argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): Is not the measure of statesmanship the imagination to give to others what one demands for oneself? For centuries, the English have demanded full control over our spending and taxation. Why should the Scottish people feel any different? Does the Secretary of State not realise that there must be some merit in the argument that as long as we maintain the outmoded, outdated and unfair Barnett formula, which thoroughly disadvantages the English, we will simply stoke up resentment on both sides of the border, and that will ultimately lead to more calls for independence?
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend, as we well know, is the staunchest advocate of full fiscal freedom in this Chamber—more staunchly so than those on the SNP Benches when he moved his amendment for complete fiscal freedom. My response is that the people of Scotland would not respond well to having a £10 billion annual black hole in their finances, and that full fiscal freedom is not the answer. Further devolution as set out in the Scotland Bill to create a powerhouse Parliament is what the people of Scotland want and it is what this Government are delivering.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I know the hon. Gentleman does not understand the concept of negotiation, in which two sides work together to get an agreement. Assertion and soundbites sound good, but they do not deliver for the people of Scotland. What delivers for the people of Scotland is the two Governments working together to produce a sustainable agreement. That is what we have done; we have an agreement that underpins the Scotland Bill, which means that Scotland can get these extensive new powers over tax and welfare. People will now want to move on from the process debate to hear the policy ideas.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): During the inquiry of the Scottish Affairs Committee into the fiscal framework, we asked searching questions of our witnesses about the new welfare powers that have been devolved to Scotland. Has my right hon. Friend heard any details from the Scottish Government about how they plan to use the new welfare powers?
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much welcome the fact that the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister have indicated that they plan to set out how they intend to use the powers. It was interesting to hear some of the media reports in Scotland that suggest that the SNP plans to increase significantly the tax burden on middle income earners in Scotland. Obviously, we will have to await the detail in the manifesto, but there will be no excuses now. SNP Members can come here and complain about certain welfare changes, but they will have the ability within Scotland to set their own welfare arrangements.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: International Affairs
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): What I am clear about is that the position in Wales will be as it is in Scotland: the people of Wales will benefit most when the Welsh Government and the United Kingdom Government work constructively together for their benefit.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Government Operations
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I am sure that he will have read my speech of 21 December delivered in Glasgow City chambers making exactly the case for devolution within Scotland. Unfortunately, in recent times, Scotland has become one of the most centralised countries in terms of government. The new Scottish Government that will be elected in May should devolve further powers. The best way to achieve that is to elect more Conservative MSPs under Ruth Davidson’s leadership.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: International Affairs
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Does he agree that the conclusion of this new agreement shows that Scotland’s two Governments can work together? Will he undertake to keep pressing the Scottish Government to reveal details of how they will use these new powers?
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly do agree with my hon. Friend, and I have, on a number of occasions in this Chamber, paid particular and sincere tribute to the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney. He and I have had numerous conversations throughout this process and, although at times we have been in disagreement, they have always been cordial and civil. That is the basis of the relationship that I want to see with the Scottish Government. My hon. Friend is right: what this agreement means is that the Scotland Bill can pass through this House and, hopefully, receive the legislative consent motion at Holyrood. There will then be no hiding place on these issues for the Scottish Government. If they want to spend more, they will have the tax powers to do so, and if they want higher welfare, they will have the ability to achieve that.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): The vow was very clear that Barnett would be retained. That has been done, and rightly so. The starting point for public spending in Scotland now is 115% of the UK average. Can the Secretary of State tell the House, in terms of his modelling, what that percentage per capita will be at the end of this Parliament?
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Social Welfare
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously, I do not agree with the hon. Lady’s perspective on specific policies, but she is right that the Scottish Parliament will now have specific and detailed responsibilities in relation to welfare. We have a joint ministerial group on welfare, which includes myself and Scottish Ministers Alex Neil and Roseanna Cunningham, and we look to work though that group on the transfer of the specific powers. We do not want a transfer of power without new arrangements being in place, because the people in receipt of the benefits must be our prime concern. We will work closely together. An enormous amount of work has been done by officials to date and I am confident that once we know what the Scottish Government’s proposals are—we do not know fully—we will be able to make an effective transition.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: International Affairs
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): What complete and utter nonsense. A deal is done that is good for Scotland and good for the United Kingdom, and hon. Members on the Scottish National party Benches have to trawl through newspaper reports to find something that they can complain about. This is a good deal for Scotland which gives Scotland new powers. Let us talk about how we use those powers for the benefit of Scotland, and let us put the grievance agenda to bed once and for all.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I acknowledge that people have those feelings. A number of people on both sides of the House have raised issues about the Barnett formula. That is their job as representatives of different parts of the United Kingdom. My position is clear: the Barnett formula is good for Scotland, and this Government are keeping the Barnett formula.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I can produce a list and send it to the hon. Gentleman. I am not focused on other assemblies around the world. I am focused on the Scottish Parliament and making it a powerhouse Parliament with the powers that make a difference in Scotland. That is the state of the debate. The hon. Gentleman’s constituents will not want to hear about Parliaments in South America and other parts of the world: they will want to hear about what his party intends to do on income tax and welfare.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been closely involved in these discussions throughout, but they are negotiations—they are not about the Treasury imposing. As Lord Smith recognises, they are about the two Governments coming together in difficult circumstances to negotiate about money, which is often the most contentious thing that is ever the subject of negotiations. We have demonstrated that both Governments had the maturity to reach a deal which is good for Scotland and good for the rest of the United Kingdom.
