argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Domestic Abuse Bill — House of Lords, 2021-04-21
Topic: Law and Crime
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, noble Lords know that Amendment 42, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, seeks to amend the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and provide for a new category of offender to be managed under Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements, otherwise known as MAPPA. The intention is that such offenders are recorded on ViSOR, the dangerous persons database. The new category would cover perpetrators who had either been convicted on two or more occasions of a relevant domestic abuse-related or stalking offence or who had been convicted of a single such offence and had been assessed as presenting a risk of serious harm. Those features are retained in exactly the same form in Amendment 42D The noble Baroness’s original amendment would also place a duty on the Government to issue a report on these changes 12 months after Royal Assent. The amendment specifies that the report would need to include a comprehensive prevention and perpetrator strategy for domestic abusers and stalkers. The noble Baroness’s new Amendment 42D modifies this aspect of her original amendment by incorporating the provisions of government Amendment 42A but with the key difference that Amendment 42D would provide for a strategy to tackle domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators Following the decision by this House to agree Amendment 42, we have once again reviewed the arguments put forward by the noble Baroness and others in favour of her amendment. I will now outline our thinking and detail the conclusion that we have reached It was impossible not to be moved by the many personal accounts that were shared during the course of debates in Committee and on Report. However, I think there has been some misunderstanding of what the amendment would actually achieve, and that is worthy of clarification. An example of this concerns the report that has been circulated, which many noble Lords have raised, that outlines 30 harrowing and extremely distressing cases of women and children who have been murdered or seriously injured by violent perpetrators. Based on the information provided in the report, in many of these examples the perpetrator would already have been eligible for management under the current MAPPA provisions or the proposed amendment would not have made a difference because the perpetrator had not been previously convicted What is clear from those examples is that the systems were not always working as they should and victims were let down. Those cases illustrate the need for a changed agency response to perpetrators so that they are brought to justice earlier and agencies work together to reduce the risk that perpetrators will commit future offences that might lead to death or serious injuries of women and children. That is why we have continued to argue that simply providing for a separate MAPPA category covering serial domestic abuse or stalking offenders, as Amendment 42D seeks to do, would not strengthen the way in which MAPPA operates or indeed address the underlying issues.
Domestic Abuse Bill — House of Lords, 2021-04-21
Topic: Law and Crime
Elizabeth Sanderson (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I understand the strength of feeling on this issue. I completely agree on the need to do more to stop serial offenders. Too often in the worst cases we discover that the perpetrator has had a long and shocking history of previous abuse. I am not clear about how a register or, effectively, a new category under MAPPA would improve the situation Members in this House and in the other place have said that new guidance is not enough to deal with the problem. I can understand why there might be some scepticism on that front. The truth is that this comes down to better guidance, proper training and more effective information sharing about the worst offenders Throughout the passage of the Bill, we have heard distressing details of what some of those offenders have done. But the fact remains that the vast majority were already covered by current MAPPA categories. Merely shifting their names into a new category or on to a new register will not change matters. If anything, it could make the situation even more difficult, for this is not straightforward. Working through the finer details of this so-called super-database as to exactly who will be on it and for how long they will remain there will take time, which we have all agreed we do not have. How do we avoid ending up with something so unwieldy that it inhibits the process of tracking and managing these people While I understand why a new category or database might seem appealing, I genuinely believe that in practice it will not deliver what we want. Surely it is better to focus our energies on improving the system that we have. We all agree that it is not working as it should, but the Government are investing in improvements to the ViSOR database that will enable better risk assessment and information sharing. I really believe that this, together with the new guidance and frameworks which have already been promised, will be more effective in dealing with the very real problem before us.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: International Affairs
