argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for the constructive and detailed way in which she raised the case of her constituent, and I am happy to look at such cases. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Wendy Morton) has already indicated that she will take up some of the other cases in Peru, and we will do everything we can to provide that support and advice, and to provide those who need to return with the means to do so.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Agriculture
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I will of course look at the case of the hon. Gentleman’s constituent very carefully—a number of other Moroccan cases have been raised—and get back to him with as clear a steer as possible. He is right to raise all those issues about supply chains; again, that was one of the issues I discussed with the Transport Secretary. The hon. Gentleman will have heard that the changes I announced to the travel advice will not apply to freight. We are very mindful in everything we do about keeping supply chains open, and we will continue to look at that. He also makes an important point about food supply and, frankly, the opportunities for UK-based suppliers to rise to meet some of the demand as supply is curtailed as a result of covid-19.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): We will of course look very carefully at any case. The hon. Gentleman has written to me all about constituents in Austria. There is no doubt that the Foreign Office, as with the rest of the Government—most obviously the NHS—will come under pressure. The key thing is that we have the means and the agility to prioritise, to ensure that dealing with covid-19 is the top priority as we go through this challenge. I am very clear that the Foreign Office will do everything we can to protect our constituents—UK nationals abroad—and ensure that we work with our international partners to rise to this challenge, get through it and then move on, so we can get back to some semblance of normality.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): The Africa Minister has already made it clear that he will follow up on all those cases, so we will certainly look at the case of the hon. Lady’s constituents. I am writing to all hon. Members with practical advice about how they can stay up to date by following the real-time advice. We will continue to give the hon. Lady and all other hon. Members as much advice as swiftly as possible to provide for the safety but also the return of their constituents.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the clarity of the advice we have given today will provide the nudge, to use the hon. Gentleman’s expression. The most important thing we can do for our constituents, the airline industry and, indeed, the insurers is to give clear advice. We have done that. We advise against all but essential global travel, and I am confident that the airline industry and the insurers will take the responsible approach in response.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I have discussed that issue with the Transport Secretary, who is in conversation with the airlines. The hon. Gentleman is right that there is not a clear division between freight and passenger travel; they often go on the same aircraft. We are very conscious of that, and we will work with the industry to ensure that we can chart as sustainable a path ahead as possible, but we have to take—
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course time is critical. We are in daily touch with all the relevant interlocutors, including the airlines and airports, but it is important that we take this measure now, not least given some of the comments that have been made in the House about travel arrangements over the Easter period.
Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for the emphasis she puts on international co-ordination. There are multilateral efforts to make sure we deal with everything from research and development of vaccines to capacity building for the most vulnerable countries. I am certainly happy to look at the details of any proposals if she wants to write to me. The challenge has been with different approaches, driven partly by different assessments of the risk, but also the pace at which coronavirus has spread and geography.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): Last week’s Budget was a blueprint for a more connected, more prosperous and more equal Britain—a nation where we deliver on our promises, where investors want to do business and where stable employment, decent housing, reliable transport, excellent healthcare and education, and the same opportunities extend to everyone in society, no matter where they live. Today’s Budget debate comes against a background of a global health emergency, however, so we must come together as a country to face the unprecedented threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak I pay tribute to and thank my opposite number, the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald), for his truly constructive support through this crisis. For several years, the country has looked on the House and its behaviour and seen it divided, in particular over the vexed issue of Brexit, so the way that this matter is being approached by the official Opposition and others is truly welcome. People will look at the House and see that, when it comes to rising to the occasion, we can to work together in the country’s interests This crisis requires radical action and support for our incredible health service, for businesses, for the self-employed, and, of course, for the elderly, sick and vulnerable members of our society. We made a start on that last week in the Budget where the Chancellor set out a £12 billion package of measures designed to counteract the immediate impact of the virus.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not give way yet; I want to make some progress That package was part of a wider £30 billion stimulus to offset the economic impacts. However, we understand that this is effectively a war. The enemy is a virus, but we must none the less approach it in the same way as a war.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said in pre-empting the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, the Chancellor will say more about all that shortly. I recognise the concerns raised by the hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members My own sector, transport, is massively affected, so we are working to support the whole industry under these extreme circumstances. We are looking at a range of options to help the rail, aviation and bus sectors. We have already taken action to prevent the empty ghost flights that were flying because of the 80/20 rule, which meant that they had to make pointless journeys even if they did not have anybody on board. I took action by writing to Airport Coordination Limited, the slots co-ordinator in this country, and the European Commission on a couple of occasions. They have provided relief, which means that we no longer have to have those flights in the skies, but it will not lead to airlines necessarily losing their slots.