argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Technology
Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (Labour, Centre-left): On the app, the Secretary of State told us it was crucial and would be ready by mid-May. Experts warned him it would not work. He spent three months, wasted £12 million and has got nothing to show for it. It is a good job he is a tech-savvy expert on apps; otherwise, this would be a right shambles now, wouldn’t it?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Education
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): There are approximately 1 million 16 to 18-year-olds in England, and some 700,000 study in colleges. Astonishingly, this week’s education catch-up plan omitted those colleges, including many in my constituency of Cambridge. Can the Prime Minister explain the Government’s thinking behind this, and will he sort it out?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): This morning, I met those from Disability Rights UK who are worried that support for shielded people is being removed too quickly. In their words, "If Government can be sensitive to business until October, why can’t they be sensitive to personal needs?" Throughout this crisis, communication with shielded and disabled people has been poor. Will the Prime Minister commit to working closely with these groups to ensure clearer, more regular communication as we move out of lockdown and towards planning for a second wave?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: International Affairs
Anna Rhiannon McMorrin (Labour, Centre-left): It seems the Prime Minister has given up working with all four nations. Cobra has not met for weeks, daily communications have ended and I am pretty sure the First Minister of Wales has forgotten what the Prime Minister even looks like. Does he not believe that his actions are leading to a disjointed rather than united Union, and given that recent data suggest that the people of Wales have far more confidence in the Welsh Government’s handling of this pandemic than the people of England do in his, should he not perhaps be following the strategy championed by the Labour Government of Wales?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Environment
Emma Ann Hardy (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister will be aware of The Deep, in Hull, which is a landmark centre for marine research and the world’s only "submarium". No mention of aquariums was made in his speech, but I noted that he talked about a taskforce, so when will it give reports? How quickly can we get the aquarium open? In the meantime—if that cannot happen—will he look at providing it with extra, specialised financial support?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Labor
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Prime Minister. Sorry, thank you, Mr Speaker —it would perhaps be much better if you were Prime Minister. Let me thank the Prime Minister for a welcome statement. We have a plethora of small businesses in Brighton. I have just spoken to our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender businesses, along with Gscene, our LGBT magazine, and they, and, in particular, our bars and clubs, are keen to get open. However, they are worried at the moment that the furlough scheme, which will rightly be closing for new entrants this month and which will allow part-time working, will not allow people to come off furlough to see whether the business is viable and then be put back on it. Will he consider some flexibility, such as for a two-week trial, with people then able to be put back on furlough for the remainder of the scheme, so that businesses can test the water? Otherwise, many businesses say that they will just stay shut completely, which would be a real disappointment.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Labor
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): Hairdressers, restaurants and pubs in Manchester will warmly welcome today’s announcement. If the Prime Minister does not mind, I will not follow suit in inviting him to join me for a drink in one of them. He will be aware, however, that 80% of the more than 3 million people who work in hospitality and leisure are currently furloughed. How does he expect businesses such as gyms, nightclubs, theatres and others that have to remain closed to contribute to the furlough scheme at the beginning of August without causing mass redundancies?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jessica Elizabeth Morden (Labour, Centre-left): Welsh councils are reporting a shortfall of around £170 million in the first quarter of this financial year, due to the crisis, and we will need the UK Government to step up and provide more funding to the Welsh Government, to ensure that we do not suffer big cuts to services just when they are needed most. Will the Prime Minister commit to that?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Education
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, particularly on the support for hospitality, which has been a concern raised by many small businesses in my constituency, but I want to ask about schools. He will know that even with 1 metre social distancing, some small Victorian school buildings in my constituency, which often have limited outdoor space too, will find it difficult to educate all children returning in phases. How will he work with those schools, the local education authority and the academy trusts to ensure that in these circumstances all children can get the education they deserve and need?
