argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Labor
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): I say to the hon. Gentleman, for whom I have enormous respect, that one has to look at the sum total of what the Government are putting forward. He will know that about 4 million people are being furloughed under the job retention scheme and that support is available through grant schemes, which I talked about in my response to the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband). Of course it is important that we support businesses, and we will continue to do that.
Support for Vaccine Manufacturing and Life Sciences Sector — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: International Affairs
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. We are absolutely committed to working with international partners in tackling the pandemic, ensuring the UK is contributing to, and indeed benefiting from, efforts around the globe. At the global coronavirus response summit, which the UK is co-hosting, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has today confirmed the £388 million from the UK towards the global £8 billion target for research and development into covid-19.
Covid-19: New Ways of Working — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Labor
Amanda Jane Solloway (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We are engaging with businesses, business representative organisations and unions to get a shared view on how workplaces are made as safe as possible for when people return to work. We will work with industry and other key Administrations to help develop an understanding of how business can adapt to a world where restrictions may last for some time.
Covid-19: New Ways of Working — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Amanda Jane Solloway (Conservative, Centre-right): As the Prime Minister said, we want to get the economy moving as fast as we can, but we refuse to throw away all the effort and sacrifice of the British people and risk another major outbreak. We will be relying on science to inform us, as we have from the beginning. We will also be reaching out to build the biggest possible consensus across business, industry and all parts of the United Kingdom.
Covid-19: UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Technology
Amanda Jane Solloway (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The UK Space Agency, working with NHS England and the European Space Agency, has made £2.6 million available for "close to market" ideas to manage pandemics. A new, fast contracting process will ensure swift development. The agency is also working with UK Research and Innovation to explore how drones can support health services.
Covid-19: UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Technology
Andrew Griffith (Conservative, Centre-right): May I join my hon. Friend the Minister in thanking the space industry for its help with the crisis? Does she agree that investment in the UK space sector has a vital role to play in growing the UK economy, and could she confirm that programmes such as the global navigation satellite system and Skynet 6 are moving ahead at pace?
Covid-19: UK Space Industry — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Technology
Amanda Jane Solloway (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The growing UK space sector employs 42,000 people and contributes £300 billion to the wider UK economy by providing satellite services on which many industries rely. The UK Space Agency continues to investigate the requirements, design specifications and cost of a UK GNSS capability, and it is working closely with the Ministry of Defence to support activities under the Skynet contract. We are working hard to develop a UK space strategy to generate further economic growth across the country.
Covid-19: Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): The best way, probably, to help small business in rural areas such as Lincolnshire is to beef up broadband. That is for the long term, but does the Minister accept that, in the short term, the best way to help businesses is to let them do business, not subsidise them to close? I know we have to help vulnerable people, but it is not going to help the vulnerable in the long term if we crash the economy, so are the Government working full pelt, obviously consistent with proper social distancing, to get business back to work?
Covid-19: Support for Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Energy
Laura Rose Farris (Conservative, Centre-right): I represent a number of businesses in Newbury that specialise in renewable energy. A secondary effect of the pandemic has been a collapse in demand for fossil fuel. When the economy begins its recovery, what support will my right hon. Friend be able to give to clean energy suppliers, to ensure a greener and more resilient energy infrastructure?
Covid-19: Support for Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Energy
Kwasi Alfred Addo Kwarteng (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is quite right. We are absolutely committed to net zero and will continue to support the development of clean energy. The fourth round of allocations for contracts for difference will take place next year, bringing forward new renewable electricity projects and creating further demand for the many businesses across the UK that supply them. The unprecedented package of support for businesses, which was mentioned earlier, will help ensure that businesses in the clean energy sector can contribute to driving economic recovery after this pandemic.
Covid-19: Support for Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Labor
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Government please give local authorities and local enterprise partnerships real-time access to sector-level information about the furloughs and redundancies, and back ambitious enterprise and incentive schemes for them to help businesses to recover and transform after the virus?
Covid-19: Support for Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Labor
Kwasi Alfred Addo Kwarteng (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I would like to clarify our current position: we have prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible, and in order to target that support at those most in need, the Government have chosen to cap the self-employment income support scheme. Those who are not able to access the scheme may be able to access other wide-ranging measures that the Government are providing, which are designed to support businesses across all sectors during these difficult times. I am very happy for my hon. Friend to engage with the Department and me on the issue.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Ineligible Workers — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Labor
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): My Department is working closely with the Treasury on the coronavirus job retention scheme and the wider Government response. In developing the scheme, the Government have prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible.
PPE Manufacture: UK Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very important point. We do need to show flexibility in the way in which procurement operates, particularly in order to ensure that we have domestic production in the future upon which we can rely. My right hon. Friend Lord Deighton is leading the work in this area.
