argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Energy
Caroline Louise Flint (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister expressed outrage in her conference speech at the fact that two thirds of energy bill payers are paying over the odds on the standard variable tariff. That percentage has been confirmed by the Competition and Markets Authority. I first spoke about this five years ago, so it was disappointing that the problem was not mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech today. We should have a protective tariff and a cap for those on the standard variable rate. I understand that there are meetings across Whitehall to discuss that idea. Will he confirm or deny the rumours that a protective tariff, or a default tariff, is under discussion?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Labor
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): Like many Members, I welcome the £23 billion of infrastructure spending. Some 1% of people who currently work in the construction industry are women. Can the Chancellor tell me how many women’s jobs will be created by the £23 billion? Does he think that the tax that we women pay should sometimes pay for our own prosperity?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Louise Joyce Ellman (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the reference to the northern powerhouse and Transport for the North—with details to follow—but will the Chancellor tell us whether there is any more funding, so that we can invest in better transport across the north?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Helen Catherine Goodman (Labour, Centre-left): The most alarming number in the OBR forecast is the 13% drop in forecast business investment, and the Chancellor said it himself: the big problem is uncertainty. The OBR says rather plaintively: "we asked the Government for ‘a formal statement of policy as regard its desired trade regime…as a basis for our projections’" but they left us "little the wiser." The Chancellor had a real opportunity today to tackle this uncertainty, which is the basic problem, by setting out the objectives for the Brexit negotiations to keep us with access to the single market and in the customs union. Why did he not do so?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Labor
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck (Labour, Centre-left): I remind the Chancellor that the labour market is not working for everyone. Every single year since 2014 I have asked why this Government are allowing the continued exploitation of workers under sham umbrella companies and false self-employment. Every single year I am told that the matter is under review. As the GMB’s recent success in the court shows, these workers are fed up with waiting. Why is it that under this Government a fair day’s work never really translates into a fair day’s pay?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Education
Seema Malhotra-Saluja (Labour, Centre-left): Schools in my constituency are not alone in stepping in to fill the welfare gap, as parents on the breadline hit by Government cuts struggle to buy their children’s school uniforms, shoes and stationery. The situation is getting worse—in the 21st century. What impact does the Chancellor believe his projected 8% per-pupil spending cuts, as estimated by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, will have on the social mobility of a generation of children? How can it be right that instead of softening the cuts, for which he voted, he has instead chosen to spend £60 million a year on expanding grammar schools? What I have raised should have been part of his plan for productivity.
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Chancellor for agreeing to the request made by me and my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves) to reintroduce the distributional analysis of the Budget. I have looked at that analysis and, in spite of a bit of tinkering with the methodology, it is clear that, as a result of the tax and welfare changes in this autumn statement, the bottom three deciles—the lowest-income households—will be left worse off than the highest earning group of households. How can he possibly justify that? As well as helping the "just about managing", will he commit to helping the people who are barely managing or cannot manage at all?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Angela Christine Smith (Labour, Centre-left): The statement about Wentworth Woodhouse is very welcome economic news for South Yorkshire, but it failed the graciousness test, because it omitted to pay tribute to the campaign led by the formidable Julie Kenny to save the house. However, South Yorkshire needs much better transport links if it is to succeed economically. On that basis, why has only one of the five strategic road projects—the Oxford to Cambridge expressway—been given the go-ahead today? Is South Yorkshire going to get its trans-Pennine tunnel link or not?
Autumn Statement — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Labor
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): Why should anyone believe the promises being made by a Conservative Government pretending to be the friend of working people and the party of the working class, when but six weeks ago workers were promised a seat on the board of the companies that employ them and a voice in their own future, only for that promise to be broken six weeks later, on Monday of this week, by the Prime Minister?
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State talks about Crossrail. The infrastructure gap between London and the rest of the UK remains unbridged, so does he agree that the Cardiff-Swansea section of the great western railway electrification project must be delivered with UK Government funding as soon as possible?
