argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2019-01-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Ruth Henig (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I have listened very carefully to what the Minister has said. I take the point about speed, but at the same time the department is seeking powers for up to six years. Therefore, on the one hand we are talking about speed and on the other the Government are saying that they might need these powers for some years. That is my concern. If we are talking about longer than a few months, we need a proper communication strategy and a proper strategy for scrutiny. In a sense, the department cannot have it both ways: if it is seeking powers over a period of years, then it is only reasonable for us then to be able to say, "Well, what are the arrangements for scrutiny?" If we are talking weeks, that is fine, but since the Bill is seeking these powers for this length of time, I do not think it is unreasonable for us then to say, "So what are going to be the arrangements for scrutiny and discussion?" On the matter of scrutiny, it is quite obvious from everything that has been said by a whole number of people, on both this and previous amendments, that so far the scrutiny arrangements are by no means adequate. They really are not: we have to look at this and return to this. I hope that the department itself will come up with something on Report. Clearly, it is something that we will have to look at On communication, I take the point about the website, but the fact is that if you talk to businesses outside this House, if you talk to people who are trying to prepare for 29 March, they do not feel well informed and do not know what is going on. Business do not feel confident; the Minister might want them to, but they do not. This is a very serious matter because all of these businesses, great and small—it is a particular problem for smaller businesses, of course—do not feel at the moment that they understand what they should be preparing for. It is undermining their profitability and we are causing huge problems with this. Therefore, I am really not happy with where we are at the moment I am not going to labour the points this afternoon, as we have already heard about them at great length before. We will have to return to this whole area on Report, but meanwhile I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2019-01-23
Topic: Other
Ruth Henig (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for her response, and particularly for the additional information that she has just given us, which I am sure we welcome. As I said, they were probing amendments on my part and I was trying to get some more detailed information about the Government’s thinking, which I think we have had. On that basis, I am happy to withdraw my amendment.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2019-01-23
Topic: Other
Robert Stevenson (Labour, Centre-left): In a spirit of mutual congratulation, I think it best to say that on this occasion we will withdraw the amendment—but we will probably want to look at the debate carefully and think about the wording of a future amendment. The subject will come back.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2019-01-23
Topic: Other
Christopher Suenson-Taylor (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for his suggestions. It might be very useful to have a look at those, so that they are more widely known. I do not know how far they are already known or not, but I was unaware of them, so if he could write on that detail it would be significant. I thank him. I am pleased to have it confirmed that the intention and ambitions of the Government include the very point we wished to make with this amendment. With that, I am happy to withdraw the amendment.
Trade Bill — House of Lords, 2019-01-23
Topic: Other
Christopher Suenson-Taylor (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for all her clarifications. They have been very helpful. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, and his colleagues on the Liberal Democrat Benches. I realise that Cornwall is a very long way away from Merseyside and Cheshire, but I will have to check my passport arrangements. I do know that Cornish people are always very eloquent, and I thank him for all his comments. Having said all that, and understanding the upmost importance and gravity in which this subject is held dear to the Government’s heart, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Andrew Adonis (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, when the Minister spoke on 4 December at Second Reading, he said that the Bill was part of a package of measures and statutory instruments to ensure that the financial services industry would be covered in the event of no deal. He said specifically: "That stability and continuity is being delivered by the 60 or so statutory instruments that Her Majesty’s Treasury is introducing under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018".—[Official Report, 4/12/18; col. 934.] Will the Minister tell us how many of those 60 or so statutory instruments have been laid before Parliament, and would he be in a position to write to me to tell me what the timetable is for laying those that have not yet been laid before Parliament before 29 March?
Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Denise Kingsmill (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, before the Minister responds, will he give me some assurances about how these regulations and this legislation, when it becomes legislation, are going to have any particular impact on online financial institutions? I think that they are the ones where the future is going to lie. I declare an interest as a former chairman of Monzo, an online bank. It is important that the Minister gives some reassurance about the particular impact that this could have on a completely different form of financial institution.
Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Mixed Topics
George Foulkes (Labour, Centre-left): I will ask a supplementary question to follow up the excellent contribution of my noble friend Lord Tunnicliffe about perspective and co-operation. The Bill, with the excellent co-operation of the opposition parties, has taken a number of weeks to get through this House, as the Minister knows. We are now dealing with the Trade Bill, the Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill, the Agriculture Bill, the Fisheries Bill, the immigration Bill and the withdrawal Bill. Could the Minister, for whom I have great respect because he has a lot of experience here and in the other place—perhaps he has more wisdom than the previous people of whom I have asked this question—give me some indication of how these Bills, of which there are at least six, can be dealt with between now and 29 March?
Intellectual Property (Exhaustion of Rights) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Denise Kingsmill (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I merely want to tell the Minister that I too have been advised by the publishing industry. It is with some reluctance that it has agreed that this is necessary legislation, because of the uncertainty that it would otherwise suffer The British publishing industry exports more books than any other country. This piece of legislation is vital for it. While it recognises the importance of this SI going through as a temporary fix, it is nevertheless typical of the kind of rushed legislation that has been necessary because of Brexit. This is another example of a gold-standard industry being put at risk because of the pressure to rush that we are all under I emphasise that the correspondence that I have had with the publishing industry has suggested that it is extremely unclear about what will happen and that the uncertainty around the long-term provisions for these particular and very important rights causes it considerable concern. For the record, can the Minister clarify this point?
Intellectual Property (Exhaustion of Rights) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
George Foulkes (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I have waited in vain for some Conservative Members to contribute to this debate. When I moved here from the other place, a number of people, including the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, who I am glad to see here, told me that the great thing about the House of Lords is its careful scrutiny, the work that it does scrutinising detailed legislation using all its expertise, knowledge and background. That is why I am surprised. We are dealing with a statutory instrument on intellectual property, which a lot of Conservative Members, in particular, must have expertise in. I see the noble Lord, Lord Faulks, who has probably been involved with this in his work in the legal profession. There are others who no doubt could contribute. We have 12 statutory instruments here. I have been at a number of meetings of the Grand Committee, and with the notable, standout exception of the noble Lord, Lord Deben, there have not been any Conservative Members contributing. What has happened to this great scrutiny of the House of Lords? We have had wonderful and important contributions from some of my noble friends, including my noble friends Lady Kingsmill, with her experience in the law, and Lord Winston, when we were discussing the transfer of embryos and other matters. We have heard from the noble Lord, Lord Warner, from the Cross Benches, but no Conservatives. Yet today we have 12 statutory instruments—
Intellectual Property (Exhaustion of Rights) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
John Alston Maxton (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I rise briefly just to make a point to the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde. On intellectual property, the Minister did not say one single word about the changing technologies that greatly affect the way in which intellectual property is seen. I have not read, or even picked up, a book for the last two years—because I read on a Kindle. What about that sort of change?
Intellectual Property (Exhaustion of Rights) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Mixed Topics
Denise Kingsmill (Labour, Centre-left): The Publishers Association also made it clear that this was not entirely satisfactory, but that it was an essential interim position that needs to be taken. As it said in the letter, this is not ideal, but something forced on publishers. My point really was that this wonderful industry, which is gold standard, as we all know, has been forced to accept unsatisfactory legislation because it is a last-minute attempt to put a finger in the dyke of the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. The publishers again made it clear in the letter that they need some clarity about the future. That is the point I want the Minister to cover in his answer.
Patents (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Robert Stevenson (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, this is another good debate on these issues. I will not fall out with the Minister about the length of his letter—we can brag about size elsewhere if we wish to—but it came out of my printer at eight pages. I leave that curious intellectual puzzle to him to sort out. Maybe there were other issues that had to be added in The Minister could well have dealt with other matters, including various aspects of whether or not the Silhouette case would apply in this area of the law; one of the points raised in the correspondence was the question of whether Silhouette, which applies to one aspect of our intellectual property, in fact has resonance through its relationship to the other aspects of the IP world and will also be applied. However, that may be for the future The noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, is right to raise questions about the unified patent court, which could change the game here. If the Minister is minded to confirm any of the points raised by the noble Lord, can he also confirm that premises for the unified patent court have been acquired in London? Are they fully available and ready to be moved into? We are expecting the courts to be operational very shortly, but it would be useful to have confirmation that this is still the case.
Patents (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Andrew Adonis (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I want to follow the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Warner. It is deeply unsatisfactory that the only way we can know the interests of those most intimately affected is if an individual Member of your Lordships’ House relates conversations that they have had to this House. In Grand Committee, the noble Lord, Lord Warner, told us about conversations that he had had but which had not been published because there had been no formal consultation The Minister said that he has met relevant stakeholders. We are grateful for that. I hope that, in his reply, he will clarify the issue about the duration of SPCs, particularly for the benefit of those of us who do not follow the detail of what is at stake. I take the noble Lord, Lord Warner, to be saying that a substantive change in the duration of SPCs will take place as a result of these regulations and that this will have a major impact on the industry concerned because of the protection of intellectual property. So this is not, as we have been told all along, a technical issue about rolling over existing regulations. It is a substantive change. This has never been clearly brought out in our proceedings.
Trade Marks (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Andrew Adonis (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, this was the famous statutory instrument which referred to consultation with, "a small group of trusted individuals" We had a long discussion in Grand Committee about who should or should not be trusted at the Government’s discretion. This was not satisfactorily resolved. However, the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, has continued those conversations; I am sure that her discussions were with wholly trusted individuals and that her further discussions with the Minister have led to improvements in the regime that will follow from the statutory instrument I would like the Minister to clarify the issue of renewal fees so that I and the people reading our proceedings fully understand it. This was raised in Grand Committee, and the noble Lord referred to it in his six and a half page letter. As I understand it, the key passage is about what happens when people need to hold two sets of trademarks, rather than one, after renewal. I want to be clear that I have understood this correctly: the letter from the noble Lord, Lord Henley, says that around 10% of trademarks which are renewed each year, "are held by UK businesses, and so we estimate that 60% of the 1.3 million newly-created comparable UK trade marks will be renewed at an annual cost to UK business of around £2.5 million in additional renewal fees" Are those wholly additional fees that businesses and individuals will have to pay, over and above what they would pay at the moment? Have I correctly understood that they need to pay those fees because they are very likely to need to hold two sets of trademarks—for the EU and the UK—in parallel? This has come out only through our consideration of this instrument and was not clear in the initial consultation or the Explanatory Memorandum. I am not in this industry, but this would seem to be a significant additional burden. People need to be aware. Case by case, we are seeing all of these additional burdens as a result of a no-deal Brexit. It is deplorable that we are imposing additional costs on businesses and individuals in this cavalier way.
Broadcasting (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Mixed Topics
Roger John Liddle (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I support that excellent speech from the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath. It was extremely well argued and well researched and brought out a series of very real concerns. I have sat patiently through these discussions. We are seeing how Brexit will potentially destroy some of the jewels in the crown of Britain’s industrial and economic capacity. There is no more striking case of this than in broadcasting, which is one of Britain’s great success stories My experience of this is as a member of your Lordships’ Internal Market Sub-Committee of the European Union Select Committee, which did a thorough report on non-financial services and took evidence from broadcasters. At the time I was really shocked by the concerns expressed about the viability of their activities in this country. There is no doubt, whether to a greater or lesser extent, that what we are talking about will destroy opportunities for hundreds of young people who would otherwise have the chance of really fulfilling jobs in the media and broadcasting sectors No one I recall coming across in this field believes that the European convention is a full substitute for the EU directive. I would like to hear on what basis the Minister thinks it is. It clearly is deficient in that it is not comprehensive and does not have any means of enforcement through the Commission and the court. The fact is our industry is showing that it has no confidence in this poor substitute by the fact so many companies are relocating to the continent One thing about the statutory instrument really worries me. What we are doing with it—I can see why from the point of view domestic regulation—is saying that from now on we will no longer have the country of origin principle, but the country of destination principle. That will be used against us by commercial interests on the continent that want to prevent full UK access to the market. They will say, "You want to switch to a country of destination arrangement. That means we insist on the right to regulate your right to broadcast in our country". This is very bad news for the British entertainment and broadcasting sectors. The Minister has many difficult questions to answer.
