argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Technology
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am afraid that I think that the right hon. Lady is doing Wales down, the people of Wales down and the ingenuity of Wales down, because I think about a quarter of the airline passengers in the world are borne aloft on wings made by the Welsh aerospace sector. Bridgend is going to be one of the great centres of battery manufacturing in this country, if not the world. Wales is at the cutting edge of technology under this Government’s plans for record spending on R&D—£22 billion by the end of this Parliament—and Wales, along with the whole of the rest of the UK, will benefit massively.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Energy
Kieran John Mullan (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK has fallen behind Europe in tapping the potential of geothermal heat and energy in places like Crewe. Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how we can ensure that geothermal helps us to build back better with a revitalised package of incentives for industry?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Energy
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for the excellent point he makes about Crewe and the way it is now in the forefront of deep geothermal energy exploration. I am very happy to meet him to discuss what we can to further geothermal energy in Crewe, diary permitting.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Government Operations
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to congratulate the great Conservative-controlled council of Bolton on everything that it is doing and continuing to do throughout this pandemic to look after the people of Bolton. I know what incredible work the local officials do, and I thank them very much for it. Since we believe so strongly in local government, as a creature of local government myself, I am proud that we have invested £4.6 billion in supporting local government just so far in this pandemic.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Environment
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): From rainforests to coral reefs, the world’s ecosystems are at risk of catastrophic decline. That was the conclusion last week of the Dasgupta review, which my right hon. Friend rightly welcomed. This threat to our biodiversity is not just a moral failure; it is economically short-sighted too. When I asked Professor Dasgupta to carry out this work, he told me that it would not be complete until after the UK had hosted the COP26 summit. But now, given that the summit has been delayed until later this year and that it will take place alongside our presidency of the G7, does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK has been presented with a unique opportunity to show global leadership on how we can better protect our most precious asset—nature?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Environment
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I thank him for what he is doing in this area. I want the House to know that we want the UN COP26 summit to be a landmark event, not just for tackling climate change but for biodiversity. I think it is high time that the leaders of the world took a step to reverse the loss of habitats and species that we have seen over the last century.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Education
Julian Charles Sturdy (Conservative, Centre-right): Can the Prime Minister confirm today that all students will be back in school no later than 8 March, and will he commit to starting any phased return straight after half term, so that the damaging effects of being away from school are not drawn out for any longer than is absolutely necessary?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Education
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I can certainly confirm that we will do everything we can, and I know that the settled will of most people in this House is to get our schoolchildren back on 8 March, if we possibly can. I will be setting out for my hon. Friend as much as we can say on Monday, and then in the week of 22 February, we will be setting out a road map and the way forward for schools. We have to make sure that we keep this virus under control. It is coming down, but we cannot take our foot off its throat.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Transportation
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I can certainly confirm that we are going to develop the eastern leg as well as the whole of the HS2. The hon. Gentleman will be hearing a lot more about what we are going to do with our national infrastructure revolution and about what we will do to improve not just rail transport, but road transport in the north-east.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Environment
Questions: There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?
Roger James Gale (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister has said, and he has written in his foreword to the environment White Paper, that he is pledged to protect the countryside. The countryside is more than just a bit of green belt around the home counties. In Westgate, Birchington and Herne Bay in my constituency, and indeed across much of the garden of England, there are plans to smother acres of prime agricultural land in housing that is not needed for local people but that is needed to grow the crops to reduce the amount of food we import at a cost of carbon emissions. If the Prime Minister is the friend of the countryside, will he announce an immediate moratorium on the use of all farmland for housing, while the whole policy is reviewed?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): We have seen above-inflation increases in public sector pay, and that is quite right. We particularly support increases in investment in our NHS, and the hon. Gentleman will know of the package we have put in place for nurses. However, the single best thing we can do is support the living wage, which this Government introduced, and which we have now increased by record amounts two years in a row. [Interruption.] I see the Scottish nationalist party—forgive me, national. I do not know whether they are nationalists—perhaps they could clear it up.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Labor
Questions: There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Are they a national party without being nationalists? It is an interesting semantic point, Mr Speaker. However, I think they are trying to claim that they pioneered the living wage. I do not think that is right. I seem to remember that it was a certain mayoralty in London that massively increased the living wage—when they were not off the starting blocks.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?
Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, thank you as always. I am delighted my right hon. Friend is defending democracy by pushing ahead with local elections, but here in the land of King Alfred the people desperately want to give their verdict on Somerset County Council, which I am afraid has been using covid money to spend on things that have nothing to do with the pandemic. It has submitted to the Government a form that says nothing, and I fear that my right hon. Friend has been misled. We need a referendum down here to test public opinion quickly, but does my right hon. Friend—a proud man of Somerset, who understands history more than most of us—not agree that the time has come to put our county back together and that the whole of Somerset should be looked after by Somerset? I know that King Alfred would approve of that, and I know that the people of Somerset will certainly support the Prime Minister if he supports us.
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, who is a great advocate of Somerset and is committed to his constituents. I thank him for what he is doing. He has raised this issue twice with me now, and I thank him for that, but may I humbly suggest that the best way forward is for the consultation to proceed and for local people to decide what the best form of local government is that they want?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, indeed. I have made it absolutely clear to our EU friends and partners that we want to make our relationship work, but it is also absolutely essential that there should be untrammelled free trade and exchange of goods, people, services and capital through all parts of the UK. We will do everything we can to ensure that that is the case, including, as I have said in the Chamber before and to the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues, invoking article 16 of the protocol, if necessary.
Building Safety — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): I honestly do not know. The Scottish Government have, as far as I am aware, done nothing with the very significant sum of money that the Chancellor has given them through the Barnett consequentials process. I am not aware of what the Welsh Government are doing. I think those questions are better directed to the Scottish Government and the Welsh Labour Administration.
Policing (England and Wales) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) for 2021-22 (HC 1162), which was laid before this House on 4 February, be approved It is a great pleasure to follow our own version of Dorian Gray, and to announce to the House the final police funding settlement for 2021-22. Although I appreciate that it is not ideal that the House is debating this publication prior to the consideration by the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments, it is essential that suitable preparatory time is given to the relevant parties prior to implementation. This—coupled with the difficulty in securing suitable Floor of the House approval slots, and the February recess—has meant that, unfortunately, it has not proved possible to achieve pre-scrutiny on this occasion, and I am sorry about that. Nevertheless, public safety is an absolute priority for this Government, which is why we are backing the police with the resources and powers that they need to protect our communities The professionalism, bravery and commitment shown by officers during the coronavirus pandemic has been truly extraordinary. Across the country, police forces continue to work tirelessly, building understanding with the public to help to control the virus while also tackling crime. Despite all the challenges that we have faced in the last year, the police have been there to answer the call, and I express my immense gratitude for their contribution to this unprecedented national effort. I also wish to place on record that my thoughts and condolences are with those who have lost loved ones, and with our brave police officers and staff who have lost their lives to covid-19.
Policing (England and Wales) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the Minister on his remarks and on the work he does with the police. Is he as concerned as I am that during the pandemic, across the country but particularly in Northamptonshire, the number of police officers coughed on, spat at, or bitten, rose to 130 attacks between February and November last year, which was up from 110 attacks during the same period the year before? Is that not especially disgraceful, given that the pandemic has been raging through our country?
Policing (England and Wales) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Lionel John Loder (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for giving way. He suggests that the Government are giving warm words in their commitment to the police, which I wholly disagree with. The Mayor of London has kindly given an exemption from the congestion charge in London to emergency workers, but not to police officers and police staff. I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman might share his view on whether real prioritisation of the police is something that the Labour party supports.
Policing (England and Wales) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Sheryll Murray (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the police for all they do, in particular the way in which they have policed the pandemic in this very challenging time. I thank the Government for their investment in the police force and, in particular, their commitment to increase the number of officers, which has meant nearly 300 additional officers in Devon and Cornwall so far, on top of the local growth numbers funded by our council tax payers. I understand that this additional resource has helped morale in our local force, which is incredibly important to our communities In my own police area, our excellent police and crime commissioner, Alison Hernandez, piloted an allowance for our hard-working special constables, who did a set amount of hours over the winter months. Will the Department work with her and the chief constable, look at that pilot and explore options to enable police forces to develop a special constabulary as a paid reserve, in the same way as Army reserves provide additional resources at times of need? This could be particularly useful to Cornwall when we have peak needs, as we do in the summer, when we will, I hope, again have an influx of tourists My second request is for the force to be able to do home-based lateral flow Covid testing of officers. It is essential that officers, who work shifts and often come into close contact with people through their job, have the ability to test close at hand. I ask the Department to look at that as a matter of urgency.
