argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Jonathan Toby Harris (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I begin by declaring my interest as chair of the Fundraising Regulator, the independent non-statutory body that regulates charitable fundraising. Our role is to promote best practice so as to protect donors by setting standards, by investigating public complaints and by enforcing the Code of Fundraising Practice. These are challenging times for charities. Some charities will fail, possibly including well-known household names. The Government assistance package addresses only part of the £4 billion shortfall highlighted by the NCVO. We do not know when the current health crisis will end, but the economic aftershock will be long-lasting, so the two-way squeeze, in which charities have less money but greater demand on their services, will continue. The problems are not going away anytime soon If we want charities to continue to play a pivotal role in society, the question for the Minister is whether the Government will provide further support for charities as the coronavirus crisis continues, including the many excellent suggestions made in this debate, and ensure no less favourable treatment than that under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme announced by the Chancellor Recent weeks have seen extraordinary fundraising efforts and generosity by the British public in response to the pandemic. Despite personal incomes being squeezed, I hope that will continue. To this end, the Fundraising Regulator, working with the Charity Commission and the Institute of Fundraising, has published new guidance designed to equip people with the tools they need for their own charitable appeals while adhering to the standards of the Code of Fundraising Practice. Similarly, the regulator is working with online platforms to increase transparency of fees and card charges so that people can be confident about how much of what they give goes to the charities concerned We have also been collaborating with other organisations, including National Trading Standards, which I also happen to chair, to alert people to those nauseating fraudsters and scammers who are trying to cash in on people’s generosity at this time of crisis. I hope the Minister will continue to support these efforts so that the public can continue to trust charities and their fundraising.
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Anna Mary Healy (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Addington, on securing this debate at such a critical time for charities. This week, we should have been celebrating the achievements of all those who participated in the London Marathon and raised much-needed money for charities, matching the £66 million in 2019. Sadly, this is postponed until autumn—but the charitable sector’s needs are not As noble Lords have said, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations believes charities will lose around £4 billion over three months as a result of the pandemic, as lockdown closes shops and cancels fundraisers. The Government’s package of £750 million is appreciated, of course, but goes nowhere near meeting the £4 billion loss. Charities maintain the social fabric of our country. Once torn, it will take years to mend. I welcome extra resources being given to charities dealing with domestic violence as calls to helplines—and, tragically, murders of women—double. Large charities have been able to utilise schemes to pay staff, but furlough means they can no longer volunteer or fundraise. The MS Society, along with many other charities, has called for this rule to be eased Noble Lords have raised many examples of the essential support that charities offer to the most vulnerable, so I will reluctantly resist repeating them. However, I will raise one—Allergy UK, a small but vital organisation that supports those with life-threatening allergies and anaphylaxis. Uniquely, it warns members of ingredients in foods that have been wrongly labelled and therefore could kill. Can the Minister examine how this charity might be helped to continue its work? Its clients suffer increased anxiety about medication and other support needs during this pandemic. Life is difficult in normal times, but even worse for them now.
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: Education
Genista Mary McIntosh (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I remind the House of my registered interests, including as deputy chair of the Royal Shakespeare Company; and that the noble Lord, Lord Addington, said in his excellent opening remarks that many arts organisations are also charities Companies such as the RSC, the Roundhouse in Camden and Chickenshed focus their education and outreach efforts on young people who are at economic and/or social disadvantage. The work that they do has been shown to have a significant impact on the attainment of these young people. This work has never been more important than now; it will be even more vital once lockdown is eased and we begin to see clearly the impact that isolation has had on mental health and well-being. The RSC, for example, reports from its youth advisory board and its partner schools that many children and young people are feeling profoundly disconnected, losing motivation and experiencing inconsistent levels of support. The companies I have mentioned, and others like them, are of course doing all they can to develop online programmes to sustain this support and contact. But they are doing so while struggling with enormous threats to their ability to survive, as it seems increasingly likely that theatres will be among the last types of business to be allowed to resume their core activities Will the Minister please assure the House that DCMS and the Department for Education will work together to ensure that the vital educational work of arts organisations, which can have such a profoundly positive impact on learning, communication skills, confidence, empathy, agency and resilience, is not lost or forgotten as we recover from this crisis? This generation of children and young people are already losing so much. We owe them special attention over the coming years and months.
