argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Immigration Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-13
Topic: Immigration
Fiona Margaret Mactaggart (Labour, Centre-left): The point is that if someone has a full British passport, it is very easy to say that they are entitled. The Residential Landlords Association predicts, rightly in my view, that the consequence of this measure will be that people who do not have a British passport, even those who are British—we should remember that some 12 million people in Britain do not carry a passport—will find themselves discriminated against because the landlord thinks that the situation is difficult We need to make sure that the only landlords prosecuted are those to whom Ministers have referred, who are sometimes complicit in illegal migration and the exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers. Can the Minister point to a provision saying that only people like the pimps who are exploiting trafficked workers in brothels will be prosecuted but innocent landlords who make a mistake and do not understand the documents will not? I do not believe that this Bill is going to help these women. The clause 8 offence of illegal working will apply to them, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) clearly explained. Will the Minister give specific details about what action he will take to make sure that victims who are coerced by others to work are not criminalised by the offence? Will they have a statutory defence under the Bill? We know that the results of the assessment of landlords experiment will not be available until after this debate, but has he conducted an assessment of the impact of these measures on victims of modern slavery This Bill is horribly un-British. It gives immigration officers extreme powers without submitting them to abiding by protections like the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984—protections that police officers have to abide by. It forces people to appeal from overseas, and by doing so ignores the rights of children who will be separated from their parents. The Children’s Commissioner has said that the current arrangements already fail to meet our obligations on children’s rights Overseas appeals will not deal with cases such as the one in my constituency of a husband whose documents showed that he lived in Slough while his wife lived in Bradford, so the Home Office said, "This is a marriage of convenience." In fact, Slough was the only place he could get work, so he was coming down there to work from Monday to Friday and then returning to his family at the weekend. Without an oral hearing, he would not have been able to win his case. He did win it, and the immigration judge praised him for working so hard to support his family. This Bill is going to lead to un-British injustice, and we should reject it.
Immigration Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-13
Topic: Civil Rights
Imran Hussain (Labour, Centre-left): I will in a moment We must all do as much as possible to eradicate discrimination in all its forms. Unfortunately, the Bill allows some forms of discrimination through the back door, especially against BME communities. That must be blocked and stopped.
Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What assessment she has made of the effect of child and adolescent mental health services on the health, wellbeing and performance of young people in schools and colleges.; What assessment she has made of the effect of child and adolescent mental health services on the health, wellbeing and performance of young people in schools and colleges.
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): A parent of a young girl in Walthamstow suffering from an eating disorder recently wrote to me giving a harrowing account of the struggle to get support for her daughter. She suggested that one of the things that would make a difference would be for child and adolescent mental health services to have a presence directly in schools so that they could intervene earlier. As my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) pointed out, we know from the IFS that real-terms funding for schools is going to be cut for the first time since the 1990s. What can the Secretary of State say directly to my constituent to reassure her that every young person will have access to mental health services directly in their schools so that such situations can be avoided in future?
Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: What assessment she has made of the effect of child and adolescent mental health services on the health, wellbeing and performance of young people in schools and colleges.; What assessment she has made of the effect of child and adolescent mental health services on the health, wellbeing and performance of young people in schools and colleges.
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): As someone who has in the past been a council lead member for children and education, I know the importance of children and adolescent mental health services and the educational psychology service in ensuring that teachers and other school staff are able to keep children with challenges in school and learning effectively. The Mental Health Foundation has said that one in 10 children have mental health problems at some point in their school career; that 81% of educational psychologists have seen an increase in demand for their services in the past 12 months; that there is a shortage in services; and that ed psychs are leaving the profession in alarming numbers, possibly owing to the pressure of their workload. How is the Secretary of State ensuring that an adequate number of professional educational psychologists are working in schools? Is she—
Safeguarding Policies — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): Many parents will be surprised to know that under the previous Government a requirement for volunteers in schools to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau check was removed. Is the Minister planning to review that change in the law?
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Fabian Hamilton (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for his statement. Right hon. and hon. Members from across the House will, I am sure, however, share my deep concern at the way in which Dr Shao Jiang, a former Chinese dissident and veteran of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, was arrested last Wednesday on the Mall and the fact that a short time later two Tibetan students, one of whom, Sonam Choden, was a British Citizen, were also arrested for attempting to display a Tibetan flag while the Chinese President’s cavalcade was passing the Mansion House. Dr Shao, who is now a British citizen, stepped out into the road while he was trying to display two A4-sized placards protesting against China’s human rights abuses when he was tackled to the ground by five Metropolitan police officers. This was shown on "Channel 4 News". While the three protesters were being held in the cells in Bishopsgate, their homes were searched and their computers and iPads seized. Their mobile phones were also kept by the police. Does the Minister have any idea when their possessions will be returned? Will the confidentiality of the data on their computers be respected, as all three depend on their computers for work? Will he comment on why their homes were searched at night while they were in custody The three people arrested were told that any charges they may face will be decided on in early December. Does the Minister believe that that delay is justified? Is it acceptable to detain lawful protesters overnight in the cells? Finally, will the Minister comment on whether these arrests are related to last week’s visit of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping?
