argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-10-20
Topic: Environment
Questions: Having a prematurely born child in neonatal intensive care means that for families, every day can be a struggle —practically, financially and emotionally. Trying to continue with life as normal while racked with worry and a guilt that simply never leaves you is just not possible. That is why the Prime Minister’s commitment to deliver neonatal leave and pay for parents in that situation is so important. Will he meet me to discuss how quickly we can put that through Parliament so that parents get this support as quickly as possible?; Knowing my right hon. Friend’s commitment to UK bioscience, and his understanding of the exciting potential for improving mental health treatments for conditions such as depression, trauma and addiction, will he cut through the current barriers to research into psilocybin and similar compounds, so that the British public can receive, and British science research and British pharmaceutical companies can enable, potential treatments for those most debilitating conditions to be delivered at the earliest possible opportunity?; It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford)—the new quiet man of British politics. [Laughter.] Long may it continue. The weekend before last, I went to sea with the Brixham trawlers. Brixham fish market is now turning over £1.4 million a week. It is looking forward to its share of the levelling-up fund, but it is also looking forward to the previously announced £100 million fisheries and seafood scheme. When will we see pillars 2 and 3 launched, and will the Prime Minister reaffirm his commitment to our coastal communities and our fishing sector?
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llefarydd If COP26 is to be successful, people must be at the heart of our net zero emissions strategy. For too long, the UK economy has left too many people behind, with wealth and investment hoarded in the south-east of England. Devolving powers over the Crown Estate would bring half a billion pounds-worth of offshore wind and tidal stream potential—assets, of course, currently controlled by Westminster—under Welsh control. Scotland, meanwhile, already has those powers. Will the Prime Minister support my Bill to devolve the management of the Crown Estate to Wales?
Sexual Misconduct in the Police — House of Commons, 2021-10-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make a statement on sexual misconduct in the Metropolitan police and in the police generally.
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I understand that 750 police officers have been accused of sexual misconduct between 2016 and 2020, including 40 from Welsh police forces. While the numbers are in the public domain, in many cases the outcomes of the accusations are not, even though, as I think everyone here would agree, there is evidently an issue of legitimate public interest. I appreciate that the inquiry will be independent, but I think the public want to know that there is consistency of sanctions when the findings uphold those accusations. Could the Minister make a commitment to me that, in his dealings with the independent inquiry, he will be urging it to consider that within the terms of reference?
Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill — House of Commons, 2021-07-06
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I saw the right hon. Gentleman try to answer what I was going to ask him in his reply to the earlier intervention. Considering that there have been two snap elections in the past four years, what problem are the Government trying to solve?
Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill — House of Commons, 2021-07-06
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I absolutely echo the Minister’s comments in relation to his colleague. The law as it stands means that if the Government lose a vote of no confidence, there are 14 days to form another Government, and if that does not happen, that leads to an election. What would be the position following the passing of this Bill? Would the Government losing a vote of no confidence immediately trigger a general election?
Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill — House of Commons, 2021-07-06
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): As a Welsh MP, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman would agree that one benefit of a fixed-term Parliament for this place is that there cannot be a clash with Welsh elections. Although the Bill says that there cannot be an election for the Senedd and a general election at the same time, the Library note states: "Regulations can be made to hold" an "extraordinary general" election. The question for us, if the Bill passes tonight, is: what are those extraordinary circumstances and how will UK Ministers co-ordinate with Welsh Ministers and the Welsh Parliament?
Free Trade Agreement Negotiations: Australia — House of Commons, 2021-06-17
Topic: Agriculture
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Secretary of State makes much of the so-called transition period secured for farmers, but information on the Australian Government website suggests that the tariff-rate quota for Australian beef will increase nearly tenfold immediately, and that the deal will see the quota for Australian lamb nearly doubled in the first year. If she is serious about wanting farmers to compete and succeed, why, at the very first attempt, has she conceded to such a drastic and immediate increase in tariff-rate quotas that imperils the future of Welsh agriculture before domestic post-EU agricultural policies are even in place?
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry — House of Commons, 2021-07-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am extremely grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way, and for outlining his case forensically. What does this so-called VIP lane indicate about the priorities of the British Government, when we compare it with the fact that when the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Northern Irish Government together asked for extra borrowing capacity to deal with the covid crisis, they were turned down? What does that say about the priorities of the British Government, and—more to the point, perhaps—what does it say about the nature of the relationships among Governments within the British state?
