argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Other
George Edward Howarth (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Secretary of State accept that there is a huge difference between making this statement and making a case? Will he acknowledge that if he is going to take this House and the wider public with him over the coming months, he will need to make a better case than he has made today?
Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Civil Rights
John Martin McDonnell (Labour, Centre-left): As part of his campaign to tackle extremism, the Prime Minister is quite rightly promoting the values of democracy, in particular parliamentary democracy. Does the Secretary of State agree that essential to the operation of parliamentary democracy is respect for the decisions of Parliament and honesty by Ministers?
Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (Labour, Centre-left): In the event that the Government bring forward a motion for further military intervention in Syria against Daesh, can the Secretary of State assure us that we have a strategy in place so that that bombing does not have the consequence of bolstering the Assad regime?
Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has disregarded the will and vote of this House, he has been found out and he is now trying to wriggle out of it. So when will this Parliament be given a vote on the engagement of British personnel in Syria? Will he assure us that it will be in a properly timetabled debate, in sitting time, not in a mid-August ambush? Will he say that there will be no more involvement of British personnel until that vote has taken place?
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Civil Rights
Wayne David (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On Friday the Government published a written statement announcing a commission to look into the Freedom of Information Act. The impression has been given that it is a cross-party commission with the support of all parties. May I make it clear that Opposition Members have not been consulted about the work of the commission, nor do we have representation on the commission, nor do we want to see any watering down of the Freedom of Information Act, the worth of which has been demonstrated this afternoon?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Other
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The impact assessment for the Bill has only just arrived in the Vote Office; it was not here for the beginning of the debate. Surely we ought to be given the statistics in order to have an informed debate, rather than having to rely on what comes out of the Secretary of State’s mouth.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Order. The Secretary of State has given way quite a lot. We cannot have three people at once shouting, "Will the Secretary of State give way?" The Secretary of State will give way when he feels it is correct to do so, but we cannot have three people hanging loose.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): We support removing unfairness from the Bill that the Secretary of State published. For that reason we will tonight table a raft of amendments to that part of the Bill and others where we think there is unfairness.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Other
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State does not need to wait until the Committee because we will table a raft of amendments tonight: if our reasoned amendment fails and the Bill receives a Second Reading, we will table our amendments. He will see in that list of amendments a series of amendments to deal with the unfairness in that part of the Bill. Those amendments will give him the answer that he seeks. They will appear on the Order Paper tomorrow so that the House can consider them over the weeks ahead.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): There do need to be some safeguards in place, as I have been spelling out. Indeed, the Government themselves have recognised the need for a fund to protect people in exceptional circumstances. We welcome the extra £150 million for the fund for discretionary housing payments to help mitigate the worst impacts, but it will not be enough. Many local authorities have already exhausted their funds, which are vital in preventing those affected from becoming homeless. With the cap now lower, there will be more demand for discretionary help. We will therefore want to amend the Bill to require the Social Security Advisory Committee to review the funding for discretionary housing payments each year to make sure that sufficient resources are available.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): Child poverty fell dramatically under the previous Government; now it has plateaued. I fear that because of measures announced in the Budget, it is going to rocket, and we are determined to stop that happening if we can Another reform in the Bill that we support in principle is the provision to turn support for mortgage interest into a repayable loan. That is a sensible step, in principle, given that the benefit enables homeowners to retain an asset and potentially gain substantially from rising house prices. However, it must not make affordability problems worse for people struggling to stay in their homes. Repayments must not tip people into repossession and homelessness. The Secretary of State did not tell us what arrangements are proposed for repaying these loans. We will argue that those who access that support should be able to defer repayment until they sell the property without pressure from the Government to do so. The Budget announced an increase in the waiting period for support for mortgage interest from 13 weeks to 39 weeks. That is too long. As it is a loan scheme, why make people wait, particularly as that could force them into the hands of loan sharks? With support for mortgage interest becoming, in effect, a form of low-risk consumer credit, it should be readily available without nine months of delay to those struggling to make repayments We welcome the plans to reduce social rents, which will save 1.2 million households £700 a year, but we have grave concerns about the impact on housing associations and local authorities. They will face a huge reduction in rent revenue, drastically undermining their capacity to borrow and to build. The Office for Budget Responsibility says that many fewer homes will be built; the National Housing Federation puts the figure at 27,000. We will table amendments to address that.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Catherine Elizabeth West (Labour, Centre-left): Is my right hon. Friend aware that up to billions of pounds will go missing from local authorities? If we lifted the cap, they could build more homes and thereby help address the terrible housing crisis, particularly in London and the south-east?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Affordable home building is already at a historic low, and the Government need to stop making things worse. We will table an amendment requiring the Secretary of State to produce a plan to make up the shortfall in house building funds that will result from this change.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): Obviously, a reduction in local authority rents is good for tenants—I fully understand that—but does my right hon. Friend know whether the Government have given any consideration to the effect that a consistent drop in rental income over five years will have on the housing revenue account; on housing maintenance, including of the common areas of estates; and, of course, on any future building programme that could have been funded by the housing revenue account?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Matthew Thomas Pennycook (Labour, Centre-left): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the concern about the impact of the changes to housing rental income relates not just to the immediate shortfall in funding, but to the uncertainty they will create among registered providers, whose business plans are drawn up five, 10 or 15 years in advance?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Attention has been drawn to that issue, not least by the Financial Times, which has reported that housing associations’ business plans and their loan covenants and agreements with lenders could be at risk, and that even some big associations could go bust. The implications are very serious.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
John Martin McDonnell (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend is, like me, a London MP. The driver of child poverty in my constituency is a combination of low pay and high private rents. When the cap was introduced, the Prime Minister advocated—there was an element of logic in this—the idea that it would reduce rents in the private rented sector. That has failed in my area and right across London; rents have increased significantly. Have the Government produced any evidence to prove that the cap reduced rents in the private sector at all?
