argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes a very good point. New small businesses and start-ups that scale up are absolutely at the heart of everything we seek to achieve, because we understand their value. It takes great courage for somebody to start their own business. We do what we can to assist them, for example through start-up loans. By devolving right down to a local level, through local enterprise partnerships, business growth hubs and the other measures we have put in place, we are ensuring that help, assistance and advice are available to them as they start up and begin to grow their business. In particular, we are doing the right thing by small businesses by reducing the regulatory burden. We achieved a lot in the past five years in government. We have more to achieve. It will be tough, but we are absolutely determined to do that My hon. Friend makes another important point. Starting up one’s own business is a great way for somebody to shake off their past—and the things in their background perhaps in danger of holding them back—and advance in the way that we want people to do. That is what brought people like me into politics: a desire to make the lives of everybody, especially those from less-advantaged families and backgrounds, better. I believe that our economic policy will continue to achieve exactly that I said I would give way to the hon. Lady.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): We are taking time to bring them in. It is, of course, a mix. In some instances, providing loans is absolutely the right thing to do, whereas in others we might well provide a grant. Flexibility is the right approach, and this allows us to put in the necessary money, even in these difficult times. I think we are doing the right thing about that.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Other
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I realise that there is a good argument in favour, but we are conducting a consultation. As the hon. Lady knows, my door is open. I would be more than happy to discuss it with her because I know about the powerful arguments in favour, but there are also strong arguments against it. The consultation might allow us to make some progress.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Other
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I have not seen that paper and I am not going to pretend that I have. I always view it as important not to comment on things that have not been read or on issues that might have been taken out of context. Perhaps I will drop the hon. Gentleman a letter, when I have had the opportunity to read the paper.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Richard Quentin Fuller (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister makes a good point about innovation. One change that the Treasury has made is to enable ISAs to be used to provide peer-to-peer lending. Will she therefore have some conversations with her colleagues in the Treasury about making it possible within ISAs to make equity investments to small private companies?
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a very good point, and the straight answer is simply yes. If my hon. Friend would like to continue the conversation after this debate, I would be more than happy to do so This Government continue to encourage business investment in research and development through tax incentives. Take-up of this scheme continues to grow, with 18,200 companies claiming £1.75 billion of relief from £14.3 billion of innovative investment. In Scotland, there were 1,045 claims, giving a total relief of £55 million. That means more investment in R and D, more high-value jobs and greater productivity The Government continue to invest in our catapult network, and the first seven catapults are now operating from their established facilities with total public and private investment exceeding £1.6 billion over their first five years of operation. These include Offshore Renewable Energy in Glasgow and the Advanced Forming research centre in Strathclyde, which is part of the high-value manufacturing catapult. As we have taken the difficult decisions to fix Britain’s finances, we can afford to continue to invest in science and innovation, investing in Scotland’s future and helping to ensure Scotland punches above its weight That is the point. If we have a good, solid and sound economy that is growing, we will be able to do all this type of work. We will be able to spend taxpayers’ money to support our great British businesses and particularly the ones that are so innovative in their approach and in the work they do To conclude, Madam Deputy Speaker—
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the hon. Gentleman send me details of other EU Governments who have intervened to save their steel industries? If so, I will pass them on, because they must be in breach of the state aid rules.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jo Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point about bureaucracy at our borders and the role of border control. I reassure her that the Government are reviewing that with their one government at the border programme. At present, 92% of consignments at customs are cleared within five seconds, but her constituents are clearly encountering difficulties. I will talk on her behalf to the Minister for Trade and Investment and look into the specific problems she faces.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I find it amusing that my hon. Friend is now encouraging me to spend taxpayers’ money on such a service. It sounds like a great idea, but does he agree that the private sector could do it even better, particularly for small businesses? In effect, the website would be a one-stop shop where they could access all the various forms of support available to them. We do not need to use taxpayers’ money to achieve that.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Richard Quentin Fuller (Conservative, Centre-right): I am looking forward to the Minister coming back to the House with a recommendation, and I will of course be happy to meet her when she has that recommendation. [Interruption.] People may say that is unfair, but the truth is that this is a very positive initiative. The one thing we know about the Minister is that when she sees a problem to be tackled, she goes for it, and heaven help anyone who stands in her way. I am highlighting the fact that this is an opportunity for her. She is the right person to go for it, and I will of course encourage and support her all the way The most important thing highlighted by the motion—unfortunately, I do not support it—is that SNP Members are bringing forward ideas on some of the most important issues affecting the wellbeing of our country. Even though Members of Parliament may be low on the list of people entrepreneurs want to call to get answers, SNP Members, as well as others who have spoken, have done a service to the House and I commend them for it.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the hon. Gentleman agree it is very important that in this House we do not talk down one of the most outstanding British success stories? Given that he has already given the House incorrect information about the moving on of the head of UK Trade & Investment, will he please agree that it is very important that the information he continues to put on the record is accurate? It has not been so far. Will he agree to withdraw his comments about Dominic Jermey and his moving on to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office?
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Other
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Is it not important for all Members, when they make a mistake, to correct that mistake so the record can show when they have given an inaccurate account to this House, especially about someone who does not have the ability to speak in this place? If somebody else gives a contrary view based on sound information, is it not beholden on the Member to accept it? We all make mistakes. An hon. Member who has made a mistake should just accept it.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Neil Carmichael (Conservative, Centre-right): This is an interesting issue, and the hon. Gentleman is making an important point about long-term investment. Of course, it is already on the agenda, not least in the Bank of England, where Andy Haldane, the chief economist, has raised the issue of long-term investment, contract law and the need to effectively encourage firms to think not just about shareholding, but about long-term investment. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that is the kind of thing we need to encourage smaller firms to become bigger firms, especially given the nature of the Mittelstand-type firms that we need to see in the manufacturing sector?
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Kwasi Alfred Addo Kwarteng (Conservative, Centre-right): I accept the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, and he makes a good point about China’s export practices, but I was making the general point that the steel industry believes there is overcapacity in Europe. This is not a British but a European problem. No Government action in the world will push water uphill or militate against that broad trend I digress from my main point. This has been a helpful and interesting debate, but my main concern is that we are not taking into account the different nature of the British economy. In terms of the phraseology, the context of the debate, and the words in the motion, we are reflecting circumstances that have not existed for two generations.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady, of whom I am a great fan, risks sounding as if she is carping on the issue of the Commonwealth games. I did make the point that that was a really good example of working together. [Interruption.] She will know of the input from all the people who made such a success of the Olympics. [Interruption.] So let me now to the final bit of my speech—despite the chuntering of the right hon. Member for Gordon (Alex Salmond), who is welcome to intervene if he wishes. [Interruption.] He is still chuntering; we still do not know if he wishes to intervene. He has his chance. [Interruption.] An hon. Member says he is not allowed to speak from the Bench he is currently occupying; well, there we have it—we will keep his chuntering for another day We can surely all agree today that there is a great deal more to be done. I hope the report from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and the Education Committee will contain helpful recommendations to Government, and I know the Ministers are working on their own productivity plan. I hope the Government will take note of the suggestions made both by my neighbour my hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) and me Sadly, I have not heard many positive ideas from the SNP Benches, with the honourable exception of the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, as I mentioned earlier. I do believe that Scotland needs to rediscover her entrepreneurial spirit, and find more Tiggers and fewer Eeyores to promote business, and I am sure the hon. Members for Livingston (Hannah Bardell) and for Ochil and South Perthshire (Ms Ahmed-Sheikh) can do this and get that brave heart playing its full role in the revival of the growth of the UK, with a drive for all of us to increase our exports and our inward investment.
Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity — House of Commons, 2016-01-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for placing that point on the record. I am very happy to be the market trader for every single constituency food and drink product, but perhaps I should move on because time does not allow I welcome any debate that allows the House to consider how we can make UK plc more productive. I also welcome the Minister’s recognition that UK productivity needs to be enhanced. I take the firm view that a Government who recognise that more has to be done will be a Government who deliver on that front. The UK’s productivity is—to coin an unfortunate phrase, currently, in my vocabulary—our Achilles heel. I welcome the Business Secretary’s launch of a productivity plan to correct this. While the UK’s productivity rate means that it takes a UK worker five hours to produce what a German worker could deliver in four hours, it is also fair to reflect that the UK’s growing employment numbers could be seen to distort productivity rates. As productivity is the measure of production output over input of employees, it is no surprise that the creation of 2 million additional jobs in the UK in the past five years has rendered our productivity lower than that of France, which has produced a lower number of new jobs in the same period than the region of Yorkshire. The key is to upskill these new jobs to become more high skilled and more productive, and this will occur over time As a member of the Transport Committee, I would like to focus on the role that capital investment in transport can play in increasing the UK’s productivity. The £60 billion of capital investment dedicated this term to road and rail investment has the ability to improve productivity by enhancing connectivity and bringing workers and businesses closer to their workplace and marketplace. In this respect, it is essential that we look to these projects not just for their transport benefits but for the regeneration that they can bring. In my community, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Amber Rudd) and I have been campaigning to deliver high-speed rail from London to Hastings and Bexhill. On that route, it takes two hours to travel from London, while the similar distance to Milton Keynes from the capital can be covered in just over 30 minutes.