EU Settlement Scheme — House of Commons, 2021-07-07
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I have been lobbied quite strongly by businesses in my constituency, where there is a big shortage of HGV drivers, for instance. Analysis indicates that there are up to 76,000 vacancies in the sector, which hits logistics and construction. Would not one reform that would help with the economic problems we face in Wales and Scotland be for the British Government to allow the Welsh and Scottish Governments to put sectors of the economy where there are skills shortages on the shortage occupations list?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-05-26
Topic: Social Welfare
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): NHS and social care staff in Wales are due to receive a £500 bonus in recognition of their hard work during the pandemic, but staff on universal credit stand to lose out due to the way in which the award is recognised in the regulations as earned income, so instead of receiving a thank you bonus at the end of the month, many NHS and social care staff will be punished with a deduction of up to 63% from their universal credit. Will the Prime Minister look to amend regulation 55 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 to create an exemption to ensure that all NHS and social care staff in Wales benefit fully from this well-deserved bonus?
Employment Rights — House of Commons, 2021-06-08
Topic: Labor
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lefarydd. Today’s smoke-and-mirrors announcement—rhetorical, rather than under- pinned by legislation—amplifies this Government’s ongoing failure to introduce a new employment Bill to protect workers’ rights. As we continue to struggle through the pandemic, one thing has become clear: the current approach to bereavement leave and miscarriage leave is insufficient and depends too much on the good will of the employer. Will the Government now consider making paid bereavement leave and paid miscarriage leave an employment right from day one?
0.7% Official Development Assistance Target — House of Commons, 2021-06-08
Topic: International Affairs
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) for securing the debate. I admire the authentic passion that he brings to this subject. I oppose these unjustified and unwise cuts to aid. The Government are said to be motivated by a wish not only to balance the books and manage public spending, but to court popularity in the red wall seats. I can tell the Minister that opinion in Wales is very much against the Government on this and it will do them no good. When we get that long-overdue by-election in the north-east of Wales, they will see that for themselves From a Welsh perspective, I note that smaller European countries—Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway—have met their 0.7% of GDP targets. Indeed, Sweden has provided not 0.7% but 1.14% of its GDP in aid. Sweden and the others can do this, and they achieve the 0.7% and more. Unfortunately, the UK can but chooses not to do so Leading figures in Welsh public life and local constituents alike have expressed their dismay, describing this cut as a double blow to the world’s poorest communities at the time of a pandemic. The Welsh Government themselves, in their policy documents on international matters—their agenda—say that they are "committed to promoting social justice, fairness and equality" What value have those fair words from the Welsh Labour Government when we are tied to and overruled by this mean-spirited, short-sighted policy from the Westminster Government The United Nations Population Fund is to be cut by 85%, UNICEF’s core funding to support children by 60%, and total funding by £4.5 billion. Those figures would be a disgrace to any country, but given this Government’s pretensions to be a leading global power and an example to others, they are not only a disgrace but a major self-inflicted blow to the UK’s international standing I referred a moment ago to the United Nations Population Fund. What does that cut mean in real terms? Funding is to reduce from £154 million to £23 million, which will lead, it says, to up to 7 million unintended pregnancies, 2 million unsafe abortions and 23,000 maternal deaths. UNICEF says that it is "too soon" to judge effects, but "children…in some of the world’s worst crises and conflicts will suffer" as a consequence—as a deliberate effect, unfortunately—of this policy. Lastly, Save the Children says: "These cuts will trim UK borrowing by a fraction, but devastate lives across many of the world’s poorest countries." Because of all that, I join others in appealing to the Minister and the Government to withdraw these cuts.
International Trade Policy — House of Commons, 2021-06-30
Topic: Agriculture
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Mr Speaker. There have been several instances in recent weeks where UK Government Ministers, including the Secretary of State for International Trade, have dismissed concerns from the agricultural community regarding food standards in this trade deal, especially Australia’s position on animal welfare. Can the Secretary of State explain to Welsh farmers how the UK Government will ensure fair competition and that imports from Australia will always match those expected of Welsh farmers?
