argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union (Information, etc.) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-07-20
Topic: Education
Annabel Goldie (Conservative, Centre-right): I quite accept that what is in the national curriculum is indeed the responsibility of government, but it is not my responsibility in dealing with this issue as the Minister for Brexit. The noble Baroness is clearly exercised by this, and she might want to raise the issue directly with the Department for Education. When it comes to the twinning proposal in the Bill, the Government feel unable to support it for three interconnected reasons. First, traditional town twinning is a locally led activity built on the enthusiasms, preferences and commitments of local communities; it is for a local area, therefore, to decide how it wishes to approach twinning, what arrangements would work for it and how it wishes to make use of any available funds for twinning. Secondly, this would be an unnecessary bureaucratic requirement for local authorities, potentially imposing new financial burdens where budgets today are already under pressure. This would especially be the case if an area is not interested in twinning, in which case the requirement in the Bill would provide no gain for the local communities which councils are serving. Thirdly—and let me clarify this for the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter—this requirement is unnecessary as the current scheme eligibility criteria state that, if the UK ceases to be a member of the European Union, it will be required to leave the twinning scheme. The Bill specifies the EU’s town twinning support scheme, which is open to applications from: "Towns/municipalities or their twinning committees or other non-profit organisations representing local authorities … A project must involve municipalities from at least 2 eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State".
European Union (Information, etc.) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-07-20
Topic: International Affairs
Annabel Goldie (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to the noble Baroness that that is a matter to be determined post Brexit. The Bill, however, is about a system that can operate only as long as the UK is an EU member state. I am merely pointing out why it will not be appropriate to continue that arrangement when the UK leaves the EU. The current scheme eligibility criteria specifically states: "For British applicants … eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project" Requiring local authorities to start to provide information on this scheme during a time of additional complexity, as the Bill proposes, would diminish rather than enhance the enthusiasm and commitment in local communities in respect of twinning proposals That is not to say that the Government do not support the principle of twinning—indeed, the long-standing localist approach to twinning has over decades resulted in many hundreds of successful twinning arrangements. I reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, who was particularly concerned about this, that the Government recognise the value of effective partnerships between strong and active local communities across Europe and the wider world. The noble Baroness also raised the specific matter of the White Paper. As the Secretary of State for DExEU said on 12 July: "We will shortly publish a White Paper on the withdrawal agreement".—[Official Report, Commons, 12/7/18; col. 1158.]
European Union (Information, etc.) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-07-20
Topic: International Affairs
Annabel Goldie (Conservative, Centre-right): Well, it was the Secretary of State for DExEU. My noble friend the Chief Whip is saying that the phrasing was "published shortly". We will need to refer to that again, but it is not actually germane to matters before us at the moment In relation to twinning, and as an example of a new relationship with our European neighbours, we have committed bilaterally with France to 10 new-style twinning arrangements per year, designed to promote the sharing of practical experiences and expertise on topics such as productivity and skills, in order to promote growth and economic success We therefore urge the House to reject this Bill. Our position is clear: that we will be leaving the European Union in March 2019. Once the UK ceases to be a member of the European Union, the UK will be required to leave the twinning scheme.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Oliver Michael Robert Eden (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill, has consented to place her interests, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Labor
Oliver Michael Robert Eden (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Knight, for taking through this very important piece of legislation, which provides at the very least two weeks of guaranteed time away from work for those employees who have suffered the tragedy of losing a child before that child has had the opportunity to reach adulthood I am grateful to the noble Lord for ensuring the rapid progress of this Bill through this House. I am conscious that, in doing so, the Bill has overtaken the progress of the Government’s response to the recent consultation, which will now be published after the Bill completes its passage through Parliament. I had hoped to be able to set out in detail the response to the government consultation. However, important work is still ongoing with this. We have had a very welcome, large and detailed number of sponsors to the consultation—some 1,448 in total. I was pleased to see that high level of engagement on such an issue. We need to make sure that we get this right. If taking a little extra time is what is needed to achieve this, that is the right thing to do However, I assure the House that, once the Bill receives Royal Assent, we will work to bring forward the necessary regulations as soon as possible with a view to laying them before the House as early as possible in 2019. That would also keep us on course for our ambition for the new right to come into force in April 2020. I hope that that commitment today will reassure the House that the Government remain committed to delivering on this manifesto commitment.