PPE Manufacture: UK Businesses — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Government Operations
William Peter Wragg (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the key issues on this rather vexed subject is that of transparency. Would my right hon. Friend consider releasing the figures that he and other members of Government are made aware of each morning on the Cabinet Office dashboard to show stocks and quantities of PPE set against demand?
Ventilators — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Energy
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, of course. We have been working with 11 new potential, or existing potential, suppliers, but more than 5,000 businesses have been involved, offering to provide services, because, of course, when producing a complex machine such as a ventilator, we need to make sure that we source everything from the appropriate batteries, the appropriate valves and the appropriate other technology. As I say, 5,000 businesses, including Rolls-Royce, have been involved in the manufacture.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): From 20 to 24 April, a full and constructive negotiating round took place, with a full range of discussions across all workstreams. Our next scheduled round of talks with our EU friends will take place in the week beginning 11 May.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman provides a helpful list of conditions, but it is none of those. It is plain prudence. Were we to perpetuate our membership of the European Union-lite through the transition period, we would end up spending more taxpayers’ money, which could be spent on the NHS. We would have to accept new EU rules that might constrain our ability to fight covid-19 and to deal with other crises, and we would, of course, be unfortunately and unfairly trespassing on the EU’s need to concentrate on other vital priorities.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. There have been cordial conversations and negotiations between our negotiator David Frost and Michel Barnier, and I would not want to prejudice those by making any criticism of Michel Barnier, other than to say that he will negotiate hard on behalf of the Commission, but we will negotiate hard on behalf of the whole United Kingdom.
EU Withdrawal Agreement: Covid-19 — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the point he makes. There will not be a no-deal Brexit; we have a deal, and that deal was legislated for in the House of Commons. I think he is right: it is important that we give business certainty, and I think one of the best ways of giving business certainty is recognising that we respect referendums. That is why this House has voted to respect the referendum that saw the British people take us out of the European Union, and I would urge him and others to respect the referendum that made it clear that the people of Scotland want to stay in the United Kingdom, instead of having the damaging uncertainty of an indyref2 hanging over future investment decisions.
Transition Period: Extension — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): As I think Members will appreciate given previous exchanges, the Government will not be extending the transition period. Indeed, Parliament has legislated to prevent Ministers from agreeing to such an extension. The Government will therefore continue to negotiate a new fair trade deal with the EU, the process of which will conclude by the end of December.
Transition Period: Extension — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): This Government always put pragmatism and the interests of the British people first. The hon. Lady mentioned a YouGov poll. There was another poll, on 12 December last year; it was called a general election, and my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) secured a majority in order to take this country out of the European Union on the basis of the deal that he negotiated. The Liberal Democrats took part in that poll. I cannot recall exactly how well they did, but it certainly the case that they were not entrusted by the British people with the discharge of policy on our relationship with the EU.
Covid-19: False Information Online — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Technology
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): Misleading information about coronavirus, whether it is maliciously intended or not, could cost lives. The work to tackle false information is led by our colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport across all of Government. We are also working closely with social media platforms to help them to remove dangerous incorrect claims about the virus and promoting steps that everyone can take to reduce the spread of false information.
Covid-19: Armed Forces Support for NHS Trusts — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Government Operations
James Sunderland (Conservative, Centre-right): Given the challenging operational circumstances in which key workers have found themselves in recent weeks, what steps are being taken by the Cabinet Office to recognise those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and might those steps manifest themselves in the form of a campaign medal?
Covid-19: Large-scale Testing and Tracing — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Government Operations
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly there are very strict protocols that surround any kind of procurement or pilot that might take place across any Government Department. Those protocols have given us confidence in the past, and there is no reason why they should not in the future. If the hon. Gentleman has concerns, he should raise them with the relevant Minister and certainly with the Cabinet Office, but those protocols are strong and have stood us in good stead; we have transparency around these issues.