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the principle should be that, as far as we can make it work, people—individuals and companies—are in the same position when we come out of this situation. I feel that we will be in a somewhat changed world and changed environment on the other side of it, but good organisations should not be going bust. It will be hugely challenging. We will require a lot of different responses and mechanisms to get there, including, on occasion, organisations being run by the public sector, which we have already seen in the case of trains for a completely different reason Turning to trains, it makes no sense for us to run empty trains. As fewer people will be travelling following last night’s advice and guidance from the Government and the Prime Minister, timetables may be altered in the short to medium term to ensure that we do not effectively run ghost trains. We are also determined to ensure that companies are left in as strong a position as possible so that they can continue to operate afterwards. Despite the immensely challenging situation in which we find ourselves, we will work in partnership with the transport industry to keep essential services running for the public and for those who need to get to work, who have essential business and who will therefore still be travelling.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Lady makes an excellent point, as ever. The reality is that, because of social distancing, it might well be desirable to have more space between people so that they can keep some distance. Yes, that absolutely needs to be taken into account as we consider the timetabling We will get through this crisis together as a nation. Working in this great national effort, we will ensure that we come through on the other side and provide hope for all our citizens. The Budget shows that we are serious about the pledges we have made and about the trust that the electorate put in us only three months ago. We intend to deliver on those infrastructure pledges The Department for Transport has already been working hard to deliver on those pledges. For example, in recent weeks we have taken decisive action to improve journeys for millions of Northern rail commuters by putting the franchise into the operator of last resort. We have announced plans to extend discounted train travel to more than 830,000 veterans. The Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris), has kickstarted work on reversing the Beeching cuts, which have so blighted the nation in decades past and prevented people from being interconnected. In January we announced the preferred route for the east-west rail link that will connect Oxford and Cambridge, which will increase access to jobs and make it easier and cheaper to travel, creating a region that has been dubbed the UK’s silicon valley. We are not only making journeys more efficient and easier; we are also making them cleaner. We are consulting on bringing forward the end of fossil fuel cars and vans to 2035, or earlier if practical. We are taking enormous steps forward The Chancellor has delivered a Budget that includes some of the most ambitious infrastructure programmes seen since the 1950s. It will help to level up this country. Infrastructure that is unreliable, overcrowded and no longer fit for purpose acts as a drag anchor on our entire economy. When it is efficient and gets people where they need to be, it can turn around the fortunes of our towns and cities. With interest rates at an historic low, now is the time to get Britain building.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): As my right hon. Friend knows, I am pressing for a better deal for the Isle of Wight. What are the criteria for the levelling up agenda? The Island is part of the wealthy south-east, but our economy has more in common with the north, or indeed with parts of east Devon and Cornwall, so what does levelling up look like for us? Is it part of the funding settlement or is it infrastructure projects?
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. As many Members across the House will know, people often think that just because a constituency is in a certain part of the country—the south-east in his case—it must be enormously prosperous. Many of us represent enormously deprived communities, perhaps just an individual ward, within an otherwise prosperous area, so it is very important that the criteria for levelling up take that all into account. That is why the Green Book is being rewritten as a result of last week’s Budget. We look forward to hearing more about that in due course With interest rates at an historic low, it is time to get Britain building. That is why the Chancellor set out plans to inject £640 billion by 2024-25 into roads, railways, hospitals, broadband, housing and research, to modernise the fabric of our country, turbo-charge our economy—perhaps to electrically charge our economy —and get every single region of the UK growing, not matter where it is.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Transportation
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman, who has questioned me passionately many times about greening the economy, will appreciate that red diesel contributes tremendously to the problems he often cites. There will be a consultation, so he will have an opportunity to put his concerns on the record, as he has done partially today The Government will provide more details on our investment priorities when we publish our national infrastructure strategy in the spring and the comprehensive spending review later this year. That will include taking forward Northern Powerhouse Rail, having already committed to the section between Manchester and Leeds, and reversing many of the Beeching cuts, as I have mentioned. I am grateful to Members across the House for bringing forward an extraordinary number of potential Beeching reversals, which the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry, is now in the process of assessing, working with colleagues across the House. We are also delivering High Speed 2, to transform rail connections between our major cities while releasing capacity on our existing railways, particularly for freight We will present an integrated rail plan for the north and for the midlands, examining how HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail can best work together, along with wider investment in transport across the regions. We have the largest ever investment in English strategic roads. We have £27 billion to tackle congestion and increase capacity. We have £2.5 billion to fill potholes and ensure that more do not develop. We have £5 billion for the roll-out of broadband, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that our four nations are fully linked together. We have record funding of £5.2 billion for flood defences—we have seen recently how important it is to have that cash going in. We have £4.2 billion for urban transport through long-term settlements with eight mayoral combined authorities. We have £22 billion for science, innovation and technology by 2024-25, to help us develop new products and services to sell around the world Of course, we also have a massive housing programme. We have made significant progress towards building more affordable, high-quality homes in recent years— far more than when I was Housing Minister—and the housing supply is now at its highest level for 32 years, which is quite an achievement. However, we still have a long way to go. The Budget mentioned remedying some of that shortfall, first by extending the affordable homes programme with a multi-year £12 billion settlement, and secondly by helping local authorities to invest while such low interest rates are available.