argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Civil Rights
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): No, as I am conscious of time We need to be reminded of that story as we go past the memorial to suffragettes, as we go past the statues and paintings of those who made such a contribution to past political battles and debates, and of those who were part of the story of wresting control from the monarch and establishing the right of many more people to vote and have their voice heard through Members of Parliament. That proud history makes this more than an iconic building, more than a world heritage site; it is a living part of our democracy. Our interaction with it and our presence on this grand political stage is the very essence of our democracy. I do not want us to move away for a few years at this critical moment in our national story.
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Housing
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to go back to this 16 and a half feet—16ft 5in to be precise. When we sat on the Committee, we looked at and studied the report from Deloitte, we took evidence from experts, we sat for hours and we came to a conclusion based on the possibility that an inexpensive temporary Chamber could be put in Richmond House. That was fundamental to what we concluded. It turns out that that was wrong—that actually the measurements were out and therefore it would not work. That seems to me to undermine all that we tried to do. If the people responsible could not even measure a courtyard, how could they possibly get the figures right on the overall proposals that were being made? I regret that the work that we did and the conclusions that we drew have been fatally undermined by the fact that the figures we were provided with on an essential basis for our conclusion were wrong.
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Mixed Topics
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to start by thanking my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House for tabling the motions and for the very able way in which she opened the debate and put the arguments so very clearly. Nobody wants to leave this House—of course we do not—but we do have a duty and an obligation to future generations to make sure that it is looked after and repaired properly. That is the most important thing I hope that the delivery body will look at working on this site 24/7. This is an island site: there is no reason why it cannot be worked 24/7. As I understand it, the proposals that would take seven or eight years are based on working a normal week. This is an island site with no neighbours. I fully agree with the point made earlier—I was going to suggest it myself—that we should give ourselves planning permission on this site. We should be able to deliver that. As a world heritage site, there will be certain obligations, and that is absolutely right. That is why I am much more optimistic that this project can be done quicker than the previously proposed timescales During my period as Secretary of State for Transport, I was very fortunate to see some remarkable projects in this country, one of which was London Bridge station, which has just been completed. It was awful that people had to suffer the development of London Bridge, but we can now see that it is a great example of English engineering and people doing a job. However, it would have been done much more cheaply and much quickly if we could have closed it. The fact is that when we operate in buildings at the same time as engineering work is being done to them, the work takes longer and it is more expensive Some colleagues say we can segment the work and do it in sections. I would like to know how many of them have done the basement tour. I suggest that they go and work there for six months—actually, I think six hours would probably be enough for them to realise that the conditions are absolutely intolerable for people to work in I have reservations about the proposal to build a completely new Chamber. If we are sensible about this, the simple fact is that, if we give two and a half years, and no longer, to do this work, there is no reason why we could not find alternative accommodation. The House sits approximately 146 days a year. It is not always as full as this. In fact, quite often it is a lot emptier. I very much doubt that we would need an exact mirror of the Chamber for the emergency period.
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Mixed Topics
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I would rather not, because I know that other Members want to speak, and time is rather tight Those are some of my suggestions about the way forward. We should set the delivery body up and move forward, and that body should be instructed to look at doing it a lot more quickly and efficiently; 24/7 working would suffice. That would mean we would be out of this place for a lot less time. On the basis that we have to get on with this job and have been delaying it for far too long, I will tonight support amendment (b).
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Public Lands
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): For 27 years before arriving in this place, I practised as a chartered surveyor. Although I was a general practice surveyor, not a building or quantity surveyor, I spent a large part of my working life inspecting a wide variety of buildings The Palace of Westminster is the most iconic building in the UK. It is not ours; it belongs to the nation. We are the custodians, with the responsibility of passing it on to the next generation in a better condition than we inherited it. For my part, the evidence is compelling. We need to get on with this work as soon as possible. If a chartered surveyor had made a recommendation to delay the work, and there was then an incident such as a major flood or fire, they would be sued for professional negligence. There is a real risk of fiddling while Rome burns, so we need to implement the Joint Committee’s recommendations as soon as possible. Time really is of the essence, and thus I will be voting for amendment (b).
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Public Lands
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to take this slowly so that we all know exactly what we are doing—we now come to motion 6, which is to say the Restoration and Renewal (No.1) motion. I call the Leader of the House to move Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House— (1) affirms its commitment to the historic Palace of Westminster and its unique status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Royal Palace and home of our Houses of Parliament; (2) takes note of the report of the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster ‘Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster’, HL Paper 41, HC 659; (3) accepts that there is a clear and pressing need to repair the services in the Palace of Westminster in a comprehensive and strategic manner to prevent catastrophic failure in this Parliament, whilst acknowledging the demand and burden on public expenditure and fiscal constraints at a time of prudence and restraint; (4) accepts in principle that action should be taken and funding should be limited to facilitate essential work to the services in this Parliament; (5) agrees to review before the end of the Parliament the need for comprehensive works to take place.—(Andrea Leadsom.)