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Housing
Stephen Creswell Timms (Labour, Centre-left): I certainly have not seen such evidence. We have just seen the impact assessment, and the figures are in there, so we will have to see what information they provide. I am worried about the proposal—it was made in the Budget, but it is not in the Bill—of a cash freeze in local housing allowance for the next four years, irrespective of what is happening to rents in London and elsewhere The child poverty changes are a shameful attempt to brush under the carpet what should be right at the forefront of Ministers’ minds as they make policy and manage the economy. It is, I am afraid, the final nail in the coffin for compassionate conservatism.
Welfare Reform and Work Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Other
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance as to whether Members can be given sufficient information even if papers are provided some 10 minutes before a debate, given the nature of the impact assessments. If we are to read them properly and understand them, surely Members, if at all possible, should be given more than a few minutes’ notice.
Royal City Status for Leicester — House of Commons, 2015-07-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Keith Anthony Vaz (Labour, Centre-left): I am presenting a petition signed by 203 local residents. I want to thank Terry Herbert, Joga Singh Sandu, Councillor Piara Clair and Councillor Deepak Bajaj for raising awareness and promoting this initiative. I am delighted to see, among other Members here—such a crowded House!—my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth) The petition states: The petition of residents of Leicester East, Declares that the city of Leicester is one of the oldest settlements in the United Kingdom which over two millennia has developed into an area of major cultural and economic significance within the country and further that following the discovery of the remains of Richard III in the city, and his subsequent re-internment on Thursday 26th March in Leicester Cathedral, Leicester has established a clear and irrefutable royal connection The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons debates the possibility of Leicester being permitted to use the title "Royal", and be attributed the title, "The Royal City of Leicester" And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray [P001535]
Business Support — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): Actually, Labour’s plan at the last election was to cut business rates for small businesses. The Chancellor neglected to mention business rates in the Budget, so can the Minister tell us how the review is going and give us a guarantee that it will not result in an increase in business rates?
Business Support — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in Cornwall. While many are thriving under the policies of this Government, those in the tourism industry are experiencing a downturn in business as a result of families not being able to take their children out of school during term time. Is the Minister prepared to meet me to look at the economic impact that policy is having on the Cornish economy and the challenges those businesses are facing?
Alison McGovern (Labour, Centre-left): Let me bring the Minister back to the important issue of business rates, because we have a crisis on our hands. There are reports that the valuation office is now having to deal with 500 appeals a day. Will he just throw businesses a rope? They do not believe that the Government will change a thing, so will he offer them an interim report on their review in September?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: I welcome the Chancellor’s recent announcement on Sunday trading hours. What steps can he take to ensure that neighbouring authorities take a joined-up approach, so that consumers have confidence in the consistency of Sunday trading hours and we provide the maximum possible benefit to our economy?; The Treasury loses out on hundreds of millions of pounds each year by allowing high-earning hedge fund managers to pay capital gains tax at 28%, rather than income tax of 45%, on carried interest payments. Does the Chancellor agree that we should close that loophole so that we can invest the money in properly paid apprenticeships and tackling child poverty?; I am delighted that in the Budget an allocation of £7.2 billion was made for transport infrastructure in the south-west. Will the Chancellor kindly confirm that that allocation includes funding for the much needed upgrade of the A358, the Henlade bypass and junction 25 of the M5, all of which will pave the way for a new strategic employment site?; How can the Chancellor justify making people who go out to work worse off while he spends £1 billion on cutting inheritance tax for people who are already wealthy? That is not rewarding hard working; it is rewarding the fortunate few.; The Chancellor’s announcement on the living wage was widely welcomed, but what assurances can he give to residential care homes that offer subsidised places, of which there are many in Worthing, which will suffer from the proposed changes but will not benefit on the other side from the record reductions in corporation tax?; The announcement that the free childcare available for working parents of three and four-year-olds will double to 30 hours a week in 2017 is excellent news for families across Pendle. Does not the fact that we are delivering that commitment demonstrate that only by taking tough decisions can we afford to provide the high-quality services that hard-working families deserve?