Covid-19: Large-scale Testing and Tracing — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Education
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right that ensuring that we have the right testing and the right volume of testing in place is one of the five criteria for our being able to reopen society and ease lockdown measures. I know that there have been issues with the voucher system, and the Department for Education has been looking at that. If there any remaining issues in her constituency that she would like to flag up with me, I will take them up with the Department for Education.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to speak up for the people he represents, and especially small business owners, who have set up their companies in particular ways—I am sure that they were well advised by accountants at the time on the optimal way to do that. It is fair to say that the self-employed income support scheme is expected to cover 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment, but if not, I recommend that those other people look online at their potential eligibility for universal credit. We have removed the minimum income floor—an assumed level of income in universal credit for self-employed people—so that should no longer be considered when trying to calculate the benefits for which they may be eligible.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions. In terms of bureaucratic schemes, the Government have worked at pace to introduce brand new schemes in order to protect people right across the country. We have seen the success of the job retention scheme. The self-employed scheme is under way. Significant flexibility has been put into that system to help people who may not have had three years of earnings to give them time to submit their latest tax return promptly to get support There is a variety of analysis on universal basic income. The latest report I saw estimated it would cost over £400 billion a year. It is not targeted at the poorest in society and is not an appropriate way for us to try to distribute money. Instead, our schemes are focused on making sure that the poorest do get help On DWP staff being moved from department to department, we have made sure that we are monitoring performance and where there are increases in how long it takes to process certain kinds of payments I have made it clear to my officials that we then need to move people back. We are in the key peak of payments this week, with the largest uptake of applications, and I am confident that we will get through that with at least 90%, if not an even higher rate, of people getting their payments on time I have already answered the question about why the legacy benefits have not increased. On the question about making an advance a grant, that comes back to the principle that getting an advance effectively means people have 13 payments in a year instead of 12 to cover the annual allocation to which people are entitled. Nearly 700,000 people have received an advance, while nearly 1.8 million people have applied for universal credit and those others have not sought to have an advance. So it would not be fair to the other new claimants if one group of people got more money than they did simply because they had applied for an advance On the increasing use of food banks, extensive work is going on across Government. The Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince), is involved in a taskforce on helping vulnerable people. I am conscious of the increase in food bank usage and the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Victoria Prentis), and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are doing excellent work in making sure we can work with them to ensure food can get to the most vulnerable people in society. While recognising the increase in food bank usage, I point out that we have had a sixfold increase in the number of people claiming UC and we are making sure we get our money to them.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Dehenna Sheridan Fareham (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and join my colleagues in paying tribute to the excellent DWP staff who have been working unprecedented hours to try to get support to the people in our country who need it The impact of coronavirus means more people in Bishop Auckland and across the country have been applying for UC, so what steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that new claimants in Bishop Auckland and beyond receive their first payments swiftly?
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): The UC approach remains the same: we make an assessment of people’s incomes, and those already on UC whose income fell substantially will have seen their UC payment increase as a result. So it is working for new claimants once they have got through the initial claim. That is straightforward. I appreciate that there were difficulties early on in getting online identity verification, but the process should be very smooth now, and for those people who cannot make ends meet the advance option is there, and people can get that money very quickly.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend will know, having been an accountant, that a variety of people will potentially receive dividends from a company, and it is not currently possible for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to know whether somebody has given this to themselves in lieu of a salary or whether it is a payment to an investor. It is a different situation where people have chosen to finance their income from the business in that way, and he will be aware that the rate of tax on paying dividends is 7.5%, once someone goes above the dividends allowance. How people who are self-employed through a normal PAYE scheme would pay aspects of national insurance and tax directly is quite different. The Treasury, in devising the scheme, has sought to try to identify as many people as possible it could help, and achieving that for 95% of self-employed people is a pretty good outcome.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): No, I will not, and I have already set out why I do not think a universal basic income is the right approach. The hon. Gentleman is a Northern Ireland Member and will be aware that responsibility for welfare is devolved, so if he wanted he could lobby the Northern Ireland Executive, and they might be able to devise a scheme that they think is more appropriate locally.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Owen William Paterson (Conservative, Centre-right): May I begin by heartily congratulating the Secretary of State and all the staff at the DWP on the astonishing achievement of handling 1.8 million applicants for universal credit and clearing 1 million? I draw her attention to those people, many of them self-employed, on working tax credits. They were encouraged by the Government to apply for universal credit, not knowing that at the moment they applied for universal credit, they automatically lost by law working tax credit. Some of them now find that because they have been prudent—they had set aside money for pensions and they had savings—they do not qualify under current rules for universal credit and cannot go back and claim for working tax credits. I have had letters from her Department talking about new-style employment and support allowance and the new self-employment income support scheme, which are very welcome. Will she go back to those people and make it clear that they have the right to apply for these schemes, because many of them are not accustomed to dealing with the benefits system and only went through the process under Government encouragement?
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): With regard to the hospitality and tourism sector, the hon. Lady will be aware of the generous approach taken by the Government, whether that is grants, the furlough scheme or the other reliefs that are being applied. The figure that she quotes is solely the standard allowance. There are other elements of universal credit that people may be entitled to, such as if they have children or housing costs. It is the rolling up of six benefits into one. She focuses only on one, which equates currently to about £94 a week. I think that is a reasonable assumption, disregarding the other costs.
Covid-19: DWP Update — House of Commons, 2020-05-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Stuart Paul Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise the exceptional work that the DWP is doing at this time. I also want to applaud the work that everybody in Wolverhampton is doing, from following the Government guidance to caring for loved ones. What plans does my right hon. Friend have to provide support for people who have informal carers who are having to shield themselves during the covid pandemic?