argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
SMEs (Exports) — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kirsty Ann Blackman (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Many of our small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in premium manufacturing and other forms of high-value production. Will the Minister ensure that, in discussions with the EU, those things are taken into account when negotiators are discussing origin and the calculation of origin?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: Will the Secretary of State reassure my constituent, Simon Bainbridge, who is one of the finest producers of Northumbrian lamb, that lamb sales will not be forgotten in the new free trade agreements?; SMEs are the backbone of our economy. As a Minister, I tried to help SMEs in the security sector to export. Food and farming businesses in Lincolnshire would like to do the same, but they need encouragement, advice and support. Will the Secretary of State meet me and a small group of others to see how we can help to feed the world and make it safe too?; The dumping of steel from states including China has had a detrimental impact on the steel industry in the UK. Ahead of the further dumping that is anticipated when the US tariffs come into force, Canada has announced that it will be offering extra powers for border security checks to crack down on cheap steel. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of this policy?; The Secretary of State has recently returned from Hong Kong and mainland China. Now that we are leaving the EU customs union and single market, what more trade can we do with these countries to ensure that our businesses are not left worse off?; Given the less than successful outcome of the recent negotiations on behalf of UK fishermen, what hope and reassurances can the Secretary of State provide for farmers such as those in my constituency that future negotiations will make them better off outside the EU?; The north-east is a net gainer from the EU, and 60% of our exports are to EU countries, but the region is set to be worst off after Brexit. How will the Department make sure we do not lose out as part of the Government’s global north vision?
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The liquid gold that is Scotch whisky is a major export good for our economy, but so far in the EU negotiations we are still not getting clarity on geographical indications, which many other drinks benefit from as well. When will we get clarity on GI for Scotch whisky and other drinks that we enjoy?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): We know from the Women’s Budget Group that the cuts baked into universal credit—the two-child cap, the cuts to the work allowance and the benefits freeze—are having an even more detrimental impact on women than on men, so when will we see an urgent review of the gendered impact of the social security changes?
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Government claim that their universal credit alternative payment regime allows partners to apply for split payments in exceptional circumstances. However, few women are aware of this option, and 85% of domestic abuse survivors who contacted Women’s Aid have said that applying for split payments would anger their partners. Does the Minister agree with me that this should be mandatory, with payments split from day one?
Infected Blood Inquiry — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Government Operations
Stuart Campbell McDonald (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I congratulate the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) on securing this urgent question and on her persistence in standing up for the victims of this scandal. I also warmly welcome what the Minister has said today Getting the answers that the victims of this scandal deserve requires asking the right questions and making sure that the inquiry has the right remit, and it is good that what the Minister has said means that that will now happen. I share the concern that the letter from the Cabinet Office was, as some have described it, contemptuous and insulting. How that came about should be looked at Is it not now time for the ongoing review of legal aid to be made entirely independent of Government? Will the Minister make sure that the provision of legal aid for those involved in public inquiries is part of that review, including the operation of pre-inquiry funding?
Counter-Daesh Update — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: International Affairs
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. We join the tributes to Anna Campbell and offer our condolences to her family This is a helpful statement, and I recognise the Government’s contribution. Does the Minister believe that the liberation of Raqqa means the head of the snake has finally been cut off? If so, how much longer will UK military involvement continue? I agree that a negotiated settlement is ultimately needed, so what contribution does continued UK military presence make to that? I welcome DFID’s contribution. Supporting refugee camps is particularly important, but so is support for refugees who make their way here. How many more refugees are the UK Government willing to accept here in the UK, and will they support the Refugees (Family Reunion) (No. 2) Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) How are the Department’s resources being used to support long-term rebuilding, and what kind of strategy is in place for that? Finally, is the Minister making sure that any UK spending that is counted towards the 0.7% aid target is not also counted towards the 2% defence spending target or otherwise appropriated by her colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence?
Autism — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Patrick John Grady (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend has mentioned Differabled Scotland. Some of the people who run that organisation are constituents of mine, and I had a powerful meeting with them during the general election campaign last year. It is clear that the amount of support needed for people with autism is growing, and the work of Differabled Scotland is particularly valuable because it provides a peer support network of parents and carers of children of all ages. It does very valuable work.
Autism — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Christopher Charles Stephens (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I, too, met organisers from Differabled Scotland a couple of weeks ago, and it was an excellent meeting. It is quite inspiring that there is peer-to-peer support and that people are sharing their experiences. Both the organisations that have been launched in my constituency are important It is also important for people to have access to welfare rights officers, and those officers are in attendance when these groups meet to help people to navigate their way through the various issues that I have mentioned, particularly those relating to social security support. Those groups that are now getting up and running also need funding, and I would like to ask the Minister what kind of funding the Government are planning to put in place to help those peer support groups to grow. What kind of finance will be available to them? I pledge to help them to get the necessary finances, so that they can continue to support carers and parents and help their organisations to grow.
