argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
P&O Ferries — House of Commons, 2022-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Karl Turner (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, for accommodating me. I want to thank the Secretary of State. This campaign has gone on not just for the 12 years I have been in this House; this campaign has existed since the 1966 seamen’s strike. I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman and the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Witney (Robert Courts), on getting over all the hurdles that must have been appearing in front of them, and I want to work with my hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State to ensure that what the Secretary of State proposes will work and ensure that the minimum wage applies My concern is that these companies employ terribly bad practice, and I fear that they will find other ways to exploit seafarers. Safety is my big concern, so if conditions change or if rotas change—if seafarers are required to work five months on and a month off, for example—we will not be very far from disasters such as the Herald of Free Enterprise, in which passengers lost their lives due to crew fatigue. Can the Secretary of State assure the House that he is looking at ensuring that cannot happen in this case?
Health and Care Bill — House of Commons, 2022-03-30
Topic: Labor
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Minister want to comment on the fact that 100-plus organisations—and not just those 100 organisations, including the BMA, but former chief executives of NHS England—are still very concerned that the Government’s measures on workforce planning do not go far enough?
Health and Care Bill — House of Commons, 2022-03-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased that that concession has been made. However, a number of points of clarification would be really helpful to carers. One is about being given a choice about caring, carers having the right information, and carers being able to express their needs properly. The second is about disabled children, who are not referred to here, and the third is about ensuring that young carers are clearly covered by any guidance issued. Will the Minister say how those issues will be addressed?
Health and Care Bill — House of Commons, 2022-03-30
Topic: Social Welfare
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): It was not my intention to speak in the debate, but I need to ensure that the point that has been raised about Lords amendment 80 and the cap is not missed. The Minister talked a great deal about fairness, but how can it be fair that my constituents and people across the north-east and the north generally will face what the King’s Fund described as "people with low levels of wealth" being "exposed to very high care costs" It cannot be right that the northern regions and other areas will face that unfairness. The Government should reconsider the issue and come forward, as other hon. Members have said, with further discussions about how to resolve it. The proposal in the Bill is very different from that originally presented to the House on care costs On carers, I agree with other hon. Members who have raised the issue. As I mentioned earlier, we need much more detail and certainty for those carers and we need to be able to take part to ensure that the guidance issued is effective and represents and meets their need.
Northern Ireland Protocol — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Peter John Kyle (Labour, Centre-left): The Prime Minister has told the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson) that negotiations on the protocol have only a 30% chance of success. Does the Secretary of State share that assessment?
Northern Ireland Protocol — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Government Operations
Peter John Kyle (Labour, Centre-left): The reason the Secretary of State cannot give a direct answer to the question is because Ministers and the Prime Minister have been telling so many people informally so many different answers. That is a reason why there is such a lack of trust in the Government at the moment. Queen’s University Belfast has just carried out a poll, which found: "The UK government is by far the most distrusted…of all actors" That is because so much is happening in the shadows; Ministers are telling people different things behind closed doors. Since the Executive collapsed, there has been no statement to the House. Following five rounds of negotiations between the UK and the EU Governments, there has not been a single statement to the House. Will the Secretary of State promise to bring discussions out of the shadows and start making statements to the House, so that we can have things on the record and not behind closed doors?
