argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Esther Louise McVey (Conservative, Centre-right): We have always said that we will deal with such cases. When fully rolled out, we will have up to about 8 million people here and we get it right most of the time for most of the people, but should something go wrong—and obviously something has gone wrong there—people come to their MP, which is only right, and then they bring the case to me and the Department and we get it right. But no system in the world is 100% right for 100% of people, and I apologise when it goes wrong, and then we will fight to get it right.
Prevention of Ill Health: Government Vision — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Secretary of State for what he has just said. A lot of Members wish to take part in this exchange, but I remind the House that there are two debates to follow. The Government have chosen to put on two ministerial statements, which is entirely their prerogative. Naturally, people do then tend to stand to ask questions, as that is what we do here, but I have also to protect the subsequent business. I therefore politely say to colleagues: if you have a long question in mind, cut it or do not bother. That would be really helpful. Let us start with the Chair of the Select Committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston.
Prevention of Ill Health: Government Vision — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. I strongly support the daily mile and I try to do it myself. The key is that this is about activity. It is not necessarily about competitive sport, but about healthy activity that can help to prevent all manner of ills.
Prevention of Ill Health: Government Vision — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The Chair will be keen to move on to the main business at 6 o’clock, or very close thereto, so if people have questions in mind, will they think about how they can shave them?
Prevention of Ill Health: Government Vision — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State’s focus on clean air and reducing childhood obesity is massively welcome. In the Netherlands, half of all children cycle to school. In the UK, it is 3%. What more will he do across Government to up that figure?
Prevention of Ill Health: Government Vision — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Edmund Francis Hughes (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State is obviously too young for it, but will he endorse the mile walk aimed at the over-50s that leaves the Stan Ball centre in my constituency at half-past 10 every Monday morning?
Prevention of Ill Health: Government Vision — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The daily mile—or, in this case, the mile walk once a week—is not just for children but for all of us who can make it. The example that my hon. Friend mentions is valuable to the community, and I am absolutely delighted that it is happening.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have come to the House at the first available opportunity to explain very clearly, and with some force, I hope, how strongly I feel about people with learning difficulties and autism being held in seclusion units. It is unacceptable morally and unacceptable medically. It has to stop, and it is going to stop.
Points of Order — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
John Robert Lamont (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance as I am a relatively new Member of this House. It came to my attention on Friday that the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) was visiting my constituency at the weekend. I did not receive advance notice of his visit. I understand that the purpose of the visit was to hold a rally to do a number of things, but particularly to try to get rid of the Scottish Conservatives. Reassuringly, only a handful of people attended the event. I have given the hon. Gentleman notice of this point of order. Am I correct in thinking that it was appropriate for him to give me advance notice of visiting my constituency?
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): The Leader of the House mentions the important fact that if anybody has allegations, those allegations will be judged against what was right at that time. However, surely it was always wrong to harass and bully people in this place. That is the standard against which we should treat everybody.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The truth of the matter is that it is down to leadership. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin): we are talking about leadership, and all the rules count for nothing if our style is wrong. We know what is right, and people who do wrong should be called out by the rest of us and dealt with. We do not need commissions or rules for that. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. We should know that as MPs.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree and I will be interested to hear whether the hon. Gentleman has further thoughts on any changes he would like to propose In opening today’s debate about Dame Laura’s report, I welcome not only her specific recommendations for urgent change, but her broader conclusions about accountability and leadership in this place. I look forward to hearing views from all colleagues.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): May I suggest that the hon. Lady takes a leaf out of the Canadian Government’s book? They put in place training for every Minister within weeks of the #MeToo campaign kicking off. Everybody did it and they actually thought it was a good thing to do.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I am extremely grateful to the hon. Lady for allowing me to intervene. I fear she is in danger of perpetuating the mistake that currently people do not have access to the complaints scheme for historical allegations. They absolutely do and I urge anybody with any complaint to come forward to the complaints scheme now—they do have access to it.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely endorse what the hon. Lady says. She is probably right that the people who are bullies do not even realise that they are bullying. It is tragic, but they do not, and they need that pointed out and to be educated.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
Andrew James Bridgen (Conservative, Centre-right): Is this place not part of the problem? Members of staff have complained to me about the behaviour of other Members. I say, "Make a formal complaint," and they say, "But I’ll lose my job." We have to remember that if someone is employed by the House of Commons or the Palace of Westminster and loses their job, it will go on their CV and affect their future employment prospects, and that is why they will not make a complaint.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of clarification, the new ICGS is totally confidential. I want people to know that if they proceed with a complaint their name will not be mentioned and they need not fear retribution or publicity.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): I did not intend to intervene, but my hon. Friend must recognise that the report contained some criticism. Is he just dismissing that? I hope that he would not characterise my comments as those of "one of the usual suspects".
