argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19: International Response — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I thank the Minister for initiating this debate. Like other noble Lords today, I would like to concentrate on human rights violations during this period of the pandemic, but also on how certain undemocratic countries are using the pandemic and their lockdowns as a means of suppression In countries such as Guatemala, Myanmar, Uganda and the Philippines, authoritarian leaders have been using that means of suppression to keep people in subjection, rather than tackling the real issue of the pandemic or injustices and inequalities, and the high levels of poverty entrenched as a result of it. In fact, a UN rapporteur said: "The danger is that states, particularly non-democratic or less open societies, would use the opportunity given by the health emergency to crack down on particular minority groups, or individuals or groups that they see as … problematic" I therefore ask the Minister to ensure that, through the organs used by the Government, such as the G7 and the G20, all influence is brought to bear on these countries violating human rights and putting people in suppression. Will they warn them that there could be judicial sanctions for a failure to show proper human rights respect for all people, and ensure that they are properly cared for and treated, while having proper access to food and clean water? There are some doubts about that as well.
Covid-19: Housing — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: Mixed Topics
Christopher Holmes (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): Does my noble friend agree that there is a real opportunity and an urgent need to increase the use of digital technology across the construction sector, not least in the supply chain, to ensure that the various industry bodies produce the skills and talent to enable us to flourish in all our digital futures?
Covid-19: Housing — House of Lords, 2020-05-18
Topic: Housing
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, what discussions have taken place with the devolved institutions about the need to increase the provision of social and affordable housing to address the housing need and homelessness that will ensue following the coronavirus pandemic?
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-07
Topic: Other
Charles Hay (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, we now come to the group beginning with Amendment 6. I remind noble Lords that anyone wishing to speak after the Minister should email the clerk during the debate. Anyone wishing to press this, or any other amendments in this group, to a Division should make that clear in the debate Amendment 6
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-07
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I rise to support the amendment and to congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Addington. As somebody who over the years has supported access to the countryside, I fully understand and appreciate that. However, I come back to the principle, raised by the noble Lord, Lord Empey, and the Minister, of the balance of competing rights: the right of people to enjoy the countryside, and their right to have access to it while at the same time respecting it. Like the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, I am well aware that during lockdown there was a certain despoliation of the countryside—a considerable level of littering and probably interference with farm animals. It comes back to the issue of getting the balance right. After all, access to the countryside can be a pretty disputatious issue if it is not managed properly.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-06
Topic: Civil Rights
Christopher Holmes (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on the clear, coherent manner in which he introduced this debate. The House has great fortune in having him on the Front Bench. I offer my support to the Bill. We need to get the economy moving and, although it is not a provision of the Bill, we need to get our young people back into education as soon as possible I shall cover two elements related to the Bill: inclusion and small breweries. I stand alongside the comments of my noble friend Lord Blencathra and my friend the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, about pavements and public spaces. We must ensure that we build back together or we will not build back much that is worth while. The measures are temporary, but inclusion and accessibility are about every moment and they count just as much for temporary fixes as for anything else. It is vital that we get our economy moving again, but it should not come at the expense of the exclusion of disabled people from our high streets and local communities. That exclusion is utterly avoidable. It would be invidious if we took regulatory barriers away temporarily only to replace them for disabled people and those with young children in pushchairs with impassable physical barriers. Economic growth and equality are not mutually exclusive or, indeed, diametrically opposed. They walk hand in hand. This makes great moral, legal and business sense. In fact, the greater the level of inclusion, the greater the level of social and economic activity. There is only one economy, there is only one United Kingdom—it flourishes and we are all at our best when everything is underpinned by dignity, inclusion and respect. I thank all the organisations that do so much good work on accessibility and inclusion, not least the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the RNIB The changes to the licensing requirements are welcome, but hundreds of small independent breweries find themselves locked out and unable to take part in this unlocking of the economy. They find themselves having extremely tough times for want of small, doable legislative changes. It is imperative that they have a successful summer, otherwise they may have no autumn or winter. We could do such a service for these small independent breweries if we just make these small legislative changes to enable them to sell to the public, which they are currently unable to do. The innovation and ingenuity that we have seen from small independent breweries, particularly in the past decade, have brought vast sectors and areas of the public to not just the product but the approach and the methods of brewing, and often these breweries put themselves right in the heart of the community Small legislative changes will make such a big difference to our small independent breweries. We owe it to them to make those changes. Does the Minister agree, and does he agree that everything that we do not just in this Bill but across all our activities should be predicated on inclusion?
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Christopher Holmes (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Balfe on his interesting and in-depth trip down Mill Road. That brings back all kinds of memories from being a student at Cambridge. I will speak briefly, but I ask my noble friend the Minister to address all my points in detail when she sums up the debate because that may be the most expeditious way of resolving them. I shall speak to Amendments 36, 37, 40 and 43 in my name, and I thank other noble Lords who have put their names to them and have agreed to speak These amendments all have a clear purpose, one that I believe is in line with the purpose of the Bill, which is to get the economy moving again. We should have done this earlier and we could have done so, but we are doing it now and that is a good thing. I have a few issues with this part of the Bill, where I believe that we could improve the outcome for businesses, for individuals and for society The amendments address the position of small independent breweries which find themselves shut out of the provisions of the Bill—and thus the economic restart—as currently drafted. The amendments seek to enable small independent breweries to sell alcohol directly to the public for a temporary period in a safe and measured way that is in line with the other temporary measures being put in place for other sectors of the economy. In the circumstances, I believe that this would be both proportionate and low in risk. It could be done by using the normal licensing procedure in these circumstances and for this to be seen as a minor variation, as set out in Amendment 40. Similarly, Amendment 43 seeks to allow the use of temporary event notices. Increasing the number of these notices would give the local authority even more control over the situation because it will issue them to businesses that have already been issued with them. There will be a track record and the authority will have a knowledge and understanding of how those businesses operate. That would not be a shot in the dark because HMRC knows these businesses. They will be on the system and they will have passed the fit and proper person test. The notices would be for a temporary period to enable small independent breweries to get back into business rather than potentially going to the wall or, indeed, needing to come cap in hand to the Government. This would resolve those issues There is also an important secondary benefit in having more venues open: patrons would be more able to observe social distancing because there will be more places to go to have a drink. Moreover, small independent breweries are not often located in residential areas or in zones such as those described by my noble friend Lord Balfe. It makes sense to spread people out so that they can go out for a drink safely and thus help start up the economy again As I have said, I hope that my noble friend the Minister can address all of the specifics raised in Amendments 36, 37, 40 and 43. I look forward to her response and to hearing the comments of other noble Lords.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-13
Topic: Civil Rights
Christopher Holmes (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I shall speak to Amendments 13, 15 and 16 in this group, which build on the discussion we have just had. Amendment 13 would put in a right of appeal similar to what was discussed in a previous group but in the context of the situation ably set out by the noble Lord, Lord Low, for his amendment. Amendment 15 changes the date in the Bill from 2021 to 2020 for precisely the reasons that the noble Lord, Lord Low, set out. We may be in extraordinary times and certain measures can be changed but I do not believe that it is proportionate at this stage to have a wave-through to 2021. It would be more appropriate to set a date of 2020, and that is what Amendment 15 seeks to achieve Amendment 16 brings out again the whole question of consultation and its being properly undertaken with the potential to incorporate views as expressed. It echoes many of the points made in the previous group around consultation. These amendments are specific to this group and to this Bill, but the reality is that these amendments are good not just for this time but for all times, in the sense of enabling full participation, full inclusion and full enablement for all across society There is precious little wealth in an argument that tries to push through at pace—understandably—and in so doing states that this is only a temporary measure and thus does not matter, and that we can suspend issues around inclusion, accessibility and full participation. If inclusion and inclusive design matter, and I believe they do, as I am sure everybody in your Lordships’ House does, then they matter for a second, an hour and a day as much as they matter for a month or a year.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Tina Stowell (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, when the noble Lord, Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale, spoke on the previous group, he said he had visited an establishment over the weekend. I share with noble Lords that I went to four establishments over the weekend and found them all very busy. I was pleased to "eat out to help out" as much as I did I do not know whether any noble Lords tuned into local London news last night, but it was interesting that the images of Soho this weekend were much different from those we saw the weekend before. One of the small establishment owners interviewed on "BBC London News" was very compelling in what he said about the tables and chairs outside his business making a massive difference to whether it would be able to survive.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Tina Stowell (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I welcome the Minister’s statement and the Government’s decision to table an amendment on Report. I have one question to ask the Minister: would it be possible for any premises that wanted to introduce an earlier finish time for off-sales to do so? It is very hard to see from reading the Bill whether there is any flexibility in that regard.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-13
