Tag: Alex Chalk

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he supports the expansion of centres such as Travel for London’s planned cycling superhub to other parts of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We support the development of cycle hubs that have all the facilities a cyclist needs in one place and are providing funding for a number of these hubs. We have already financed a number of these innovative hubs which have contributed towards the number of cycle parking spaces across England trebling since 2012.

We are monitoring with interest the development of the cycle superhub at Waterloo Station which will provide cycle parking on a much larger scale to ascertain the effectiveness of such a facility at other cities across England.

Cycling is a devolved responsibility for Scotland and Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to encourage research into myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Joseph Johnson

The Government supports research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) through the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; and through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which is funded by the Department of Health.

Together the MRC and the NIHR welcome high quality applications for research into all aspects of CFS/ME which would include studies to investigate the biological causes of the condition, improve our understanding of it and to evaluate treatments.

CFS/ME research is a current MRC priority area and has funded such research to the tune of £2.1 million. Research proposals are particularly encouraged that address the mechanisms underlying chronic changes related to CFS/ME and which aim to increase research capacity by bringing new researchers into the field, building partnerships and supporting multidisciplinary teams to tackle research challenges.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support the Government has made available for local authorities to commission new nursery places in the event of current providers withdrawing or reducing their delivery of subsidised places.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government is committed to extending the free entitlement to childcare from 15 to 30 hours a week for working parents. We are clear that we need to get the funding right to ensure that providers are funded on a fair and sustainable basis. Our recent consultation set out our proposals to allocate our record level of funding fairly and transparently, with the maximum amount reaching providers. We will publish our response this autumn.

We have recently made a substantial capital investment to support the creation of new 30 hours childcare places and our recently closed capital bid round made £40million available to local authorities working in partnership with providers in their area. We intend to announce successful project bids in mid-December 2016. We will also shortly be announcing the outcome of a competition to appoint a delivery contractor, who will provide support to ensure that all local authorities are ready to deliver the required number of free places in September 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is making preparations to plan for widespread resistance to known antibiotics.

Jane Ellison

The Government has already made comprehensive plans to address the threat of antibiotic resistance through the UK Five Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 – 2018

The UK Strategy, which was published in September 2013, sets out our overarching goal to slow the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. It focusses activities around three strategic aims, namely, to improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance; to conserve and steward the effectiveness of existing treatments; and to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies. The strategy is based on the principle of “One Health”, tackling the problem of resistance in humans, animals and the environment.

Globally, the UK has led efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance. For example, we have taken the lead in the development and adoption, in May 2015, of a new World Health Organization (WHO) Resolution on antimicrobial resistance. We are now working towards agreement for a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance at the United Nations General Assembly in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many claims were made against GPs working outside of regular hours in each of the last five years; and what the average amount is for which the claim was made in that period.

Ben Gummer

Information on claims made against general practitioners (GPs) is not held centrally. In relation to clinical negligence claims made against GPs working outside of regular hours, these are in the main covered by the Medical Defence Organisations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying the target of spending 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product on international aid over a five-year term.

Rory Stewart

The International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 requires the 0.7% of Gross National Income target to be met on an annual basis. This is also in accordance with Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) rules to report Official Development Assistance annually to the OECD. The Government is committed to continuing to comply with the Act.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to consider extending the transitional funding for maintained nurseries to include children’s centres providing early years education as part of the Early Years National Funding Formula review.

Caroline Dinenage

The £55 million additional funding for maintained nursery schools for at least two years will provide them with stability while they explore how to become more sustainable in the longer term. We plan to consult the sector on the future of nursery schools in further detail, including what happens after this two year period, in due course.

Children’s centres are funded through the Business Rates Retention Scheme and local authorities have the freedom to decide what services are appropriate to meet local needs. Our early years funding proposals, on which we recently consulted, are designed to maximise the funding that goes to the front-line, including children’s centres where they provide early education. We will issue our response later in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department plans to spend per person on cycling in England outside London for each year until 2020-21.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government has agreed a four-year revenue and five-year capital settlement for local transport spend, which includes cycling and walking investment. The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will explain the Government’s investment strategy for cycling and walking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that road surfacing and repair work benefits from the latest techniques and technology to maximise their durability.

Andrew Jones

Both Highways England, as a publicly owned company responsible for the strategic road network, and local highway authorities, responsible for maintaining the local road network, allow the use of different materials for treating highway surfaces. Whilst using any specific techniques and technologies to maintain the road network is entirely a matter for each individual highway authority to decide based on their circumstances, the Department for Transport continues to work with local highway authorities and the private sector to introduce more innovation and technology to ensure more efficient working and permanent repairs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of uprating the earnings threshold for graduate repayments of student loans.

Joseph Johnson

In 2015 the government chose not to uprate from April 2017 the loan repayment threshold for ‘plan 2’ student loans — those issued for course starting from 2012 onwards. This decision will be reviewed again in 2021. The government consulted on this decision and published a detailed consultation response.

The forecasted cost of uprating the repayment threshold by earnings growth from April 2017 would be equal to the forecasted savings from freezing the threshold. These figures can be found in paragraphs 67 and 68 of the consultation response.

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