Covid-19: Co-ordination of UK-wide Response — House of Commons, 2021-06-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llefarydd. With your permission, I would like to say thanks to Wales’s national football team. It was not to be this time, but fe godwn ni eto— we will rise again More than one in five households in Wales with a net income under £20,000 have seen their income drop since January. Nearly 110,000 families are struggling to cover essential costs. Labour’s leader in Wales complained yesterday that the key levers for tackling poverty are in the hands of the UK Government, but paradoxically he opposes the devolution of those powers to the Senedd. One Government have the levers but choose not to use them, while the other are content with not having those levers at all. Will the Secretary of State urge the Chancellor, please, to make use of his powers and make permanent the £20 uplift to universal credit?
Official Development Assistance and the British Council — House of Commons, 2021-06-30
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I am grateful to the hon. Member for the comments that she has made so far and for her work on the Select Committee. In the post-Brexit age, we hear a lot from the British Government on sovereignty and being able to make sovereign decisions, but is not the crux of the matter—as this major issue, the cut to international aid, shows—the fact that we are not making decisions on the basis of parliamentary sovereignty, and that the Government really should be paying more attention to the views of this House?
Official Development Assistance and the British Council — House of Commons, 2021-06-30
Topic: International Affairs
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that those in Wales and Scotland who believe in an ethical foreign policy and who support humanitarian aid will see this as skewed priorities? When over £200 million is to be spent on a royal yacht and yet there is a cut to international humanitarian aid, what message does that give to the people of Wales and Scotland?
Emergency Covid Contracts — House of Commons, 2021-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Llefarydd. Let us call this out for what it is: a gross misuse of public money. The shady deal to award a half-a-million-pound covid contract to Ministers’ friends at Public First is yet another example of Tories putting Tory interests first. Given that focus groups were held in Wales, did the Secretary of State for Wales consent to the decision to use the Public First contract for political research purposes?
English Votes for English Laws — House of Commons, 2021-07-13
Topic: International Affairs
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In the 1990s, the status of England had not figured sufficiently in the world view of the Labour architects of devolution. "Home Rule all round" had been proposed in the 19th century. Indeed, it had appeared in the Labour party’s policy for the 1918 election. In 1997, however, England was overlooked—it was excluded from consideration. It was all too complicated That devolution settlement has proved unstable. It was a fix, not a solution. English votes for English laws was an attempt to address this basic flaw in the post-devolution Union, but it too was a fix, not a solution. I think that EVEL was more of a symbolic concession to those Members who were constantly intruding English questions into devolution debates, and I do not think that it has ever delivered a meaningful voice for English voters, so I have some sympathy with the current proposal One advantage of EVEL, however, was that where it applied it gave an authoritative answer to the perennial question of some Welsh MPs: is this matter devolved, and is it Barnettable? EVEL told us. Now, as a consequence of this Government’s recent, more explicitly hostile stance on devolution and the lawmaking powers of the Welsh Government, a further question has arisen: what consequential effects might Westminster’s legislation have on Welsh law and Welsh Government policy My request to the UK Government Front Bench is not just that they reconsider the failed EVEL procedure—not just fix the fix—but that there be clarity as to what is devolved. Barnett has long been bust. In the medium term, we need a proper statutory duty on Westminster to seek devolved Government consent when introducing a Bill that might affect the laws or policies of the Welsh Government Abolishing EVEL will not address the growing problem of accommodating people in England within a post-devolution United Kingdom. Even the reforms that I have outlined very briefly would only place an additional check on what is a flawed system. What we really need is independence for Wales—and no more fixes.
Connectivity and Infrastructure within Wales and Cross-border — House of Commons, 2021-05-19
Topic: Transportation
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Diolch yn fawr, Llefarydd. The Wales Governance Centre has calculated that, were Wales to be treated like Scotland in relation to HS2 and rail funding, we would be over half a billion pounds better off. Only 1.26% of the firms in the HS2 supply chain are Welsh and we know that, when HS2 is complete, it will take £200 million out of the south Wales economy alone. In the Secretary of State’s opinion, what percentage of HS2 supply chain firms should be based in Wales—or is he happy for his Government to continue to short-change Wales?