James Bridges (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I pay tribute to all those who have shepherded Brexit legislation through this House since I stood at that Dispatch Box and triggered Article 50. I also congratulate the Government, especially the Prime Minister, my noble friend Lord Frost and the entire negotiating team, on the deal I do not want to dive into details on the Bill, but to take a step back and ask some basic, simple questions—the same questions that I asked shortly after I resigned as a Minister. Having taken back control, what do we want to do with our new powers? Do we want to chart our own course and paddle our own canoe and, if so, what is the destination, or is the plan to follow in the EU’s wake From those questions, many others follow. Consider financial services, and here I draw your Lordships’ attention to my entry in the register. I am delighted that the Chancellor wants to make the UK a global leader in fintech and green finance, but as we do that, should we not think more broadly about how we might update but not weaken our regulations—which after all were created for an analogue age—for the digital green future, even if that might mean divergence from the EU at some point? Are we too fixated on equivalence We should ask similar, challenging questions about other parts of the economy. For example, how can we make the UK the best place to innovate in green, sustainable technology? How can we ensure that our employment laws continue to make us globally competitive and are fair for workers in the gig economy? The list of questions is long, and the answers may or may not require us to diverge from the EU in the future, but we must answer them now, starting with those basic ones if we are to prosper in the years ahead, and, more immediately, if we are to make the most of holding the presidency of the G7 and hosting COP 26 At the moment we have a laundry list of policies—reviewing chemical regulations, banning live animal exports, blue passports, taking back control of our waters and so on—so I look forward to hearing the Minister, with his usual eloquence, putting my mind at ease and giving me the confidence that there is indeed an oven-ready plan and strategy in the post-Brexit world, and that we are not making things up as we go along.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: International Affairs
Stuart Polak (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my noble friend Lord Wharton on his maiden speech. How appropriate, as he said, that he has spoken in today’s debate, as it was he who introduced the Private Member’s Bill advocating a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. He pioneered the northern powerhouse and was a successful Minister in International Development, and, as the youngest Member of your Lordships’ House, is likely to be here long after most of the rest of us Unlike my noble friend, many noble Lords are lamenting the replacement of Erasmus with Turing. Some noble Lords are unable to see opportunities. Why is it that they cannot seize the chance to ensure that the best of Erasmus is implanted into the new global scheme, which has the potential to benefit so many young people? Having carefully reread the debate in your Lordships’ House on 30 December, I believe that one of the most perceptive comments came from my noble friend Lady Noakes when she said that the crisis we face in the House is not to do with the increased numbers of Peers but that the House has just lost touch with our nation. Those who wish to begin campaigns to rejoin the EU or speak of the so-called utopia of being in the EU are misguided and mistaken I congratulate, and recognise the diplomatic and negotiating skills of, my noble friend Lord Frost, and support the tenacity, determination and courage of the Prime Minister. I acknowledge that tactically in government they pulled off a practical and pragmatic result that has been warmly welcomed around the country and should also be warmly welcomed in this House Lastly, it appears that the terror group Hamas in its entirety is no longer subject to Treasury financial sanctions as it was on an EU listing. Can the Minister confirm, in writing if he is unable to answer today, that Hamas, which clearly has not changed from being a terror organisation over the past couple of weeks, will rightly continue to find itself subject to Treasury financial sanctions?