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I am very unhappy that the Secretary of State avoided my question about supporting the Cardiff-Swansea electrification, so I would like a better answer on that in the future, please. I am owed a letter from his ministerial colleague the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard). Having said that, the Secretary of State did say he wanted to support an economic boost for south Wales, so will the UK Government be supporting the Cardiff metro plans, which are important for getting Blaenau Gwent working again?
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I echo the Secretary of State’s expression of his regard for the workers who have come to the aid of the south-west’s rail system yet again. We have heard other hon. Members express their disappointment that we are still looking at issues of resilience in that area, and I know that they will want that matter to be resolved as quickly as possible The Government’s strategy for leaving the European Union—or rather, the lack of one—is causing great uncertainty throughout the transport sector. I do not know who the Secretary of State is speaking to about this, but we, and those in the aviation, rail, road and maritime sectors, are none the wiser about what the Government’s plans might be and what impact Brexit will have on the future of those sectors and all those who work in or depend on them.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): If the hon. Gentleman can wait six or seven minutes, I will come to that very point Today’s debate offers a welcome opportunity for the Secretary of State to provide some much-needed clarity on his plans for transport in a post-Brexit UK. He was one of the leading advocates of Britain leaving the EU, and he now has the privilege of being the Transport Secretary, so if anyone can provide us with a clear picture of what to expect in the months and years ahead, presumably he can One of the areas of transport most likely to be affected by the country’s decision to leave the EU is the aviation sector, which is a key pillar of our economy. Taken country by country, the UK’s aviation sector is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. It is worth about £50 billion in terms of our GDP, it supports 1 million jobs and it secures the Treasury some £9 billion in taxation each year While we accept the result of the referendum and are determined to secure the best possible deal for all the UK, we must not be an inward-looking nation that is cut off from the cultural and economic benefits that come with being an interconnected country. We must be ready to do business with the rest of the world. That means retaining and building on the connectivity that the UK currently enjoys in order to allow the flow of goods and services that will be key to getting the best out of Brexit.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Robert Charles Douglas Flello (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, want Brexit to be a success and for us to get on with it and ensure that we get the best possible deal for our country. However, does my hon. Friend share my concern that the Department for Transport, which has seen massive cuts to its revenue budgets and day-to-day spend, just will not have the staffing in place to be able to deal with the huge number of issues? At the same time as we negotiate Brexit, we will be negotiating different agreements with other countries on matters such as aviation.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (Labour, Centre-left): The National Audit Office says that, under this Conservative Government’s watch, Network Rail and the Government have wasted £330 million so far on the great western mainline electrification. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Department for Transport needs to pull its socks up to deliver on future infrastructure projects?
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend makes his point eloquently. That is the sort of wastage from this Department that we have seen in so many areas over the past several years. We have seen smart ticketing costs written off and the Great Western debacle. Everyone in this place is worried about its inability to function effectively It is vital that there be not only early assurances from Government, but confirmation that the status of current aviation practices will be guaranteed beyond our formal departure from the EU.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I do share those concerns. Although it is clearly imperative that conversations be had with those across the Atlantic, I was a little anxious to hear from the Secretary of State that that becomes the first port of call, rather than trying to resolve matters within the European Union.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew Joseph McDonald (Labour, Centre-left): I am not sure whether I could have been any clearer. I have just addressed the issue head on. If the hon. Gentleman reads Hansard, he might be a little clearer in his own mind My contribution has been full of questions, because so little has been revealed so far that would give any idea of what the Government are setting out to achieve after Brexit and of the mechanisms by which they aim to achieve any such objectives. Huge questions remain over the future of our flourishing aviation sector; over what existing EU legislation will be retained and what that will mean for our railways and ports; over whether EU funding for transport projects will be made up by the Government, and over issues to do with connectivity by road and what Brexit will mean for haulage I invite the Secretary of State to bring forward the details of his Department’s plans for Brexit, which have been, so far, so stark staringly absent.