Autism — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): As the right hon. Lady’s intervention shows, meeting the challenge will not be easy. We still have huge mountains to climb to make life better for people living with this condition All these challenges show why we must continue to highlight the condition. It is important not just that people living with this condition can access the support they need but that they feel supported and that they live in a society that does not overlook, shun or ignore them, as has happened too often in the past. The challenges facing those living with autism are not inevitable. With work and education, and by raising awareness and understanding of autism in our communities, much can be done to counteract the negative outcomes they too often face. That is why I want to put on the record the sterling work done in my constituency by community campaigners Suzanne Fernando and her family, Jordan, Arron and Kester. The Fernando family live with autism every day and have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the condition in their local community of Ardrossan and beyond, and have met with considerable success in doing so. Every year, they put in a huge amount of work to hold a coffee morning to disseminate information on the issue and offer support to those in the community living with the challenges of autism every day. As I have said, we know how isolating this condition can be.
Autism — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. I shall try to refrain from using that word in the future, as I am sure we all will. If we raise awareness and understanding of autism, the wider public will necessarily display more sensitivity, kindness and compassion towards those living with this condition, and it is this that will help to remove the shadow of loneliness and isolation that autism too often brings. We know that loneliness and isolation are very damaging to general health and wellbeing—their corrosive effects are as damaging as smoking cigarettes—so we could actually be saving lives It is not all bad news, however—progress has been made. I am proud that the Scottish Government in 2011 launched the Scottish strategy for autism, declaring that autism was a national priority. But the job is not done—not by a long way. We know that there is no room for complacency, and we can all play our part in developing our awareness and displaying understanding of the challenges and difficulties that those living with autism face every day. I hope that this debate and World Autism Awareness Week have played some small part in that, and that they demonstrate how seriously the House takes the issue.
Autism — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Constituents have told me that they are absolutely terrified by the assessment process, so does the hon. Gentleman agree that there needs to be a far more sensitive and direct approach to dealing with people with autism?
Autism — House of Commons, 2018-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare
Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on a condition that affects more than 700,000 people in the UK but that is often misunderstood I welcome World Autism Awareness Week and the opportunity to have this debate in the Chamber. I thank all the contributors, and I will acknowledge each in turn, but I particularly thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who rightly outlined that some of the welfare changes have had a detrimental impact on those with autism. The hon. Member for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire) highlighted that this Parliament could benefit from being autism friendly, which would be a benefit to all I thank my hon. Friends the Members for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron), for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) and for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) for their initiatives in their local communities and for their carer-friendly and autism-friendly surgeries. I hope to be able to follow in their footsteps.
Leaving the EU: Legal Systems — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the operation of legal systems in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The Prime Minister has made a number of concessions regarding the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice after Brexit. Given that the Scottish Government’s EU continuity Bill provides that, when exercising devolved jurisdiction, Scottish courts may have regard to the decisions of the ECJ, is it not time to amend clause 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to the same effect?
Leaving the EU: Legal Systems — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the operation of legal systems in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Joanna Catherine Cherry (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow Central (Alison Thewliss) asked the Attorney General to comment on clause 6 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. It is not just the Scottish Parliament that thinks that clause 6 is inadequate. Yesterday, the President of the United Kingdom Supreme Court told the House of Lords Constitution Committee that clause 6 as it stands is "very unhelpful" and that it could leave the judiciary at risk of "appearing to make a political decision" What is the Attorney General going to do to address not just the concerns of the Scottish Parliament, but those of the President of the UK Supreme Court?
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Agriculture
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The right hon. Gentleman’s point on growing our own food falls if we do not have the people here to pick that food. It will be rotting in the fields, as is already starting to happen, because EU workers who have come over to do this job are leaving, and our own workers do not want to do it.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Well, how do you follow that, Madam Deputy Speaker? It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Clacton (Giles Watling), who delivered his speech in his own inimitable style I must say that I am a bit disappointed that the right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) has now left his place; I am sure he is away to have a cup of tea or something like that. He spent a huge amount of time saying how terrible Treasury forecasts were, and the irony of that was not lost on me. I was an activist during the entire Scottish independence referendum campaign, and we were told by the UK Government, Conservative Members and, indeed, Better Together, how terrible the forecasts looked, so it was ironic to listen to him rubbishing such forecasts. I will certainly bear that in mind when Scotland gets another independence referendum.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): At least the Scottish Government produced a White Paper, which was a heck of a lot more than the UK Government provided in the run-up to the Brexit referendum. Perhaps the fact that there was not enough information was the reason why a number of people in the UK felt they could not make up their mind on the referendum The right hon. Member for Wokingham spent a lot of time talking about fishing. One of his great heroines is Margaret Thatcher, but it was of course Margaret Thatcher who said that the Scottish fishing industry was "expendable", so I will take no lessons from him on fishing I am very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the economy. My Chief Whip, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady), who has just come into the Chamber, tells me that the debate can last until 5 pm. I will not speak for the next two hours and 45 minutes, because some members of the Press Gallery would not be happy, but this is a good opportunity for us to focus on the record of a UK Government who are very much asleep at the wheel.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Indeed, that is correct, and I am sure the hon. Lady will also take the opportunity to place on record the fact that the Scottish Conservative party also went into the election with that as a manifesto commitment. It is not a strong point for the Conservative party This Government’s stewardship of the economy is based on the choices they make. In one respect, the Chancellor and his Ministers paint themselves as fiscally prudent Steady Eddies who wish to avoid a spending splurge. They will tell the WASPI women that there is no money for transitional arrangements and implement painful social security cuts for the disabled. They will depress wages for young people who are unfairly excluded from the national living wage. They will tell us that fiscal prudence and sensible spending is the order of the day, but then they will magic up £1 billion pounds for their grubby confidence and supply deal with the DUP. They will magic up £4 billion to tart up this royal palace and all our lovely offices, and £3 billion for Brexit spending. In truth, how we run our economy is about the choices we make, and this Government’s choices have failed the basic tests of investing in people and public services and of delivering social justice for the most vulnerable in our communities.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): During my time in Parliament as an MP and before that as a researcher, I heard Conservative Members say often that Scotland has tax powers, so why are they not being used. That is precisely what the Scottish Government have done. It may be that I and the hon. Lady will pay more tax, but that is fair because we earn a pretty good salary. In reality, however, most people in Scotland are paying less tax. Will she acknowledge that?
