argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I reassure my hon. Friend that it has always been the case that both Concentrix and HMRC were pursuing matters of error and fraud; it was not the case that only Concentrix was doing so. HMRC will continue to pursue error and fraud cases. In recent years the Government have put additional resource into supporting HMRC’s work on general tax avoidance and evasion, and compliance.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments on the priority given to resolving problems of this nature. It is worth reiterating that, through the contract, we have secured more than £280 million of identified savings in terms of error and fraud. There continues to be considerable fraud, particularly with regard to whether people live singularly in a household. It is important to recognise that the contract has brought important benefits to the taxpayer I recognise the right hon. Gentleman’s challenge on the nature of the contract. Such contracts have their place, but they must work appropriately. The contract must work to do the thing it set out to do, but it must at all times work for taxpayers and, above all, for the vulnerable. I will reflect on his wider point if I may, but I give him reassurance on that general point.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Energy
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): It is important to note that the decision has been taken by HMRC not to renew the contract. To that extent, the decision for a private company such as Concentrix on what it does beyond that point is clearly a matter for the company. If the right hon. Gentleman has concerns of that nature, colleagues in the territorial office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be happy to talk to him in the normal way. It is important to stress that this is not a decision to end a contract here and now, but a decision not to renew it in the spring.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I hope I can give that reassurance for the future. To date, it has always been the case that, when the Government contract a supplier to provide a service, it should be provided to the right standard, and that contracts are monitored and we ensure that service levels are acceptable to Members and their constituents.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The National Audit Office found that the Concentrix contract delivered savings of £500,000 in 2014-15 compared with the original estimate of £285 million. It was expected to deliver at best half the original savings planned in the contract. As we have heard, and as we have learned from our constituency postbags, there were a large number of errors in the process. What more can the Government do to improve the tendering process in future, particularly at HMRC, and to improve the managerial capability at HMRC, so that we do not have such mistakes in future?
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I again urge hon. Members to keep a degree of perspective. Many contracts deliver what we want. It is worth noting that the Concentrix contract delivered more than £280 million in savings to the taxpayer, which represents a sensible return on that investment. I have said what I have said about service levels—they must be acceptable and to the standard we have contracted for—and there are circumstances in which the use of private companies offers a cost-effective way to get something that the Government might not otherwise have, which could mean flexible capacity or the capacity to do something for an uncertain period. Sometimes, the flexibility that such contracts offer makes it easier than doing something in-house. I take the hon. Gentleman’s points and will reflect on them but I do not draw the same general conclusion as he does.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Atta-Ur-Rehman Chishti (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Minister’s statement and concur with the excellent point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne). The Minister will know that genuine errors are made by constituents and HMRC. Going by one’s casework and constituency surgeries, it seems that sometimes full compassion is not shown by HMRC when looking at the circumstances when a genuine error is made. Can we ensure that that is done in those difficult circumstances for those who are most vulnerable and in need?
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): As a constituency MP who has dealt with a number of cases, I am pleased to note the action the Government have taken. That said, as a member of the Public Accounts Committee I have also sat through numerous reports on the quality of service HMRC provides, which is at times hardly of gold standard. What reassurance does the Minister have that, with HMRC picking up some of this work, we will not see a drop-off in the standard of services elsewhere and in future arrangements?
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not believe that that will be the case. HMRC has been dealing with cases at the same time as Concentrix throughout the period of the contract. I have been assured that the 150 additional staff deployed with immediate effect will be focused on this. I have no reason to believe that any other services will suffer. My hon. Friend’s point is well made and will be re-emphasised to HMRC.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry to hear that the hon. Gentleman had that difficult experience. I cannot agree with his general point about there being no role for the private sector in this regard. I refer again to the amount of money that has been saved for the taxpayer. There is a lot of error and fraud in the system, and it is important that we bear down on that. We do not want money to go to people for whom it is not appropriate, in particular in relation to the nature of people’s households. Much of the fraud does rest in that area. As he highlights, this is a particularly difficult and sensitive area to investigate, but we need to continue to investigate it because the amount of fraud in the area of tax credits is considerable.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry to hear about the case the hon. Lady mentions on behalf of her constituent. She raises a wider issue about the modernisation project that HMRC is going through. Perhaps it would be more appropriate if she wrote to me. Although the process of modernisation means that some regional offices are closing, it is important because it is fundamentally about delivering a better and more modernised service in the future for all our constituents.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): It is documented that at times in the past HMRC has had problems with answering its phones, but I think that of late some of the information in the public domain is rather out of date. Indeed, performance in answering phones is considerably better and has reached a very good standard in recent weeks. It is important to retain some balance. It is worth noting that Concentrix has amended about 103,000 claims following the checks it has made. I reiterate that this has been an important exercise, but clearly it needs to be done in the right way.