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Grant Shapps (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not want to pre-empt what the Chancellor might say later, but I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. I will repeat what I said at the beginning of my speech and then wrap up my remarks, to allow other Members to contribute. The situation is clearly approaching what we would otherwise, in different times, thing of as a war that this country needs to fight. As in a war, we need to deploy every possible weapon, and of course that will involve a variety of financial and other tools to do precisely that. Nothing must be off our radar when we consider the possible responses Levelling up will not be achieved through a single fiscal event such as the Budget, but it will be part of an integrated plan over the next five years, and I have mentioned already some of the other fiscal events. One of the most powerful agents for change will be the infrastructure programme that I have outlined today to get Britain building. The process will be triggered by an historic investment, through the national infrastructure strategy, the spending review and an autumn Budget later this year. We know that there are big challenges ahead—the most immediate, as hon. Members across the House have said, is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak This Budget is designed to build a strong foundation to make us fairer and more equal as a country, where we harness the potential of every region, and where people’s ambitions can be achieved. But we also recognise that we are doing so in the immediate short term against the backdrop of tackling what is perhaps the greatest health emergency that the country has seen since the Spanish flu. I know that we can do this as a country. I know that we can do this by showing the same spirit that this House has demonstrated in the past few weeks; by working together, finding the right solutions and getting the job done. That is our vision, and that is what we will deliver.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great pleasure to speak in this Budget debate. It is also a great pleasure to speak after some very excellent maiden speeches from my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley (Ian Levy), the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Ian Byrne), and my hon. Friends the Members for Bolton North East (Mark Logan) and for Derbyshire Dales (Miss Dines) I was particularly intrigued by my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley who told us that his wife, Maureen, had said, "If you feel strongly about something get out and do it." That is why he became an MP. His wife Maureen has much in common with my own wife, Sue. Whenever I complain about something, she will say, "You are a Member of Parliament, do something about it." So I endeavour to do so immediately, as you can imagine, Mr Deputy Speaker We plan to level up the whole country, and we are starting very well with this Budget. As we go north, let us also goes south, west and east. Let us do it all while we are at it. We have excellent new Members of Parliament on these Conservative Benches, plus those of us who have been here a little while, to help get this policy delivered, because it is right that we do that. I welcome the Chancellor’s first Budget. He came into the hot seat and delivered an excellent Budget, but the coronavirus has meant that the six days from the time that he delivered the Budget to now is a long time, so I look forward to his statement this evening.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Education
Jonathan Edward Gullis (Conservative, Centre-right): On further education, does my hon. Friend agree that it is so important that we continue with level 2 courses? They may be at a lower level, but for the people my hon. Friend is describing they are an access route to higher level apprenticeships further on.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Energy
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Can I remind my hon. Friend that I think hydrogen cars will be making a big entry into the market very shortly? I am waiting for the hydrogen car, so I do not have to plug it in every night.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Environment
Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (Conservative, Centre-right): Putting my hat on as the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, and having done a lot in previous inquiries on air quality, I should come and see exactly what Aberdeen is doing, because hydrogen has huge capabilities.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not have the detail to give an exact answer to my right hon. Friend, but I do know that hydrogen is mainly produced from water with electricity, so the actual fuel itself is so much cleaner and so much less polluting. I cannot give him all the details of exactly how the engine itself runs, but it uses a clean fuel and gives that support Overall, I believe that this Budget is very good for the future of this country and the people of this country. I look forward, as I have said, to the statement later this evening from the Chancellor, because I think that the thing that is worrying all our populations and all our constituents at the moment is coronavirus. We need to get through this. We need people to have enough income to pay their rent or their mortgage and keep their families running, as well as their businesses, so that we do not have a knock-on effect of business failure bringing other businesses down with it. I look forward to the statement, and I very much welcome this Budget.
Income tax (charge) — House of Commons, 2020-03-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): It is always a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish), who has such knowledge of rural matters. It is also a pleasure to follow so many fine maiden speeches from my hon. Friends the Members for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra), for Blyth Valley (Ian Levy), for Bolton North East (Mark Logan) and for Derbyshire Dales (Miss Dines) and the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Ian Byrne)—they were all fantastic speeches I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I would like to talk primarily about the impact of the current situation on business, but I will touch briefly on levelling up, which was going to dominate my speech. I have always been a huge advocate of levelling up—we used to call it "a fairer deal for the north"—so the investment spending is welcome. However, I have made the point before in the Chamber that simply public sector spending will not do It is said that if all the economists in the world were laid end to end, they still would not reach a conclusion. I will mention two economists who have different views on this subject. Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, said that connectivity is crucial to prosperity. At the other end of the scale, Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs points to places like Doncaster, which are very well connected, yet their economy is not in great shape. The arbiter on this is another economist, David Smith, who writes in The Sunday Times. He says that public sector spending without private sector investment is a waste of money, so we need to ensure that we encourage and incentivise the private sector to invest One way of doing that is through super enterprise zones. We could look at the devolved regions. The Tees Valley is a very good example in my neighbourhood. There are nine devolved regions, each with an elected Mayor, and of all those regions, the Tees Valley comes bottom in terms of average wages and GDP. We could, for example, make the bottom three combined authorities super enterprise zones for their entire area, with enhanced capital allowances and no business rates.