Windrush Compensation Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Centre-left): May I warmly welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to accept all of Wendy Williams’ recommendations, but also ask her about the compensation scheme, because she did not include the latest figures in her statement? She will know that in our Home Affairs Committee report on Windrush two years ago, we raised four personal cases of injustice. Sadly, two of them have since died without receiving anything at all. I have heard from several people who were told in January that their case was near finalised and was in quality assurance, but have had no progress since, including Anthony Williams, who served in our armed forces for 13 years, and Andrew Bynoe, who was made homeless as a result of the Windrush scandal Does the right hon. Lady accept that keeping people in hardship and waiting in limbo like this compounds the injustice that they have already felt? Will she tell the House how many cases have now received payments? What proportion are still outstanding? Is it true that that is still over 90%? How many people have been waiting more than a year? Will she increase the staffing of the compensation unit, so that we can urgently get people support and compensation for the injustice that was so wrongly meted to them?
Windrush Compensation Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, Centre-left): The immoral Windrush scandal occurred because of the Tory Government’s hostile environment policy. Despite hon. Members and community organisations demanding justice for more than two years for the tens of thousands of victims, of the mere 1,275 people who have claimed compensation thus far only 60 payments have been made, and 529 people have had to wait for more than a year. Does the Home Secretary concede that this neatly sums up the attitude of the Government and the contempt in which they hold long-suffering individuals? Just like with the hapless victims of the deadly Grenfell fire tragedy, this callous Government have no intention whatever of delivering full, proper and timely justice for those who have been so unconscionably wronged.
Windrush Compensation Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): I appreciate what the Home Secretary has said about the complexities of the scheme, but what assessment has she made of how much, on average, a victim can expect to have to spend on obtaining medical records, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs records, Home Office records and other documentation in order to support a compensation claim?
Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Labor
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): The Leader of the House is making an excellent speech. To pick up on the previous intervention, we may be democratically elected, but we are also employers, and we have a duty of care to the people we employ. Does he agree that that is equally important?
Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Government Operations
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I will not, if she does not mind, because I have very little time and I know others want to speak It is important that there is equality of forces when it comes to a process such as this, and I say to those who worry that non-elected people will be making decisions about whether somebody can be suspended or expelled from the House that that is already true. It is already true, for instance, of an election court, a criminal court that decides to give somebody a sentence of more than 12 months or, I think, a bankruptcy court I fully understand that we are making a very significant change to our constitutional process, but my amendment would simply mean that the motions would be taken forthwith. In 1910, Asquith was absolutely blind drunk at the Dispatch Box and nobody ever knew about it. Churchill wrote home to his wife Clemmie that it was "only the persistent freemasonry of the House of Commons" that meant it never became a scandal. That is the fear that many complainants would have. We must not have a debate.
Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Government Operations
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): I commend the hon. Member for Newbury (Laura Farris) for that insightful contribution We are in a different place from where the constitution set us up to be. There is a line that, unfortunately, Members have crossed and transgressed in the past. That means that, if we have to clip the wings of our constitutional position, so be it. I listened very carefully to the right hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom), and it is with some pain that I have come to that position too, but we need to consider the victims. I have had the privilege of being contacted by a number of victims. Some have done so face to face, but some have emailed me because their outlet was to leave this place, because that was the easiest thing to do. The impact on their lives has been immense We need to stand up and make this place transparent, proper and modern in the way that we employ people and that we treat people, and that means that we all individually need to step up. I reiterate, as I conclude, that it is important we actually stem this before it gets to the point of the independent panel. I would advocate again that we have properly paid, properly trained and properly accredited office managers or heads of office—whatever we want to call them—who call us out on the slightest transgression. Staff would have the confidence to go to them so that Members who are learning to manage staff, often for the first time, and who have often come from very different working environments, learn what is proper in this place If we cannot set the example of good employment practice and protection for people who call it out here, and good management—let us face it, sometimes staff may complain because they are asked to do something that they do not want to do, and vice versa; it is not always clear cut—what does it say? It is important that we manage our staff well, that we are trained to do that and that we have the mechanisms in place This is part of it, but it is only the beginning. I will of course be backing amendment (a) tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), because we cannot have a debate, as I mentioned in my intervention, where we refer to such things. For anyone who was wavering, I think the hon. Member for Newbury has nailed it.