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Kelvin Peter Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): I have been involved in the European Scrutiny Committee for several years. I did not intend to intervene, but I am concerned about this issue. The hon. Gentleman is saying that we will take into British law what now exists as EU law, but we will selectively disapply parts of the EU legislation that do not suit Britain, and this might be one of those.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kelvin Peter Hopkins (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Gentleman talked about exchange rates. I think that relative to the euro, sterling depreciated by far less than 25%. That is crucial, because that is where we have our serious trade imbalance. With the rest of the world, we have relatively good relations. The strength of the dollar has compounded the depreciation of sterling, but that depreciation will be beneficial to British industry, wherever we trade.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): As my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) and other hon. and right hon. Members have made clear in this welcome debate, Brexit has huge implications for our whole transport network, but I want to focus on the rail freight sector. I was disappointed that the Secretary of State did not include rail freight as one of his priorities, and I suspect that the rail freight industry will be disappointed, too. When the Minister replies to the debate, I hope he will reassure us that the Government take the industry’s concerns seriously I have previously raised in the House the situation of DB Cargo UK, a company with headquarters in my constituency that has recently announced 893 redundancies. In a letter to the trade union ASLEF, the company said that as well as falling demand from the coal and steel industries, Brexit has caused a slowdown in demand for the movement of freight by rail. I have discussed the problems facing the rail freight industry with the relevant trade unions and also this week met the chief executive officer of DB Cargo UK, Hans-Georg Werner. I hope Members and the Minister will agree that rail freight is a key service for those doing business in the UK, enabling the import and export of goods through ports and the channel tunnel and, crucially, the movement of goods within the UK. Rail freight depends on the total volume of UK trade as well as the modal share between rail and road. It is a good barometer of the health of the economy as a whole.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Robert Charles Douglas Flello (Labour, Centre-left): I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests I am delighted that my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash), is back in his place, as I just want to point out to him that the much-thumbed Library briefing paper I have been referring to is from 29 June, rather than the one in the Library now This issue, on a critical industry, is of great importance. I normally find, when I am called to speak so low down on the list, that almost everything I want to say has already been said. However, one thing that has not been said so far is that we are approximately five-and-a-half weeks away from Christmas. The logistics industry makes Christmas happen. It delivers everything. Yes, of course Santa has his part to play, but without the logistics industry the turkeys, the presents and everything else would not happen. We should put on record what we owe to the people in the industry During an intervention earlier I talked about staffing. I am concerned about the level of staffing available in the Department for Transport to consider these important issues. The Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association, magazines such as Motor Transport and others are doing a lot of work on the implications of Brexit for some, if not all, of the industry, and I believe they stand ready to help the Department As the Minister is in his place, I want to pause to thank him again for the wide-ranging roundtable discussion on skills the other day—a really positive sign for how we can move the whole agenda forward I do not want to miss an opportunity to taunt the hon. Member for Stone one more time, so let me say that what has come out of discussions with various sectors of the industry is that a lot of EU legislation is legislation that we wanted in the first place, and, if Members will pardon the pun, it is legislation that we drove forward. The great repeal Bill will not be a great repeal so much as a great domesticisation—if that is a word. It is now I will just make a couple of points, rather than delay the House by repeating what has been said many times. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency needs more teeth, particularly when we are exiting the EU. At the moment, there are issues with non-UK hauliers. The Minister kindly wrote to me recently about cabotage and access to the database for the DVSA. The response, with the greatest respect, is not clear. At the moment, a lot of vehicles stopped are not flouting cabotage rules. The DVSA does not have sufficient access to the database to spot the right hauliers. It is just a bit random at the moment.
