argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-09
Topic: Immigration
Alexander Scrymgeour (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, within this grouping, I support amendments that protect reciprocal rights of United Kingdom citizens and those of EEA countries and Switzerland. Following current changes regarding immigration, these include the need for regular impact assessments on skills shortages, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, in Amendment 59; the emphasis of the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, in Amendment 75, on assisting arrangements for short-term EEA and Swiss nationals for business purposes; equally to do so, as advocated in Amendment 69 by the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, and others, to achieve free movement of persons involved in arts and entertainment activities; and to do the same, as urged in Amendment 97 by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Bristol, for members and representatives of faith communities. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, also reminds us, in Amendment 34, of the importance of continuous "recruitment of international research and innovation staff to the United Kingdom" I come now to my own Amendment 76 on "Leave to enter for education, research, training and student exchange" It goes without saying that, from the Middle Ages, when it was notably in evidence, free movement in education has always been part of the United Kingdom’s and Europe’s culture and expectations Nevertheless, when, shortly before it was created in 1949, Winston Churchill urged a Council of Europe for the healing of wounds and the bringing together of minds, by implication he also did so in terms of education, research, training and student exchange. As a result, in 1953, the United Kingdom signed the European Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas leading to Admission to Universities as well as the European Convention on the Academic Recognition of University Qualifications Predating our membership of the European Union as this did, yet continuing our proactive membership of the Council of Europe, which we do, the case for following Churchill’s advice in these respects is all the stronger now that we leave the European Union I hope that my noble friend the Minister agrees and is able to accept Amendment 76.
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-09
Topic: Immigration
Gloria Dorothy Hooper (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I too have considerable sympathy with all the amendments in this grouping. However, I am happy to follow the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham, as a co-mover of Amendment 97, and will confine my remarks to that new clause. This is, as the right reverend Prelate had said, a probing amendment. We hope that the Government can use this debate to clarify the next steps and perhaps give us some idea of a timetable I appreciate that the definition of faith communities may give us some difficulties but, as a Roman Catholic, I wish to present some of the challenges facing the Catholic Church in relation to the changes being introduced in this Bill. The Catholic Church is, after all, a very international body. Movement between different countries within religious orders, and for educational and other purposes, is an integral part of that internationalism In the course of preparing my brief for this debate, I have learnt a lot about the various categories of visas, something I was previously unaware of. I can fully appreciate what a struggle it is to cope with all the requirements. As the right reverend Prelate has said, most Catholic diocese have previously used tier 5 religious worker visas, for the reasons that he stated. Supply placements are essential, as they allow us to continue attending mass, while also keeping parish activities running smoothly. The new requirement, introduced in 2019, was for anybody who was preaching to use tier 2 minister of religion visas. That has more than doubled the cost incurred by parishes arranging supply cover. For some parishes, this is unsustainable and that of course compromises people’s opportunity to practise their faith Furthermore, seminaries that conduct formation in English are not necessarily recognised by the Home Office as meeting the English language requirement under the tier 2 route. This means that many priests, who may have been educated to postgraduate level in English, are nevertheless required to take a language test, with extra logistical and cost implications. Unless some changes are made, the situation will of course be further aggravated as a result of the end of free movement following Brexit. Priests coming from European Union countries to provide supply cover will now also be subject to the same regime This new clause is intended to give the Government the opportunity to keep Parliament informed, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister about government thinking on this issue.
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-09
Topic: Other
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank both noble Lords for their comments. They reinforce the passion of the advocacy made by noble Lords this evening, across a very wide range of sectors and subject areas. I absolutely will go through Hansard and ensure that I follow up on the range of points made in this long, but valuable and important, debate covering a number of important topics.
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2020-10-09
Topic: Other
Alastair Cooke (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now begin. Some Members are here in the Chamber, respecting social distancing, others are participating remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. If the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn the House.
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Obligations of Hospitality Undertakings) (England) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-10-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
Patrick Cormack (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, every day when I travel to and from your Lordships’ House, I use a black cab. I am a great believer in black cabs. I am also a considerable believer in the sagacity of black cab drivers. They see it all. I have been told a number of times in the past few weeks of the chaos at 10’clock at night, of people milling around parts of London and cab drivers asking, "What are you really doing in that building of yours?" The noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, gave some amusing examples—or they would be amusing if they were not so fatuous and serious at one and the same time—such as the dancing of the bride and groom but not of the parents. It is really absurd. I say to my noble friend, for whom I have considerable affection and regard, that we need clarity. We need consistency. We need proper co-ordination and co-operation. In doing that, we need to bring people together to discuss these things. We need to have proper debate, not—I have said this before—a series of two-minute statements. I hope we can have a Joint Committee of both Houses looking at this. I hope that the leader of the Opposition, who is a lawyer of considerable qualities, can be brought into consultations at an official level, because the country has got to be united. If it is not, we will drift from chaos to more chaos. I beg my noble friend to convey those messages to his ministerial colleagues.