Restoration and Renewal (Report of the Joint Committee) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): We come now to the petition. If, inexplicably, there are right hon. and hon. Members who do not wish to hear Mr James Cartlidge present his petition, a decision that would be the source of considerable bafflement to me, I hope that they will leave the Chamber quickly and, preferably, quietly, with Mr Watling conducting his important private conversation outside the Chamber—the hon. Member for Clacton should conduct his conversation outside the Chamber, as we can then have the remaining pleasure of listening to Mr Cartlidge in an atmosphere of sobriety and respect as he speaks to his petition.
British Jihadis (Iraq and Syria) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Mixed Topics
Giacomo Lopresti (Conservative, Centre-right): I too congratulate the hon. Gentleman on calling this debate. Is he as surprised and appalled as I am that these people are allowed back into the country, after going abroad to fight with our enemies and to threaten our lives and our freedoms?
British Jihadis (Iraq and Syria) — House of Commons, 2018-01-31
Topic: Immigration
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. He brings his legal learning, knowledge and experience to the House, to great effect. He is right and has hit the nub of the problem, namely the tension that this democratic, liberal country faces when dealing with people who have gone overseas and to whom we require, rightly, the rule of law to apply as it does to any other citizen. The difficulty posed by that, of course, is the gathering of evidence to prove the case to the required standards.
US Tariffs: Steel and Aluminium — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): When it comes to protection post EU, we will have our own trade remedies measures. But of course the hon. Lady and her Labour colleagues voted against our being able to establish those when the legislation came to the House.
Leaving the EU: Women’s Rights — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with the thrust of the hon. Gentleman’s question. I commend the work of some key non-governmental organisations in this space, particularly ActionAid UK. The matter of impact assessments is one for future trade policy and future trade agreements. However, we are not waiting on that to make a difference on ensuring that women can participate fully in trade. I point him to a recent study by McKinsey that showed that, if women participated in the economy on an equal basis to men, there would be an increase of 26% in world GDP—the equivalent of an economy the size of the US and China put together.
Leaving the EU: Women’s Rights — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is quite right: the UK has been a key driver of that agenda. He is also right that the EU27 may well take a different approach. However, the UK approach remains strongly and resolutely in favour of promoting gender equality in trade and making sure that trade works particularly for women entrepreneurs, who make up a disproportionate part of the online entrepreneurial community.
Leaving the EU: Textile and Fashion Industry — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What plans he has to secure export markets and inward investment for the UK textile and fashion industry after the UK leaves the EU. [R]
Graham Charles Stuart (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to the hon. Lady. This week, the meeting was on the Commonwealth; the last meeting, I believe, was on China. She is doing a great job with the APPG, focusing on the importance of fashion to the UK economy. It goes without saying that, however poorly dressed I am that day, I will be thrilled to go along and meet the much more fashionable members of that APPG.
Leaving the EU: Textile and Fashion Industry — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Other
Questions: What plans he has to secure export markets and inward investment for the UK textile and fashion industry after the UK leaves the EU. [R]
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): In a moment we will hear from the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman). He has been chuntering from a sedentary position about the suit worn by the right hon. Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne), apparently expressing the hope that it was made in west Yorkshire. That is not a matter for the Chair—I have no idea. It seems to me a most admirable suit, but I have no idea where it was made.
Leaving the EU: Textile and Fashion Industry — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Other
Questions: What plans he has to secure export markets and inward investment for the UK textile and fashion industry after the UK leaves the EU. [R]
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure it was inadvertent. There was not going to be further discussion on this question, but the effect of raising a point of order in mid-question is to preclude any further supplementary questions on the matter. In this case, however, the crime is victimless.
Free Trade Promotion — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for the support that my hon. Friend gives to the ceramics industry. It is, of course, necessary to have an international rules-based system. Where we have problems with that, it is our duty to try to improve it, not to try to break or leave the system.
Free Trade Promotion — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government have recently completed a number of pilot projects on outward direct investment, and ODI can be a major adjunct to our development agenda. I recently visited a Jaguar Land Rover dealership in Johannesburg. It is not only promoting the sale of UK goods abroad, but providing apprenticeships in mechanics and salesmanship for some of the most deprived young people in Johannesburg. Trade and development can go hand in hand.
Leaving the EU: Third-country Trade Deals — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend will know, we have some good news for him about the implementation period. The UK will be party to those deals up to the end of December 2020. He is also right that there is a very important read-across between what is agreed with the EU on standards, rules of origin and so on. Our commitment remains absolute to have high standards and to encourage the use of broad international global standards of the highest quality.
Leaving the EU: Preferential Market Access — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps he is taking to ensure that the UK maintains preferential market access to those countries with which it currently has such access as a member of the EU after leaving the EU.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I met the chemicals industry earlier this week—in line with other industries—in a very useful roundtable at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. That work to make sure that the UK benefits from the best possible rules as we go forward is ongoing.
STEM Careers — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am delighted to be here in my new role as Minister for Women and Equalities on International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, and I hope all Members of this House will show their support to that cause today The Government have committed in our careers strategy to improving information and guidance on STEM careers. We are also raising awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications offer.