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Robert Charles Douglas Flello (Labour, Centre-left): I am very grateful. I know that the Minister takes these issues seriously. The DVSA needs more powers to tackle non-UK hauliers, particularly post-Brexit Several colleagues, including my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), the Chair of the Transport Select Committee, have talked about vehicle standards, and the hon. Member for Glasgow South (Stewart Malcolm McDonald) talked about standards shopping. It is important that we have a common standard, but it is also important that we stop standards shopping. We should also revisit HGV licensing. Rather than the over-complicated system of C+E licences and all the rest, perhaps it would be better to go back to class 1 and class 2. The certificate of professional competence is another issue that has caused the industry a lot of concerns, problems and difficulties. It is now much more embedded in its culture, but much more work needs to be done in the context of post-Brexit The hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun—I have been waiting hours to say that, although I do not know whether I have pronounced it anywhere near correctly—
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Philip James Elmore (Labour, Centre-left): On the Welsh context of what my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith) raised and also on road infrastructure, EU funding has been a huge asset for heads of the valleys roads and roads across south Wales. Does my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Jenny Chapman) agree that it is important that the Department for Transport secures that funding for road infrastructure so that the Welsh Government can continue to deliver those improvements for roads across the south Wales valleys?
Exiting the EU and Transport — House of Commons, 2016-11-23
Topic: Transportation
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): That is completely right, and I think the First Minister for Wales—my hon. Friend will correct me if I am wrong—has requested that the funding promised be matched penny for penny. Or will this cash go the same way as the £350 million a week for the NHS, and disappear like a smoke ring from one of Nigel Farage’s cigars Rail fares have gone up by over a quarter since the Tories came to power in 2010, which is more than twice as fast as wage growth. There is a danger that the economic consequences of Brexit will mean yet another fare hike for commuters. What are the Government prepared to do to stop fares becoming even less affordable for passengers I am going to give credit for this next statistic to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello): over 90% of UK international trade in weight passes through UK ports. UK ports directly employ more than 25,000 people and the sector contributes more than £7 billion to the UK economy. Like every other sector, our ports need to know how the Government intend to proceed. The hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) explained that the proposed port services regulations are deeply unpopular with UK ports, but it is far from clear that the UK leaving the EU will mean that our ports are not going to be subject to these regulations all the same. In fact, the UK Government’s ability to influence the regulations to suit British ports is now virtually nil. How are the Government going to protect our magnificent ports sector Similarly, our road haulage sector faces uncertainty as a result of Brexit, and there is no one with more passion for this issue than my hon. Friend. He challenged the Government to ensure that they are adequately staffed to support the haulage sector through the Brexit period I do not want to be negative about Brexit, but we are kidding ourselves by pretending that these challenges do not exist or are somehow straightforward to resolve. We need to be up front and honest with the British people about this. The Government should perhaps use these debates to inform the House, and also perhaps do so through the publication of position papers beforehand outlining the Government’s priorities. Today’s debate has been interesting, but I do not think that anyone will leave the Chamber any clearer about the Government’s position on these issues. We are not going to obstruct article 50. We have made that commitment very clear, but I suggest to the Minister that there is now a moral imperative for the Government to act in good faith and to share their priorities and plans with the British people and with this House.
Prayers — House of Commons, 2016-12-16
Topic: Government Operations
Sarah Deborah Champion (Labour, Centre-left): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. During Wednesday’s Opposition day debate on the impact of the Government’s autumn statement on women, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury disparaged and undermined the work of the House of Commons Library. I am sure, Mr Speaker, that you agree with me that the Library is the very heart of our Parliament. It is non-political and non-biased, and it presents research for us all to use. In the same debate, he went on to discredit the research of the Women’s Budget Group—an independent network of economists and academics Although I recognise that all research methodologies should be open to robust scrutiny and discussion, there is a pattern emerging in the Library’s gender impact analyses of successive Budgets and autumn statements. The Treasury appears to undermine the Library’s work by calling into question its integrity and objecting to its analysis, yet the Treasury has continually refused to carry out its own gender impact analysis of its economic policies, as is prescribed in the Equality Act 2010 Mr Speaker, will you advise me please on how best to proceed with this matter to ensure that the Chief Secretary retracts his statement, makes an effort to engage with the Library to discuss and understand its methodologies, or apologises to the Library and the Women’s Budget Group for undermining their sterling research?