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Obligations of Hospitality Undertakings) (England) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-10-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Sayeeda Warsi (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I support the Government in trying, in very difficult circumstances, to strike a balance between public health and the economy In my allotted two minutes, I will focus on businesses that operate as both restaurants and wedding venues, loosely termed. Many do not conduct the wedding ceremony on their premises; they simply provide a space for a meal to be served. This service is an essential part of the viability of many of these businesses, often subsidising other aspects of the business. Provided that these business can stop the mingling, singing and dancing that my noble friend referred to—and many of the businesses I have spoken to have assured me that they can—what is stopping the Government allowing such meals to take place? These premises host large numbers of people for meals in a safe and socially distanced way on a daily basis as part of the restaurant service, so why can they not do so for a specific purpose? Surely our response should be based on safety, science and, as my noble friend Lord Lilley put it so powerfully, simple common sense Our approach appears to lack a sophisticated understanding of the diverse hospitality industry and how it operates. I therefore urge my noble friend to ask the Government to think again regarding numbers at socially distanced, seated wedding meals to ensure that we stop many struggling businesses in the hospitality sector simply closing permanently.
Covid-19: Local Restrictions — House of Lords, 2020-10-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Bethell (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely defer to the noble Baroness’s expertise in matters to do with the devolved Administrations, but I reassure her that there are numerous calls every day between Whitehall and the DAs on Covid. We very much celebrate the achievement of a four-nations approach. There are divergences in some procedural matters between the different countries; that is entirely to be expected—indeed, celebrated—as it enhances the effectiveness of our measures. But I completely take on board the noble Baroness’s points and we will endeavour to ensure that communication between Whitehall and the DAs remains firm and solid.
Covid-19: Local Restrictions — House of Lords, 2020-10-09
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Bethell (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I note and take very seriously the noble Viscount’s comments on the state of our legislative response to the epidemic. There will no doubt be a time for reflection, learning the lessons of the epidemic and reviewing the legislative processes that we have available. This is not the time; the challenge of Covid is still very much a clear and present danger, but we will take on board his recommendation to reflect and improve on the structures we already have.
Covid-19 Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Ralph Matthew Palmer (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, my noble friend the Minister will know that I have written to him about a local business that I am sure is not alone in that, since the beginning of lockdown, its business, which is in exhibitions, has shrunk by 90%. It does not see any business coming back until autumn next year. It has taken out loans, made redundancies and done everything sensible, but the business rates keep having to be paid month on month on month, and that is getting extremely hard for it. What can the Government do to help businesses in that sort of circumstance?
Covid-19 Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Theodore Agnew (Conservative, Centre-right): I share my noble friend’s concern about small businesses: it is absolutely ghastly for all these people. I want to explain to him that all eligible businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure will pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1 April 2020 until March next year. This support is worth almost £10 billion to business, and an estimated 735,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will be included in this over that period. There is no rateable value threshold on the support; businesses large and small can benefit. In addition to the business rates holiday, the Government have announced further measures in response to the second lockdown: as I mentioned to the noble Baroness a moment ago, cash grants of up to £3,000 a month, and the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until 2 December.
Covid-19 Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Housing
Theodore Agnew (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, we will keep all these issues under review. As the right reverend Prelate will probably be aware, we have extended payment holidays on mortgages and certain consumer credit products to take pressure off individuals. In relation to his rental suggestions, we will keep them under review and will keep the House notified.
Covid-19 Lockdown: Economic Support — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Theodore Agnew (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, my honourable friend the Economic Secretary is in constant dialogue with the banks on how all these schemes operate; he continues to try to help to improve them. If the noble Lord would like to write to me on the specific concern he mentioned, I will ensure that it gets the proper attention.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Tariq Ahmad (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, on the noble Baroness’s second point, as she will be aware, the Iranians do not recognise Nazanin’s dual national status. We made that representation; it was declined. On the IMS dispute, I assure the noble Baroness that discussions are ongoing to explore further options to resolve this 40 year-old case, but it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the case at this time because of those ongoing discussions.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Lucy Neville-Rolfe (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I was glad to see Amendment 149. It is always good to be clear about legal privilege to avoid needless or inappropriate fishing expeditions by regulatory staff, and it matters for in-house counsel as well as for external lawyers. It would be good to be clear on the Government’s intentions I also support the sentiment behind Amendments 150 and 156. We need to look after small business, the economic dynamism of which reflects a UK sector that was the envy of everyone when I was the Competitiveness Minister in Brussels. There is much in this Bill that they might fear: rules of which they are unaware; costs, as the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, suggested, from burdensome requests; big fines; and quasi borders created between the different nations of the UK. I worked with the Federation of Small Businesses on regulation and getting them paid on time, and I try to promote a positive climate for the scale-up of small businesses, rather than a sale to a Silicon Valley, or other, giant after a short run of success. How will the Bill help small businesses, and are there dangers lurking here?