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that my right hon. Friend has been outspoken on that particular issue, but she is certainly not at the forefront of my mind. [Laughter.] She has very considered opinions, and I appreciate that. I am not oblivious to it. My point is that whoever had happened to be the Speaker at the time when the report was written, the same issues would have been raised in it. I do not think that it constitutes a specific criticism of this individual Speaker. This is a much deeper and more widespread problem than that. Anyone who thinks that these issues have only arisen since the current Speaker took his position knows, deep down, that that really is not the case.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I do. I have no reason to think otherwise in my dealings with the Speaker. People take others as they find them. I think that this goes much wider than the current incumbent. As my hon. Friend knows, I agree with him wholeheartedly on virtually every issue, but I am afraid that on this one we must part company. I do not think it helpful to make it into a personal vendetta against one individual in the House. The culture goes much deeper than that Let us use the report to do something positive. Let us get people in who can help, but let us not make this into a personal vendetta on the part of people who were never reconciled to the current incumbent of the Chair in the first place. That is not helpful, and, to be fair, in many respects it does not do justice to the people whom we actually need to help: people who work in the House of Commons, either as the staff of Members of Parliament or as other staff members. We can do this without needing to go for what I would consider to be the very nuclear option that my hon. Friend proposes, which I do not think would make a blind bit of difference in itself. The problem goes much deeper than that.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): I gently remind the right hon. Gentleman that the EHRC has put in writing very clearly that the House of Commons is subject to the public sector equality duty. It is the regulator; it made that decision, not the House of Commons.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Gillian Keegan (Conservative, Centre-right): I had this conversation with someone at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and I asked what they do in business, and he said that there is no time limit for sexual harassment, but that they impose some kind of time limit on bullying and harassment, because cultures and expectations have changed over time. I am not suggesting that for this place, but that is what somebody at the CIPD advised, and we could examine what different industries do, because most people have already faced this issue.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): I speak partly as Vicky Ford, but also as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on women in Parliament, which I am very honoured to have recently taken up. Since I have been in this House, a vast majority of Members have been hugely helpful and have shown great respect to me as a newish Member. It is a great honour to follow the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips), who sits on the Women and Equalities Committee, the Chair of which is here today. There has been a huge amount of work on this debate The Dame Laura Cox report makes for harrowing reading. It cannot be swept under the carpet, and it is very clear that culture change is needed. Although the culture has gone on for many, many years, it cannot continue and, as Dame Laura says, the reset button has to be pressed. I am extremely pleased to hear that the Leader of the House has set up a new independent complaints and grievance procedure because, in the past, people who have suffered have not felt confident about coming forward with their complaints. People need a safe space, and the system needs to be confidential. Many people have spoken about that, but it is almost more important to make sure that we reset the culture so that such incidents do not happen again. We must try to make such incidents far less likely I have said before in this Chamber that we are living through an incredibly tense time in politics, and a very stressful time in British politics. My experience is that we often say things we regret when we are stressed. There is no excuse for that, but if we can work somehow to try to destress some of our working lives, maybe that will contribute to a change in culture Many people have said to me that one thing they find stressful about this place is the lack of predictability. It is not necessarily mothers wanting to have shorter hours—actually, a lot of people who travel from further afield say that they want to work long hours when they come to London—but not knowing what is coming next can be challenging. There are times when an urgent question is an important question but, Mr Deputy Speaker, urgent questions are not always urgent—sometimes they are just important—yet we all run around rescheduling our lives. If we could set time aside for important issues, without needing to have that higher level of stress—
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Civil Rights
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not suggesting it is you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was just hoping that you would register the point It has also been said that, as we often sit late, it would help people with caring responsibilities if more sitting days could start at 9.30 am and if some Select Committees did not always send out their reports for us to review over the weekend but gave us a bit more time to submit comments. There is also stress because of the nature of online abuse that Members receive. We need to be careful about the language we sometimes use—we saw this in the press the other day—because, if we use violent language, it can encourage violence against others Lots of people have spoken about the need to improve training and HR, and some of that is in place, but there is not a great deal of awareness of it I draw the attention of the Leader of the House to a report on sexual harassment and violence against women in Parliaments across Europe. The report looks at 45 different Parliaments, and there is great work happening in Switzerland, Sweden, France and Finland, and in the European Parliament. We have taken some of the same initiatives, but it would be worth looking at that report to see whether there are lessons that can be learned from those Parliaments, which all face similar issues to this Parliament. If we do not adopt similar procedures, we should give a jolly good excuse for why we have not, otherwise we could find that we have not taken on good practice Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I look forward to the next urgent question.
Road Safety — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I must say to the Minister that on this occasion I myself was inexcusably chuntering from a sedentary position, for which I apologise. I am normally consumed by the Minister’s speeches, but I was chatting to a colleague so I did not witness the offending behaviour. If there was other chuntering beyond my own inexcusable chuntering, it is not excused.
Road Safety — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I apologise to the hon. Lady. The five-minute limit on speeches takes effect now. We will restart the clock for the speech of the hon. Lady, who can perhaps be given a second warm welcome. I call Tracey Crouch.