Dennis Edward Skinner (Labour, Centre-left): I can do it any day of the week Has the Chancellor of the Exchequer not got a bit of a cheek to be constantly using Question Time to attack the Labour leadership elections—[Interruption.] Take your time! The Chancellor is involved in an election himself. Every time he opens his mouth, it is directed towards the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) and the Home Secretary. Does he not realise that the Home Secretary has already knocked him out with the water cannon? Remember, some of us are watching that contest very carefully. The Chancellor should be careful he does not knock himself out.
DWP Data — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Katherine Anne Green (Labour, Centre-left): There is huge disquiet among disabled people, as story after story surfaces in the media about disabled people being found fit for work and dying shortly afterwards—last week another story appeared in the Daily Mirror about a disabled man who died two weeks after his assessment. The shenanigans in the DWP around the release of the statistics are concerning—and puzzling, if the Department has nothing to hide. First, the Secretary of State told Parliament that the DWP did not collect the data, in the teeth of the Information Commissioner’s ruling to release them. Within days, he was flatly contradicted by the Prime Minister, and now we hear that the DWP is appealing publication of the data that the Secretary of State first said were not collected Will the Minister come clean before the House? She said the data would be published "shortly", "very soon" and "no later than the autumn". Why is it taking so long? On what grounds is the DWP appealing publication, and will the data, when eventually published, be timely? It is feared that by the time this procrastination has finally resulted in publication, the data will be so out of date as to be pretty well useless. Will the raw data be published, and what analysis will accompany them to meet the high standards for the publication of Government statistics to which she claims the Department aspires? Finally, will she explain why the Secretary of State first claimed the data were not being collected, when blatantly they were and are, as he now apparently acknowledges?
DWP Data — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Dennis Edward Skinner (Labour, Centre-left): I think the Minister should tell us whether there is to be an appeal. She has been asked that several times, and she has not answered. I am thinking of the family of David Cowpe, who lived in my area, and whose case I raised with the Prime Minister more than two years ago. He lost his sight, he lost his hearing, and then cancer took his life when he had been waiting 11 months for an appeal. A lot of promises have been made, but nothing seems to be forthcoming. I have to say that this delay almost emanates from the Secretary of State, whom I call the Minister for Delay, and it has gone on for too long. I think it is high time that this matter was resolved. I say to the Minister, "Stand up at that Dispatch Box and say that you are not going to appeal, and that you are going to get on with it."
DWP Data — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Civil Rights
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour, Centre-left): This sorry story underlines the immense importance of the role of the Information Commissioner. Can the Minister give us an absolute assurance that, notwithstanding what is in the review, she will not make her Department take any action or demand any changes that restrict the availability of information and data?
DWP Data — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Other
David Anderson (Labour, Centre-left): Given that autumn lasts from the September equinox until the December solstice, will the Minister spell out exactly what work her civil servants will be doing? She must have some idea of what is needed, because otherwise she would not have specified that timescale. What will those civil servants be doing during the intervening weeks and, possibly, months?
DWP Data — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Other
Luciana Clare Goldsmith (Berger) (Labour, Centre-left): I think the public will be appalled that the Government have adopted the tone that we heard in the Minister’s response today. May I pursue the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr Anderson)? The Minister said that we would have the data by the autumn. Having looked it up, I have established that autumn will begin on 21 September. Can the Minister confirm that she will come to the House during the two weeks following our return in September, make a statement, and hear our responses to it?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): Before the Minister moves off the issue of support for businesses, may I say that although there are many measures in the Bill to support businesses that we welcome, many of my local small businesses are eagerly awaiting the Government’s review on business rates later this year? Will he give some indication that those small businesses in my constituency will not end up worse off as a result of changes that may be planned to the business rates?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Mixed Topics
Shabana Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend raises an important point. The northern powerhouse has very clearly got a power cut, and it remains the case that with changes to local government funding, we cannot empower local government and local people if we impoverish them. At the same time, there remain important critiques of the Government’s policy making in this area. He is absolutely right that the Budget, the Finance Bill and all the attendant documents that were published on 8 July certainly did not go far enough on infrastructure, and the example that he gives powerfully highlights that.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Other
Shabana Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): We will be abstaining on the reasoned amendment tabled by the Scottish National party. There are measures in the Bill that we definitely support. There are other measures that we wish to return to when the Bill receives detailed scrutiny in Committee of the Whole House and in Public Bill Committee, and we shall return to those issues and press some to a vote. On others, we will table probing amendments to gain greater understanding of the Government’s detailed intentions.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-07-21
Topic: Other
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Mr Wilson was very worried about the amount of time we are taking—we can go to any hour—and I think Mr MacNeil is trying to see whether we can get to that hour. However, as he knows, as much as I appreciate that it is his birthday, he blew out all his candles on his first intervention. We now want shorter interventions.