Topic: Mixed Topics
Manzila Pola Uddin (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): I am pleased to follow the detailed observations made by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, and the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty. I shall speak in support of Amendments 42 and 78 Extraordinary business support schemes have been put in place. I am mindful of the fact that these provisions make it easier for businesses to access government support in the form of, among others, bounce-back loans and the furlough scheme, alongside other forms of financial support. The review being suggested in the amendment is necessary to ensure the most impactful use of public funds. It is equally imperative that the Government should take this opportunity to make an impact assessment of these measures on the living standards of those working in this low-paid sector, as well as considering ethnic and gender differentials. They can then reassess the measures that will be required to mitigate the disproportionate effect on these groups, particularly among those who have not been able to access successfully many of the Government’s funding regimes. As a result, some otherwise successful business owners became unemployed overnight during the lockdown and they are now having to resort to applying for universal credit. It is a safety net, yes, but it is not adequate to meet the needs of any family I take heart from the fact that at its core, the Bill is about kick-starting the economy while keeping in sight all the prerequisite safety restrictions. The business owners I have spoken to welcome the support given by the Government to the hospitality sector and the economy more widely. The discretionary schemes which have been delivered through local authorities may have helped save thousands of companies from bankruptcy and thus will have protected jobs. However, I am duty bound to remind the Government about the large number of businesses which have not accessed any support at all because they have fallen outside the policy parameters Three-quarters of businesses operating in the accommodation and food service sectors have paused or stopped trading in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. It would be remiss of me not to say that I have witnessed at first hand how many curry houses have put aside their own pain while trying their best to survive by becoming the first source of free food supplies for first responders in the NHS and for the many food banks across our country.
Business and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2020-07-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Manzila Pola Uddin (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I support Amendment 48 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara. I have just a few brief points. I shall speak specifically about data collection and the reporting requirement for the Bounce Back Loan Schemes. Despite the pandemic, we cannot overlook the need for transparency, open government and a robust process of reporting to Parliament. Current data relating to the total number of applications and the number of loans granted does not make allowances for how well the scheme is working to help businesses through the crisis, including SMEs, as the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann, referred to. There is inadequate data on the number of businesses that could not access loan schemes and why they were refused. This should be addressed in the reporting mechanism The curry industry, which I referred to earlier, has reported that its members are experiencing a great deal of difficulty in accessing this financial support. I am deeply concerned about eradicating any inequity that they might be experiencing. Therefore, I would like more detailed reporting to include the number of successful applications from SMEs led by BAME communities, particularly in the curry industry, and, more specifically for the curry industry itself, the actual number of applications that have been successful and those that have been rejected.
Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, the regulations are out of keeping with the majority view of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which two weeks ago voted against the imposition of such regulations. That debate was anchored around the section of the legislation that deals with the most egregious aspect of the abortion regulations, that of severe disability, which has been characterised by Heidi Crowther, the Down’s syndrome girl, as suggesting that this legislation does not want people like her. I am very conscious that we must all be careful about our language The legislation which fuels these regulations was passed contrary to the devolution settlement that underpins the Good Friday agreement. Clearly this matter is exclusively for the local Assembly, and I note what my noble friend Lord Hain said about that. That was determined by the European Court of Human Rights. The regulations, which act as the driver for the legislation, are not compliant with the UN’s 2007 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I will support the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan.
Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-15
Topic: Civil Rights
John Taylor (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, in 1996, I presented the Bill that enabled the UK’s first DNA database. At the moment of conception, life starts with unique DNA that no one else in the world has. Abortion is a distortion of that right to life. I oppose these regulations, and I totally support the points made in particular by the noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan, and the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin. This year, there have been just over 430,000 deaths from Covid-19 worldwide. That is dreadful, but let us compare it with over 90 million abortions worldwide so far this year. Abortion is legal only because babies cannot vote. Life is a civil right, while abortion is a moral wrong. Abortion is a distortion.
Air Traffic Management (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I first thank the Minister for her detailed explanation of the SI and for contacting Members in advance to find out our issues. At that stage I told her that my principal concern was the aviation industry in Northern Ireland. While it is important to have new traffic management and air navigation directions as a result of us leaving the European Union, it is important to have an aviation industry. The noble Lord, Lord Empey, referred to the difficulties and challenges faced by the aviation industry, and I would like the Minister to address that in winding up. Air traffic management regulations will be meaningless if we do not have the aircraft or the industry to sustain all that Take the example of Northern Ireland. Aviation is one of our greatest economic strengths, as well as a social and business lifeline, and it now stands on the edge of a crisis. Way back in February, Flybe removed 80% of its routes from Belfast City Airport at a stroke—largely due, we believe, to the impact of Covid Not only do we have Belfast City Airport and Belfast International Airport—which are very well equipped and key to our connectivity with the rest of the UK, the European Union and other areas—but we are involved in the construction of aircraft. Bombardier produces wings for the Airbus A220 jet; it is our largest high-tech manufacturer and a jewel in the crown of our local economy. Some 600 jobs there are under threat as a result of a fall in demand due to Covid, and there could be an 11% cut in that workforce. We also manufacture aircraft seats and furnishings. In fact, Thompson Aero Seating—a company making aircraft seats at four locations across Northern Ireland and employing 1,300 people—has already seen 330 job losses this year, with the potential for more. Rockwell Collins, an American company, manufactures aircraft furnishings and seats in my own local area in Kilkeel, as does a local company called Bradfor, in Rostrevor, County Down As noble Lords and the Minister will see, aircraft manufacturing and the aerospace and aviation industry are essential to the lifeblood of Northern Ireland. I ask the Minister to address, when summing up, how the Government intend to deal with these challenges and setbacks in the aviation industry as the new regulations on air management and air navigation lines are implemented.
Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2020-06-17
Topic: Mixed Topics
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I support the amendments in the name of my noble friend Lord Hain. I am a signatory to Amendment 11, which quite clearly emphasises—as does Amendment 12—the need for direct consultation with the devolved institutions. I am a former Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly; I was also a Minister in the Executive and had direct responsibility for benefits and for the protection of children through child support. One facet of this Bill deals with those issues to do with absent parents and the protection of children when the absent parent has gone to live in another jurisdiction. I fully understand and appreciate the matter My point, in supporting the amendment, is to ensure that the devolved institutions are not blindsided. I carried out some, shall we say, investigation and research on this: we know that the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Justice was contacted by the Minister for Justice on 28 April and that the committee gave approval on 30 April. Then the legislative consent Motion, which gives effect to the UK Government legislation, was approved on 19 May However, on further examining that debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 19 May, I noticed that some Members, albeit accepting the premise and purposes of the Bill, were concerned that after its approval they would not be consulted as an Assembly. The Minister would simply be advised that certain instruments were to be laid and that this particular legislation would apply, but they as Members of the Assembly would not be able to debate it, change it or give an opinion. In my view, that is undemocratic, hence my support for both amendments in the name of my noble friend Lord Hain.
Windrush Compensation Scheme — House of Lords, 2020-06-24
Topic: Civil Rights
Manzila Pola Uddin (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I thank the Minister for her considered response and agree wholeheartedly with the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, that only a comprehensive race equality strategy will suffice to address embedded, institutionalised racism and Islamophobia. The Windrush report unequivocally deemed the Home Office unfit for purpose. I know the Minister accepts and understands that there is universal lack of confidence and trust in her department and its ability to manage this inexcusable scandal in a fair, humane and respectful manner. Therefore, will the Government consider how they can best work with Mr Lammy in the other place, and call on those leading and trusted individuals, including the Windrush advisory committee, to provide independent oversight as they proceed to remedy the decades of wrongs and centuries of hurt?