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Eugene Joseph Dromey (Labour, Centre-left): China is a proud country of 1.4 billion people. It is the second largest economy in the world—soon to be the largest. The Anglo-Chinese relationship is very important. We have, for example, Chinese collaboration, Chinese investment and Chinese students. If it is right that we seek to strengthen that relationship, then that relationship should be underpinned by an integrity of approach. There are certain values of universal human rights that transcend any commercial or other relationship. That is why this country rightly believes that, domestically, our Bill of Rights is so important, rooted as it is in our great democratic traditions back to the Magna Carta. That is why, internationally, in a free society we both engage and speak out, as indeed you did last week, Mr Speaker—would that the Prime Minister had been quite as vigorous as you—as did the Leader of the Opposition and the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg in her interrogation of the Chinese President. In a free society, we defend the right to dissent and to protest. It would not be appropriate to comment in any detail on the circumstances of this case, because it is under investigation, but these are very serious allegations that should be properly investigated, including the raid on the homes of those engaged in dissent. My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton) is absolutely right to raise these concerns on the Floor of the House of Commons.
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Matthew Thomas Pennycook (Labour, Centre-left): One of the three individuals arrested, Sonam Choden, is a constituent of mine. She is a British citizen and was arrested on Wednesday for waving a Tibetan flag. I understand the Minister’s point about not getting involved in operational matters, but if it proves to be the case that there were no grounds for arrest, will he support me in looking into how the protests are policed and operationally overseen, as it seems that these three individuals were arrested without sufficient grounds?
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Emily Thornberry (Labour, Centre-left): Dr Shao Jiang is a constituent of mine. The world saw him arrested for waving two A4 placards calling for human rights in China. His home was searched when no one was there, and his and his wife Johanna’s computers have been confiscated. I spoke to Johanna this afternoon. It was a very traumatic experience for both of them, but particularly for Dr Jiang, given that he has already been held for 18 months in a Chinese jail for organising the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Will the Minister advise me how I as Dr Jiang’s Member of Parliament can hold to account those who made the disgraceful decisions to arrest someone who was, on the face of it, behaving in a way that was entirely peaceful, who should not have been arrested and whose house should not have been searched?
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Ann Clwyd (Labour, Centre-left): I spent most of last week in Geneva chairing a committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the human rights of parliamentarians. Many of the breaches of their rights involved freedom of expression and so on—many of the things that appear to have taken place here last week—and I feel rather embarrassed to be lecturing politicians from other countries about freedom of expression when what was, as I understand it, a peaceful demonstration was treated in such a way.
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Madeleine Moon (Labour, Centre-left): During the visit of President Xi I met a Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng—a human rights lawyer who was granted asylum by the Americans. He talked about the pressures that human rights activists are facing in China with the persecution of journalists and of Christians. I appreciate that the Minister is not able to talk about police operations, but it is important that we recognise the sensitivity in countries like China at seeing how democracy operates in Britain and that freedom of speech is respected, as is the freedom to demonstrate. I hope he will make sure that the Metropolitan police are made aware of that.
Arrests of Chinese Protesters — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister may be embarrassed on behalf of the Government’s distinguished foreign guest, but does he understand that many in this House are embarrassed when Mrs Zhang, one of the arrested people, says "It feels like when I was in China"? The police pick up signals from Government, and this Government are in the process of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 and our obligations under the European convention on human rights, including the article 11 rights to protest and freedom of association. When the operational decisions are over, will he properly investigate these circumstances to ensure that our feelings on these matters are not unsubstantiated?
Data Breaches (Consumer Protection) — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on Government responsibilities and policies for protecting consumers and infrastructure following large-scale data breaches such as that suffered by TalkTalk.
Data Breaches (Consumer Protection) — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Joan Marie Ryan (Labour, Centre-left): No doubt the Minister is aware that many companies have decided to rethink their data protection strategies in the light of some of the more publicised cases of cybercrime, yet according to recent surveys, some 24% of companies are not doing that. The Government need to take more action to persuade companies to act. Perhaps the Minister will also think about reviewing the legislation on these matters, which is no longer fit for purpose.
Data Breaches (Consumer Protection) — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): Has the Minister had any meetings with the Home Office to discuss the legislative changes that are required? Also, has he thought about using the draft communications Bill, which would seem to be an ideal vehicle for that and which I understand will come before the House later this month?
Data Breaches (Consumer Protection) — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Wesley Paul William Streeting (Labour, Centre-left): The Minister will be aware that there are discussions in the European Union about updating data protection legislation, so, first, what outcomes would he like for consumers and what chance is there of achieving them? Secondly, if anyone has lost out financially as a result of this data protection breach, would TalkTalk or the banks be liable for compensating those consumers?
Data Breaches (Consumer Protection) — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew John Gwynne (Labour, Centre-left): Since the election, the number of people working for the Government data services has declined and the appointment of a chief data officer has still not been made. What impact is that having on the advice that Ministers receive from officials about data protection and the security of online digital services in government?