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Lucy Neville-Rolfe (Conservative, Centre-right): I have another couple of points for clarification by my noble friend. First, does legal privilege apply to in-house counsel, provided that they are properly qualified lawyers? I would be happy for the Minister to write to me about that. Secondly, he referred in the debate about small business to Clause 32(4), and helpfully explained that the CMA will advise on regulatory proposals before laws are made, which provides an opportunity for small business interests to be taken into account. However, my concern was also about enforcement of the law, which would bear particularly harshly on small businesses that do not have the same fancy legal departments as others. I am not sure that the clause deals with that but would be delighted if I was wrong.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anne McIntosh (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank everyone who has contributed, including my noble friend the Minister in summing up the debate. We had an excellent discussion on the issues, and I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, for raising them because they are pertinent. I am slightly confused as to why it is necessary to include in the Bill powers that already exist. We are told that they are not new, yet my noble friend will not agree to include in the Bill a matter that is already causing alarm I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, for alerting me to the Constitution Committee report in that regard. It has highlighted its concern and received a verbal undertaking from the Lord Chancellor. I should repeat that we are referring to the Law Society of Scotland, not the Scottish Law Commission. If both the committee of this House and the Law Society of Scotland are concerned, that verbal reassurance is not enough. I may well reflect on the matter and come back on Report. However, for the moment, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to debate this matter and I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lucy Neville-Rolfe (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, this Committee is nearing its end, apart from Part 5. I support the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, in her forensic efforts to probe the purpose of Clauses 38 to 40. I welcome my noble friend Lord Tyrie to today’s debate. Although I do not agree with him on fines or general powers, he makes a very good point about digital information. I am sorry he was not here for the debate on where the OIM sits. As he says, that is something we hope to debate again on Report. On the plus side, these clauses give a great deal of detail. I usually complain to the Minister that EU exit Bills fail to do just that and leave too much to regulations. On the minus side, these are extremely strong powers of enforcement with very high penalties—for example, fixed fines of up to £30,000 would make many a small company bankrupt. There is no due diligence defence that I can see or provision allowing a reasonable excuse. The CMA can use its own discretion to decide whether a request for information has been complied with and can impose a financial penalty if it thinks there has been obstruction or delay. Such powers are fiercer than those of the police. The Minister will be able to tell us whether the CMA has those powers in relation to competition law and perhaps explain in each case why they are justified in the internal market Bill which, as many have said, is a little different from competition law Moreover, we do not know to which regulations these various measures and penalties will apply. Can the Minister kindly take us through some examples of their proposed use? He may have done this elsewhere; if so, I am sorry if I missed that. Perhaps more importantly, could he lay some sample regulations for us to review before Report, as his predecessor did so helpfully on the Bill relating to nuclear issues on EU exit I worry that both Houses of Parliament have been distracted by unease with Part 5 of the Bill into agreeing wide-ranging, open-ended and burdensome powers in these clauses and, for the first time, on services, the beating heart of the economies in all four nations of the UK. All this has been relatively lightly scrutinised despite our efforts, and experience shows that some nasty surprises might be in store. I am keen to work with others to minimise those while generally supporting the Bill’s direction of travel.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Lucy Neville-Rolfe (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my noble friend for his assurance on commencement. He did not answer my specific questions, but I think that the answer in general terms was that the Government have taken the same powers as the CMA has on competition and applied them pro rata. Perhaps I can pick up something that the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, said earlier. I wonder whether we could look at this line by line to see whether things are or are not all the same; that would be a helpful Committee-type process I really got up to ask a question about examples. The Minister helpfully gave an example of a penalty regulation—he said that he might make regulations with penalties under £30,000, perhaps at a lower level for particular things—but I am confused about what kind of regulations are going to be made here. That may be an impossible question to answer but if my noble friend could give us some more examples, perhaps ones that are in draft or have gone out to consultation, it would be incredibly helpful.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Martin Callanan (Conservative, Centre-right): I referred in my earlier speech to the need to make regulations setting the maximum penalty, which the Secretary of State will do, but I will write to my noble friend if there are any other examples of regulations that we feel we may need to make.
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Michael Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the idea behind this new clause has validity, and particularly will after the pandemic, whenever it is over. There is little doubt that some companies will be strong after the pandemic because they happen to be in a particular market, and others will be extremely weak and looking to be rescued somehow. The only problem I have is that the new clause refers to the "duty to consider the internal market" when in fact, that is the only market that will apply from 1 January onwards as far as the UK is concerned. So, it is not as though it is one of several markets; it is the only market in my judgment The noble Baroness is quite right that in some of the markets, there are already signs that things are happening. In the fintech market, things are undoubtedly moving quickly—for example, in sections such as payments and operations. You only have to read the Financial Times regularly, as I am sure a lot of noble Lords do, to see that things are moving all the time there. Equally, a fair number of our universities have what you might call cradle operations or primary operations, whereby they are looking to develop research that they believe might be marketable. Many are quoted companies; others are not. There is a lot of activity happening Although it is undoubtedly true that we want to see both paragraphs (a) and (b) happen, given the original role of the CMA, which emerged from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, I think it pretty inconceivable that it would not look at these aspects. My noble friend on the Front Bench will be able to clarify that more than I am able to If there is not sufficient cover within the current Bill and other parts of the law, I hope my noble friend will look upon the amendment seriously. If that degree of cover already exists, I can understand why, although the issue is worth looking at and talking about, it may not be appropriate to deal with it in a new clause.