Illegal Encampments in Berkshire — House of Commons, 2018-11-05
Topic: Public Lands
Richard Benyon (Conservative, Centre-right): It has been a particularly difficult summer for many of the residents of West Berkshire, who have been subjected to illegal Traveller encampments close to where they live—mainly on public land, but in every sense in circumstances that have brought great difficulty to them and their neighbours. I therefore submit a petition to the House on behalf of 244 signatories, with a further 366 on my website, as well as on behalf of the many people across neighbouring constituencies who have suffered from the over 50 illegal encampments we have had in West Berkshire this summer The petition states: The petition of residents of Berkshire, Declares that they have suffered an intolerable imposition from an increasing number of unauthorised encampments The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to introduce legislation to make trespass a criminal offence, and strengthen the powers used by the police to deal with illegal encampments, in addition to those already available under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 And the petitioners remain, etc [P002285]
Disabled Entrepreneurs — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Esther Louise McVey (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is correct in what he says: we should be using technology even more. We should be making sure that it does assist disabled people. To that end, we are doing more through Access to Work and we should continue on that path.
Universal Credit Roll-out — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Immigration
Esther Louise McVey (Conservative, Centre-right): We are working closely with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and stakeholders to ensure that our testing covers the full range of tax credit claimants. With parliamentary approval, our managed migration regulations will allow for transitional protection. This will make sure that nobody loses out financially when they are moved to universal credit.
Universal Credit Roll-out — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Immigration
Questions: The Secretary of State recently admitted that groups such as lone parents will be £2,400 a year worse off under universal credit. How is the Department going to support such lone parents when their transitional protection ends, as it very soon will?
Esther Louise McVey (Conservative, Centre-right): Under the process of managed migration, the roll-out will be slow and measured. It will start not in January 2019, but later in the year. For a further year we will be learning as we go with a small amount of people—maybe 10,000—to ensure that the system is right. The roll-out will then increase from 2020 onwards. It will be slow and measured, and we will adapt and change as we go.
Universal Credit Roll-out — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: The Secretary of State recently admitted that groups such as lone parents will be £2,400 a year worse off under universal credit. How is the Department going to support such lone parents when their transitional protection ends, as it very soon will?
Esther Louise McVey (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not let people know what we do in private meetings, old-fashioned as that may be, but what the hon. Gentleman can know is that I am championing UC to make sure that it works the best it can possibly work. He can take from that what he will.
Contracted-out Health Assessments — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Other
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) efficiency of contracted-out health assessments for employment and support allowance and personal independence payment.
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I apologise for barking at the hon. Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova). She has asked her question with considerable force and eloquence, but the Minister is entitled to reply. It is not for the Chair to take sides in these matters, but I do want to say that the Minister is unfailingly courteous and she must be treated with courtesy, whatever people think of the answer. The Minister must be heard.
Transition to Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Housing
Alok Kumar Sharma (Conservative, Centre-right): We talk about giving support to people and, as the Secretary of State pointed out, £1.5 billion of support was put in, so those who are on housing benefit get two weeks’ housing benefit run-on in actual cash and of course people can take advances. I would say this to the hon. Gentleman and all his colleagues sitting there now who are talking about supporting the vulnerable: if that is what they want to do, why did they not support us when we voted for the £1.5 billion?
Universal Credit: Blind and Partially Sighted People — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Civil Rights
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): The online system has been designed with accessibility in mind, and it has been audited and approved by the Royal National Institute of Blind People for all accessibility needs. Face-to-face and telephone support are in place for those vulnerable claimants who cannot self-serve online.
Universal Credit: Household Debt — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Other
Questions: Due to the massive backlog in universal credit appeals in Wolverhampton, what steps will the Minister take to ensure that my disabled constituents do not have to wait months on end without benefits for their court appeals?
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I thought we might hear from the voice of South Suffolk, but the hon. Gentleman seems disinclined to participate in this exchange even though he has a comparable question. He is not obliged. If he is more interested in his phone, so be it. [Interruption.] Get in there, man. I call James Cartlidge.
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Stephen Anthony McPartland (Conservative, Centre-right): Universal credit can work only if it is fully funded. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the effective tax rate of 63p in the pound for people moving into work is set at a punitive level and that the Treasury should loosen the purse strings for her?
Benefits System: Claimants’ Needs — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Lee Benjamin Rowley (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for his response. An increasing number of people in my constituency are self-employed and setting up their own businesses. Will the Minister outline what universal credit is doing to support people who are setting up their own businesses?
Benefits System: Claimants’ Needs — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, who is a real champion of the self-employed community, and I am proudly a former business owner myself. Universal credit is far more flexible to adapt to changing circumstances, particularly for those who are starting up on their career of owning their business.
Work: People with Disabilities — House of Commons, 2018-10-15
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Many employers have signed up to the Disability Confident scheme—as I have—to ensure that disabled people have the opportunity to achieve their ambitions and employers can choose from a wider selection of talent available. I am now encouraging businesses in Harrogate and Knaresborough to sign up. Will the Minister join me in encouraging employers right across our country to sign up to this impressive initiative?