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Leslie Turnberg (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, the Government’s award of £750 million to the charitable sector is of course a welcome response to what is becoming a dire situation for so many charitable activities—from care homes to research, and from museums to the performing arts—all of which are suffering as their sources of funds dry up. Of course, this grant is never enough. It never can be compared with the enormous gap in funding that charities face. But it is a step in the right direction. Much more immediately worrying is the difficulty in making the funds available and delivering them to where they are needed with the speed that is necessary. The need is being felt now, not in a month or so’s time I have a suggestion about how we might reduce the inevitable bureaucracy that government funding involves. It is to make use of the expertise available in the philanthropic sector, which is flexible and agile, so can respond rapidly to where the funds are needed most. I have several recent examples. The noble Lord, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, has funded the food bank to the tune of £1 million; the Wellcome Trust rapidly funded £40 million for vaccine research; and the Wolfson Foundation, of which I have the good fortune to be a trustee, gave out its biggest single month’s award of £7 million this month in response to bids from mental health charities, hospices, care homes, museums and the performing arts. The Government might find this capacity to respond rapidly in a focused manner valuable in distributing their funds to where they are needed most in a rapid and timely way. Will the Minister consider ways in which the Government can work closely with the philanthropic sector to get their funds out rapidly now There is one further point about the contribution that charities make to the country’s economy. Will the Minister ask the Treasury to provide an estimate of the financial benefits to the Exchequer that the charity sector brings?
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Alexander Hunt (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Addington, I have been inspired by the work of charities locally which have responded to the crisis magnificently. For example, St Mary’s Hospice in Birmingham has combined with two neighbouring hospices to offer joint 24/7 community nursing provision and access to their in-patient units. The Birmingham Centre for Arts Therapies is continuing to run sessions online with very vulnerable clients. Community Transport Birmingham has continued to provide transport for disabled people, particularly for patients who need dialysis. Care Home Volunteers Wiltshire is continuing its wonderful befrienders scheme, writing to care home residents, keeping in touch and trying to encourage them in difficult circumstances. Baby Lifeline has opened an online Covid-19 support system for pregnant women and new mothers, providing clear and accurate advice These charities are doing wonderful work, but, as many noble Lords have said, they face a double whammy: fundraising activities are declining and many grantees are reducing the funds they give, partly because of investment downturn; yet, at the same time, pressure on them to provide more services grows and grows I have three requests of the Minister. First, the £750 million made available by the Chancellor is welcome, but it is not enough. Secondly, can she ensure, particularly in respect of smaller charities, that the application process for funds does not bog them down in page after page of business plans and forms to be filled in? They are too busy on the front line. Please can it be made simple for them to apply for funds? Thirdly, to echo other noble Lords, can she make sure that the funds reach them quickly?
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: International Affairs
Roger John Liddle (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I would like to focus my remarks on the international aid charities, and here I declare an interest, in that my wife Caroline Thomson is the chair of Oxfam. The crisis we are in is global and it is the poor around the world who will suffer most; international action is needed. However, UK charities are having to cut back on their programmes and on their staff, who would be able to assist. The Government’s £750 million package is welcome but as the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, said, it is not enough and it does very little for the international aid sector I would like to ask two questions that reinforce what the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, said at the start of the debate. First, do the Government recognise that the role of charity shops is particularly important for charities? Oxfam receives a monthly income of £7 million from its charity shops. If they do recognise that, can they find a way of improving charities’ access to the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund, which is offering £25,000 per property? I find it bizarre that this aid is being restricted, apparently because of breaches of EU state aid rules. In this situation, that sounds like legal quibbling over common sense. Will the Government therefore urgently meet with charity retailers to find a solution? My second question concerns support for international work. Can DfID play a bigger role by, for instance, providing stabilisation loans for some charities and by adjusting its programmes to help them cope with the immediate financial consequences of the Covid crisis? I recognise that the Minister may not have time to answer these questions today, in which case I would like her to write to me on them.