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry to hear that the hon. Lady’s constituent has had such a difficult time. Obviously, without knowing the details of the case it is very difficult to comment across the Dispatch Box. I urge her to use the resource I have referred to throughout this urgent question to take up the case. I hope it can be resolved in that way as soon as possible. I have emphasised—HMRC is very aware of this—that speed is of the essence where people have had their tax credits erroneously stopped. She is right that there is error in the system. I reiterate the point that this is a too-complex system, which is exactly why the Government are looking to make major long-term reforms. Even the honest taxpayer can easily fall into error with a system that was so complex in its design from the start.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): HMRC has data analytics and operational experience to deliver the kind of savings we are looking for in reducing error and fraud. Practical measures such as simplifying the tax credit system, better monitoring of changes of income through real-time information and improved detection of fraud will obviously go forward. They are all important parts of making sure that we improve performance. It is worth noting again that hundreds of millions of pounds to the taxpayer have been saved by reducing error and fraud. We want to make it harder for people to make errors in the future.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been a Minister in this Department since mid-July. I have not met Concentrix because I have not been the Minister for that long. Clearly, however, my predecessor colleagues have done so. I have been working with HMRC on regular monitoring. Given the interest from colleagues of all parties in recent weeks, I have been getting daily updates from HMRC on terms of performance. In the relatively short time I have been in my post, particularly in view of the summer recess, I have not had a chance to meet Concentrix. On the hon. Lady’s general point, I am sure that HMRC will be disappointed to hear it, but I am also sure that it will want to reflect on her words.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Technology
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): I will certainly ask that question, but I cannot give any assurance that it will be possible to alter the situation during the time that the contract has left to run. The hon. Lady highlights an important point about where we go in the future with these sorts of systems. It further highlights the fact that the more we can make these things digital and make it easier for people to get right, the more likely we are to avoid these sorts of unhappy situations.
Tax Credits: Concentrix — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Government Operations
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said a number of times, the contract is not going to be renewed; it has not been terminated. To that extent, consideration of whether any contract is renewed will take place in the normal course of events. The hon. Gentleman provides me with an opportunity to place on record my thanks to the many Concentrix staff who are working hard at their jobs and trying to resolve problems. At the same time as we shine a light on areas where performance is unacceptable, it is really important to take the chance to reflect on the fact that many people are working hard to do their jobs as well as possible to provide a good level of service. Indeed, many people are succeeding in that regard.
Social Security — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Social Welfare
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me emphasise that this order fulfils a vital commitment made as part of the "Fresh Start" agreement. We have had a robust debate on some of the historical aspects of how we got to this point. In the interests of time, I think it best that I do not reflect further on that. Suffice it to say that the two largest parties in the Assembly signed up to the "Fresh Start" agreement of which this legislation was a crucial part. Moreover, the Assembly passed a legislative consent motion supporting the legislation to be dealt with here in Westminster. As the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) said, Northern Ireland has long kept to parity on social security, as set out in section 87 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Restoring that parity is a crucial part of keeping the Executive’s finances stable. The provisions on the welfare supplementary payments will be put forward in full detail by the Executive and the Assembly In response to the question about taxation from the hon. Member for South Down (Ms Ritchie), supplementary payments to non-taxable benefits will be non-taxable, and supplementary payments to taxable benefits will be taxable, so the tax treatment will be the same as in the current system This order is a crucial part of delivering the "Fresh Start" agreement. It will help to build a politically and financially stable Northern Ireland. I commend it to the House Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That the draft Welfare Reform and Work (Northern Ireland) Order 2016, which was laid before this House on 6 July, be approved.
NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Technology
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): Is there not a real challenge to reconcile the reticence to change and adapt with the clear imperative to have new technologies and new ways of doing things that can offer a step change, which are often resisted? Consultation will not necessarily deal with that.
NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kwasi Alfred Addo Kwarteng (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great honour to be able to speak in this important debate. We have heard some very interesting contributions, and some contributions which were, perhaps, less constructive. I will not state publicly which are which, but I would like to take up what was said by the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Brown), who spoke of Labour’s commitment to meeting the OECD’s health spending average in 2001 I think it perfectly acceptable, in a discussion of this kind, to point out that in 2001 the Labour Government had succeeded in running a balanced budget for four years, more or less, and we thought at the time that we had the money to meet that commitment. Having been a member of the Labour Government, the right hon. Gentleman will recall that over the next nine or 10 years we ran consecutive deficits, and as a consequence of policy that I happen to believe was misguided in many instances we had a deficit of £160 billion when the coalition Government took office in 2010. Given the circumstances, it was inevitable that there would be a constraint on finance, and that is something that we have to speak about If I recall correctly, the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford), whose speech I enjoyed very much, said that we kept talking about finance, and that it should be the third consideration. I wish it were as easy as that—I wish we could relegate finance to a subordinate, back-burner role—but I do not think that that would be fair to the country, or to our constituents.