Policing (England and Wales) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Law and Crime
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): At the outset, it is important to recognise the great job done by Suffolk police in what are, at present, incredibly challenging circumstances. The proposed increase in grant funding of £7.4 million, from £135.1 million to £142.5 million, coupled with the maximum increase in council tax of £15 per band D household, does enable the Suffolk police and crime commissioner, Tim Passmore, to put in place policies that enable the Suffolk constabulary to properly police the county and keep people safe. However, this is becoming an increasingly difficult task, with Suffolk being the fourth lowest centrally funded force per head of population in the country, and with the local taxpayer having to pay an ever-increasing share of this burden. There is an urgent need, as my colleagues from Bedfordshire have said, for the police funding formula to be reviewed as part of the next comprehensive spending review. Moreover, a three-year settlement would greatly assist with long-term planning and responsible budgeting. It is welcome that Suffolk police is recruiting more officers. As a result of Operation Uplift, there will be 162 more officers over the next three years, with more police out on the streets. They are tackling county lines and violent crime. There will be investment in the cyber-crime unit, more work on fraud prevention and rural crime, an improved 101 service and, at a time when it is much needed, more support for the vulnerable and those at risk Suffolk is also at the forefront of collaboration with neighbouring forces, with the joint work with Norfolk yielding recurring annual savings of £22.2 million to the Suffolk taxpayer. These initiatives are welcome, but the Suffolk council tax payer is being asked to pay too high a proportion of their cost. There does need to be a rebalancing of the national grant to bring Suffolk in line with similar counties, properly taking into account the levels of wages and incomes, and as part of a fair and transparent levelling-up process. When my hon. Friend the Minister sums up, I ask him to commit to a full review of the funding formula ahead of the comprehensive spending review.
Local Government Finance (England) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Macroeconomics
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): With this it will be convenient to consider the following motions: That the Referendums relating to Council Tax Increases (Alternative Notional Amounts) (England) Report 2021-22 (HC 1201), which was laid before this House on 4 February, be approved That the Referendums relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2021-22 (HC 1202), which was laid before this House on 4 February, be approved.
Local Government Finance (England) — House of Commons, 2021-02-10
Topic: Government Operations
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): The comments I shall make are provided from the perspective of county areas, and I provide them both as an MP in the county of Suffolk and as chairman of the county all-party group. It is to be welcomed that the Government have listened to the concerns of county councils, including Suffolk County Council, and the County Councils Network, and have used the local government funding settlement to provide further funding to councils in recognition of the additional cost pressures they have absorbed as part of their response to covid-19, at a time when the pandemic is also putting enormous strain on their income. That said, there is a significant funding gap that predates the pandemic that remains, like an elephant in the room, which the settlement has not addressed. This can be properly tackled only by completing the fair funding review Shortly before the announcement of the spending review and the provisional settlement, the County Councils Network, representing 36 English local authorities serving county areas, published the results of its autumn budget survey. It showed that for 2021-22 only one in five of its member councils were confident that they could deliver a balanced budget this coming year without dramatic reductions to services. In that context, the settlement and the further announcement that the Secretary of State has made today are to be welcomed, as they head off this nightmare and provide some certainty by ensuring a roll-over of all existing grants for councils, alongside some additional resources to meet the underlying pressures on council budgets that predated the impact of covid-19. However, this is only temporary respite; councils still face a significant funding gap that they will need to close next year The local tax income guarantee scheme is to be welcomed, as it provides essential support for local authorities suffering losses in tax income in 2020-21. As a result, councils will be able to deliver balanced budgets in 2021-22, without dramatic reductions to services. However, it must be pointed out that the scheme is less favourable for council tax losses than for losses in business rates. As county councils receive a much higher share of council tax income compared with their share of business rates income, county councils will be disadvantaged. This settlement gets us through an incredibly challenging and highly unusual time for local government, but it does not address that elephant in the room: the funding gap that predated the pandemic. It can be tackled only by implementing the fair funding review, which has the potential to deliver fairer settlements for councils all around the council, be they rural or metropolitan, be they from the north, the south, the west or the east, and for coastal communities such as Lowestoft and Waveney. I therefore urge the Minister to confirm in his summing up that a final consultation and indicative allocations under the new formula will be published this year, in 2020-21, so that the review can be implemented in 2022-23.