argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Civil Rights
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. One of the targets of our complaints work was to set up a significant offer of training for use as part of the sanctioning process. For example, someone who was bullying someone else might receive training in what constitutes bullying and harassment. Someone who was guilty of unconscious bias, or perhaps some sort of unmeant discrimination, might be sanctioned by being forced to undertake relevant training. Also available is a wide range of optional, voluntary training in how to carry out appraisals, how to lead an office and so on My hon. Friend is entirely right to say that the training offer needs to be there. We cannot expect people to learn these things through osmosis. Hon. Members have said that we need to do more to communicate with each other about the offer and encourage its take-up. We have a good employer standard, which will be on offer to those who have taken up the training. As we see greater understanding throughout this place—not only among Members of Parliament, but among chiefs of staff in their offices who may employ interns or junior researchers—it will be important for us to take steps to professionalise the House so that everyone knows what is expected of them.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Julian Carlton Knight (Conservative, Centre-right): I speak as someone who has been in this place for just over three years, although frankly it feels like 30 at the moment—I had black hair when I started May I make two observations? First, we are all business owners, but many people who come to the House have no experience whatsoever of being a business owner. The Leader of the House mentioned training, and also the availability of voluntary training. Does it not behove us, as an institution, to ensure that new Members undergo extensive compulsory training, with parliamentary business constructed so that that training can take place without any need for people to disappear Secondly, Members take a solemn Oath. That was one of the proudest moments of my life, and I experienced it a yard from where I am standing now. Should we not add to that Oath the words, "We respect all staff working for us and in this place," and should we not be reminded of those words by information and signs, as happens in our local NHS, so that the message gets through and we change the culture?
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has made two very good points. Compulsory training for new Members will be introduced after the next election. It was decided that there was no consensus in favour of compulsory training for those who were already Members, but it will certainly be in place after the next election. As I have said, a good employer standard is available for those who opt to take on training. As it beds in, it will become much more the norm, and I look forward to that My hon. Friend also suggests some sort of pledge on how we treat one another. There is already a behaviour code, which can be seen in a number of areas. That will be rolled out still further, including at the entrances to the Palace and Portcullis House, and all the entrances where members of the public come into this place, as well as bathrooms, restaurants and so on, to make it clear to everyone the code by which we are all expected to abide. Again, as that becomes more familiar, it will become much more lived by. It will be something of which people can remind each other, and something that they can think about when they see someone behaving inappropriately.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman is not only not taking part in this in the spirit that is intended, but casting aspersions on the Deputy Speakers, who also stand up for Back Benchers, stand up for what is right for our country and are perfectly good at taking the Chair. I do not understand why he should feel that the future of this great nation relies on one individual, which is what he seems to be suggesting.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): The House will have heard what my hon. Friend has to say. As I have said all the way through, what the House Commission will be doing is reviewing the recommendations in Dame Laura’s report and taking action as it sees fit. That is not a matter for me; that will be a matter for the House Commission.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point, and I remind all hon. Members that the point about the independent complaints procedure is that individuals can come forward in confidence: their name is kept confidential, as is the name of the person they are making allegations about. Only in the event that the complaint is upheld and it needs to go to the Standards Committee, rather than be dealt with by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards herself, could the perpetrator’s name ever come out into the open. That is the whole point of the complaints procedure. From all the evidence that we took from victims, it was clear that they would not come forward, rightly as the hon. Gentleman says, if they were going to be re-victimised by some sort of partisan attack on them or by the media spotlight and so on. So, very importantly, it was at the core of the process that the complainant’s confidentiality should be protected.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): Far from expecting my staff to treat me like a demigod, I regard them as absolutely essential; none of us could be MPs without our staff and we could not function in this place at all. They make us look good, frankly—[Interruption.]
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): No, they are not The point I want to make to the Leader of the House is that this should not just be about avoiding bad and negative behaviour; it should also be about a culture where people can thrive and reach their true potential, as in any other workplace. What are her thoughts on that point?
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My own recipe is that we have cake-eating Thursdays—and homemade cake on occasion, which is a highlight of the week. My hon. Friend makes a really important point. It is vital not only that people are not bullying each other, but that they are treating each other with respect and creating a happy and enjoyable workplace that inspires people and enables them to learn and grow and expand in their own role. I agree with my hon. Friend that it is essential that we take that into account.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. It is important to be clear. I hear what the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) has said and express no view on that, but the present composition is determined in accordance with statute, so it has not just happened by happenstance or because a particular individual has a given preference. [Interruption.] No, I am sure the hon. Gentleman is certainly not suggesting that. It is the result of law, and law can of course be changed.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a really sensible suggestion, and it is something to be taken into account. He might wish to suggest it to the House of Commons Commission spokesman, the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake)—I am glad to see him in his place—who will be able to raise the matter on his behalf at the meeting of the House Commission on Monday. In the first instance, however, it would be helpful for the Commission to consider the recommendations and to set a framework for at least a debate in this place.
Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, who has spoken out very bravely in the Chamber on a number of occasions about his own experience of being bullied as a teenager. He is absolutely right to raise this issue, which will help other people to feel that they can come forward. He says that he would be the first to take up the offer of training. Perhaps he and I could do the first course together; it would be a great pleasure to do so. He is absolutely right to say that we need to take this incredibly seriously, and I can assure him that we will definitely do that.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the House agrees with Lords amendment 1 It gives me great pleasure to speak in support of the amendment. As previously discussed in this House, this Bill takes forward two important measures that featured in the Chancellor’s Budget speech of last November. The first fulfils the Government’s promise to end the so-called "staircase tax", giving welcome relief to businesses. The second, which is the subject of our deliberations today, addresses the issue of long-term empty homes, doubling to 100% the council tax premium that local authorities can charge on homes that have been empty for two years or more.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Neil John O'Brien (Conservative, Centre-right): Is the Minister aware that in my constituency the number of empty properties has been driven down by a third by the existing empty homes premium? I am delighted to see this measure, because it will reduce the number of empty homes in my constituency, which is currently at 400—that represents a village the size of Great Bowden. That means far less pressure on development and a better use of our housing stock.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and for his support for the measures in this Bill. I also pay tribute to his local authority for the sterling work it has clearly done, as have so many others across the country, in tackling this blight of empty homes. I am particularly grateful to him, because I know he has another housing-related debate coming up in short order and so I am privileged that he has made time to speak in support of this measure. I wish him well in his further debate later this afternoon.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Simon James Hoare (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is promoting a very welcome measure. Is he able to give the House any indication of the quantum of properties that lie vacant for more than two years and would therefore accrue this additional council tax? Will he add some indication of the potential uplift in revenue to our local authorities, which certainly need it?
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): If my hon. Friend will bear with me, I will be grateful for that little bit of patience and I will go over all the facts and figures of the current policy later in my speech. I hope he will find what he is looking for in that section. If he wants to come back to me for more detail at that point, I would very much welcome a further intervention.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend mentioned, this measure will strengthen the incentive for owners to bring long-term empty properties back into use. Hon. Members will recall that this Bill received widespread support when it was considered by the House earlier this year. I am very pleased to say that that cross-party support continued through the debates in the other place Before we turn to the detail of the amendment, I thought it would be helpful to recap the purpose of this clause and the background to the policy in general. Our housing market is not working as we would want. Young people are often struggling to get on to the property ladder—struggling to enjoy the same opportunities as their parents and grandparents.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely support the measures the Minister is putting forward. Does he agree that in a town such as Redditch, which is growing rapidly, we need more housing? We struggle to expand, however, because we just have not got the room. It is therefore right that we are bringing more empty homes back into use to meet the housing need of our young people in our growing town.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. She is absolutely right to say that the Government are doing many things to increase the supply of new housing, and I will come on to discuss those, but that we must also do better with the housing we already have. That is what this measure will enable us to do Today, the average house price in England is almost eight times the average income, whereas it was four times the average income in 1999. Costs are also rising for private renters, who spend, on average, more than a third of their household income on rent. The Government are committed to boosting housing supply to ensure that hard-working people have a secure place to call home. The Government and the tireless new Housing Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse), are taking end-to-end action across the entire housing system to address these issues, releasing more land for homes where people want to live, and building them faster and cheaper.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): The right to buy has helped thousands of young people, first-time buyers, up and down this country to get on to the housing ladder. I have seen the measure transform people’s lives in my constituency, as I am sure many Members have in theirs. It supports what this Government and the Conservative party stand for—allowing people to fulfil their dream of owning their own home.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Edmund Francis Hughes (Conservative, Centre-right): Indeed, but I could not stay in my seat having heard that. Just this summer, the Government announced voluntary right to buy across the west midlands, which is a valuable opportunity and has been heavily subscribed. Members of the public in those homes clearly think it is a good idea.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): As always, my hon. Friend puts it well. He has the pulse of the people in his constituency; he knows what they want. We serve to fulfil their aspirations, and I am delighted that the interest in the new scheme has been so high. I look forward to seeing the fruits of that and welcoming all those new people into homes that they will own for the first time This set of reforms is putting us on track to see an average of 300,000 homes delivered per year by the mid-2020s, and we are making strong progress. Last year, 217,000 new homes were delivered in England, which is the highest number seen in all but one of the past 30 years. In 2017, the number of first-time buyers stood at about 365,000, which is the highest level in more than a decade Building new homes is undoubtedly a fundamental part of improving our housing market, but, as we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean), we must also make more efficient use of our existing housing stock.