Charitable and Voluntary Sector — House of Lords, 2020-04-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Doreen Massey (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for securing this important debate. I pay tribute to the vast number of charity workers and volunteers. They are often the cement that holds society together The Government’s emergency support fund is, of course, hugely welcome, but it cannot resolve the long-term effects of Covid-19, which may go on for years. All the charities I have spoken to emphasise the need to be able to plan strategically and maintain their structures. This is often not built into funding, and funding is becoming scarcer while demand increases. Legacy and direct debit funding are going down, donations are hard to come by and large organisations fear damage from the impact of Covid-19 on the Stock Exchange I want to mention two local charities feeling the effects of Covid-19. I have two friends who work as volunteers in a food bank, Fitzjohn’s in Lewes. Volunteer numbers have had to be reduced due to social distancing, but there are constant requests for more help. They are managing vulnerable people, some with complex needs who may find it difficult to cope with applying for support. The main income is from local fundraising and the yearly council grant. The other organisation, of which I am a patron, is the Maya Centre in north London. It is a small women’s counselling centre and 60% of its cases involve domestic violence. There are increasing requests for counselling from women who have been bereaved and are traumatised. New funding has to be found for online working. A big problem for the charity is that many funders, including the Big Lottery Fund, deal only with new applications, so the Maya Centre no longer qualifies. What will our society look like without local charities such as food banks and women’s centres? How much long-term damage might be done to vulnerable people and who will pick up the pieces, often at great cost? How will the Government assess local needs and respond?
Covid-19 Update — House of Lords, 2020-06-25
Topic: Government Operations
Alfred Dubs (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I put it to the Leader of the House that public confidence is not of a high order as regards the Government’s handling. The Minister has said on a number of occasions that discussions are ongoing. What specific plans are available in the event of a second wave on a local level? What would the Government do, as opposed to having ongoing discussions with local authorities? It is all too vague. We need a clear statement of policy about what will trigger local action, which the Government have said they want to support.
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-25
Topic: Government Operations
Philip Alexander Hunt (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, we are once again in the unsatisfactory situation of debating regulations that are already in place and, following the Prime Minister’s announcement early this week, now somewhat academic. I listened very carefully to what the Minister said in opening this debate. We are, of course, in exceptional circumstances and the Government have had to act very quickly, but I would draw the Minister’s attention to the report today of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which urges the Government to ensure that legislation follows on more closely from any announcements they make. As the committee says, even a short gap between regulations being laid and their coming into effect would better enable those affected to prepare, having seen the law’s actual, detailed requirements, rather than just the headline announcements Public confidence would also be enhanced with the timely publication of the full scientific advice available to Ministers. When the crisis first occurred, Ministers were very fond of saying that they were following the science. This was much in evidence in the Downing Street briefings, with the presence of the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser. They have been less in evidence recently, although they did come to the last briefing in Downing Street this week The standing down of the Chief Nursing Officer when she would not endorse the behaviour of Dominic Cummings was a standout moment that did great credit to the Chief Nursing Officer—rather less so to Downing Street. Scientists are not above criticism, but surely, we are entitled to see the full advice going to Ministers. In the case of the ludicrous 14-day quarantine period for visitors to this country, we are still awaiting even a summary of the advice. Will the Minister say when it is going to be published? Would he accept that, if the public are to regain confidence in the Government, the full advice should be published?
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-25
Topic: Government Operations
Roger John Liddle (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I join this debate as a relatively novice member of the House’s Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, and it has not been a very satisfactory experience, in terms of the accountability of the Executive to the legislature. Of the regulations before us today, the (No. 3) regulation came into force on 1 June, was not considered by our committee until 9 June and is being debated today, on 25 June. Similarly, the (No. 4) regulation was laid on 12 June and not considered by our committee until it came into force. This is not satisfactory. We need a better process and I hope that the inquiry or review that will inevitably be set up at the end of the crisis will look at better methods of parliamentary accountability in national emergencies My other point is on policy. Regulations are not ready at the point when Ministers make announcements about the policy in them. That is bad practice, because it means that Ministers are making policy announcements without having a grip on the detail of what they will imply. That has to change, and change now, if we are to have effective management of what we can already see will be a very difficult period.
