Civil Contingencies Act

25 July 2006 Charles Walker asks the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many local authorities have complied fully with the obligations contained in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. | more

MP and Local Charities Meet with Mental Health Minister

24 July 2006 Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has made a last minute plea to Health Minister, Rosie Winterton MP, in an attempt to stop a more than £5 million cut being made to the funding of local mental health services. | more

Financial Services Authority

24 July 2006 In a written question to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Walker asks what progress the Financial Services Authority has made in enforcing testable business continuity planning among its members. | more

Reservists

24 July 2006 Charles Walker calls for compensation and support for small businesses with key staff serving long-term as reservists. | more

Armed Forces Personnel & Income Tax

24 July 2006 In a written question to the Defence Secretary, Charles Walker asks which NATO countries require their troops to pay income tax whilst on active service. | more

Boundaries, Voting and Representation (Scotland)

20 July 2006 During a debate on voting and representation in Scotland, Charles Walker raises the issue of Scottish MPs voting in Parliament on issues that do not relate to Scotland. | more

Criminal Justice

20 July 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Home Secretary to use sentencing to persuade young people that the simple act of carrying a knife is a serious crime in itself. | more

Water Abstraction from Rivers

20 July 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Government to ensure that during this hot weather, abstraction from our rivers is kept at a manageable level. | more

Home Information Packs

19 July 2006 During a debate on the Home Information Pack pilot schemes, Charles Walker asks who will pay for the surveys and condemns universities that are running training courses on legislation which has not yet been (and may never be) enacted. | more

International Development

13 July 2006 Charles Walker calls for progress in allowing farmers in the developing world access to western European and north American markets. | more

NHS Redress Bill

13 July 2006 Charles Walker raises concerns about the NHS investigating complaints against itself and calls for an element of independence. | more

Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law

3 July 2006 Charles Walker calls for tighter Governmental controls over scientific research to ensure that a child’s welfare is paramount. | more

Come on Gordon Give the NHS a Chance

30 June 2006 The health service has not traditionally been seen as Conservative “territory” but over the past three years this has started to change as the challenges facing the NHS continue to grow. | more

Primary Care Trusts

29 June 2006 Charles Walker raises his concerns that the promised two PCTs for Hertfordshire are in fact one. | more

Emissions Trading Scheme

29 June 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Government to work with power stations to encourage them to burn their fuel more efficiently. | more

England and Scotland Representation

29 June 2006 Charles Walker calls for a debate on the constitutional settlement between England and Scotland. | more

Sure Start

27 June 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Education Secretary to guarantee funding for the Sure Start scheme in Waltham Cross and to promote the retention of health visitors by Sure Start initiatives in Herts. | more

Broxbourne MP Slams PCT Stitch Up

27 June 2006 Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has slammed plans for a single Chief Executive and management team to run Hertfordshire’s two new PCTs, scheduled to start work later this year. | more

Broxbourne MP Angered by Green Belt Review

27 June 2006 Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has reacted angrily to the recent announcement by the East of England Regional Assembly that it is to review the Borough’s green belt. | more

Child Care

20 June 2006 Charles Walker calls for improvements to pre-school child care. | more

Primary Care Trusts (Hertfordshire)

19 June 2006 In a written question to the Health Secretary, Charles Walker asks for clarification of whether the two new PCTs in Hertfordshire will be run by separate management teams and chief executives. | more

PCTs in Herts

14 June 2006 Having learned that the two trusts created in the shake-up of PCTs serving Hertfordshire will be served by one management team and Chief Executive, Charles Walker alerts the Minister to his concerns that this will in-effect be just one PCT. | more

Fraud Bill

12 June 2006 During a speech in a House of Commons debate on the Fraud Bill, Charles Walker widely supports the bill but calls for longer sentencing in fraud cases in recognition of the impact of fraud on victims lives. | more

Broxbourne MP Calls for Urgent Immigration Debate

12 June 2006 Broxbourne MP Charles Walker has called on the Leader of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Jack Straw, to find time for an urgent debate into immigration. | more

Unskilled Immigration

8 June 2006 Speaking in the House of Commons, Charles Walker calls for a debate on the consequences of unskilled immigration to the UK. | more

Volunteers and Carers

7 June 2006 During a debate on Volunteers and Carers, Charles Walker highlights the value of donations to voluntary and charitable organisations. | more

Tax Credits

7 June 2006 During a House of Commons debate on Tax Credits, Charles Walker calls for assistance for hard-working families who receive claims for large sums that they have no means of paying. | more

MP calls for Health Minister to meet with local mental health charities.