Promoting Trade and Investment — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Hilary James Benn (Labour, Centre-left): Last week, I was in Northern Ireland with members of the UK Trade and Business Commission, where we heard from a major supermarket about the impact that the protocol could have in future if the grace periods no longer exist. I listened carefully to the Secretary of State’s answer to the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson) earlier, when he suggested an SPS agreement as a way forward. Can we be clear that the Government are seeking an SPS agreement with the EU that differentiates the goods that are at risk of going into the EU, and those that are not?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): The typical energy bill is going up by £700 next month, and that is because of pressures before Russia invaded Ukraine. What is the Chancellor’s solution? A forced £200 loan for every household, to be paid back in mandatory instalments over five years. The big gamble behind that policy was that energy costs would drop quickly after a short spike. That bet now looks certain to fail. When will the Prime Minister force the Chancellor into a U-turn?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Macroeconomics
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): I do not think the Prime Minister understands the mess he is in. Working families are facing a £700 spike in April. They will not even receive their £200 loan from the Chancellor until October. The wholesale price of oil and gas is now ballooning, so by October when the loan finally comes in, household bills are set to shoot up by another £1,000. It is a total mess, so I ask again: when is the Prime Minister going to force the Chancellor to U-turn?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): We will see how long that position lasts. Let me try to help the Prime Minister by coming at this from a different angle. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, North sea oil and gas companies were making bumper profits. BP made £9.5 billion, Shell made £14 billion—in their own words, "more cash than we know what to do with." Since then, the international price of oil and gas has skyrocketed, and so will their profits. When will the Prime Minister admit he has got this badly wrong, put a windfall tax on those super-profits, and use the money to cut household energy bills?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): Protecting energy profits, not working people—doesn’t that say it all? Britain cannot afford another crisis like this. We need to improve our long-term energy security. That starts with supporting new nuclear and renewables, but the Conservatives have effectively banned new onshore wind. As a direct result of this short-sighted approach, we are using more gas every year than we import from Russia. That is ludicrous, so will the Prime Minister relax planning laws, end the block on onshore wind, and stop supporting policies that make us so dependent on foreign gas?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): Come off it! Labour is pro-nuclear. This Prime Minister cannot get a single brick laid of a new nuclear plant. Energy security is not just about supply; it is also about reducing demand. Our housing stock is the least efficient in Europe. That is why Labour set out a plan to upgrade the 19 million British homes that desperately need it within a decade, saving families £400 on their energy bills and cutting UK gas imports by 15%, whereas all the Government have is a failed policy. Taking all their announcements together, it will take 75 years to deliver the upgrades that we need. That is a lifetime, when we need urgent action. When is the Prime Minister going to get on with it?
Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Keir Starmer (Labour, Centre-left): Twelve years in power and that is the best the Prime Minister can do. The Ukrainian people are fighting for democracy. We must stand with them, and that means taking the toughest possible measures against Putin. Let us be honest that there will be costs here at home. We can withstand those costs, and we must, by using a windfall tax to keep bills down for working people and by starting a new era of energy policy, never again at the mercy of a dictator, by supporting new nuclear after years of neglect, sprinting on renewables, including onshore wind, and having an urgent national mission to upgrade homes, ending years of dither and delay. Why is the Prime Minister offering the same failed energy policy that cast us into the security crisis and allowed bills to rocket? [Interruption.]
Ukraine Update — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
John Derek Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for the regular and excellent updates and briefings we have and for the hard work he is putting in on Ukraine, within the constraints he has to work within. However, I do think it is a strategic mistake that when confronting a tyrant we tell him what we will not do. If Putin remains in power, we will have to confront him at some point militarily. We should be aware of that and get it out in the open. But my question is: what level of slaughter of Ukrainians are we willing to see before NATO and the west intervene militarily in Ukraine, such as by ensuring safe areas in western Ukraine?
Ukraine Update — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for updating us on the UK’s actions in support of the Ukrainians’ heroic defence of their country. He will have noted that his update was received much more warmly than that given by the Home Office yesterday, and with good reason—I do hope that Home Office Ministers have noted that as well. We must act on all fronts. The need for humanitarian assistance is overwhelming. Will the Secretary of State say a little more about the 1,000 UK troops who I understand from his statement are still on stand-by to provide humanitarian assistance? Where are they and under what circumstances will they be deployed?
Ukraine Update — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Liam Dominic Byrne (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, want to thank the Secretary of State for Defence. It is now very clear that we need to re-contain Russia, which will mean resupplying Ukrainian forces, refortifying our frontline, and, crucially, repressing the Russian economy. At the moment, nobody can recognise the 275 figure that is being used for the number of sanctions that have been issued. The Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday heard evidence that the Government simply were not ready. Even today, the family of the founder of the Wagner Group have still not been sanctioned here, even though they have been sanctioned in Europe. When the Secretary of State sees the Foreign Secretary later today, can he ask her to get her act together?
Ukraine Update — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: International Affairs
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (Labour, Centre-left): At the risk of destroying the Defence Secretary’s career, the reason he is getting so many questions on refugees is that hon. Members on both sides of this House wish he were in charge of the Home Office. Leading on from the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Derek Twigg), how confident can the Secretary of State be that, if we do not confront Putin more directly now in Ukraine, we will not have to do so next month or next year, somewhere else in Europe?