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: Foreign Trade
Patience Wheatcroft (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, as I agree with everything he said. The Minister said that any deal was a compromise but, while the UK Government laud their success in the negotiations and the Prime Minister declared that we have succeeded in "having our cake and eating it", that is not the case. The EU interpretation of the deal is naturally very different. It points out that "the Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not cover any decisions relating to equivalences for", among other things, "the UK data protection regime, or the assessment of the UK’s sanitary and phytosanitary regime for the purpose of listing it as a third country allowed to export food products to the EU. Indeed, these are unilateral decisions of the EU and are not subject to negotiation." The impacts of that are already being felt. While there has been government triumphalism over the issue of fishing, our shellfish industry faces decimation. Much of its produce was exported to the EU, but now there are huge new obstacles, both bureaucratic and financial. Could the Minister comment on that This agreement is better than nothing, but it is dividing the country. There is now a border in the North Sea. The Government consistently try to deny this, but there is now an effective border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We have seen how this has affected Sainsbury’s. The Kennel Club, no less, is also deeply concerned about the new obstacles facing those in Northern Ireland who wish to compete in dog shows in Great Britain. The horseracing industry in Ireland is very concerned about how it will face bureaucratic challenges and more expense. These charges can make life prohibitive. This is a tiny example of the deleterious impact of this deal. Far from having our cake and eating it, we will be going increasingly hungry.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: Transportation
Richard Balfe (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I first draw attention to my entries in the register, in particular my presidency of BALPA, the pilots’ union. Secondly, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Wharton. I am sure that we will hear much more of him in a very positive light, and I welcome him to this House. Thirdly, I want to make it clear that I fought strongly against the referendum result. I called for either an election or another referendum. We had an election; the answer was clear. The Prime Minister asked us whether we wanted to get Brexit done. I accept in a democracy that we must now do that. My comments and votes from that day onwards have been destined to try to get the best for my country However, I want to raise a number of points on air transport where there is some need for clarity in the agreement. First, on non-regression from levels of protection of social standards, the Government promised not to water down workers’ rights after 1 January and a new employment Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019. Will the Minister take on board that we would like to receive assurances that aviation-specific employment rights and safety rules, such as civil aviation working time regulations, will be protected in the new legislation Secondly, on wet leasing arrangements—I do not have time to explain what they are—there is a need for the imbalance between us and Europe to be addressed. Thirdly, flight crew licensing is at the moment biased towards Europe and away from the UK. Could the Minister look at that? Finally, on traffic freedoms, appropriate bilateral agreements with EU states need to be made as soon as possible. Can this be given priority?
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: International Affairs
Kevin Shinkwin (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I am delighted that we were able to reach such a favourable agreement with the EU, and I applaud the resolve, skill and tenacity of the Prime Minister, my noble friend Lord Frost and, of course, our negotiating team. I echo the optimism expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Butler of Brockwell, in our debate on 30 December last year As we look beyond Brexit, and indeed beyond the EU, I hope we can agree that effective trade and co-operation have to be underpinned by values. Of course, with the welcome additional spending that the Defence Secretary recently secured, we can project enhanced military power; but surely we also want to project soft power, especially our faith in parliamentary democracy as a value-based system that delivers both stability and prosperity. The terrifying scenes from Capitol Hill are a reminder that it is not just in Hong Kong that democracy is under assault. The essence of democracy is that, as we all know, it allows for change; it allows the pendulum to swing in accordance with the people’s will as expressed through the ballot box—a fact that, in the case of our own referendum, some in the EU found almost impossible to accept When I think of the Muslim Uighurs butchered by the racist, criminal regime of Xi Jinping, or the brave democrats of Hong Kong, whose universal human rights are being brutally quashed by his puppet, Carrie Lam, I hope our approach to trade and co-operation will be about more than just money. In conclusion, ballot boxes, respect for universal human rights and a commitment to intersectional equality should also figure large among our exports, as the best guarantee of global stability and prosperity.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: Agriculture
James Peter Hymers Mackay (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, shortly after I became Lord Advocate, the late Lord Bingham was appointed a High Court judge. He had been nominated by the Attorney-General to defend the United Kingdom in a number of cases raised in the European Court of Justice by the European Commission for breaches of the common fisheries policy, and the Attorney-General nominated me to take his place. When he handed over to me, he remarked that he had advised the Attorney-General that they were all absolutely hopeless. So it turned out. I realised then what a hard bargain this policy was for us, and the prospect of leaving was an inviting one for the UK elements of our fisheries The agreement affirms the sovereign rights and obligations of the UK and the EU as independent coastal states, and emphasises the right of each party to grant vessels of the other party the right to enter its waters, to be exercised in annual consultations in the light of the best scientific information available. I am therefore confident that the UK has the full right to control and manage its own waters, subject to international law, once the disappointing temporary arrangement to gradually raise the UK’s shares has expired on 31 July 2026, and completely on 31 December 2026. I close by expressing my great thankfulness that our fellow citizens in Europe are to continue to enjoy the beautiful seafood harvested in the north of Scotland.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: Education