Protected Characteristics: Caste — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): Our public consultation on how best to ensure that there is appropriate and proportionate legal protection against caste discrimination ran for six months last year. We received more than 16,000 responses, which demonstrates how important this matter is to some groups and communities, and we will respond in due course.
Protected Characteristics: Caste — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome my right hon. Friend to her post. She is the third Minister for Women and Equalities since the consultation closed, and I have no doubt that she is going to wade through those 16,000 responses, which will overwhelmingly be in favour of caste being removed as a protected characteristic. Will she agree to meet me so that I can brief her on the feelings of the community on this matter?
Protected Characteristics: Caste — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Other
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand my hon. Friend’s frustration. He has really championed this issue for a long time. I have already agreed to meet him, and I am very happy to do so, but I can reassure him that previous holders of this post have already briefed me and that this matter is receiving my immediate attention.
Protected Characteristics: Caste — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Other
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I will be happy to do that, and I would like to do it swiftly. I want to ensure that we take absolutely the right decision. The responses to the consultation were heavily weighted towards one outcome, but I want to know the case law and all the arguments before we take any decision.
Gender Pay Gap: Action Plans — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman does the Government a disservice, if I may say so. This is world-leading legislation, and I have always been careful to ensure that we share the credit for it with the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), who brought the Act into being. We are ambitious about this, but we want to bring business with us. This is about cultural change, and there are really good signs that businesses are now listening to the public’s will that women must be paid fairly and properly.
Gender Pay Gap: Action Plans — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. We are reviewing the evidence carefully. We know, for example, that more than 10,000 businesses have been having a conversation about their pay policy in a way that they simply were not doing a year ago. We will review the evidence carefully and see what more needs to be done to ensure that businesses are working in accordance with the public will to ensure that these gaps are closed.
Leaving the EU: Effect on Women — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues about the UK’s exit from the European Union. As we leave the EU, we are committed to retaining the rights of workers and all the protections of the Equality Acts of 2006 and 2010, including those that particularly benefit women.
Leaving the EU: Effect on Women — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I can give them that assurance. Protections will still exist in our law, and we will have a dividend from leaving the EU, so we can choose what to spend that money on. It is wrong to scare people with the suggestion that equalities will somehow be watered down.
Business: Representation of Women — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): Diversity is good for business. Organisations with the highest level of gender diversity in their leadership teams are 15% more likely to outperform their industry rivals. There are now no all-male boards in the FTSE 100, compared with 21 such boards in 2011, and the percentage of women on FTSE 350 boards has more than doubled since 2010. However, we know that there is more to do, which is why we commissioned the Hampton-Alexander review to improve female representation at the most senior levels in business.
Business: Representation of Women — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, who has taken a long interest in diversity matters. Indeed, he is meeting the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths), this afternoon to discuss this topic. The Government-backed Women’s Business Council’s recent toolkit, "Men As Change Agents", calls on FTSE 350 chief executive officers to embrace three asks to deliver the required pace of progress, including sponsoring women from within their organisation with the potential to secure an executive role within three years. My hon. Friend is keen to be an agent of change, and I welcome his support and that of other male colleagues in driving the progress that we all want to see.
Business: Representation of Women — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course we are always willing to look at what is happening internationally. The hon. Gentleman will know that the plans in the Hampton-Alexander review are ambitious. For example, they require businesses, before 2020, to recruit women for one in two senior roles that now exist if business is to meet that goal. If it does not, the Hampton-Alexander review panel will look at what more should be done to encourage business to do so.
Business: Representation of Women — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): Mentoring is just one way, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that sponsorship is very successful in driving women up the career ladder. That is precisely why the Hampton-Alexander review has given help through the Women’s Business Council and the toolkit. We have encouraged businesses to sponsor women within their organisation and to engage CEOs and other senior business leaders as change agents in championing the change required.
Gender Recognition Act 2004 — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Other
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I would be very happy to send that message from this Dispatch Box today. It is crucial that as we consult and discuss sensitive issues we do so in a climate of respect, empathy and understanding. Anything that runs counter to that must cease.
Gendered Online Abuse — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margot Cathleen James (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much share the hon. Lady’s strong opinions, which are based on the facts: girls are intimidated and bullied disproportionately online, for all the reasons she sets out. I urge her to wait a very short time for our response to the internet safety consultation, which I trust will be robust.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): Some 16% of the population is disabled, but their representation in our Parliaments, Assemblies and councils is far too low. It is primarily political parties’ responsibility to support their candidates properly, just as they must also support disabled employees. That is why I am announcing today that over the next 12 months my Department will, with others, undertake a programme of work to help political parties to best support their disabled candidates and to consider how independent candidates can be supported, too. While that work is under way, we will provide up to a quarter of a million pounds to support disabled candidates for elections in the forthcoming year. I shall keep the House updated.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): Although the demand for civil partnerships has tailed off since my right hon. Friend’s efforts were brought to bear on that Bill, they are extremely valued by some people, and others would also like the opportunity to have a civil partnership. We are looking into the issue and have commissioned some additional research into opinions on and attitudes towards civil partnerships, but whatever the outcome of that research, I assure my right hon. Friend that they will not be compulsory.