from 22 January to 12 March. In terms of publishing the advice, I think the right hon. Lady refers specifically to advice from the Home Office, and I will ensure that the Home Affairs Committee receives it. On the number of incoming passengers, it is well known and documented through air passenger data—that does not include ports, which are separate—that the number of passengers travelling to and arriving in the United Kingdom has been at an all-time low and completely fallen off. We obviously cannot predict those figures for the next three weeks, but working with the Department for Transport we will collate that information and make it public.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Ben Spencer (Conservative, Centre-right): The introduction of a 14-day quarantine is a blunt tool that has many downsides and consequences, and effectively it grounds the aviation industry. Does my right hon. Friend agree that rather than using that blunt tool, we should move as quickly as possible to a precise and targeted approach that is based on science and international safety standards that will protect passengers and the public, as well as the staff who work for the airlines, the airports and on public transport; and that by doing so, we will enable our planes to fly again, saving livelihoods and businesses while keeping the public safe?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes important points. I pay tribute to the aviation industry, which is dynamic and innovative. When we look at the work it has done over decades when it comes to keeping the public safe in aviation travel, it has been world leading, and that is exactly what we want to do in the work that we undertake with the sector. This is of course an international crisis, and no one person or organisation has a bespoke way of working through this crisis for the aviation sector. My final point is that planes are of course still flying and goods are coming into the United Kingdom. I have made the point about export goods, which are still very important for the aviation sector and for the freight sector in particular, and that is of course important not only for the health of our economy but the way in which we can continue to innovate.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I pay tribute to the devolved Administrations. The shadow Home Secretary, hon. Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds), asked me about the time period in respect of when this was announced and these measures now coming into place. Much of this has been complicated because of the different approach in terms of the powers that are devolved, particularly in relation to enforcement. The devolved Administrations will of course be introducing their own regulations on enforcement, but we have had constant contact and discussion across the four nations with the devolved Administrations from the get-go—from the outset—and that will of course continue.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for her question. There are some important points in respect of how we can work collectively with the travel sector—not just aviation, but across every single carrier; whether it is coaches, trains or ferries, they are all part of the health and wellbeing of the travel sector and the travel economy. We will of course work with everybody on this. The fact of the matter is that these are complicated matters. My right hon. Friend will have heard me say in my statement that we would require bilateral agreements with countries, which is exactly what the FCO is working on. That is why there is a cross-Government effort to ensure that we can not only get our country moving again but do the right thing in terms of keeping the public safe.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his point about transit passengers and future travel corridors—I am sure we will all agree on a term to use in the future. The fact of the matter is, from a Home Office perspective, that we have created the contact locator form. It is that data that will be instrumental in giving people that safe passage and the clearance to transit on to other locations. That piece of work has been done. We should look at how we can adapt that, again working with the aviation sector, so that in due course the form can contain so much more information, including covid test data or even electronic travel authorisation, which can help to bolster the industry and the sector, get people moving, planes flying and people travelling internationally again, and give the public confidence about the health protections they are looking for.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: International Affairs
Peter Alexander Gibson (Conservative, Centre-right): More than 90% of countries have deployed a form of quarantine so far. Does my right hon. Friend believe that the measures she has outlined today are being taken by the rest of the world and are consistent and vital to keeping our citizens safe?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost if the airlines are unable to fly their crucial peak summer schedules, but the airlines are making those decisions now. Will my right hon. Friend undertake to make sure that we have clear criteria for air corridors and the first list of safe countries well before the three-week review on 29 June?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very familiar with my hon. Friend’s regional airport and the operators there, and I can assure him that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will be leading on this issue. Of course, I will work with him and all colleagues across Government to ensure that we really pursue those plans and proposals and get aviation up and running again and safeguard jobs and the economy, but at the same time, as I said, look at the methods by which we can protect public health.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): First of all, I find the right hon. Gentleman’s tone somewhat objectionable. I have been incredibly supportive of the aviation industry. [Interruption.] I can hear sarcastic cries of "tough". It is important to reflect the way in which the aviation industry is dynamic, innovative and huge to our economy.