Ian McColl (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend Lord Wharton on his splendid maiden speech It is understandable that there have been serious doubts about the expensive Erasmus programme, which last year was reported as costing €3.3 billion and serving 940,000 participants—which means that each participant cost €3,600. The scheme involved twice as many people coming to the UK as going from it. Can the Minister assure us that the proposed UK Alan Turing scheme will be less bureaucratic than what we have seen in Brussels Our new scheme, unlike the parochial Erasmus, will enable students to go further afield to Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Some of our forward-thinking universities have already established exchange programmes beyond Europe and have the Government’s full support. Unlike Erasmus, the government scheme will explicitly target students from disadvantaged backgrounds and areas which did not have many candidates benefiting from Erasmus+, making life-changing opportunities accessible across the country. It will be backed by over £100 million for about 35,000 students in universities, colleges and schools, as well as students on apprenticeships, to go on placements and exchanges overseas. It will deliver greater value for money to the taxpayer.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: Foreign Trade
Edward Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, there is barely time to declare my interests in the register, not enough properly to welcome my noble friend Lord Wharton—although I warmly do so—and none at all to set out my TCA-related concerns about the Government’s Panglossian approach to the future of the United Kingdom, now very much in peril The TCA shows that the United Kingdom and the EU can behave with good will towards each other and agree. That is good, not only on its own but because the TCA exposes a lot of unfinished business, not least on technical barriers to trade. The agreement covers only part of the economic canvas and, to mix my metaphors, it is very much a curate’s egg Doing a deal on services is more difficult than doing one on goods, which is perhaps why so much has been left unfinished. Third-country access to the services arena is more complex than access for goods. We could not expect to replicate the same quality of access that both regulated and unregulated services enjoyed in the single market, but we will now see significant new barriers to UK services in the EU. Of course, the Government have for presentational reasons not spoken too much about this, understandably preferring to trumpet the provisions on traded goods, but these barriers need to be recognised and overcome Over 40% of our exports to the EU are in services, and 80% of the UK’s economy depends on services. The TCA’s eye-catching commitments to liberalise services are qualified by restrictions in the annexes. Our service suppliers will lose automatic rights to offer services across the EU. They will have to comply with a patchwork of separate host-country rules and may need to establish themselves in the EU to continue operating, and this will create expense and inefficiency. The level of market access will also depend on the way the service is supplied: there are four different "modes" which govern how the rules will apply to service supply. There is no time to explain them, but they will make things more difficult Furthermore, the TCA does not provide for mutual recognition of professional qualifications, a notable retreat from the current position. There will be no automatic right for a UK lawyer to advise even on UK or public international law in an EU state. I suggest that my noble friend Lord Frost and the Government as a whole have a lot more work to do, and I wish them well.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — House of Lords, 2021-01-08
Topic: International Affairs
William Trimble (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I want to exploit my position here at the moment, standing right behind the Minister. He opened the debate by referring to some of the major achievements that have been made, in particular that the European Court of Justice no longer applies in Great Britain, and other related matters. I am sure the noble Lord will realise that I could, and perhaps should, exploit my position here by saying that what the Minister said is not true. The ECJ still operates within the United Kingdom. It operates with regard to Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is still governed by Europe. This is not what we fought for. This is not what we voted for. It could be tolerated as something for the short term that will be dealt with speedily, but there is no sign of that happening. This process continues The man in the street in Northern Ireland does not understand what is going on, does not know is going on, because very little information seeps through. That should be addressed rapidly. I ask the Government to find ways of communicating with the people of Northern Ireland through their elected representatives and those of us who are here. I would like to know what happens in the various meetings. People come out and say that they have achieved something, but they do not explain what they have achieved. I would like to know that. Without information coming through, people will look, for example, at the problems that some of the supermarkets have had recently: they have not got the material that they want to come through and in some cases have been quite embarrassed. There is also concern over the line that is basically driven down the Irish Sea. It is there, despite assurances being given to us several times that that was not going to happen. It has happened I want to pick on just three matters, one of which is hugely important, and that is the question of legislation in Northern Ireland. Where will that come from? At the moment, it will come from Brussels, not from this House or the other place. Legislation for Northern Ireland is done by Europe, and will continue to be done by Europe. I have heard Ministers say that if any legislation comes through, they will not do anything but just let it go through automatically I have two specific questions to ask the Minister—