Russian Oil Import Ban — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Darren Paul Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. He will know that many local authorities, NHS trusts and other public bodies are locked into gas supply contracts with Gazprom. To get out of them, the Government need to bring forward legislation to amend the public procurement rules. Will he do so?
Russian Oil Import Ban — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Michael Whitley (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the spirit of these plans, but I urge the Government to act even faster. Russian gas and oil constitutes just a tiny fraction of the UK’s energy mix and we must break this last lifeline to the Putin regime as soon as we can. I am also deeply concerned to hear Government Members call for a resumption of fracking, which would be a betrayal of the commitments we made to the world in Glasgow just five months ago. Will the Secretary of State today commit to ruling out further investment in fossil fuels and instead pledge his Department’s support for an ambitious new green deal and wide-ranging investments in renewables, including the Mersey tidal project, so that we can finally set ourselves on the path of true energy independence?
Russian Oil Import Ban — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (Labour, Centre-left): Given that the Conservatives have been in power for 12 years, why has the Secretary of State not already lifted the damaging moratorium put in by David Cameron on onshore wind—the cheapest and quickest way of generating renewables?
Russian Oil Import Ban — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (Labour, Centre-left): To follow on from the question of the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin), many businesses, such as aviation, which has a massive impact on my constituency, hedge their future fuel costs, but many will be hugely exposed because they have not hedged those costs. Is the Department doing some analysis of the exposure of such businesses?
Russian Oil Import Ban — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Environment
Geraint Richard Davies (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will know that his Department refused support for the Swansea bay tidal lagoon, but the new Blue Eden lagoon project is nevertheless going ahead. Instead of looking again at fracking, which generates 5% of fugitive emissions—that makes it worse than coal for climate change—will he look at supporting the Welsh Government and Wales overall in marine technologies and renewable technologies, alongside looking at organic batteries at scale, which can store such renewables without causing pollution?
Russian Oil Import Ban — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Energy
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): The pace at which we divest from Putin’s fossil fuels is important for stopping this war. As a result, as in wars past, if we scaled up our manufacturing to see retrofitting and our renewables industry, that could be not only the saviour of the Ukrainian people, but the saviour of our planet. Will the Secretary of State not only scale up, but lead an alliance of countries that need to make such urgent diversification to ensure that we apply this pain to Putin’s regime as quickly as possible?
National Tutoring Programme and Adult Education — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Education
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): Before I go any further, I want to declare an interest as somebody who used to help to deliver union learning in workplaces across the country, so I know that access to in-work, lifelong learning has the power to transform lives. Does the Minister accept that the decision to axe the union learning fund undermines any warm words about skills, further education and in-work learning?
Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22 — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): But this has been happening for many years. These are political decisions that have been taken, and nearly 30% of our procurement is now bought off the shelf from the United States, with no commitment from companies such as Boeing to reinvest to ensure that not only jobs but technology stay in the UK.
Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22 — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Foreign Trade
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we look forward to the Minister trying to give an explanation for that. My right hon. Friend mentions EU regulations. The reality was that no other country in Europe behaved like that, but that was one of the drivers for the British public thinking that the EU was not working in their interests. Had we actually behaved like every other European country, there would have been less anger in this country. Now the Government are claiming that they are bound by World Trade Organisation regulations, but the United States is a long-standing member—indeed, a founder—of the WTO, and it has a "buy American" policy. There is a deep ideology in the civil service, and unfortunately Ministers are afraid to confront it.
Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22 — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Government Operations
John Francis Spellar (Labour, Centre-left): I thank my hon. Friend for that. This very much shows that a week in politics can be a very long time, but it also reveals, as she rightly says, a complacency about our situation and about the international situation, which was not justified by events In conclusion, what we have to question today is: is there the necessary understanding in the Government of the tasks and indeed the opportunities confronting them? Are they willing to rethink and provide the funds to implement urgent and necessary charge? Bevin understood this and seized the moment, and Prime Minister Attlee backed him to the hilt. So the fundamental question today is: are this Prime Minister, the current crop of Ministers and our dysfunctional civil service up for the challenge or even up to the job?
Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22 — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Government Operations
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister said the plan is in balance, but that is not what the NAO report says. It is only in balance if the Department meets the so-called efficiencies, which, on previous form, it has never met.
Shared Transport: Government Policy Objectives — House of Commons, 2022-03-09
Topic: Transportation
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (Labour, Centre-left): I secured this debate because, having joined the Transport Committee about a year ago, I became struck by how little attention is being given to the multiple ways in which car clubs and other shared transport can help national and local governments meet their multiple policy objectives. Shared transport is about giving people access to cars, bikes, and other vehicles, without the need to own them. I should perhaps declare an interest: my husband and I have not owned a car for more than 25 years. When we need one, which is much less often than we thought we would, we use the south-west’s fantastic car sharing scheme, Co Cars, which is a co-operative based in Exeter of which I was one of the founder members For those who do not know how such schemes work, they can vary a bit, as can the ownership models. Essentially, however, someone registers, then they book the car or van nearest to them online, using an app in some cases. They pick it up using a smart card, and they drive it away, returning it when they are finished. It is simple, and much cheaper than buying and owning a car oneself, and there are no insurance, maintenance, or parking headaches As well as the cost, there are climate change, air quality, local amenity and congestion advantages to car sharing. According to the RAC Foundation, the average private car sits doing nothing for 96.5% of its life. What a waste of money and valuable urban space. As we transition to e-vehicles as a country over the next few years, simply replacing private internal combustion vehicles with electric ones will not be enough to meet our zero carbon targets, and it will do nothing to tackle congestion. In fact, one could argue that with people feeling less inhibited to drive if they are driving an e-vehicle, it is likely that congestion will get worse, without a reduction in the total number of private vehicles on our roads.
Prayers — House of Commons, 2022-06-16
Topic: Government Operations
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of our friend and colleague Jo Cox, who was murdered on her way to meet constituents in her Batley and Spen constituency. She was doing what so many of us do as constituency MPs, and that was what made her death all the more shocking. May I express on behalf of the whole House our sympathy with her family, friends and colleagues on this sad anniversary? We will never forget Jo, or her legacy. We remember her wise words that we "have far more in common than that which divides us" Business before Questions Contingencies Fund Account 2021-22 Ordered, That there be laid before this House an Account of the Contingencies Fund 2021-22, showing— 1. A Statement of Financial Position 2. A Statement of Cash Flows and 3. Notes to the Accounts; together with the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon.—(David T. C. Davies.)
UK’s Green Industries: Export Opportunities — House of Commons, 2022-06-16
Topic: Energy
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I start by endorsing your comments about our colleague, my friend, Jo Cox? She is still very much missed and always will be It is vital that we support green industries in the UK, especially those that are exporting products around the world, yet the investor state dispute settlements threaten green industries and renewable energy projects. Many of these provisions are in the energy charter treaty, which lets fossil fuel companies sue Governments who are trying to decarbonise, such as the Netherlands. Will the Government therefore support efforts to remove in full these protections for fossil fuel companies in the energy charter treaty?
India: Foreign Direct Investment and Trade — House of Commons, 2022-06-16
Topic: Foreign Trade
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour, Centre-left): We very much welcome the prospect of increased trading opportunities with India, a country with which we have many historical ties. At the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year, Prime Minister Modi announced demanding commitments to reduce emissions. After the Government’s shocking sell-out on the Australia deal, what preparation is the Minister making to use a possible trade deal to support Modi’s ambitions and to act on recommendations from the CBI about how our trade policy can support our climate goals, such as by including incentives to meet or surpass emissions reduction targets in a trade agreement?
Surveillance Technology: Trade with China — House of Commons, 2022-06-16
Topic: International Affairs
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): The EU Parliament, Australian Government, and the US recognise the dangers of Chinese state owned surveillance cameras, and are introducing sanctions against Hikvision, and others, due to the national security considerations, and the facilitation of human rights atrocities in Xinjiang. The UK Government have not ceased trade in those products, and are placing them in UK schools, hospitals, on our streets, and even in Government Departments. Does the Minister agree that the UK should immediately cease trading in security equipment with China, and funding those companies implicated in genocide?