National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-25
Topic: Labor
Peter Hain (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I, too, welcome this proposal to extend minimum wage protection to a group of workers whose vital contribution to the UK economy too often goes overlooked and underappreciated and who frequently do their jobs in dangerous conditions. Mentioned fleetingly in paragraph 7.8 of the Explanatory Memorandum is the Government’s claim that the amendment, "will allow HMRC to focus enforcement on seafarers working domestically in UK territorial waters" Our whole experience of minimum wage law since 1999 has been of weak enforcement with insufficient resources spread widely and thinly, leaving low-paid workers vulnerable to rogue employers who ride roughshod over the minimum wage laws. In 2017, the then director of labour market enforcement Sir David Metcalfe pointed out that a UK employer was on average likely to be inspected by HMRC only once every 500 years. In February this year the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy reported that since 2007, only 15 employers had been successfully prosecuted for underpaying the minimum wage, around one a year. Neither the department nor HMRC has the budget or the staff numbers vigorously to enforce Britain’s minimum wage laws. We have become used to this Government overpromising and underdelivering and sadly, they are doing so again here for seafarers working in UK territorial waters or in the UK sector of the continental shelf. The Low Pay Commission reckons that between 300,000 and nearly 600,000 over-25 year-olds were paid below the minimum wage in 2016. No wonder the Low Pay Commission concluded that "there remains a rump of employers and businesses that consider the low likelihood of enforcement worth the non-compliance gamble." That is the reality of life in Britain’s so-called flexible labour market, including for seafarers. Sir David Metcalf believes we need tougher penalties for breaking the minimum wage laws. Companies caught paying staff below the minimum wage can currently be fined up to twice the value of the wage arrears they owe. Metcalf says that five times might be better. The total amount of fines imposed on employers for underpaying the minimum wage recently was £3.9 million, much less than the £10.9 million in wage arrears identified by HMRC. Millions of exploited people work in low-paid, insecure jobs and they deserve much better, including offshore workers.
National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-25
Topic: Labor
John Mann (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, some of my family benefited financially from the introduction of the national minimum wage in 1998 and have done so since, so I support this statutory instrument today, but there are a number of questions about how it applies. I presume that the entirety of the burgeoning offshore wind energy workforce, maintenance as well as installation, will be covered as we are rightly and proudly the world leader in offshore wind energy production. If a seafarer is offshore for more than a day, their birthday occurs while offshore and their minimum wage entitlement therefore increases, will that increase automatically be applied, despite the fact that the birthday occurred while they were offshore It is of concern that ferries—for example, Dover-Calais—appear not to be included. The Minister may want to confirm what was said in the House of Commons on this. Regarding the definition of spending a majority of one’s time working in the waters of our continental shelf, will any ferries to the continent be covered by this statutory instrument? If not, is this not a major omission of a group of British workers who sometimes work in difficult conditions, have important responsibilities and are not particularly well paid? As we enter Brexit, should not those working on our ferries, and those from this country working on other ferries that use our ports and harbours, have the best wages in Europe, rather than potentially being some of the cheapest ferry workers in Europe? Should this measure not therefore apply to all ferry workers?
Arrangement of Business — House of Lords, 2020-06-25
Topic: Law and Crime
Iain McNicol (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, we come to the Second Reading of the Sentencing Bill. Some Members are here in the Chamber, and others will participate virtually, but all Members will be treated equally. For Members participating remotely, microphones will unmute shortly before they are asked to speak. Please accept any on-screen prompts. I ask noble Lords to be patient if there are any short delays as we switch between physical and remote participants. The usual rules and courtesies in debate apply.