Nottingham Express Transit Extension — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Nottingham is not alone in having a tram system. Many other great cities in our country have tram systems, and many of the lessons to be learned will apply to them too. There is nothing new in it I like the tram, but, my goodness, we are going to need to have more debates in this place about the cost of trams, and the fact that they have to connect with other types of transport. That is absolutely critical. It is a crying shame that cyclists have found that the tram tracks are dangerous. I do not think there is any doubt about that, but if there is, we will have another debate about it, and I look forward to that. We have to connect up transport. Another thing that has come out of this is that there are now parts of my constituency where people cannot use their bicycle because of the narrowness of the route. This also applies to HS2. It is critical that we get the routes right so that we do not have a situation where a tram track, as in my constituency, is winding around when there was no doubt a better route that would have far better delivered people along the transport system and reduced the amount of disruption As I say, there are lessons to be learned. I look forward to my hon. Friend the Minister coming to Beeston, seeing the tram system, and speaking to my brilliant constituents. I know that he will take up these lessons and, I hope, apply them to all infrastructure projects as they go forward.
Nottingham Express Transit Extension — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): I note the hon. Gentleman’s comments. I hope I have made it clear that I think there are immense benefits from light rail, both in Nottingham and around the country, but those positive aspects should not minimise the impact on those who live immediately adjacent to the tram tracks, who may encounter disruption. In my constituency the tram track has been there for 100 years, so when it was upgraded the disruption was no surprise to anyone. When we are planning new tram routes, that may come as more of a surprise to people, who were not expecting the route to appear on a particular road. It will always be a case, I suppose, of horses for courses.
Nottingham Express Transit Extension — House of Commons, 2016-09-14
Topic: Transportation
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that we might have an interesting debate in this place about the safety of tram tracks and bicycles? There are many examples in Sheffield and Edinburgh, I believe, and not just in Nottingham, of people who have suffered. I have a constituent who nearly died as a result of their wheels getting stuck in tram tracks. Does my hon. Friend share my concern? I can assure him that in a large part of the scheme in Nottingham, including in my constituency, the tram track and cycle routes are coterminous.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make a statement on the recent decision by the High Court on the right of parents to take their children on holiday during term time.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): I am about to conclude, Mr Speaker We are awaiting the written judgment from the High Court and will outline our next steps in due course. The House should be assured that we will seek to take whatever measures are necessary to give schools and local authorities the power and clarity to ensure that children attend school when they should.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): Before 2013 authorised family holidays made up between 5% and 6% of pupil absences. That figure dropped to 2.3% in 2013-14 and to 1.2% in 2014-15. With the greatest respect to my hon. Friend, I do not believe that we should be returning to the Dickensian world where the needs of industry and commerce take precedence over the education of children. His constituency of St Austell and Newquay, in the beautiful county of Cornwall, has a hugely successful and thriving tourism industry that generates about £2 billion of income for the UK economy. I doubt that the Cornish tourism industry will be best pleased by his assertion that tourism in Cornwall is dependent on truanting children for its survival.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): I listened carefully to the hon. Gentleman, but I do feel that he is not on the same side as us with regard to raising school standards. Improving school attendance is absolutely key to raising academic standards. Under the previous Labour Government, it became accepted wisdom that parents could take their children out of school for term-time holidays for up to 10 days a year. Those numbers were causing an issue for us. We had to address the problem that we inherited from the previous Labour Government—[Interruption.]
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): I am most grateful to you, Mr Speaker Under the previous Labour Government it had become accepted wisdom that parents could take their children out of school for term-time holidays for up to 10 days a year. We had to address that popular perception, and that is why the regulations were changed in 2013. In 2012, 32.7 million pupil days were lost owing to authorised absences. That figure has fallen to 28.6 million in 2014-15—that is, some 4 million fewer pupil school days lost as a consequence of the changes to the 2013 regulations. That is a huge success, and I wish that the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) would support the change.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Oliver Heald (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Minister agree that taking children out of school to come to the mother of all Parliaments to learn about our democracy is one thing, but taking them to Orlando, Florida is another? I welcome the rigour that he has brought to the subject of education, moving away from the "playways" type of Labour approach. Does he agree that if this country is going to succeed, it needs to take education seriously?
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. This is about social justice. When parents with income take their children out of school to go to Florida, that sends a message to everyone that school attendance is not important. There is no circumstance in which a trip to Disney World can be regarded as educational.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman, for whom I have huge admiration for his work as the former chair of the Education Committee, is right. We need to look at these issues in a more fundamental way. That is why we have given academies the freedom to set their term dates. I say to the hon. Gentleman and, indeed, to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) that they should be helping to co-ordinate schools so that they set different term dates that help their own tourism industries.
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Lucy Allan (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Minister agree that educational attainment is directly correlated to attendance and that narrowing the attainment gap and raising standards must be a priority for any Government who care about the future of our children?
Term-time Holidays — House of Commons, 2016-05-19
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is ample evidence that even taking a few days off school can have a serious effect on a child’s education, particularly in those secondary school years leading up to GCSE, but also in primary education, where the pattern of attendance is set. Charlie Taylor, our behavioural expert in the last Parliament, took the view that it is more important to set the precedent in primary school, so that when children enter secondary school they are already in the habit of attending school every day.