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not shutting it down—on the contrary. I am working with my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary, the Business Secretary and all colleagues across Government. I will restate to all Members of this House that these are cross-Government measures to protect the public health of our nation. I hear the right hon. Gentleman’s comment with regard to the furlough scheme and protecting jobs. Of course, we all want to protect jobs. This has been a tremendously difficult period economically. We will have major economic issues to confront as we come out of this dreadful situation. We are not on our own. The international economy is in exactly the same space. It is right that we work collectively, rather than in an aggressive and hostile way, to find the right solutions for the people of this country, to protect not only their health but their long-term jobs and livelihoods.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (Conservative, Centre-right): After 9/11, the aviation industry found a way almost instantly to find box cutters and get them off aeroplanes. After the shoe bomber, the aviation industry found a way almost right away to detect the smallest quantity of liquid in people’s luggage. If, tomorrow, the aviation industry and the inventive people around the world are able to find a way to swab, take temperatures and get an almost instant result back before and after every flight, will the Home Secretary drop these regulations?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of my constituents depend on the aviation sector for their livelihoods. Bracknell also has the offices of more than 150 global companies. Can the Home Secretary assure me that support for my constituency and beyond will be given through a pragmatic application of the policy and that the policy will not just be reviewed but lifted at the first opportunity?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is right, and he makes a powerful case on behalf of his constituents and their livelihoods for the sector they are employed in. It is right that the Government continue to work to give that support. I am committed to doing that, as are all Secretaries of State across Government.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Natalie Cecilia Elphicke (Conservative, Centre-right): When reviewing safe journeys in the coming weeks, will my right hon. Friend consider that ferries have a covid-secure option that aeroplanes simply do not have? May I ask her to keep front of mind our beautiful white cliffs country and the Dover-Calais ferry for not just a safe and enjoyable holiday break but to save our local jobs and livelihoods?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to represent her constituency, her constituents and the local economy, and what she says applies across the country where we have ports. She is absolutely right to highlight the need to have safe travel. Applying that consistently across travel carriers is something that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary and I will be putting forward, raising and discussing in our roundtable tomorrow.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I hear everybody’s comments, and I am very conscious of this, as are my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary and the whole of the Government. The fact of the matter is that we all want to be reunited with friends and loved ones as soon as possible, but we have to do this in a safe and responsible way, and that is what this Government are committed to achieving.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I have answered this question previously, but that is absolutely right. It is our determination to ensure that we work with the travel industry and with all carriers to find a safe way in which people can travel, which is of course our priority.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Andrew Griffith (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to show that Britain is open for business. We have a designated testing Minister. May I tell my constituents in Arundel and South Downs who are devastated, who will be the accountable Minister for putting in place agreements with safe countries?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I have discussions with the Chancellor on a regular basis, and, of course, that applies to all aspects of the economy, not just the furlough scheme. I would be very happy, having heard the hon. Gentleman, to take away specific points that he has and I will raise them with the Chancellor.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Labor
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): Many businesses, especially those engaged in manufacturing, have a need to get a key worker on site quickly. That could be a UK employee returning from holiday not able to work from home, or an overseas specialist, such as a plant maintenance engineer, to keep a plant going. Will there be an exemption to support British business in circumstances such as these?
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Transportation
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to ask that question. We will be publishing the list of exemptions and, within that, there will be critical infrastructure workers and specific categories, led by the key Departments that are sponsoring those exemptions. Of course, there will be key sectors that are also included in that exemption list.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: International Affairs
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I cannot give specific advice to businesses and employees, but it is important to follow the Foreign Office travel advice and guidance right now. The FCO has been very clear about not travelling because of the coronavirus and that all non-essential travel should not take place.
Covid-19: UK Border Health Measures — House of Commons, 2020-06-03
Topic: Macroeconomics
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the matter of economics. This issue has been discussed in various economic Committees at government level. I have also been speaking about it with the Chancellor and working across Government with my colleagues. It is important to reflect on the fact that we have had those discussions and that impact assessments have been undertaken by Government Departments in the right kind of way.