Alex Mayer MP: written questions
397 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Economic Situation: RainTreasuryTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6926More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of rainfall levels in September 2024 on (a) Government spending and (b) the local economy in each of the 10 English counties that have had the highest levels of
Answer: Economic stability is a priority for this government. The COBR Unit in the Cabinet Office operates a well-established arrangement for monitoring near-term civil contingency-type risks, including severe weather, for the purpose of ensuring the Government i...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBus Services: TicketsDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6925More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to expand the Unicard rail ticketing hub to include buses.
Answer: While Unicard’s technology has multi-modal capabilities, its current contract is for the provision of ticketing on Transport for Wales rail, only. The Department is currently working with Transport for West Midlands and the UK’s major bus operators to dev...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordParking: DatabasesDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6924More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to take steps to encourage local authorities to join the National Parking Platform.
Answer: The Department has funded a pilot version of the system led by Manchester City Council since 2021, which now covers nine authorities and around 1% of the national cashless parking market. The pilot has been successful.
Answered 9 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordEuston Station: PassengersDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6923More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Network Rail on crowd management improvements to Euston station required by the Office of Road and Rail.
Answer: Network Rail is responsible for the safe operation and management of major railway stations and is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. Ministers and officials routinely engage with Network Rail to hold it to account for matters within its control an...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordDriving: DisqualificationDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6922More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with her European counterparts on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications.
Answer: We have not had discussions with European counterparts on the proposed Directive relating to the upholding of Driving Disqualifications across the EU.
Answered 9 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordWater Companies: DirectorsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6921More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Ofwat on the potential merits of (a) employees and (b) bill payers being made members of the Boards of water companies.
Answer: On 11 July 2024, the Secretary of State announced consumers will gain new powers to hold water company bosses to account through new customer panels. For the first time in history, customers will have the power to summon board members and hold water execu...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPremium BondsTreasuryTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6920More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of all purchases of premium bonds made in the last financial year were under the value of (a) £100, (b) £1000 and (c) £10,000.
Answer: According to National Savings and Investments (NS&I), in the 2023/24 there were: 4,520,011 Premium Bonds sales under the value of £100, which equates to 32.3% of all Premium Bonds sales.10,344,803 Premium Bonds sales under the value of £1,000, which e...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAirports: ConstructionDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6919More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the cumulative environmental impact of airport expansion plans when considering the expansion of individual airports.
Answer: Guidance on the requirements of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulation 2017 and for undertaking cumulative effects assessments in the context of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) under the Planning ...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAirports: ConstructionDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6918More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an environmental impact assessment for each airport expansion plan.
Answer: All airport expansion proposals that are likely to have a significant effect on the environment must already be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment, as set out in planning legislation. These assessments will be taken into account by the loca...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFly-tipping: Dunstable and Leighton BuzzardDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5447More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of instances of fly tipping in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency in each year since 2010.
Answer: Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which the department have published annually since 2012, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken...
Answered 7 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFly-tippingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5446More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a single reporting mechanism for fly-tipping incidents.
Answer: Local authorities are often best placed to tackle local issues such as fly-tipping, and incidents can be reported to them by visiting the local authority's website. Individuals can get help on identifying the relevant local authority webpage at https://ww...
Answered 7 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAirportsDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 4294More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department will introduce a new National Airport Strategy.
Answer: This Government is committed to securing the long-term future of the UK aviation sector, recognising the vital connectivity it provides between the UK and the rest of the world. Currently, the Department has no plans to introduce a new National Airport St...
Answered 13 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDefibrillatorsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3882More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to defibrillators in (a) Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency, (b) Central Bedfordshire and (c) the UK.
Answer: No assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency, Central Bedfordshire, or the United Kingdom as a whole. However, the Government is committed to improving...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordRegional Planning and Development: CostsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3881More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of pan-regional partnerships.
Answer: Government has provided core funding for pan-regional partnerships throughout the current Spending Review period. This has supported six pan-regional partnerships, with £5 million provided in 2022/23, £6 million in 2023/24 and £7 million allocated for 202...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordBuses: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of infrastructure required for the operation of zero-emission coaches.
Answer: Our understanding from industry modelling indicates most coach operations could be run using electric coaches with depot charging, but that longer distance journeys would require longer-range coaches and/or infrastructure to be available elsewhere. My Dep...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordAnorexiaDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3879More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people with anorexia.
Answer: The Department is committed to working closely with NHS England to ensure that people with anorexia and other eating disorders get the care and treatment they need, when they need it.We will focus on improving the performance of the existing waiting time ...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordBus ServicesDepartment for TransportTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3438More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Bus Service Improvement Plan on bus patronage.
Answer: The Department for Transport has commissioned a process, impact and value for money evaluation of the Bus Service Improvement Plan Programme, a £1.1 billion tranche of funding allocated to 34 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs). The work will answer questi...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordWarm Homes PlanDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3437More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timeline is for rolling out his Department’s Warm Homes Plan.
Answer: Through the Warm Homes Plan, we will invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next five years in clean heat and energy efficiency, upgrading five million homes through solutions like low carbon heating and improved insulation. We will set out the full detail...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSewage: Dunstable and Leighton BuzzardDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3436More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of sewage discharges into waterways there have been in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency in the last 12 months.
Answer: Anglian Water provides data on storm overflow discharges in near real time on their website. The Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The dat...
Answered 12 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Media: Animal WelfareDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3435More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential link between (a) animal abuse and (b) social media.
Answer: Ofcom is the UK’s independent regulator for online safety. Social media platforms and search services will have duties to tackle animal abuse content under the Online Safety Act (OSA). Ofcom recently published its proposals for how these providers should ...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordHousehold Support FundDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3434More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of continuing the Household Support Fund after 30 September 2024.
Answer: The Government has announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF, including funding for the Devo...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordInheritance TaxTreasuryTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3433More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an (a) estimate of the potential costs and (b) assessment of the potential merits of extending inheritance tax relief to long-term cohabiting and co-dependent siblings.
Answer: There is a longstanding inheritance tax exemption for transfers between spouses and civil partners to reflect the formal legal obligations that marriage and civil partnerships involve. As with all taxes, reforms to inheritance tax, such as the potential e...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: ContractsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3432More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will set a timeframe for introducing legislative provisions to reform the dental contract.
Answer: To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists.There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any po...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Dunstable and Leighton BuzzardDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3431More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS dental provision in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency.
Answer: From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the 24 months to March 2024, 277,447 adults saw a National ...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal Welfare: FireworksDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3430More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the impact of fireworks on (a) domestic and (b) wild animals.
Answer: A number of animal welfare and veterinary organisations provide advice and guidance to enable people to minimise the impacts of fireworks on animal welfare. Users of fireworks should be aware of animals in the neighbouring area and use them responsibly. A...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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