Scotland’s Fiscal Framework — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Gordon Mundell (Conservative, Centre-right): I have nothing but admiration for Ruth Davidson. She is the one person in the Scottish Parliament who can stand up to the SNP and hold it to account. If people do not want a one-party state in Scotland, the way to achieve that is by voting Scottish Conservative. The Prime Minister did not flounder; he told us exactly what the position was. Ruth will set out the tax proposals and they certainly will not be the same as the SNP’s proposals, revealed in the Scottish press today to hit middle earners hard.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Government Operations
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): Before we get too party political about this, it can indeed be said that an individual notice should have been given back in 1995. However, shortly after that, Labour came in, and there were perhaps a dozen Labour Pensions Ministers during all of Labour’s time in office. We are 20 years on. Can the hon. Gentleman not accept that we all have lessons to learn? An individual notice should have been sent out by at least one of those Governments—by the Conservative Government or the Labour Government. The hon. Gentleman had an opportunity to do that over all those years.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, in 2004, the Work and Pensions Committee found that three quarters of women between the ages of 45 and 54 at the time were aware of the changes in the 1995 Act? I accept that there were mistakes by parties on both sides of the House in terms of communication, but three quarters of women knew 12 years ago about the changes.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I will give way, but I first wish to make a little progress Hon. Members will be aware that the women’s state pension age was changed in 1995 to equalise it with the state pension age for men. Equalisation was then accelerated in the Pensions Act 2011, following extensive debates in both Houses of Parliament. Those changes were about bringing gender equality to pensions for the first time, about reflecting rises in life expectancy—it continues to rise for both men and women—and about taking spending on pensions to more sustainable levels.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The shadow Secretary of State’s speech was full of bluster and specified no options. He failed to recognise or to speak about the cost, and to explain why the issue was not in the Labour party manifesto. The luxury for the Opposition is the ability to spend money for which they are not accountable and for which they have no responsibility. The difficulty for the Government is to deal with taxpayers’ money and to take the hard decisions that are necessary.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I will come on to the debate we had in 2011 later in my speech. If the hon. Lady wants to talk about previous Governments, may I gently remind her of the 13 years of Labour Government, with the 10 Pensions Ministers—one Minister had the job twice—and the nine Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions? In the interests of fairness, she, along with everyone else, might wish to acknowledge the limited work, if any, that was done during the 13 years of the Labour Government to put matters right, as they put it.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): EU law does require us to equalise pension ages. Later in my speech, I will mention countries that have already achieved what we are still endeavouring to achieve. Incidentally, the shadow Secretary of State was wrong in what he said about Germany. Germany has already achieved equalisation.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan (Conservative, Centre-right): There are women in Northumberland who are likely to be in serious financial difficulty as a result of these changes. It will not be most of those affected, but it will be a few. My concern is for that small number of women. I would be most grateful if the Minister would agree to meet me and other Government Members to look at the small group of women who face such financial pressures.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is saying some fair things about the Opposition and they do not like it. Will he turn his mind to a fair thing that I want to say about the women who are directly affected? The issue is that people who were born within 12 months of each other can have retirement ages nearly three years apart. That is where better transitional arrangements are needed. We all know that this Government have had to put right many things that previous Governments have got wrong, but this is something we need to get right for ourselves.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I will give way later, but I wish to make some progress There has been much debate about this issue, and we have had several debates about it in recent weeks. It comes down to two fundamental issues. First, there have been calls to undo the 2011 pension changes. The cost of that would be more than £30 billion. Secondly, there are calls by some to go even further and unravel the 1995 pension reforms.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: International Affairs
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, there are many people, including people in WASPI, who want to unravel the 1995 reforms. It is out there on the internet for people to see, so let us not try to deny the two options that are being debated out there. I said at the outset that I was going to talk about the substance of the matter, and I will talk about both those options.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I will give way in a moment, but I wish to continue If we unravel the 1995 pension reforms, as many people outside this place want us to do, it would cost £77 billion up to 2020-21, and the costs would continue to accrue after that period.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I am simply speaking from my personal experience of speaking to women. There are women who have said to me that they want the restoration of the 1995 rules. Colleagues in this House have had people in their surgeries speaking of 1995. The hon. Gentleman may not have had that—he may be out of touch, but the rest of us are not. When we talk of £77 billion or even £30 billion, we are not talking about a few million pounds or a few billion pounds. In both contexts, we are talking of tens of billions of pounds. That situation is simply not sustainable.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I will address some of the points that the right hon. Lady makes, because there is a broader context to this debate, rather than simply the issue of the pension age. Given the opportunity, I would like to make some progress People are living longer and leading healthier lives. Of course, that is to be welcomed, but it does increase the pressure on the state pension scheme. As a Government, we have a responsibility to keep it affordable and sustainable for future generations.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I would like to make some progress The changes that have been made are important in making the state pension scheme affordable and sustainable. They also reflect the way in which men and women lead their lives now, rather than the way they led them in the 1940s. I will come back to that point later First, I want to tackle one issue head-on. Many hon. Members have talked about the need for transitional arrangements. I point them towards the extensive debates and discussions that took place when the legislation passed through Parliament. Let me quote Hansard from the day on which the Pensions Bill received its Second Reading in June 2011. The Secretary of State made it very clear that equalisation of the state pension age would take place in 2018. He said that "we have no plans to change equalisation in 2018, or the age of 66 for both men and women in 2020, but we will consider transitional arrangements."—[Official Report, 20 June 2011; Vol. 530, c. 52.] Yes, he said, "we will consider transitional arrangements." Four months after the Secretary of State said those words, and after he had considered the matter further, a concession or a transitional arrangement—call it what you will—was indeed considered by this House and included on Report. That transitional arrangement was worth over £1 billion and reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their state pension from two years to 18 months. So when people say that transitional arrangements should have been made, I simply ask them to look back at the record, to consider what was said and to consider what was subsequently done four months later. There were transitional arrangements. They passed through the House, there was extensive debate, there was extensive engagement with the relevant stakeholders and it was done.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Graham Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): Is it not a fact that people were not aware of the Pensions Act 1995? We had 13 years of a Labour Government that spent £5 million on communication. Is it not the complete failure of the previous Labour Government that failed the women involved?
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. In 13 years of government, Labour—with 10 Pensions Ministers and nine Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions— completely failed these women and now refuses to accept any responsibility or to acknowledge the arithmetic of the pensions budget. Labour Members seek to put the blame on those at this Dispatch Box without making any contrary proposals. They refuse to commit themselves. As I said earlier, the luxury of opposition is being able to speak about spending huge sums of money without having the responsibility of taking the political decisions that we have to take.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): I will not give way, as I wish to make progress Following the 2011 Act, we wrote to all those directly affected to inform them of the change to their state pension age. About 5 million letters were sent by the DWP and the sending of the letters to those affected was completed between January 2012 and November 2013. Letters to those whose state pension age was set by the 1995 Act only were sent between April 2009, when Labour was still in government, and March 2011, when that process was finished by the coalition Government. As a result of those efforts, in 2012 a survey by the DWP found that only 6% of women who were within 10 years of receiving their pension thought that their state pension age was still 60 The shadow Work and Pensions Secretary mentioned several surveys and was somewhat selective in those to which he referred. The one done by the DWP, which runs and is in charge of the pension scheme, has a fair amount of validity and, as I say, only 6% of women who were within 10 years of receiving their pension thought that their state pension age was still 60. As for the original 1995 changes to the state pension age, in 2004 nearly three quarters of those between 45 and 54 were aware of changes to women’s state pensions. Our communications campaign has focused on raising general awareness of the changes and encouraging those closest to the state pension age to get a personalised state pension statement.
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Labor
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Minister for giving way and, despite the chuntering from those on the Labour Front Bench, I can assure him and everyone else that this is my question. We heard earlier from the shadow Secretary of State that he believed that the communication on this been absolutely appalling. He overlooked the fact that his own Government estimated that 75% of women had been informed. He also overlooked the fact that according to evidence to the Select Committee there were 600 mentions of the 1995 Act found in the media at that time. According to the briefing on the state pension legislation, 17 million automatic forecasts were issued by the Labour Government between 2004 and 2006—[Hon. Members: "Speech!"] Does my hon. Friend agree that although undoubtedly some women were not informed, many were?
Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will be aware that Governments have to take difficult decisions at times. Considering the state of the economy and the financial position that this Government came into—she will be aware that one of her own colleagues said that there was no money left—and considering the longevity of both men and women, the Government had to take difficult decisions, as all Governments of both shades have to. This Government had to take difficult decisions and we took them because they needed to be taken.