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not aware of the precise statistics for the Ministry of Defence, but in general we encourage all organisations and private owners to bring empty homes back into use. The Bill will apply to all homes. As far as I am aware, there is no statutory exemption for MOD housing, but I am happy to look into that and write back to the hon. Lady. As an MP who represents a constituency with a heavy military presence, with Catterick garrison on my patch, I know well the issues relating to serving personnel and their families having access to good-quality accommodation. I hope that there are few empty homes in my area and that they are all being well utilised. I thank the hon. Lady for bringing that issue to my attention It cannot be right that while many households are waiting to find a house to call home, thousands of properties stand empty, some for many years. Beyond that, homes left empty for the long term can often be a blight on a neighbourhood, as well as sites of crime and antisocial behaviour. I am pleased to say that the Government’s record in this policy area is strong. We have ensured that local authorities have powers and strong incentives to bring empty homes back into use.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I will be careful not to stray too far from my brief, but the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Mrs Wheeler), who has responsibility for housing and homelessness, is actively looking into appropriate regulation in the private rented sector and the potential introduction of a single housing ombudsman, among other things. I should point out that the Government introduced measures to tackle rogue landlords and, indeed, created a rogue landlord database and a new set of penalties to tackle the issue. I hope that the hon. Gentleman finds some comfort in that and will wait for my colleague’s findings on the general regulation of the private rented sector Before 2013, councils could not collect any council tax from properties that were empty for up to six months, so the coalition Government at the time decided to support councils and ensure that they had the freedom, should they want it, to charge the full rate of council tax on such properties. That same year, the Government enabled local authorities to charge a council tax premium of up to 50% on long-term empty homes.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): I strongly welcome the Minister’s comments. There are a number of empty properties in my constituency that I would very much like to see come back on the market. Will the Minister tell us what effect the Government’s action has had in this policy area? By what proportion has the number of empty homes come down since the Government made those changes?
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that the powers that were introduced in 2013 have been taken up by around 90% of all local authorities, all but three of which applied the full 50% rate. I am glad to tell him that the number of long-term empty properties subject to a premium has fallen by 9% among those councils that have used the power every year since 2013 There are carrots as well as sticks. Our new homes bonus scheme gives local authorities the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as for building a new home. We have allocated £7 billion in new homes bonus payments to local authorities since 2011. Following those interventions, the number of properties that are empty for six months or longer is down by a third since 2010, from 300,000 to just over 200,000. It is worth touching on one or two local authorities that have done a particularly impressive job of tackling the scourge of long-term empty properties in their areas. Several years ago, Bolton had close to 3,000 empty properties, but now has fewer than half that number. Bolton Council offered interest-free loans to bring a long-term empty property up to a suitable standard for rental. The council has also introduced an online matchmaker scheme that matches empty-home owners with potential buyers and offers advice about how to rent out properties through the Bolton landlord accreditation scheme. Between March and October of last year alone, more than 300 long-term empty properties were brought back into use. The council has recently joined forces with Bolton College and the University of Bolton on a new pilot project to bring a rundown empty house back into use Kent is another example of a local authority on the cutting edge of tackling this issue. Several years ago, Kent County Council launched the "No Use Empty" programme to bring empty homes back into use. Loans available through the scheme are repayable over five years and then recycled for further use. The scheme has now administered loans totalling almost £20 million, unlocking investment from owners totalling a further £20 million, and has returned over 5,000 empty homes back into use over the past decade. Notably, the programme ran a £3 million project to deliver new homes on the site of a former pub in Herne Bay that had been empty for five years following a fire. The pub’s conversion was undertaken in partnership with a local developer, which bought the property and applied for a loan from the "No Use Empty" fund to unlock the redevelopment. The project has now delivered 14 new apartments.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to hear of the good work that is going on in Bolton and Kent, but I am obviously much more interested in what is going in Worcestershire and in my local area. Will the Minister go on to discuss how my council can learn from the excellent examples that he describes?
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Other
Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Centre-right): I am always willing to learn from and listen to local authorities up and down the country. My hon. Friend and I have corresponded on various issues that have been brought to my attention in Worcestershire, and it will always be a pleasure to meet her local authority. She could bring officials here or I could go and visit them.
Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-10-16
Topic: Housing
Roger James Gale (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend has been kind enough to pay tribute to the development in Herne Bay, which is part of the magnificent constituency that I represent, perhaps he would like to come and see the finished development for himself.