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Social Welfare
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman knows that I have huge respect for him and count him as an hon. Friend, but the reality is that the top three reasons why people go to food banks are changes to benefits, low incomes, and insecure employment. I am sure he will put that on record. We do not seek to use this as a political football, but the statistics back up my point.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Labor
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I take an interest in this as someone who was an apprentice, and I am also probably the youngest Member taking part in this debate. I absolutely support whatever we can do to get young people into work—[Interruption.] The Chief Secretary suggests that the Exchequer Secretary is younger than me. I support getting people into apprenticeships, but does the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford) agree that we need to pay them a proper, real national living wage? At the moment under UK law they can still be paid as little as £3.50 an hour. How does it help to build a country that works for everyone when some get paid so little?
The Economy — House of Commons, 2018-03-22
Topic: Labor
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I am most grateful to the Minister for giving way. I hope that he will clarify to the House that that rise in the national living wage—and indeed the national living wage itself—does not apply to those under 25. Will he clarify that for Hansard?
Welsh EU Continuity Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-14
Topic: Government Operations
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Despite that answer, the reality is that on Friday, the Cabinet Office printed a list of 24 devolved competencies that the UK Government are going to snatch back from Wales and Scotland. That proves the need for a continuity Bill. Why is the Secretary of State not defending his devolved Parliament and standing up for it, instead of allowing this power grab?
Welsh EU Continuity Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-14
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Sheppard (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Earlier this week, the long-awaited Government amendments to clause 11 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill were published. Despite assurances and promises, they were published without the consent, support or agreement of the devolved Administrations. Is it still the Government’s policy to obtain the consent of the devolved Administrations? If further agreement is reached, will the Secretary of State bring forward further amendments?
Welsh EU Continuity Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-14
Topic: International Affairs
David Melvyn Linden (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): One of the reasons why continuity Bills have been brought forward is that there is no agreement in the Joint Ministerial Committee on this blatant Westminster power grab, but that has not stopped the UK Government pressing ahead anyway. Does the Secretary of State agree that no deal can be agreed on new powers unless there is agreement at the JMC?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2018-03-14
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: On the subject of Northern Ireland, does the Prime Minister stand by the commitments made in the joint report of December, and will she confirm that we will accept nothing that will undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom?; Last week’s launch of a consultation on all aspects of domestic violence will be widely welcomed in Gloucester and across the country. Will the Prime Minister, who has done so much on such issues, confirm today that the Government intend to increase spending, bed provision and, where necessary, the number of women’s refuges, so that those who have survived get the help and safe haven that they deserve?
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Labour party about hate crime and Islamophobia, and my thoughts are with the family and friends of Dr Stephen Hawking For months, the devolved Administrations have been waiting for the UK Government to table amendments to clause 11 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. On Monday, the long-awaited amendments were published but without the agreement of the devolved Governments. Will the Prime Minister tell the House why the amendments have been forced on the devolved Administrations?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2018-03-14
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: On the subject of Northern Ireland, does the Prime Minister stand by the commitments made in the joint report of December, and will she confirm that we will accept nothing that will undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom?; Last week’s launch of a consultation on all aspects of domestic violence will be widely welcomed in Gloucester and across the country. Will the Prime Minister, who has done so much on such issues, confirm today that the Government intend to increase spending, bed provision and, where necessary, the number of women’s refuges, so that those who have survived get the help and safe haven that they deserve?
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I encourage the Prime Minister to listen to the question, because it was about agreement. I am afraid that that answer simply was not good enough The Prime Minister famously claimed that the UK was made up of "equal partners". What an irony that is given that she is overseeing the demolition of the devolution settlement. In 1997, the Tories were happy to oppose the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament, and the clothes have not changed. In 2018, they are happy to systematically destroy the settlement that the Parliament thrives on. I call upon the Prime Minister once again: stop this attack on devolution and redouble your efforts in working with the devolved Administrations to find agreement.