argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: I declare my interest as a member of Kettering Borough Council. The acute funding pressures on Northamptonshire County Council could be helpfully and substantially addressed by imaginative reform of local government structures in the county, including, perhaps, the establishment of a combined social care and health commissioner. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that he is open-minded to such suggestions?; In Bristol, university expansion means that a significant increase in student numbers is putting pressure on stretched local services right now, yet student accommodation providers contribute almost nothing to the costs. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss bringing student accommodation within the scope of business rates, like other businesses, to help to ease this strain on Bristol and other councils?; In 2016, the Department for Communities and Local Government provided a transition grant to some local authorities. The calculations and assumptions for this were not published, and 80% of it went to Conservative councils. Will Ministers pledge today to make previous and future calculations available, and will they confirm from the Dispatch Box that future funding will be based on need rather than on anything else?; In an earlier question, the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) stated that the introduction of family hubs should be accelerated, and that was implicitly welcomed by the Minister, who stated that it was down to councils use their budgets as they saw fit. Does the Minister agree, however, that the 60% real-terms cut to the children’s centres budget in Warwickshire and the planned reduction of 39 children centres to 12 family hubs should be stopped, and that the council’s significant reserves should be used for the maintenance of—
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): Can the Secretary of State confirm that his Department is liaising with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that ports such as Lowestoft have the necessary infrastructure and supply chain to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the forthcoming Fisheries Bill?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: I declare my interest as a member of Kettering Borough Council. The acute funding pressures on Northamptonshire County Council could be helpfully and substantially addressed by imaginative reform of local government structures in the county, including, perhaps, the establishment of a combined social care and health commissioner. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that he is open-minded to such suggestions?; In Bristol, university expansion means that a significant increase in student numbers is putting pressure on stretched local services right now, yet student accommodation providers contribute almost nothing to the costs. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss bringing student accommodation within the scope of business rates, like other businesses, to help to ease this strain on Bristol and other councils?; In 2016, the Department for Communities and Local Government provided a transition grant to some local authorities. The calculations and assumptions for this were not published, and 80% of it went to Conservative councils. Will Ministers pledge today to make previous and future calculations available, and will they confirm from the Dispatch Box that future funding will be based on need rather than on anything else?; In an earlier question, the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) stated that the introduction of family hubs should be accelerated, and that was implicitly welcomed by the Minister, who stated that it was down to councils use their budgets as they saw fit. Does the Minister agree, however, that the 60% real-terms cut to the children’s centres budget in Warwickshire and the planned reduction of 39 children centres to 12 family hubs should be stopped, and that the council’s significant reserves should be used for the maintenance of—; With the First Minister of Wales meeting the Prime Minister earlier today amid the continuing lack of clarity over Brexit, can the Secretary of State reassure me that the Government will respect the devolved nations and regions of the UK and not use Brexit as an opportunity for a power grab?; In the light of the recent announcement that the Welsh Government will continue with their council tax reduction scheme, which has reduced council tax for almost 300,000 low-income and vulnerable families and has excluded 220,000 completely, will the Minister consider seriously the Welsh Labour Government’s excellent approach and the situation in England, where households pay around £190 more?; Will the Government commit to fast-tracking their private rented sector consultation so that landlords are required to use their own funds to bring properties up to energy performance certificate band E by April next year?
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): One thing that would help to drive further economic growth in Corby is a new enterprise zone, so will my right hon. Friend make a case to the Chancellor in advance of the Budget for another round of bidding opportunities?
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s contribution. He asks what plans there are to involve all parties. Obviously, this is all very recent news, and it is vital that we tackle it urgently. Meetings will be arranged between all parties in the very near future—I mean within days—to ensure that we are all agreed on a common approach. He is absolutely right that all staff must have suitable information and a safe space. I urge people, if they have allegations or if they feel they have been made to feel uncomfortable, to come forward and speak to my office, to their Whip or to your office, Mr Speaker. It is absolutely essential that people feel they have somewhere to go. The hon. Gentleman is right to point out again that the employee helpline must be more widely communicated to staff, and we will see that that is the case Finally, the hon. Gentleman made the point that this is an opportunity for Parliament to show that we can react quickly to problems and take a quantum leap forward in our approach to dealing with this terrible issue, and I would like to think that we can and will do just that.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): May I first pay tribute to the Leader of the House and the Prime Minister for grappling with this issue so swiftly? The Leader of the House talked about this being a modern workplace, and is that not the rub? This is not a modern workplace; it is a very strange workplace. It is strange for Members and it is strange for our families, but most of all it is very strange for these members of staff. You, Mr Speaker, hinted at that when you talked about Members of Parliament being individual employers. There are 650 different employment relationships, so I urge the Leader of the House to reflect on the fact that any new organisation, which I warmly welcome, and which must be independent, needs to be nimble enough to consider how this place actually works and to deliver the institutional shift the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) has just talked about, and must not be like the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, costing the taxpayer £6 million a year.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Any new body across both Houses will need to be nimble, it will need to have an understanding of parliamentary procedures and it will need to offer good value for taxpayers’ money.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): Sadly, those of us who have been in the House for some time know that there is nothing new about the exchanges today. I therefore welcome your statement, Mr Speaker, that of the Leader of the House and the Prime Minister’s intervention; indeed, I have agreed with all the exchanges in the House today. We should not forget that this issue applies to both Houses. We should not forget that it applies to our constituency staff and people beyond here. May I urge the Leader of the House, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) did earlier, to come up with a timescale, because the matter is pressing? In the meantime, could she also make it clear to everybody working in this estate or connected to it what the interim procedures are for individuals who may be on the receiving end of the appalling treatment we have been reading about in the papers?
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you for your statement, Mr Speaker. I am grateful for the consensus so far in all the statements made and questions raised in these exchanges. Let me point out that we would not be having these exchanges if the document I have here—the code of conduct of the House of Commons—was actually working and the machinery around the code was effective. May I draw my right hon. Friend’s attention to the fact that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is conducting a review of the code of conduct? The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has submitted quite radical suggestions about how the code, and the machinery around it, should be reformed so that we spend far more time in this House as Members of Parliament experiencing proper professional development and understanding the code of values at the front of this document—what they actually mean and how we should live those values as Members of Parliament—than just concentrating on all the other pages, which are about declarations of outside earnings, Members’ interests and all the other stuff that seems to preoccupy the regulatory authorities of this House.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that there is already a code of conduct. I am grateful to him for sending me his Committee’s report on this matter over the weekend. I will certainly look at it carefully over the next couple of days.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): Urgency is very important in how we deal with this issue. Nevertheless, will the Leader of the House confirm that it will not be dealt with simply by House officials and those working in the Palace of Westminster, but that best practice will be utilised and advice will be sought from external organisations as to how they deal with it? We need to get this right first time around.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is exactly right, and I certainly welcome her desire for a non-partisan approach to the resolution of this matter. It affects all parts of the House, and we need to work together on it. What happens to the perpetrators is, of course, a matter for the House to debate, but it will include the following: where staff are the perpetrators, the normal contractual potential for losing their job, and where the perpetrator is an MP, the possible withdrawal of the Whip or the sacking of a Minister and so on. All those well-known things that can happen from time to time must and will be in scope.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises a really interesting point, which I will certainly take away and think about. My perspective is that we need independent review, because the problem with parties marking their own homework is always that that can in itself create an underlying lack of confidence on the part of victims. Having an independent review—a third-party, professional view—will be very important in resolving this.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) was quite right to talk about confidence. There needs to be confidence in the system, and that is why there needs to be an independent body, because justice must not only be done but be seen to be done. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) talked about witch hunts, and we have to be careful to avoid them. One of the advantages of having an independent body is that it avoids just that: allegations made will have to be properly substantiated.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, my hon. Friend is right. We do not want false allegations to be made and then become "facts" just as made, so absolutely proper investigation is essential to get to the bottom of allegations and find out whether or not they are true.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been clear that the issue is around, first, those who are made to feel uncomfortable: I am setting the bar significantly below criminal activity. If people are made to feel uncomfortable, that is not correct. In terms of the consequences for the perpetrators, I have also been clear that staff could forfeit their jobs, Members of Parliament could have the Whip withdrawn and Ministers could be fired from ministerial office.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Labor
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman raises some really important and sensible ideas, and I will look carefully at them all. I urge anyone who has been made to feel uncomfortable or who feels that they have been improperly treated to come forward, and those issues will be taken up through the right channels. Until we have a proper independent grievance policy and a group of people able to take that up, the existing policies of the employee helpline, which can be expanded, and my offer that people can come to me personally will be appropriate ways to take things forward.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): It is absolutely the intention that the review look at all issues of misdemeanour and misconduct, including sexual harassment and bullying, as well as other forms of uncomfortable behaviour that is perpetrated on members of staff in this place.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The employee assistance programme is intended as a safety net to complement the existing pastoral care and internal processes put in place by MPs themselves and the main political parties. In response to my hon. Friend’s specific question about how many calls have been made to it, I do not know but I can find out and place the figures in the Library.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises a different but equally very important point, which is the safety and protection of those who come on to the estate. I am looking at that carefully. As I mentioned to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah), I will be meeting Lord McFall tomorrow to discuss exactly how we protect those who come on to the estate to socialise, often quite late at night.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Labor
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. My hon. Friend is right. I think some of us do have clear guidelines for the very often quite young people who come to this place for work experience. Having something we can all give to young people to provide them with reassurance is an extremely good idea.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right that it starts at the top. If those in power abuse those beneath them, it creates a culture where abuse becomes endemic throughout the system. I would not say it is only from the top, but that is certainly where it starts and where leadership needs to be shown.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): Those of us who have been in this place long enough to have seen the expenses scandal saw how that long-drawn-out process, often subject to apparent obfuscation by this place, was deeply damaging to the integrity not only of this institution but, by implication, of every Member, despite how innocent they might have been. Does the Leader of the House agree that if we are to tackle this problem, it is absolutely essential that our response be swift, robust and wholly transparent? We send out a message to the way the rest of society happens, and we all, however innocent, have a duty to perform in that.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Labor
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): As a constituency MP myself, I am certainly aware that some trade unions have done excellent work in protecting their members from bullying at work, and in doing so they fulfil a vital role. As for how we should go about resolving our own House issues, I incline towards a two-House solution. I think that there should be an independent grievance procedure, allowing anyone to make any allegations about bullying, intimidation, sexually inappropriate behaviour and so on, rather than separate streams of activity.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): l understand the hon. Gentleman’s point. What I suggested was that it should be possible for the accuser to remain anonymous, at least in the early stages. All too often, people have been afraid to come forward for fear of their names being all over the front pages of the newspapers.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Education
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I share the hon. Lady’s concern that we need to set a good example and be good role models, and we need to do more to protect children and young people. On sex and relationship education, I agree with her up to a point: it is vital that relationship education is put up alongside sex education and the two are taught hand in hand.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman’s view will be shared by many across this House, in that it is difficult to pin down exactly who is responsible for what, which is why this urgent review is absolutely necessary. We are determined to come up with a coherent grievance procedure to which all Members and staff across both Houses can refer.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): To be clear, I am not talking about mediation; I am talking about an independent grievance procedure where independent people would investigate a particular situation, quite apart from the Members in this House. The victim would absolutely not be mediated with the alleged perpetrator of the crime against them.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I am absolutely not aware of any such wrongdoing, and I am absolutely confident that anybody who had serious allegations would be directed by the Whips Office or by Members of Parliament to go directly to the police.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I say again that it is important that there are independent investigations of allegations, not mediation, and that we use every effort to ensure that those who make allegations against another individual are properly listened to and supported, and that those allegations are properly investigated.
Sexual Harassment in Parliament — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Government Operations
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I say again that it is vital that we take a grip of this issue and that we look quickly—I mean in a matter of days—at what can be done cross-party to establish a proper, independent grievance procedure that all staff across both Houses can access, so that their concerns can be heard, properly investigated and properly acted upon.
Independent Review: Deaths in Police Custody — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Nicholas Richard Hurd (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the shadow Home Secretary for her constructive approach and for putting me on notice that she is going to hold my feet to the fire—I welcome that, because she has worked with victims of these tragedies. Together with the Home Secretary, I have met some of the families, and their accounts are overwhelming in terms of what they have had to endure, not just with the original loss, but the journey from that point. It has been absolutely unacceptable and the report is devastating, because it is a story of system failure and human failure going back over many, many years. This was recognised by the current Prime Minister and she was absolutely right to commission this report, and it is our responsibility now, after all these years of failure, to tackle this and do something right for families in the future—I am absolutely committed to that We did take some time to publish this review, because it is a very comprehensive review, with more than 100 recommendations that needed to be looked at seriously and worked through properly. It is a cross-government response, and I hope the shadow Minister will see it as substantive. On the accountability of police, yes, the families are very clear about that; they have worked and had to endure journeys of nine years to get nowhere in terms of a conclusion, and that is unacceptable. I beg to differ a little on the point the shadow Home Secretary made about black and minority ethnic people being more likely to die in police custody; that is not what is suggested by the data I have seen, which is that the proportion of black people who die in police custody is lower than the proportion arrested. I believe the Independent Police Complaints Commission has published results of a 10-year study that bears that out, but I am more than happy to discuss this with her personally. But the most important point is that this report has to be a catalyst for change, and I hope that on both sides of the House we work together to make sure that finally happens.
Independent Review: Deaths in Police Custody — House of Commons, 2017-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I applaud my hon. Friend’s statement. He is clearly a man on top of his brief. As someone who has had the privilege to serve as a special constable in the past and who spent 25 days with Northamptonshire police under the police parliamentary scheme, may I say that we should applaud the work of the vast majority of custody sergeants up and down the land who take their job incredibly seriously and serve thousands of prisoners well each and every year?