Rendition of UK Citizens — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I reiterate that we oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. The Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill is about outgoing requests. It gives UK law enforcement authorities the power to request electronic data stored abroad where an international arrangement exists for use in UK investigations and court cases. We will ensure that any future international agreement is consistent with our long-standing policy of opposing the death penalty Perhaps I may also comment on the change of approach. We have not changed our approach. I refer noble Lords to the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Guidance, which incidentally is long-standing. Part a) says: "Written assurances should be sought before agreeing to the provision of assistance that anyone found guilty would not face the death penalty" Part b) reads: "Where no assurances are forthcoming or where there are strong reasons not to seek assurances, the case should automatically be deemed ‘High Risk’ and FCO Ministers should be consulted to determine whether, given the specific circumstances of the case, we should nevertheless provide assistance".
Rendition of UK Citizens — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Robathan (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, does my noble friend agree that, whatever position one might take on capital punishment, the good people of the United Kingdom will be bemused by the sensibilities being shown at the moment? Any obstruction put in the way of the prosecution of these murdering terrorists by the British Government would not be understood.
Rendition of UK Citizens — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I absolutely refute the implication that the Government would provide information that would lead directly to someone facing the death penalty. As I have outlined, the guidance is very clear about not seeking assurances, as opposed to sending somebody to face the death penalty in certain circumstances. The Government are quite clear that justice needs to be served.
Higher Education (Transparency Condition and Financial Support) (England) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Education
Ralph Matthew Palmer (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I very much welcome these regulations. For a long time since the introduction of the higher-level fees, there has been a large expenditure by universities on trying to widen access, but to my mind it has been carried out in a most disappointing manner. Universities are mostly research institutions that understand how research works, but a lot of these expenditures have not been accompanied by evaluation, by publication of what does and does not work or by any sharing of expertise between institutions so that this common enterprise can work better I hope that there are some but I have not seen any examples of universities working with other elements of government or the third sector to try to tackle the underlying problems. A lot of these problems are deep, as your Lordships’ committee on seaside communities is finding out. The principal reason that some of these communities do not send many people to university is not down to what the universities do or do not do; it is down to the problems inherent in those communities. The best way for universities to tackle this problem is by working with other agencies active in those communities to try to achieve something wider and more co-ordinated. I would love to see more examples of that I really hope that my noble friend can assure me that this decade of bad practice is coming to an end, that we will be able to see exactly how universities are spending this money, that the Government, through the OfS, will expect publication of evaluation, that they will expect collaboration, and that they will expect a sector-wide drive towards better performance with a lot of the collaboration that that requires. I think that everybody is aiming in the same direction in terms of what we want to achieve, and it is very unsatisfactory that such huge expenditures are not being used efficiently and effectively.
Higher Education (Transparency Condition and Financial Support) (England) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Government Operations
Alastair Cooke (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I want to comment very briefly as a member of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. I would like to thank my noble friend for the detailed way in which he has responded to and commented on the committee’s 30th report. His remarks will be studied with great interest by members of the committee. I have one question to put to him. When producing its report, the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments understood that the register may not be finalised or published by the time that Parliament is expected to approve the draft regulations. Will my noble friend tell us the current position?