Windrush Day 2020 — House of Commons, 2020-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare
Helen Elizabeth Hayes (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He makes the important point, which I will come to later, that as we celebrate Windrush Day we must also be mindful of the justice that so many of the Windrush generation are still waiting for. Two years on from that first Windrush Day, only 60 Windrush citizens, as he says, have received compensation from a Government scheme, which is complex and hard to access and far too slow to deliver.
Covid-19: Regional Economic Growth — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Catherine Jane Smith (Labour, Centre-left): During the pandemic, certain sectors and regions have been disproportionately hit by this economic downturn. In many cases, this is falling on the shoulders of those who are least able to carry it. In Lancashire, 82 businesses have collapsed in May alone and almost 19,000 jobs in the county have been lost during the pandemic. A failure to provide sector-specific, regionally focused support to those most at risk could end up costing many more jobs. What steps are the Government taking to apply a regional lens to this crisis and, in particular, to provide vital investment to counties such as Lancashire?
Covid-19: Government Contracts — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Government Operations
Helen Elizabeth Hayes (Labour, Centre-left): The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented national emergency, and Labour understands that in response there has been a need for the Government to procure goods and services at speed, but the flexibility required by extraordinary circumstances is no excuse for reducing transparency or abandoning any attempt at due diligence. How does the Minister explain reports that contracts to the value of more than £830 million have been awarded to at least 12 different companies for personal protective equipment that has never materialised; that £108 million of public funds has been handed to PestFix, a company with just £18,000 of assets; and that £830,000 for communications advice has been given without any tender process to Public First, which is owned by friends of the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser, and although the payment was justified as part of the coronavirus response, it appears to relate to Brexit? How are we to believe that this Government have any kind of a grip on public spending during this crisis?
Government Planning: End of the Transition Period — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Foreign Trade
Charalambos Charalambous (Labour, Centre-left): The leaked letter from the Secretary of State for International Trade demonstrates the alarm and confusion at the top of the Government. Despite Monday’s announcement, the Minister cannot convince his own Cabinet that the border will be ready by 1 January. Does he recognise the concerns expressed by the Institute of Directors, which found that only one in four businesses are ready for the end of transition because "preparing for Brexit proper is like trying to hit a moving target"?
Government Planning: End of the Transition Period — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Transportation
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): On Monday, when asked about a lorry park in Ashford, the right hon. Gentleman told the House: "It is not the case that any specific site has been absolutely confirmed. We are in commercial negotiations with a number of sites"—[Official Report, 13 July 2020; Vol. 678, c. 1278.] So can he answer a specific question: how many sites in Kent is he looking at to put infrastructure on? How many of those sites will be to check the paperwork of goods leaving the UK and how many will be to check goods coming into the UK, because, as we all know, there is no space to do that at Dover?
Civil Service Reform — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Government Operations
Florence Eshalomi (Labour, Centre-left): A number of my constituents are civil servants, and they have written to me to express their understandable shock and upset about the recent announcement about their jobs, which will be cut. Given the extraordinary challenges that our public sector now faces—dealing with covid, the economic downturn and Brexit—can the Minister tell me why the Government have chosen to shrink the civil service at this crucial time, and will he commit to reviewing this decision?
