Tag: Alex Chalk

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making care home expenses tax deductible.

Jane Ellison

Tax relief for the cost of care in residential homes would disproportionately benefit those on higher incomes, whilst being of little or no benefit to those on more modest incomes. Furthermore, about half of pensioners do not pay tax and would be excluded from the scope of such a relief.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on preparation for the expected start of construction works to the A417 Missing Link in Gloucestershire in 2020.

Andrew Jones

Highways England will start full scale options work on the scheme in financial year 2016/17, with the intention that the scheme will be ready to start construction as early as possible in the next Road Period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made on its target to plant 11 million trees by 2020.

Rory Stewart

The Forestry Commission publishes progress against the 11 million trees target quarterly. The latest report shows that over 640,000 trees have been planted towards meeting the 11 million target in 2015. This reflects the fact that we are at the opening stage of a new grant scheme. We are confident that more trees will be planted in the next phases of the scheme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with manufacturers of satellite navigation devices on steps that could be taken to ensure that HGVs are not inappropriately directed into narrow residential streets.

Andrew Jones

In the last Parliament the Department brought together satnav manufacturers, mapping companies, local authorities and other industry organisations in a Satnav Summit.

We continue to work with these parties to improve the information satnavs provide to road users, and enable better co‑operation and information-sharing between local highway authorities and the industry, through joint working.

Earlier this year Highways England published a Traffic Information Strategy setting out how they will work with local highway authorities to integrate journey planning across the network, improve communication with road users and make traffic data and information available to third parties to enable these companies to develop products and services for customers.

Furthermore, the Department is investing £3 million to create a national digital road map, developed by Ordnance Survey and launching this year, which will enable better integration and sharing of data on roads between local authorities and service providers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to GPs to assist with the cost of insuring work undertaken outside of normal working hours.

Alistair Burt

The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.

The Department and NHS England will bring forward proposals for reviewing indemnity arrangements in primary care in the summer for discussion with the profession, medical defence organisations, the commercial industry and the NHS Litigation Authority.

To address rising indemnity costs, NHS England has already negotiated changes to the products offered by Medical Defence Organisations to bring down costs of indemnity for extended access and from December 2015 to March 2016 ran a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review the length of maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences.

Dominic Raab

We keep maximum penalties under review. This includes sentencing trends, and whether the courts may be finding their sentencing powers inadequate.

Data on the average sentence length for animal cruelty can be found in the Outcomes by offence table at the attached link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory framework for the use of disabled toilets.

Gavin Barwell

Building Regulations apply where building work – typically the erection, alteration, or extension of a building – take place. Part M of the Building regulations requires that reasonable provision is made for people to access and use buildings and their facilities. Statutory guidance is given in Section 5 of Approved Document M (Access to and use of buildings) Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings on the provision and design of suitable toilet and sanitary accommodation in buildings other than dwellings. Statutory guidance is provided in Approved Document M (Access to and use of buildings) Volume 1 for dwellings, which includes guidance on provision and design of accessible toilets in new homes.

The Deparment for Communities and Local Government has commissioned PRP Architects to undertake scoping research looking at the effectiveness of the existing statutory guidance in Approved Document M for buildings other than dwellings, which includes consideration of sanitary provision. This research will be published in due course.

For existing public and commercial buildings, the Equality Act 2010 places duties on building owners, employers and business operators to put in place suitable management practices and to make reasonable adjustments to physical features of buildings in order to ensure that disabled people are not placed at a disadvantage when compared to a non-disabled person. This could include consideration of the nature and availability of toilet provision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will promote the development of a pharmacist-led common ailments service to reduce winter pressures on A&E departments and GP practices.

Alistair Burt

Minor ailment schemes are commissioned locally by NHS England and clinical commissioning groups in many parts of England to meet local need. As part of its urgent and emergency care strategy, NHS England has run campaigns for the last two winters to encourage wider use of community pharmacies to treat coughs and colds. This year’s campaign Stay Well This Winter, launched on 2 November, directs people to their local pharmacy to seek advice on common ailments and advises people who feel unwell to get help from their pharmacy team quickly before it gets more serious.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to spread best practice from the Cycle City Ambition scheme to those cities and towns not part of that scheme.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Cycle Cities Together Group was established to help the 8 cycle ambition cities (and London) identify best practice, share learning and identify ways of supporting other towns and cities across the country.

In addition, the Department is currently making arrangements to monitor and evaluate the Cycle Ambition Cities programme. We anticipate that the evaluation will highlight the most effective of cycling interventions as a result of the investment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve broadband access for small businesses.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government recognises the importance of broadband access throughout the UK for businesses of all sizes. Under the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme, over 50,000 SMEs across 52 cities took a connection voucher, with around 41,000 businesses already connected to super and ultra-fast broadband.

The Government is also undertaking a Review into Business Broadband, jointly led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to explore the barriers faced by businesses, including SMEs, in accessing the affordable, high-speed broadband they need. That Review is ongoing and will report later this year.