Data Breaches (Consumer Protection) — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Gisela Stuart (Labour, Centre-left): I had better start by declaring an interest: I am a customer of TalkTalk and have so far not been contacted by the company by email or phone, or in any other way. The title for the urgent question contains the words "consumer protection". Have Ministers considered ways that consumers can assess whether the providers of any of these services have robust cyber-security mechanisms in place? At the moment, we are completely blindsided as consumers.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Other
Rebecca Long-Bailey (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s comments. He is certainly a silver-tongued fox, and I look forward to staring at him from these Benches in the months to come. He raises some important issues. Hopefully, I will address them during my speech.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Housing
Robert Howard Marris (Labour, Centre-left): The hon. Lady is right, of course, that it varies around the country and that there is a much greater tendency to pay it in London and the south-east—the area she represents—but I stand by my remarks that for many of those people, the liability of their estate to inheritance tax is occasioned by a windfall increase in the value of the home in which they live. Some people improve the houses in which they live, but in the last 20 or 30 years, the great driver for estates falling into inheritance tax liability has been a secular rise in house prices. That is not as a result of people doing up their houses, although of course that happens. And good luck to them. Many hon. Members, including myself—and my wife—own the house in which they live. I, along with others, will have a windfall—and it is a windfall—from the secular increase in house prices.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Housing
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I congratulate my hon. Friend on his promotion to the Front Bench. Does he agree that these Tory proposals amount to a north-south divide policy? While hundreds of thousands of people in the south benefit from the increase in property values, carry this great wealth and want to leave it to their families, families in the north do not have the same advantage—or very few of them do. Is it not another north-south divide policy?
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Housing
Robert Howard Marris (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is right. In the constituency that I have the honour to represent, and in which I have lived for almost all my life, I could find no house worth more than £2 million when I looked in April this year. Indeed, none of them was near that value. There is barely a house that is worth over £1 million in the whole constituency, and of the three Wolverhampton constituencies, the one that I represent is undoubtedly the most affluent. The same will apply across swathes of constituencies: there will no houses worth that amount. The idea that an affordable house, as has now been defined by the Prime Minister, is £450,000 in London or £250,000 outside London is frankly a joke in constituencies like mine. For £250,000 it is possible to get a fantastic house in Wolverhampton. We welcome people in Wolverhampton—come to Wolverhampton: decent schools, good cheap housing, no traffic jams to speak of; fantastic, so come—but £450,000 will buy almost any house in Wolverhampton South West.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
Alexander Cunningham (Labour, Centre-left): I hope my hon. Friend will indulge me further on the question of equality. Not everybody can go into court or argue with HMRC, as they do not have the skills and understanding always to take on all these intricacies of debts, claims and this, that and the other. Where people do get to court, they find protection there for them, because they can argue their case in front of a judge and make various points, and the judge can actually aid them. These people cannot afford to have legal representation, because there is no legal aid any more, and so they are in a better position because the judge can actually help them a little.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Robert Howard Marris (Labour, Centre-left): I agree with my hon. Friend on that. It is no coincidence that my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) is in her place tonight, as she has done sterling work on trying to stand up for the financially disadvantaged. I thank her for her work on so-called "payday lenders", because when I tried as a Back Bencher under the last Labour Government to amend a Finance Bill to give the Government the power—just the power—to cap payday loan rates, I could not get a Labour Government to go even that far. She has done magnificent work because, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) said, this is to do with protecting the financially vulnerable. That is why it is a big step forward. I congratulate the Government on introducing the safeguard that an assessment must be made of the vulnerability or otherwise of the alleged debtor and that that assessment must be recorded in writing.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Other
Robert Howard Marris (Labour, Centre-left): In that particular respect, the hon. Gentleman has heard me correctly. However, if he had heard my earlier remarks, he would also be aware of my great unease at many other policies put forward by the current Government as well as by the previous Conservative-led Government. But in the narrow respect to which he refers, he did understand me correctly.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that a Government who voted three times against a cap on the cost of credit should not be lecturing the Opposition on how to protect the vulnerable? Perhaps if they had listened earlier to the concerns expressed from the Labour Benches about people who are vulnerable and who have personal debt in this current economic climate, this country would have made much more progress.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): I am pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman talk about his concern for global gender inequality, and his support for the idea that tampons are an essential and therefore should not be zero-rated. There is another way to read the amendment, is there not? Were we to pass it and to propose these matters at the European Union and secure zero-rating on tampons across the whole EU, he would be showing solidarity with his sisters in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy—indeed, he could be helping many more women by supporting zero-rating across the European Union.
Finance Bill — House of Commons, 2015-10-26
Topic: Civil Rights
Stella Judith Creasy (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way again. I do not want to pursue this, not least because I am avidly waiting for the speech from my hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Paula Sherriff), which I think will be compelling, but may I give him a spark of hope? It is not just on these shores that there are women—and men—fighting for zero-rating on tampons; there are others doing so in France. The proposal was put forward just this summer. Should he choose to vote with us and support the new clause, he will be joining many people across the European Union. I want him to have hope that we can win this at the European level, rather than the despair that he currently feels.