List of Ministerial Responsibilities — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Government Operations
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to the Minister for that update, but of course it is not just the booklet; the responsibilities of individual Cabinet Office Ministers have not been available on the gov.uk website, so perhaps that could be updated too. The Cabinet Office has been particularly resistant to transparency and slow to share information in recent times. It is one of the worst performing Departments in responding to freedom of information requests, despite being responsible for FOI policy. In 2019, the Cabinet Office was the Department that was referred the most to the Information Commissioner’s Office. What is the Minister doing about this?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Government Operations
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman said in his recent Ditchley Park speech that, "Government needs to be rigorous and fearless in its evaluation of policy and projects." On that we agree. During the covid crisis, the Government have published details of outsourced contracts worth about £3 billion, while the true figure is likely to be many multiples of that. Today I have written to the National Audit Office, asking it to review the Government’s approach to public procurement during this pandemic. Will the right hon. Gentleman, to ensure the rigour that he desires, join me in asking the National Audit Office to take a look and to help the Government to ensure value for money and the very best possible public services?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Government Operations
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): That is the best answer I have had from the Minister so far. I welcome his support, and I hope he will follow up with the National Audit Office and encourage it to do that work, particularly to help us if we face a second wave or more local lockdowns. On the theme of the privilege of public service, can he inform the House when the report into the conduct of the Home Secretary will be published, following the resignation of the permanent secretary, citing a culture of bullying Can the right hon. Gentleman also explain or justify the decision of his party to withdraw the Whip from the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis), a Conservative MP for 23 years, former Royal Navy reservist and Chair of the Defence Committee, for the crime of being elected Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee? Losing the Whip used to be the result of serious misdemeanour, not independent thought. What does this say about the Government’s approach to expertise and scrutiny?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): With the East Midlands among the regional economies hardest hit by the pandemic, I am sure that the Secretary of State is looking at Nottingham as a potential location for additional civil service jobs and perhaps even Parliament, but what other additional support will the Government offer our region?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Government Operations
Geraint Richard Davies (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State plans to announce today constitutional changes that will roll back devolution—devolution that was decided in a referendum—on the basis of debates that exclude 250 MPs who are shielding from coronavirus. Will he ensure that before those debates occur, a hybrid online democracy and equal rights for MPs are restored in accordance with an early-day motion submitted yesterday by 49 MPs?
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Foreign Trade
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): When the UK Government seek to strike trade deals with the rest of the world, they need to be able to speak with one voice for the whole United Kingdom, so will the Secretary of State commit in the Bill that he brings forward to making sure that arrangements are in place for proper consultation with all the devolved Administrations and proper scrutiny by this Parliament and the elected representatives of the British people?
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
Zarah Sultana (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State talked about the economic recovery after coronavirus, about which my constituents and I have immediate concerns. In the past week alone, more than 8,000 jobs have been lost in the west midlands, manufacturing and higher education sectors have been particularly hit, and in Coventry we fear an unemployment tsunami when the furlough scheme ends. Will the Government extend the furlough scheme on a sectoral basis, invest in green manufacturing in the west midlands, and provide a plan for higher education that protects jobs and funding?
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): These structural arrangements are enormously important, but they only go so far because so are political culture and drive to ensure that we get Britain back to work. Yet Government purchasing rules and practice still grovel to so-called EU rules—unlike, incidentally, most other EU countries. Now the Government are free of those rules, when are they going to actively back British business and British workers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? There are no more EU excuses. Act now!
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Agriculture
Rachel Louise Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): Since I was elected, many of my constituents have written to me about their concerns for food standards, whether they are people who eat food or even the 20 or so members of the National Farmers Union in my constituency who produce it. In the White Paper, the Government make several references to past action on standards, but the future-focused language is extremely weak. Will the Secretary of State commit to minimum standards, which people can improve on but not go below?
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Agriculture
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): Many of us are alarmed at the prospect of standards being lowered to allow things such as chlorine-washed chicken to come into our market, particularly as the requirement to wash chicken in chlorine comes from the fact that sometimes the meat is marinated in the animal’s own guano. Some of us would rather avoid the risk of buying such products, so will the Secretary of State ensure that the devolved powers include the right to label food so that we can be warned about the prospects of buying those sorts of products?
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Commons, 2020-07-16
Topic: Foreign Trade
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): Vauxhall in Luton proudly produces one of the best-selling vans in all regions and nations in the UK. This is part of the £10.5 billion-worth of goods that are imported into Northern Ireland from Great Britain each year. All this is reliant on frictionless trade. Does the Secretary of State agree that the commitment to frictionless trade across the UK, as set out in the White Paper, is essentially meaningless given that the Government have admitted that the protocol will introduce new requirements on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland?