argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Kennels and Catteries: Economic and Social Contribution — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Agriculture
Johanna Peta Churchill (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. Some incredible names were mentioned that day, and I cannot bring to mind whether she had a Noodle, a Doodle, a Frazzle or whoever. The one that sticks in my mind is Andrew the pig—but I digress As I say, kennels and catteries contribute in many ways, on both national and local scale. My right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) mentioned the importance of looking to treat them as a group. Some 26% of UK adults own a dog and some 24% a cat. Their companion dogs or cats will be among the 9.6 million dogs and 10.7 million cats that reside in this country and, hopefully, are lavished with an enormous amount of love. Indeed, I will declare that I am a dog owner, and I probably over-indulge him Kennels and catteries provide important services to our cat and dog populations and their owners, and I know that my hon. Friend’s constituency is the base for several such establishments. That situation is replicated in just about every constituency across the House I turn to the benefits of kennels and catteries. Locally, kennels and catteries have a positive economic benefit, stimulating the local economy through the purchase of pet food and equipment and the employing of local vets for the health of their residents, as well as tradesmen to maintain their establishments. The ripples of that economic benefit will be felt discretely regionally and nationally through medium and large-scale suppliers and manufacturers. In that way, kennels and catteries contribute to continued economic success and increasing consumer spending across the sector There is, of course, a further significant economic benefit to kennels and catteries, one which my right hon. Friend has taken great care to raise with us this evening: the indirect economic benefit felt by others, such as the travel and tourism sector. In this case, the services provided by kennels and catteries allow us to travel or visit locations which would not otherwise be possible. I heard her comments about re-categorisation and so on. The challenge is that several Departments are involved in what she is asking me to consider.
Kennels and Catteries: Economic and Social Contribution — House of Commons, 2021-11-03
Topic: Agriculture
Simon Robert Maurice Baynes (Conservative, Centre-right): The security of pets is a major concern these days. I strongly compliment my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe) for raising the issue. It is an issue that worries people and I have had meetings on it in my constituency. A strong and vibrant cattery and kennel sector is a very important part of keeping our pets secure.
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): As the economy recovers, and with record job vacancies, our focus is on supporting parents to secure a role and to progress in work. This is based on clear evidence around the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full time, in substantially reducing the risk of child poverty. Our multi-million pound plan for jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, will help people to boost their wages and their prospects.
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much welcome the change to the taper rate for universal credit. This will be of enormous help in reducing child poverty for parents who are in work. As we run into the new year, could my hon. Friend now persuade the Chancellor to look carefully at further helping out by putting more money into the work allowances for many of those who are trapped and unable to get into work?
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): Having served as my right hon. Friend’s Parliamentary Private Secretary in the past, I know his passion for these issues. In the Budget, we set out that the work allowances were going to increase by £500, and that has made a big contribution. For those who are vulnerable, we have provided an extra £500 million of support, which will be a real help over the winter.
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): We do have proper plans in place, and we are working hard to help parents to get into work. As the hon. Gentleman will know, 580,000 fewer children are in workless households than in 2010, so we are taking the action that is required. I know, having recently come to this post, how hard the Secretary of State is working across Government to tackle this vital issue.
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): The best route out of poverty is work, so does the Minister agree that it is important to get more people into work through our ambitious plan for jobs and through investment in Teesside such as our freeport programme, which will produce 18,000 jobs over the next five years?
Child Poverty — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. It is pivotal that we get the plan for jobs working, along with local councils, local enterprise partnerships, hard-working Mayors and businesses. That is what we are seeing in Teesside, which is setting a great example for the rest of the country.
End of Universal Credit Uplift — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): I respect that people undertake care, and I am conscious that they often choose to do it in partnership with their local authority. We want to make sure that people take advantage of the increase in the national minimum wage, which will be coming in from April 2022, and of the changes that make it worthwhile for people to work extra hours and progress in work, which will be a big focus of what we do in 2022 and beyond.
End of Universal Credit Uplift — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): I am conscious of what the hon. Lady says, and I am sure she welcomes the £25 million of the £0.5 billion spent on the household support fund over this winter. I am also conscious that we want to make sure people will be better off working than not—that was the big change and the big announcement in the Budget. I am conscious that, right now, right across the country there are more people seeking work than ever before. More people are on payrolls than ever before and companies across the country are looking for workers, so we will be doing our best to help people who have not been working to get into work. We will also be responding to in-work progression early in the new year.
End of Universal Credit Uplift — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the hon. Lady will welcome the £1.6 million that has been given to her local council specifically for targeted support through the household support fund. I am sure she will be as keen as I am to ensure that people seeking work in her constituency get the benefit of the extra work coach support. We have invested in that right across the country and we will continue to do so.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Through our place-based approach, the DWP is working closely with employers, skills providers and other Departments to support people into work. Our jobcentres connect directly with local employers to discuss their recruitment needs and to offer tailored advice and support to help fill vacancies. This includes offering work experience opportunities and increasing the number of sector-based work academy programme places available.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
John Robert Lamont (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted that more than 100 young people in the Scottish Borders have already started work through the kickstart scheme. What can the Government do to encourage employers to keep people on after the scheme ends?
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted, too. I am pleased to announce that more than 112,000 kickstart jobs have been started by young people across the UK. Many young people have found permanent jobs through kickstart, and we continue to work closely with employers to help young people find those long-term employment opportunities. We have helped employers to move kickstart participants into apprenticeships more easily by working with colleagues in the Department for Education to ensure employers receive the incentive payments for doing so.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Education
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I assure my hon. Friend that we work closely with the Department for Education. With the existing flexibilities in the benefits system for people taking up that training, DWP Train and Progress allows universal credit claimants to participate in full-time work-related training for up to 12 weeks and to attend DFE skills boot camps for up to 16 weeks, including the recently announced HGV boot camps, which have more than 10,000 places available.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Andrew James Bridgen (Conservative, Centre-right): In North West Leicestershire, we are fortunate enough to have 1.1 jobs for every individual. However, a large amount of our unemployment is down to gaps in skills and training, so what will the Department do to solve that problem?
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Through my hon. Friend’s Jobcentre Plus support and the flexibilities I described in DWP TAP, his constituents can now access level 3 courses for free, skills boot camps and other training opportunities that my Department has ensured all UC claimants can access by extending the length of time they can participate in full-time work-related training. In addition, we are investing £10 million annually over the next three years in the sector-based work academy programmes, delivering those life-changing opportunities in those key sectors.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for asking me about walking the walk. I assure him that through our national employer and partnership team, NEPT, and the work we do across government and through the green jobs taskforce, we are absolutely tackling that. We have a direct strand of work, which I was engaged with just at the end of last week, that is making sure that those skills, abilities and opportunities in his constituency, and everyone else’s, are there for those who want to go into that bit of the economy.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for everything he has mentioned, because we are doing that across the UK in 150 brand-new youth hubs. If he will listen to my answer, I hope he will understand that we are linked locally to the economy; we are keen for those job outcomes to come to his constituents and more widely, and this is being done through local interventions and local engagement.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Education
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): We absolutely measure the outcomes of all our programmes, particularly the sector-based work academy programmes. Of course, skills are devolved in Scotland. In my recent engagement with the Welsh Government and at the Welsh Affairs Committee, I pointed out that outcomes are not measured in Wales. I think this is a thing we should be doing in all devolved areas.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question and welcome her to her post. I know that she has a strong interest in young people in every constituency doing as well as they can. Kickstart has not underperformed. Let us be honest: more than 112,000 young people have joined the programme. Of course, when we created the programme, we expected an unemployment level of perhaps 12%; it is just over 4%. Let us focus on the outcomes for those young people, which we are tracking carefully. We are linking up with the Department for Education to ensure that the traineeships and apprenticeships are there I know that visiting her jobcentre is on the hon. Lady’s to-do list. When she does so, I am sure she will hear amazing stories about what is happening to young people locally.
Help for Jobseekers: Local Employers and Skills Providers — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is such an assiduous Member of Parliament in standing up for Ynys Môn—I salute her for that. We have been working through the local jobcentre. In fact, she helped reopen the jobcentre and make sure it was safe, alongside the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman). Working with local employers and the jobcentre, she has made sure that there are buses and that people can access the jobs that are there. We will continue to work with her and the jobcentre on that.
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are taking action to make work pay for low-income households. As was announced at the Budget, we are reducing the universal credit taper rate and increasing the work allowance so that working people can keep more of their earnings. We have introduced a £500-million household support fund so that local authorities can help those on the lowest incomes with their food and utility costs.
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the hon. Member will welcome the fact that the vast majority of the nearly 6,000 claimants in work will gain from the reduction in the taper rate and the increase in work allowances in the Budget, which is terrific. For those who are vulnerable, £1.8 million has been made available to local authorities to help them through the household support fund.
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): As I just set out to the hon. Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins), we have introduced the household support fund. In Newham, £3.3 million is available to help people exactly like the right hon. Gentleman’s constituent with the challenges they are facing this winter.
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): I can reassure the hon. Member that steps are in place to help people through various stages of the employment journey. For those who are in work, there is the universal credit taper and work allowance. For those who are out of work, as the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies), has said, there is the plan for jobs, which is making a big difference in people’s lives. For those who are vulnerable and need extra help, there is the household support fund, and in Blackburn and Darwen that comes to £1.6 million over this winter.
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): It is really important that we get more people into work, and there are 1.3 million vacancies. We need to help those who are unemployed into work, which will be the biggest, most sustainable way that we can get them on to their own two feet. As I have said, we have the household support fund, and in Cambridgeshire that comes to £3.6 million, which will help the people whom the hon. Member is talking about.
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): To help pensioners with rising household bills, will the Government do more to promote pension credit? In the Kettering constituency, almost 18,000 retired people claim the state pension, but fewer than 2,000 claim pension credit, yet this can help with council tax bills, heating costs and so on. Across the country, 1 million pensioners are not claiming the pension credit to which they are entitled, so can the Government do more to increase the uptake of that benefit?
Increased Living Costs: Benefit Claimants — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner on these matters, but we also have a doughty Pensions Minister who is working incredibly hard to increase the take-up. I also highlight to him that, as I am sure he knows, winter fuel payments and cold weather payments are also available to help pensioners on low incomes over the winter period.
Pensioner Poverty: State Pension — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the state pension in tackling pensioner poverty; and if she will make a statement.; What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the state pension in tackling pensioner poverty; and if she will make a statement.
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me take this opportunity to welcome the newcomers to the Opposition Front Bench The state pension is the foundation of support for older people and, under this Government, the full yearly amount of the basic state pension will be more than £2,300 higher in April than in 2010. The latest figures show that 200,000 fewer pensioners are in absolute poverty compared with 2009-10.
Pensioner Poverty: State Pension — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Energy
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the state pension in tackling pensioner poverty; and if she will make a statement.; What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the state pension in tackling pensioner poverty; and if she will make a statement.
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will be aware that we spend £2 billion on the winter fuel payments. There is also the cold weather payments fund, the household support fund, and the pension credit energy rebate. There are a whole host of ways in which support can be found for her constituents.
Pensioner Poverty: State Pension — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the state pension in tackling pensioner poverty; and if she will make a statement.; What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the state pension in tackling pensioner poverty; and if she will make a statement.
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a bit rich. When the last Labour Government were in power, the state pension was under £100; it is now going up to £185 going forward. It is almost double what it was before thanks to the triple lock introduced by this Government and the coalition Government. It is also very much the case that pension credit take-up is actually going up, not down. Over the two years of the pandemic, both the basic and new state pension will have increased by more than prices thanks to the cumulative effects of the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2020 and the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021.
National Disability Strategy — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): The entire Government are committed to transforming the everyday lives of disabled people through the national disability strategy because we want to build back better and fairer. A number of commitments have already been delivered. I chair quarterly meetings with the ministerial disability champions to drive progress.
National Disability Strategy — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly will. The Government remain absolutely committed to that. There is more to do but progress has been made since 2017. The number of disabled people in employment has increased by 850,000, and the disability employment gap has closed by about five percentage points since 2013.
National Disability Strategy — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful for that question, and I pay tribute to the history that the hon. Member has and the work that he is doing in this area. Two Ministers in this Department have some personal direct experience of these issues, so yes, the Department for Work and Pensions will be keen to make good progress with that work.
Progression out of Low-paid Jobs — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): As announced in the spending review, the DWP will enhance its support for universal credit claimants who are in work. From April next year, they will have access to a dedicated work coach to help individuals remove barriers, enabling them to progress in work. We will be introducing new Jobcentre Plus specialists, known as district progression leads, who will work with local employers and partners to identify progression opportunities, with support from work coaches.
Progression out of Low-paid Jobs — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Nicholas Anthony Fletcher (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that with the introduction of various skills initiatives by this Government and a booming job market, people across the UK, and in particular in Don Valley, will be finding it easier than ever to get on the job ladder and progress in their chosen career?
Progression out of Low-paid Jobs — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend. The extensive support that the Government have offered through our plan for jobs has protected, supported and created jobs in Don Valley and beyond. In his constituency, for example, we have continued funding our successful sector-based work academy programme in new opportunities such as rail, warehousing, care, security and hospitality, where someone gets a guaranteed interview as part of the programme, which is offered to all his constituents.
Progression out of Low-paid Jobs — House of Commons, 2021-12-13
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand that it is around 60% of the median wage. The reality is that through kickstart, there will be young people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency who will have got on the jobs ladder sooner and earlier than ever before in sectors that one could not have believed, from viticulture to digital marketing to working in architecture—all different areas. That is because of the Government intervening in jobs and opportunities that can lead to apprenticeships, traineeships and progressing in work.