Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will publish a response to her Department's consultation entitled, Design standards for accessible railway stations: a code of practice, published on 23 August 2023.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This consultation was conducted under the previous government. The Department for Transport is currently considering publication of a response.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact Appendix B of the PRM NTSN on the availability of step-free Access at Railway Stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.
The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to remove Appendix B of the PRM NTSN.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.
The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations underwent development where (a) full step-free access and (b) only passive provision was provided between 2019 and 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
During the period 2019 – 2024, 66 major accessibility interventions were delivered at 63 different stations under the Access for All Programme, 4 of which were fixed funding contributions through the Access for All mid-tier programme.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 39774, what assessment she has made of the medium-long term impact of the closure of (a) grassroots and (b) cultural nightlife businesses on tax revenue.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street. That is why we have announced our intention to introduce permanently lower rates for high street RHL properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27, which we intend to fund through a higher rate for high-value properties (those with a rateable value of £500,000 and above).
Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025-26. As such, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year to ensure that over 250,000 RHL properties see a full 40 per cent reduction on their liability, and we have frozen the small business multiplier. Taken together with small business rates relief, freezing the small business multiplier has protected over one million properties from inflationary bill increases.
To recognise the economic and cultural importance of British pubs, the government also announced a duty cut on approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the change in the number of miles of (a) public footpaths, (b) bridleways, (c) restricted byways and (d) other public (i) walkways and (ii) cycleways in the UK since 2015.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The public rights of way network provides approximately 140,000 miles of linear access in England and Wales, with 83% found in England and 17% in Wales. In England this consists approximately of:
In addition, when both the King Charles III England Coast Path and Coast to Coast National Trail are complete, the total length of National Trails in England will be 4,952 miles. Permissive paths also give the public access to large amounts of the English countryside.
The National Cycle Network spans 12,000 miles of signed routes for walking, wheeling and cycling including over 5,000 miles of traffic free paths. There are 2,000 miles of canal towpaths in England and Wales.
Information on overall lengths of publicly maintainable cycleways and footways, along with changes to the public rights of way network and other walkways and cycle paths since 2015 in England is held by the respective local authority. Further information on public rights of way and other public paths or routes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Welsh and Scottish Governments and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of miles of (a) public footpaths, (b) bridleways, (c) restricted byways and (d) other public (i) walkways and (ii) cycleways in the UK.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The public rights of way network provides approximately 140,000 miles of linear access in England and Wales, with 83% found in England and 17% in Wales. In England this consists approximately of:
In addition, when both the King Charles III England Coast Path and Coast to Coast National Trail are complete, the total length of National Trails in England will be 4,952 miles. Permissive paths also give the public access to large amounts of the English countryside.
The National Cycle Network spans 12,000 miles of signed routes for walking, wheeling and cycling including over 5,000 miles of traffic free paths. There are 2,000 miles of canal towpaths in England and Wales.
Information on overall lengths of publicly maintainable cycleways and footways, along with changes to the public rights of way network and other walkways and cycle paths since 2015 in England is held by the respective local authority. Further information on public rights of way and other public paths or routes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Welsh and Scottish Governments and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) of all ages and (b) under 22 years of age receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit in the (i) London Borough of Merton and (ii) the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Quarterly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work in Great Britain are published on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides figures up to December 2024 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) of all ages and (b) under 22 years of age receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit in Wimbledon constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Quarterly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work in Great Britain are published on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides figures up to December 2024 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a targeted VAT relief to 15% for (a) food, (b) alcohol and (c) tickets for (i) grassroots and (ii) cultural nightlife businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.
At Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced a duty cut on approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint.