argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Unaccompanied Child Refugees: Europe — House of Commons, 2017-11-02
Topic: Immigration
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (Conservative, Centre-right): I will come to the wider point around that shortly, but, as I have just said, the High Court has outlined that the process the Government have used is lawful Children have already arrived in recent weeks from France and transfers are ongoing. We have been working closely with Greece to put in place the processes for the safe transfer of eligible children to the UK, and expect to receive further referrals in the coming weeks. I say to the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), the Chair of the Select Committee, that she is effectively proposing that we should just take children from another country. I am sure Members must appreciate, when they think this through, that we simply cannot do that. We as a Government and a country must respect the sovereignty of other countries and their national child protection laws. That is the right thing to do For the year ending June 2017, we in the UK granted asylum or another form of leave to remain to more than 9,000 children, and have done that for more than 42,000 children since 2010. We are fully committed to ensuring that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and refugee children are safe and that their welfare is promoted once they arrive in the UK. That is why yesterday, as has been outlined, the Government published a safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children, in recognition of their increased numbers and specific needs, backing up the point I made earlier that we want to make sure we are doing the right thing by the children who need our support.
Unaccompanied Child Refugees: Europe — House of Commons, 2017-11-02
Topic: Immigration
Heidi-Suzanne Allen (Conservative, Centre-right): I should like to thank everyone who has spoken so passionately in today’s debate. There has been a broad recognition of the UK’s contribution to tackling the migration crisis around the world, and I have taken away two conclusions. First, we must fulfil our obligations under Dubs. We need to fill those remaining places as soon as we possibly can. We have been reminded today that these are not numbers. They are people; they are children. I particularly want to thank the hon. Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown) for reminding us of that fact, because it can be too easy to focus on the documents and spreadsheets when we should be focusing on the children and families My second conclusion is that we must not let Brexit reduce our ability to offer the broadest family reunification we can, whether under Dublin III or our own domestic legislation, perhaps through something new in the great repeal Bill or an immigration Bill. We need to ensure that we make this as broad as possible, and I was pleased to hear the Minister set out his intention to work towards achieving that. Further clarity around our domestic legislation might also be required At the end of the day, the migration crisis will not end any time soon. Whether it is due to war or climate change, I fear that this is only the beginning. We will have to face the situation as a global member of the world and, as a wealthy and compassionate society, we have a duty to lead. The crisis is not going to go away tomorrow, so our compassion must not go away either. I thank everyone for continuing to bring the plight of these children to the ears of the media and to the general public Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House notes that it is one year since the Calais Jungle camp was demolished; further notes that the UK demonstrated moral and political leadership in transferring 750 child refugees from intolerable conditions in that camp to be reunited with family members in Britain and provided those children with protection under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016; and believes that as the UK prepares to leave the EU, provision must be made to ensure that unaccompanied children in Europe can continue to access the safe and legal means to reunite with family and relatives in the EU as is currently provided for under the EU Dublin III Regulation.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): No further explanation is required. We are immensely interested in the hon. Gentleman’s grandmother, and his ruminations on that matter will doubtless be found in his memoirs, which will be deposited in the Library and we can consult in the long winter evenings that lie ahead.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): I shall help the hon. Gentleman out of his confusion. As I have said on numerous occasions, it is not possible simply to copy and paste the existing agreements. For example, we must take into account the disaggregation of tariff-rate quotas, so it is not quite that simple.
Ministerial Discussions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I have noticed a phenomenon of what I will call inconsistent bobbing in the Chamber. A Member bobs once and thinks that that is sufficient signal of a desire to participate. Repeated bobbing has always been required, as the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) can well testify. I encourage the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Paul Masterton) to increased athleticism.
Ethiopia: Human Rights — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): It is always the aim of our Government to get other Governments to replicate our values in a clear and practical way. I second my hon. Friend’s vote of thanks to our ambassador for the work that she and her staff are doing. He makes a valid point that we need to take into consideration some of the extreme pressures that some countries are under. Taking 1 million refugees is not an easy task for the most developed country, never mind a country such as Ethiopia that is moving forward in development.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: A freedom of information request revealed that the Minister acted as a lobbyist for oil and gas companies in Brazil on taxation and environmental licensing issues. Does he think that is consistent with the Government’s commitment to lead the world in environmental protection, and that it conforms with the ministerial code of conduct?; Yesterday I met a delegation of businessmen from the seafood sector based in north-east Lincolnshire. One of our meetings was to discuss the possible designation of Immingham and Grimsby as free ports, and the businessmen seemed quite enthusiastic about that. Will my right hon. Friend expand on how we might pursue that post-Brexit?