7 June 2006 At the close of a debate on the NHS, Charles Walker makes a call for Health Minister, Caroline Flint, to meet with local mental health charities to discuss cuts in mental health services in Broxbourne and Hertfordshire. | more

Broxbourne MP Caught In War Protest Row

7 June 2006 Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has found himself drawn into the row about the future of Parliament Square war protester | more

Where's the Water Coming from Mr Prescott?

6 June 2006 The Government's plans for more house building in the East and South East strike most people as being unbelievably crass. | more

Real Action on Deporting Dangerous Criminals Needed

6 June 2006 At last the Government is acting to deport foreign nationals who've committed crimes in the UK. Such action is long overdue and people will be amazed that it hasn't always been the case. | more

School Closures

6 June 2006 In a Written Question to the Education Secretary, Charles Walker asks about criteria used to determine primary school closures. | more

NHS Redress Bill

5 June 2006 During a debate on the NHS Redress Bill, Charles Walker raises concerns that the proposed in-house system for dealing with minor clinical negligence cases will not be seen by patients to be transparent and impartial. | more

Pensions Reform

25 May 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to raise the threshold at which pensioners start to pay income tax. | more

Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust

25 May 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Health Secretary to personally intervene to prevent unfair budget cuts to the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust, which provides mental health services. | more

Subject Skills Shortages

25 May 2006 Charles Walker calls on the Education Secretary to do more to encourage people into the teaching profession, specifically into mathematics teaching. | more

British Nuclear Group

18 May 2006 During a debate on the British Nuclear Group, Charles Walker makes the point that in many cases local communities, where nuclear power stations exist, welcome them and the value they make to those communities. | more

Charities

17 May 2006 Charles Walker calls on the government to do something to end the practice of 'chugging' (short for 'charity mugging') - a practice of hiring, usually young, people to accost passers-by in the street asking them to donate to charity by direct debit. | more

Primary Care Trusts and Ambulance Trusts

16 May 2006 Charles Walker calls for safeguards to ensure that the new Primary Care Trust in east and north Hertfordshire will serve the less-well-off parts of the Broxbourne constituency. | more

NHS Budgets

12 May 2006 Charles Walker questions the Health Secretary about measures she has taken to encourage NHS trusts to balance their budgets and what initiatives are in place to reward those NHS trusts that do operate to balanced budgets. | more

Management of the National Health Service

9 May 2006 In an exchange in the debate on the NHS, Charles Walker condemns the waste of £8 billion that was raised for the NHS by a rise in National Insurance. | more

Management of the National Health Service

9 May 2006 During a Conservative led debate on the crisis in the NHS, Charles Walker calls on the Health Secretary to explain why the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust is being asked to cut its budget by £5.2 million when it has never been in deficit since 2001. | more

EU Finances

8 May 2006 Charles Walker asks the new Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, why if the EU budget was such a fair deal for Europe, why is it that France was so happy with the outcome? | more

MP Asks Minister to Put Commuters Before Holidaymakers

24 April 2006 MP, Charles Walker has urged the Rail Minister, Derek Twigg, to put the interests of local commuters before those of holidaymakers using the Stansted Express. | more

Broxbourne MP Fights to Stop Herts Mental Health Cuts

24 April 2006 Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, used his recent House of Commons adjournment debate to raise growing concerns about the Government's plans to slash mental health services in Hertfordshire. | more

Mental Health Services in Hertfordshire

19 April 2006 Charles Walker introduces a House of Commons debate on mental health services in Herts in which he praises the work of the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust and condemns the severe levels of budget cuts being imposed on them. Full text of debate. | more

GPs/Pharmacists (Hertfordshire)

18 April 2006 Charles Walker questions the Health Secretary about measures to encourage collaboration between GPs and pharmacists and calls for her to make a statement on the issue. | more

Medicine Use Review (Hertfordshire)

30 March 2006 Charles Walker asks the Health Secretary about steps being taken to educate Hertfordshire GPs about the terms of the medicine use review. | more

Broxbourne MP Gives Maiden Budget Response

29 March 2006 Speaking in his first Budget Debate, Charles Walker was congratulated in the Chamber by Conservative Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, for his “almost religious enthusiasm for his constituency”. | more

Broxbourne MP in Cash for Peerages Row

29 March 2006 Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has clashed with the Leader of the House of Commons, Geoff Hoon, over the cash for peerages row. | more