Abolition of the Death Penalty — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Civil Rights
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): We oppose the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and advocate global abolition. The Government support a number of programmes around the world to promote both abolition and a moratorium on executions in those countries where the death penalty is still on the statute book.
Abolition of the Death Penalty — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Civil Rights
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): We oppose the death penalty in every country in the world, including Saudi Arabia, where it is still part of the criminal law. The abolition of the death penalty remains integral to all the human rights work that my Department does.
Syria Peace Talks — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Immigration
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I have had discussions about the situation in Syria with my former French counterpart who retired the week before last and with my new French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, on a regular basis. The issues relating to would-be migrants accumulated around Calais are for the Home Secretary, and she has very regular discussions with her counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve.
Kurdistan: ISIL/Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (Conservative, Centre-right): Reports suggest that 45% of Kurdish forces are composed of women. Nesrîn Abdalla, a unit commander in the Syrian Kurds women’s protection units, recently said: "We do this not just to protect ourselves, but also to change the way of thinking in the army, not only to gain power, but to change society, to develop it." What particular steps have the Government taken to ensure women’s participation in regional diplomatic talks, post-Daesh?
Kurdistan: ISIL/Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Tobias Martin Ellwood (Conservative, Centre-right): May I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for that quote and for the work that she has done in pioneering the role that women can play? That is something that Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy, recognises, and he is trying to include women’s voices in the peace talks that are taking place at the UN. On our front, British training is taking place in northern Iraq, and UK training teams will train female units in the Peshmerga.
Kashmir — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I much appreciate the right hon. Gentleman’s courtesy in notifying me of his travel plans. I know that he has only relatively recently got off a plane, so we are delighted to have him here, especially in view of the fact, of which he has previously informed the House, that he is responsible for three quarters of the world.
Commonwealth: Trade and Diplomatic Connections — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Hugo Swire (Conservative, Centre-right): At the risk of currying favour with the right hon. Gentleman, let me say that we must all wish our curry chefs every success when they travel to India. We must hope that they make a speedy return, because we would all miss our curry were they not home in our country.
Commonwealth: Trade and Diplomatic Connections — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Other
Hugo Swire (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a very wide-ranging accusation. If the hon. Gentleman will write to me, or come to see me, about a specific case, I will be happy to look at it. We deal with things case by case.
EU Referendum — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): Some of this will be a matter for the implementing regulations that will now follow, both at European level and at national level. The answer to the hon. Lady’s question will depend in large part on the level of benefits and tax credits in the United Kingdom at the appropriate time. These matters will therefore become clear as time goes on.
EU Referendum — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): I wish the Minister great success in trying to alter the level of VAT on sanitary towels. If the British people decide in the referendum to leave the European Union, would it then be up to the British Government to decide the level of VAT on sanitary towels and other products?
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Britain was a driving force behind the creation of the global coalition. We hosted the first coalition meeting in London in January 2015. I frequently discuss the campaign against Daesh with coalition and other international partners, including at a coalition small group meeting in Rome earlier this month.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Immigration
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As the whole House will know, we hosted in London on 4 February a very successful conference on Syria and the region, raising $11 billion in a single day. The real significance of that meeting, however, was that we moved on from the idea of simply collecting money and distributing it to working with the host countries in the region to ensure that refugees are able to access the labour market, get education for their children and access healthcare, making them less likely to feel the need to decamp and become irregular migrants heading towards Europe.
Daesh — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Different countries in Europe have different domestic legislation around that issue. We in the UK have some of the most robust measures available to us to deal with returning fighters. It is precisely because of the importance of the exchange of information between European partners that the Prime Minister was able to confirm yesterday that we believe that Britain is safer and more resilient against the threat of terrorism because of its co-operation within the European Union.
Israeli Election — House of Commons, 2016-02-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the March 2015 election in Israel on the peace process in that region.; On the issue of words, something that is regularly rubbished is the issue of incitement. We are seeing increasing incitement from the Palestinian Authority and on media such as Palestinian TV, some of which has been referenced by those committing knife attacks on civilians. Last week I visited a Jewish school in Brussels, where I heard some appalling stories of anti-Semitism being perpetrated in Europe, with people deliberately conflating Jews and Israel. Will the Minister condemn not only the incitement coming out of the Palestinian Authority, but the sort of attacks we are seeing in Europe as a result?
Eric Pickles (Conservative, Centre-right): Surely there is a big contrast in the growth of extremism. The Israeli authorities deal with Jewish extremism—they investigate, they prosecute and they condemn—whereas the Palestinian Authority names schools after violent extremists, names sporting events after them and glorifies them on television. Will my hon. Friend take this opportunity to condemn absolutely the attitude of the Palestinian Authority and urge it to cease this senseless encouragement of violence?