Tag: Alex Chalk

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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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the UK intellectual property practitioners will continue to have the right to file European Trade Mark and design applications and appear on behalf of clients at the EU Intellectual Property Office after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson

We have sought UK intellectual property practitioners’ views on the effects of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and we are aware that this is a concern to them. We are continuing to engage with practitioners and businesses and are actively considering the options available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedures the Child Support Agency (CSA) has to ensure that it takes account of a person’s assets as well as their income when calculating child maintenance payments; and if he will make it his policy to require the CSA to take into account the value of retained profit of any company controlled by the non-resident parent when calculating child maintenance payments from that parent.

Priti Patel

Across all three Child Maintenance schemes maintenance is calculated based on a person’s earned income, and does not normally include any consideration of assets.

Since 1996, clients have been able to request either that the standard maintenance calculation can be ‘departed’ or ‘varied’ (depending on which Child Maintenance scheme their case is under) in certain exceptional circumstances. These include where there is income generated from assets, such as property or dividends, which would not otherwise be taken into account.

Where a business retains profits for the purposes of ensuring continued existence and / or growth of the business, and provided the amounts retained are not unreasonable under UK taxation legislation, there is no provision to include these amounts in the calculation of a maintenance liability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the budget is for the Cyber Innovation Centre in Cheltenham.

Greg Hands

The Chancellor announced the Cyber Innovation Centre for Cheltenham in November 2015, helping to ensure Cheltenham remains a world leader in cyber excellence. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be running a competitive tender process to invite providers to run the centre to ensure that this initiative delivers the best possible value for money. We will disclose the budget when the tender exercise has completed, which we anticipate will be this autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve coordination of bed allocation for adult in-patient treatment for patients with eating disorders.

Nicola Blackwood

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health report published in February 2016 set out the start of a 10 year journey for the transformation of the National Health Service care and a shift towards prevention. The proposed mental health pathway and infrastructure development programme in the report envisages a referral to treatment pathway for eating disorders (adult mental health) being published in 2018/19.

In the Autumn Statement 2014 increased funding of £150 million over the next five years was announced to improve services for children and young people with mental health problems in England. Particular emphasis was placed on improving services for people with eating disorders.

As part of the planning processes, specialised commissioning teams review the needs of service for patients and where possible reflect provision. There is currently significant attention on eating disorders, primarily focussing on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service but this will extend to the adult pathway of care shortly with the expectation of revised National Institute for health and Care Excellence Guidelines in April 2017. A prime focus of the work on eating disorders is about the improved provision of out of hospital care so patients are only admitted to a bed when clinically required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to limit the use of accessible toilets solely for disabled people.

Gavin Barwell

The Department for Communities and Local Government has commissioned research into existing guidance in Approved Document M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations, including on the use of accessible toilets, and that research will help to guide the way forward where any change to existing legislation is needed. Legislating to restrict use of accessible toilets raises many complex issues including in defining who would, and who would not, be entitled to use such facilities and whether this would be enforceable. Government takes the view that current arrangements are practicable without the need for further legislation and, as a result, does not intend to pursue this further at this time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the security services in tackling terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

The PSNI do an outstanding and vital job keeping people safe from violent dissident republicans.

That is why they will receive £160 million extra security funding over the next five years from the UK Government to tackle this threat.

This builds on £231 million additional security funding we have provided since 2011.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department expects that all of Cheltenham will have access to superfast broadband of over 24 megabits per second.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Superfast broadband of at least 24 Mbps is available to 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK – up from 45 per cent in 2010. We currently estimate that 94% of homes and businesses in the Cheltenham constituency will have access to superfast broadband by December 2017. Government is also working with major broadband suppliers to encourage them to further extend commercial coverage, particularly in urban areas.