Broadcasting (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Mixed Topics
Christine Mary Crawley (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I have a very short question for the Minister. What would his advice be to UK broadcasters when it comes to working with those countries that are not party to the ECTT? I know that many broadcasters are concerned that these new regulations will not cover the areas that at the moment they just take for granted as far as European-wide broadcasting is concerned. What about those countries, other than Ireland, that are not party to the ECTT?
Broadcasting (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Other
Leslie John Griffiths (Labour, Centre-left): I say simply that to have mentioned in the memorandum that this impressive list of people had been consulted in various ways might have allowed us to finish in record time, as the hope for that had been expressed.
Employment Rights (Amendment) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2019-02-06
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Stevenson (Labour, Centre-left): I wonder whether the noble Lord could answer my question about the commencement date and the discontinuity between the fact that these are supposed to be brought in only on exit day although two of them refer to regulations that will come into force on the day they are passed—which presumably will be today. If the noble Lord does not have any inspiration at this moment, perhaps he could write to me.
Offensive Weapons Bill — House of Lords, 2019-03-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Roy Kennedy (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in this short debate. I put this provision forward, but I am not stuck on this or any other particular scheme, and I hope I made that clear in my remarks. I am generally very grateful to the Minister for the way she met with the traders—they were very impressed with the interest she took. All I want to do is to stop us putting on the statute book something which harms British business—nothing else. The Minister has confirmed that discussions are still going on, so will she allow me to bring the issue back at Third Reading? If so, I would be very happy to withdraw the amendment.
Offensive Weapons Bill — House of Lords, 2019-03-04
Topic: Other
Roy Kennedy (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I thank the Minister very much for that response. All through this debate, she has always engaged positively with all sides of the House and with the Sikh community, whose members I know are very grateful for that. I am delighted at this stage to withdraw the amendment and I look forward to the solution which I hope will be brought back at Third Reading. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Knife Crime — House of Lords, 2019-03-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Roy Kennedy (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Answer to the Urgent Question given by her right honourable friend the Home Secretary in the other place earlier today. I agree there is no single solution and there are no shortcuts. What is missing from the Statement is an unequivocal link to ensure that youth services and other provisions across government to support families and young people receive the attention they deserve. Nothing in this Statement gives me confidence in that respect, so can the Minister comment on that and set out how the Home Secretary will ensure we deal with this matter across government—as she says, completely across the piece—and provide me with some reassurance on this?
House of Lords: Sittings — House of Lords, 2019-01-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
George Foulkes (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I know that the Government Chief Whip has a life outside this place: I see him from time to time on the plane to Bergerac. But I assure him that I am not moving this because of any personal inconvenience to individual or collective Members of Parliament. All the points he made apply equally to the House of Commons—all of them. They can be recalled, as can we, if urgently needed; indeed my noble friend Lord Adonis suggested late last year that we could be recalled if necessary. I have known my good friend Lord McAvoy since we were very young councillors together: he in Glasgow, me in Edinburgh, and we still got on. I do not want to upset him, but a number of people have said to me that too many decisions in this House are made by the usual channels, without consulting individual Members or considering what they think. I suggest that this is an opportunity for individual Members to make a decision. We have been told we may get a weekend, but we have not even been told which weekend. I would like to give Members the opportunity of a free vote on this, and I hope it will be a free vote.
Brexit: Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration — House of Lords, 2019-01-09
Topic: Other
Meta Ramsay (Labour, Centre-left): I am pushed for time. My second-best option is to go back to the people for a people’s vote. I see no option other than those two that does not threaten the well-being of all our citizens in every aspect of their lives. I support the Motion in the name of my noble friend Lady Smith of Basildon.
Brexit: Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration — House of Lords, 2019-01-14
Topic: Other
Angela Smith (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, we have had a long debate and I do not think there is any appetite for further debate. My Motion as it stands on the Order Paper, with its three points, is very clear. I beg to move.
Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2019-02-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Dorothea Glenys Thornton (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the noble and learned Lord for allowing me to ask a question about the comments of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and its grave reservations about the formulation which the Government are putting forward.