Higher Education (Fee Limits and Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Education
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank noble Lords for their broad support of the regulations, but I shall pick up on the words mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Watson. There are some issues circling around; he will be aware of that. Most of the questions focused on the future of fees and I shall spend most of my remarks focusing on the 18-plus review, which was raised initially by the noble Lord, Lord Adonis. I shall give as much information as I can on this important review The questions raised by the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, focused on whether there will be an interim report, consultation and polling, which was an interesting question. I think he was asking whether it would be a good thing to poll young people to ascertain their views. That is noted, but I reassure him that part of the extensive programme of engagement with stakeholders and experts includes students and recent graduates, and that is ongoing as part of the review. I shall give a little more information on this Noble Lords will know that this review was announced by the Prime Minister on 19 February. It is a major review across post-18 education looking at funding. We want to ensure that there is a joined-up system that works for everyone and is accessible for all. The review will ensure, as an overarching principle, that the system gives everyone a genuine choice between high-quality technical, vocational and academic routes. Students and taxpayers must get value for money and employers must be able to access the skilled workforce they need. Above all, we are also looking at the student experience. We must have a system whereby students go to university and come out feeling that they have had a good experience and have a good degree The review is being informed by independent advice. I must stress the independence of this review, so I may not be able to answer some of the questions directly because the review is independent. It is chaired by Philip Augur and one of our colleagues, the noble Baroness, Lady Wolf, is on the panel. There are five leading figures from across the post-18 education and business worlds. There is extensive engagement going on. I reassure the noble Lord and the House that there will be an interim review. I do not have a particular date in mind, but my understanding is—and I will write to noble Lords if I am wrong—that the interim review will come out some time this year. The actual review will come some time early in 2019 and after that there will be a response from the Government.
Higher Education (Fee Limits and Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Education
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I will add that to the letter that I will write to the noble Lord specifically about Northern Ireland. I remember what he said in the previous debate. The noble Baroness, Lady Garden, and the noble Lord, Lord Watson, asked about progress in appointing an independent reviewer of the TEF. The recruitment of the independent reviewer is under way and an announcement will be made in due course. I have taken note of the comments the noble Baroness made about the TEF and the feelings that were expressed in this House about it last year. If they have not gone away, it is an issue that will be addressed I reassure the House that this is a devolved matter—this is going back to the question raised by the noble Lord, Lord Adonis. The review covers England alone, but it comes back to the point that I was making that I will write to him about matters relating to Northern Ireland The noble Baroness, Lady Garden, asked whether we can continue to take part in Erasmus. An announcement on the Erasmus programme will be made in due course, particularly to take account of the planning needs of students and universities The noble Baroness, Lady Garden, also asked about ELQ exemptions and part-time study. The ELQ rules have been relaxed to support students who already hold an honours degree qualification and who wish to retrain on a part-time basis in a STEM subject. The review of post-18 education and funding will look at how we can encourage learning that is more flexible. This takes account of comments that I made in a recent debate on this important subject, particularly relating to the Open University The noble Lord, Lord Watson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, asked about the decrease in part-time study, particularly in the 30 to 49 age group. In this academic year, part-time students will, for the first time ever, be able to access full-time equivalent maintenance loans, as I think the House will be aware The noble Lord, Lord Liddle, raised some interesting points about the perspective from universities, and I took note of what he said regarding Lancaster University. It is a fair point, because if fees are capped, less money goes to universities. We are obviously aware of that and will take account of it as part of the 18-plus review. It is part of the overall view of how the future of tuition fees will pan out. That includes the points he made about the means-tested maintenance grant My final point is aimed to address something said by the noble Lord, Lord Adonis. He was talking about a range of where tuition fees might be from £0 to £9,250. I took it that the £0 meant that it was still Labour Party policy that, if it were ever to come into government, it would offer free education to students.
Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (Cooperation and Information Sharing) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Education
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Watson, for tabling this Motion. The noble Lord has raised concerns that these regulations create significant powers for the Office for Students to grant access to students’ confidential data to a single commercial provider. He also calls on Her Majesty’s Government to carry out a privacy impact assessment on the regulations. Before addressing the noble Lord’s concerns, I reassure noble Lords that these regulations are very much in the interests of students and taxpayers. They enable the OfS to work appropriately with other bodies to address any potential wrongdoing or concerns about quality, students’ experience, and the management and governance of the higher education system. These regulations are essential for the OfS to do its job well, and will be accompanied by strong safeguards around data protection and privacy The noble Lord, Lord Watson, asked about the timing of the laying of these regulations and proper scrutiny. I reassure him that these regulations are absolutely subject to proper scrutiny, as is any other statutory instrument laid under the negative procedure. They are important to the OfS being able to operate effectively as a regulator.
Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (Cooperation and Information Sharing) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Education
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): They have gone through the scrutiny procedure, as mentioned Let me continue. These regulations and the enabling primary legislation provide greater protection, scrutiny and control over information sharing than before. The regulations replicate, and in some cases improve on, the arrangements that HEFCE, OFFA and the DfE had in place for sharing information with other bodies. As HEFCE’s and OFFA’s enabling legislation did not place controls around co-operation and information sharing in the same way as the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 does for the OfS, the legal framework around information sharing has actually been strengthened. The parliamentary process for the regulations, including this very debate, also means that there is more scrutiny and oversight of the information sharing than before I should now like to address the concerns raised by the noble Lord, Lord Watson, in turn, starting with his question about the consultation with UCAS and universities, and, in particular, students’ concerns regarding access to their data. As the noble Lord may know, officials and Ministers have regular meetings and interactions with universities, and they work closely with UCAS. On student concerns regarding access to their data, I reiterate that personal data would be shared only if there were serious concerns and if it were necessary to share that data.
Brexit: Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: International Affairs
Patrick Cormack (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, can I draw my noble friend’s attention to paragraph 7, on page 5? It says: "There has been agreement to establish a Joint Committee of UK and EU representatives to oversee and discuss the implementation and application of the Withdrawal Agreement" That is obviously eminently sensible. Can he possibly give us some details of that group, and reflect on whether there might be wisdom in a suggestion which I made over two years ago that there should be a special Joint Committee of both Houses, as we go through these crucial stages, to look at critical issues? Could that matter please be looked at again?
Brexit: Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: International Affairs
Martin Callanan (Conservative, Centre-right): There is always wisdom in my noble friend’s suggestions but I think whether there should be a Joint Committee of both Houses is a matter for Parliament rather than the Government. We are working through the details with the EU at the moment on exactly what the composition of the joint committee will encompass. However, we expect it to be multilayered, possibly with one level of officials similar to UKRep and one ministerial level as well, but that agreement has still to be made.
Brexit: Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Transportation
Martin Callanan (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I can confirm that the common travel area has been agreed. If the noble Lord reads the White Paper we published last week, he will see that driving licences is one of the areas that we need to discuss with the EU. It is a matter of negotiation, but of course it is something that we want to agree and we expect it to be relatively uncontroversial.
Brexit: Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: International Affairs
Martin Callanan (Conservative, Centre-right): With regard to UK citizens in the EU, it is of course equally important for us to reach agreement on their behalf. That is one of the areas that we are pursuing with other EU member states. Of course, the matter is agreed. We are making preparations to implement our part of the bargain and we need to make sure that EU states are doing similar things for British citizens With regard to the exact form of the Motion to be agreed, the meaningful vote is now incorporated into the withdrawal Act.
Brexit: Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Agriculture
Martin Callanan (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously I have not had the benefit of listening to what my right honourable friend the Secretary of State said in another place, so I will read what he said before commenting on it, but I am not aware of any plans for the stockpiling of food. It seems to be a fairly ridiculous scare story. It will not have escaped the noble Lord’s notice that there are many countries outside the European Union that manage to feed their citizens perfectly satisfactorily without the benefit of EU processes.
Brexit: Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: International Affairs
Martin Callanan (Conservative, Centre-right): I go back to what I said earlier: this is an agreed part of the withdrawal Act. Article 50 states that there needs to be agreement on the withdrawal Act and on the future economic partnership. Both parts go together. If both are agreed, both are satisfactory and both are approved by this House, of course there will be no problem, but if there is no deal, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. That applies as much to the financial settlement as it does to the future economic partnership.