Covid-19: Financial Support — House of Commons, 2021-05-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Research by the Centre for Progressive Policy has shown that UK Government covid emergency support was, on average, £1,000 more generous to London residents than to those in Wales, and that the UK Government spent nearly £7 billion more on London than if each nation and region of the UK had been allocated the same emergency spending per resident. What explanation has the Minister been given by his Cabinet colleagues for that discrepancy?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-05-19
Topic: Agriculture
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In 2019, before visiting Wales, the Prime Minister said: "I will always back Britain’s great farmers". Now it looks as if he is backing Australia’s farmers instead, so will he keep to his word, clearly back Welsh farmers and permanently rule out tariff-free access for Australian lamb and beef imports?
Israel and Gaza: Ceasefire — House of Commons, 2021-05-19
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the UK Government’s efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I associate myself and my party with the Minister’s opening words about the wholly unacceptable deaths and casualties, particularly of children Self-evidently, the first step to peace is to stop the violence. President Biden has expressed support for the ceasefire, according to press reports. Can the Minister reassure me that all relevant international partners are actively working for an immediate ceasefire as a prelude to a substantial international attempt to secure a permanent and just solution?
Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy — House of Commons, 2021-10-19
Topic: Environment
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Obviously, £450 million for heat pumps across England and Wales is a good thing, but it is set to benefit only 0.3% of Welsh households, while the future generations commissioner calculates that the cost of decarbonising Wales’s housing stock stands at £14.75 billion. The Treasury has resisted every step on the road to COP26. Our economy, our environment and our communities need Treasury funding to step up to the mark to lead the transformational investment. That will give the private sector confidence. How confident is the Minister that this news will reach us within the next 10 days?
Supporting Small Business — House of Commons, 2021-10-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Ben Morgan Lake (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): The Minister mentions the reduced rate of VAT, which has been welcomed by a number of businesses in my constituency. May I invite him to comment on whether the Government have considered an extension to that? Many businesses in my constituency have informed me that that reduced rate has allowed them to invest in not only their businesses, but their employees’ wages—I am sure that is something we can agree on.
G20 and COP26 World Leaders Summit — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Energy
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): In his statement, the Prime Minister said: "We have the technology to do what is necessary: all that remains in question is our resolve." With that in mind, why do the British Government not extend the favourable financing model being proposed for nuclear energy generation to other technologies, such as the proposed Swansea tidal lagoon?
Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Technology
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): Is not the problem with the Government’s proposals that the new financing model, which is very favourable, goes towards only one technology? Are the British Government not therefore picking a winner from the available technology options? Does that not go against Conservative ideology?
Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Energy
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for the very considered manner in which he is presenting his case. Is there anything in his mind that would stop the UK Government using this new financing model for other technologies, such as the tidal lagoon in Swansea, or is it blatantly unfair that one technology has a very favourable financing scheme, while another technology that could provide many of the solutions that he seeks is stuck on contracts for difference?
Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Energy
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I do not question the hon. Gentleman’s expertise or knowledge on this issue, but perhaps he can help me out. From the Minister’s letter, and from what the hon. Gentleman himself has said during the debate, we know that 12 of the UK’s 13 current nuclear reactors are scheduled to close by 2030. The main argument for large nuclear is the baseload protection it gives that other technologies cannot provide, but it seems to me that it is highly unlikely, even with this new financing model, that a large new nuclear plant will be built before 2030. The question that arises from that for me—I admit that I am not an expert—is, how will that baseload be covered while we are waiting for the new large nuclear plants to be built?
Downing Street Christmas Parties Investigation — House of Commons, 2021-12-09
Topic: Government Operations
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): A No. 10 source has told CNN that Downing Street was an island where they had to work, and lockdown was not happening in the same way there as it was happening for the rest of the country. That single sentence sums up the culture of entitlement of this Government. No man, or woman, is an island—and, of course, we must remember for whom the bell tolls. Does the Paymaster General think it is right that the Prime Minister can get away with throwing staff members under the bus, rather than reining in the culture of entitlement that he himself has created?
Health and Care Bill — House of Commons, 2021-11-23
Topic: Government Operations
David Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru, Centre-left to left): I do not question that the hon. Gentleman’s new clause is well intentioned. Does he believe that the standardisation would happen in conjunction with the four Governments working together or, in his view, would the process be driven solely from Westminster?