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Small Business Saturday is in its fifth year. It is a celebration of our small businesses, and I imagine that all Members of the House will be taking part and celebrating businesses in their own constituencies. I shall be with the UK export hub, which some Members have had experience of, in Portishead in my constituency. I encourage as many as possible of the members of the public who may be paying attention to these proceedings to attend.
BAME Women — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): All Departments carefully consider the equalities impact of individual policy decisions on those who share protected characteristics, including gender and race, in line with the Government’s strong commitment to equality issues. From April 2018, the national living wage will increase by 4.4%. Past increases have disproportionately benefited women and those from BAME backgrounds, as well as the disabled.
BAME Women — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): I am aware of that work. Part of the challenge is that we need to see much more clearly the broader picture in relation to how Budgets and Government decisions affect BAME women. The analysis that the hon. Gentleman mentions does not take into account the impact of the national living wage, the changes we have made to childcare—introducing 30 hours’ free care—the work that we are doing on reducing the gender pay gap, the introduction of shared parental leave or the introduction of increased flexible working. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been very clear that "what is possible falls a long way short of a full gender impact assessment", and that is the underlying weakness in the analysis.[Official Report, 18 December 2017, Vol. 633, c. 4MC.]
BAME Women — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): It is worth reflecting on the fact that two thirds of the people who will benefit from the national living wage increase—it is increasing by 4.4% from next April—will be women. Indeed, because of the tax changes we are making, with the increase in the personal allowance from 2015-16 to 2017-18, 800,000 women will be taken out of tax altogether, which is something we should all welcome.
Supporting Women back into Work — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.; What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): The gender pay gap can be explained in part by professional and other women returning to the workplace in lesser roles than the ones they left to take time off to raise families or look after loved ones. Will my right hon. Friend highlight what the Government are doing to address that particular shortfall?
Supporting Women back into Work — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.; What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Member for Ogmore (Chris Elmore) said, despite some of the best laws in the world, women in this country who are in work face more discrimination when they are pregnant than they did 10 years ago, and that can also stop them getting back into work. Will the Government consider making it clearer that employment tribunals have discretion in allowing individuals to bring discrimination cases in special circumstances outside the general three-month limit? Surely pregnancy must be a very special circumstance indeed.
Supporting Women back into Work — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.; What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right—pregnancy is a very special circumstance, and women and employers are not always aware of their legal obligations. Some of the work that we are doing on gender pay gap reporting will be an important part of that, because it will highlight some of those issues and enable us to dig deeper into the reasons behind that pay gap. I have no doubt that some of it will be due to discrimination against women in the workplace.
Supporting Women back into Work — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.; What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): I point out to the hon. Lady that it is illegal and unlawful to discriminate in such a way, and employers are breaking the law in doing it. As constituency MPs, we can highlight to the women we meet or who come to our surgeries—[Interruption.] The hon. Lady says that she wants action from the Government, but action has been taken—it is against the law.
Women’s Refuges — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. Knowing his experience with the police force, he will understand that this is an extremely complicated area. The Government are absolutely determined to get this right, because it is of vital importance that we do so. There is no question but that refuges provide a life-saving role in our community and that is why we are currently consulting on the best way to ensure their future funding is right to make sure they are supported as permanent parts of our community.
Women’s Refuges — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Immigration
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I reassure the hon. Lady that those discussions are already taking place. Ministers in my Department have already met Women’s Aid. I know that it, and other organisations, will be playing an active part in the consultation on the future of funding for women’s refuges. That consultation closes on 23 January and I encourage all organisations, and Members, to take part.
Women’s Refuges — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Immigration
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): Newark Women’s Aid is without question one of the most inspiring organisations I have visited in my constituency. Its finances, however, are fragile. When considering future financial settlements for women’s refuges, will the Minister ensure that the settlements are as long as possible—three or five years in length—to ensure the brave and brilliant people who run refuges have the security they need to continue?
Women’s Refuges — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Immigration
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises a very important point. I encourage him and Newark Women’s Aid to take part in the consultation. On the long-term funding of women’s refuges, it is fair to say that nothing is off the table. The Government have not ruled out a national funding scheme, if our consultation shows that that is correct.
Women’s Refuges — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Housing
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): Representing the Department for Communities and Local Government, I find quite offensive the idea that giving funding direct to local authorities to support women in crisis in their community is in some way pulling the plug on them. We have been absolutely clear that we will continue to review the funding for care and support, and whether housing costs should be paid direct as grants to local authorities or not. We continue to explore all the options, including a national model for refuge provision.
Caste as a Protected Characteristic — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The public consultation on how best to ensure that there is appropriate and proportionate legal protection against caste discrimination closed on 18 September. We received more than 13,000 responses, which are currently being analysed, and we will respond in due course.
Caste as a Protected Characteristic — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): Given the thousands of responses from British Hindus saying that having caste as a protected characteristic in equality law is unnecessary and divisive, will my right hon. Friend take action to remove that provision—which was introduced by the Labour party—from the legislative book?
Caste as a Protected Characteristic — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): We appreciate that caste is an extremely sensitive and emotive subject which is important to many people, but there is clearly no unanimous view among consultation respondents about how best to provide the necessary legal protection against caste discrimination. We are therefore considering the responses very carefully, and will be taking account of all the relevant points raised when deciding how to proceed.
Caste as a Protected Characteristic — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady has expressed an opinion, and so has my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman). As I have said, we are looking at 13,000 opinions. We completely oppose any form of discrimination related to a person’s caste, but the way in which we ensure that that does not happen must be proportionate. We will respond to the consultation in due course.
People with Disabilities: Changing Facilities — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank Changing Places for the work that it has done to improve facilities throughout the country, and I thank local campaigners for approaching me. They are right to campaign for more suitable facilities in areas of leisure such as football stadiums where people can be changed with dignity and in safety. Will the Minister outline further Government support?
People with Disabilities: Changing Facilities — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): Owing to the campaigning of my hon. Friend and other organisations, since 2007 the number of Changing Places lavatories has increased from 140 to more than 1,000, but there are still not enough. I remind those in charge of all public buildings, and all buildings in which services are provided, that they have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that changing places can be installed.
People with Disabilities: Changing Facilities — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Housing
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): Under the Equality Act, there is already a requirement to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that changing places are provided. Other alterations would have to be made in building regulations. We are currently undertaking a building regulations review, and I do not wish to prejudge its conclusions, but let me highlight the extent of the problem. Only nine train stations out of a total of 2,500, only 12 motorway service stations out of nearly 100 and only 50 out of nearly 500 shopping centres have changing places. That is simply not good enough.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): Over the past month, Mr Speaker, we were both, along with many colleagues from across the House, able to attend the event recognising the Patchwork Foundation’s excellent work engaging under-represented groups in politics. I was also lucky enough to be able to join the UK Youth Parliament in Parliament a few Fridays ago, when it debated important equalities issues such as LGBT rights and the need for a more diverse Parliament over the coming years Increasing diversity in Parliament is critical. The Government also remain committed to increasing equality in the workplace and it is good news that the new gender pay gap reporting released last month shows that the full-time gender pay gap is now the lowest it has ever been. Of course, this week marks the launch of our latest programme for returners in the public sector, for those wishing to rejoin the civil service. My Department is leading the way by offering returner places within the Government Equalities Office.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): We have announced a £5 million fund that will do three things. First, it will help us fund the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. Secondly, there will be grassroots funding and we are alerting community organisations around the country so that they can do their own local projects. Thirdly, as we announced in the Budget yesterday, seven centenary cities and towns in England with a strong suffrage history will receive funding to make sure that the places where the push for women’s votes was strongest can play their role in helping us remember such an important milestone.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Parliament itself is very much engaged with these matters, of course, and that will take the form of a huge exhibition in the course of 2018, which I am sure all colleagues will wish to visit and to encourage others to visit.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Mixed Topics
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): In the fact-free environment in which the Opposition live, it is easy to ignore what respected commentators such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies say about that analysis. It has said that "what is possible falls a long way short of a full gender impact assessment." The IFS makes that point because the analysis of the Budget considers tax and welfare but does not and cannot take into account the impact of the national living wage, the childcare policies this Government have introduced, the work we have done on the gender pay gap, or the legal changes we have made on shared parental leave and flexible working. It gives a very narrow picture of how much the Government are doing to support women. The other point that has been missed is that there are now more women in work than ever before. If we are really interested in women’s economic empowerment, surely that is the main statistic we should focus on.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: Does my right hon. Friend share my encouragement that more than 100,000 people took part in the Government’s LGBT survey? What further steps is she taking to ensure greater LGBT equality in British society?
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The survey received an unprecedented response, making it one of the largest LGBT surveys in the world. We will analyse those results closely and set out further steps to promote LGBT equality next year. My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that we are taking other action, including running a large anti-homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying programme in our schools.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Civil Rights
Questions: Does my right hon. Friend share my encouragement that more than 100,000 people took part in the Government’s LGBT survey? What further steps is she taking to ensure greater LGBT equality in British society?
Justine Greening (Conservative, Centre-right): This is an important topic. Paying men and women unequally for the same work has been unlawful for nearly 50 years, and I spoke directly with Frances O’Grady only yesterday about the need for us to work collectively to tackle this. The Department for Education also held a flexible working summit with the teaching profession last month. I agree that improving flexible working is part of how we can ensure that women are better able to get back into the workplace. In relation to equal pay, that is a legal requirement and gender pay gap transparency is part of how we can continue to shine a light on this range of issues.