We asked Bucks Free Press readers to submit questions on their key issues to candidates standing for Parliament. Here, we present the answers from those seeking your votes in the Chesham and Amersham constituency.

We put the following questions to our prospective MPs:

1. Do you support or oppose fracking in Buckinghamshire?

2. Do you support or oppose privatisation in the NHS?

3. Should Green Belt land be used to help meet housing targets in the Chiltern district?

4. I celebrated my 60th birthday last May and because I have worked for most of my life, like thousands of other woman and brought up three children, I believe I should be entitled to my State Pension now and not have to wait until I am almost 66, so I have the opportunity to retire and enjoy the years I have left. Will any of the Parliamentary hopefuls agree that if they get elected, they will aim to reverse the State Pension Law?

Here are the answers from each of the candidates.

Bucks Free Press:

Cheryl Gillan - Conservative

1. As your MP I have been assured that there are no plans for hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ in Buckinghamshire. What is more, fracking has been banned in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. To ensure fracking is safe companies must get planning permission and environmental permits, pass Health and Safety Executive scrutiny, get the Energy Department’s consent, have an Environmental Impact Assessment and 12 months of monitoring before drilling.

2. I am committed to an NHS free at the point of use. Conservatives increased the NHS budget above inflation every year. Use of private providers in delivery of NHS services is not new. The previous Labour government introduced the independent sector and competition into the NHS but the rate of growth in the use of the private sector halved under our Government. Since 2010, NHS reforms ensure regulation so that Doctors and nurses (our local NHS commissioners) decide who can best provide care for patients. I support charities, such as Epilepsy Society, social enterprises and other healthcare providers to the NHS e.g. Macmillan Nurses.

3. No. Picking up the keys to your own home is a moment you never forget as this is where you feel safe, bring up a family and put down roots in your community. But in building more homes locally we must preserve the Chilterns countryside and unique character of our towns and villages. Conservatives will protect the Green Belt. Government guidelines make it easier to convert empty and redundant buildings into homes and councils are encouraged to meet housing needs through prioritising brownfield sites with powers to protect local green spaces. Communities and elected councillors can set local planning policies giving them more control over what happens.

4. Like you, I have been affected by the change personally. In terms of equality, there was a choice between altering the regulations to let men retire earlier or increasing the age for women. In practical terms, life expectancy for men and women has increased - men 79.2 and women 83.3 years in 2012. Conservatives are allowing pensioners to have access to their pension savings, so that people can make their own decisions over their money. Because we have rebuilt the economy, we can maintain all current pensioner benefits like fuel payments – and keep the triple lock on future state pensions.

Bucks Free Press:

Ben Davies - Labour

1. I'm opposed to fracking in Buckinghamshire and it's only because of Labour's opposition to the Conservatives that George Osborne and David Cameron were prevented from waving the white flag at fracking company Cuadrilla. Labour has always said that fracking must be subjected to a robust system of regulation and comprehensive inspection but the Conservatives have chosen to ignore public opinion on this important issue.

2.The NHS itself must remain a service that is funded through general taxation because that is the most efficient way to deliver healthcare to people. If you don't believe me look at the comparative spend in the US on healthcare and the coverage US citizens receive compared to us. We'd repeal the Tory and Lib Health and Social Care Act which left the NHS vulnerable to privatisation and invest in training for new NHS staff - 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs, 5,000 new homecare workers. Labour founded the NHS - vote Tory and you can kiss it goodbye. It's also worth saying that living in the constituency and using the NHS and state schools here I'm in a better situation than the other candidates to comment on public services!

3.I think we should look at empty accommodation and redeveloping brownfield sites. Labour's committed to building 200,000 new homes a year but we have to ensure we provide affordable accommodation in a way that is sensitive to the environment. The Chilterns are a very special place and I want to be sure that we reach the right balance between local people's housing needs and being effective custodians of our countryside.

4. No, sorry - and I know it seems very rough! People are living longer, and we need to work longer too. The key point for me is that people are paid properly when in work and women in particular fare worse when it comes to low-paid temporary work. We'd get rid of zero-hours contacts, up the minimum wage to £8 and extend free childcare from 15 hours to 25 hours a week for working parents with three and four-year-olds. We'll also create a legal guarantee so parents of primary-aged children can access childcare from 8am to 6pm through their local school.

Bucks Free Press:

Kirsten Johnson - Liberal Democrat

1. I oppose fracking. I have signed Greenpeace’s Frack Free Promise. Liberal Democrats in government have introduced robust regulations for fracking, including banning drilling in AONBs. Our manifesto outlines two further steps to ensure any shale gas obtained nationally contributes to developing a low-carbon economy: to establish a low-carbon Transition Fund using 50 per cent of any tax revenues from shale gas to fund energy efficiency, community energy, low-carbon innovation and renewable heat; and to require that once a shale gas well is finished, it must be offered at no cost to geothermal heat developers, to enable faster expansion of this renewable technology.

2. I will always fight to make sure access to our NHS is based on need, not ability to pay. Liberal Democrats are committed to the founding principles of the NHS as a taxpayer-funded system, free at the point of use. We have committed to increase NHS funding by £8 billion per year. There is a limited role for private companies and charities such as Macmillan, but patient care should always be at the heart of NHS decision-making, not making profit. Contracts with private sector companies currently account for 6 per cent of the NHS budget - an increase of only 1.5 per cent since 2010.

3. Chiltern district is blessed with many areas that are both Green Belt and within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Green Belt land should only be used in exceptional circumstances, for instance to provide affordable housing for local residents such as have been built at Bellingdon recently. At a minimum, there should be no development of land which is both Green Belt and AONB. I think Chiltern District needs to work with surrounding councils in developing plans for housing. The Green Belt should be protected as much as possible. Brownfield sites should be developed in the first instance.

4. I would not support reducing the state pension age. The average life expectancy for women here is now 84 years old. People are living longer and able to support themselves longer. Liberal Democrats brought in protection for pensioners with the Triple Lock. In the next parliament we wish to legislate this, guaranteeing that pensions will rise every year either with inflation, wages or by 2.5 per cent. Lib Dems are also proposing to raise the tax-free Personal Allowance to at least £12,500 by the end of the next Parliament, putting around £400 back in the pockets of millions of pensioners.

Bucks Free Press:

Gill Walker - Green Party

1. The Green party is the only UK mainstream political party to oppose fracking completely, it is a totally unnecessary and would cause catastrophic damage to both the environment and people. We are calling for a ban on all UK fracking - following a number of other nations worldwide – and for all licences to be withdrawn as soon as possible. We want the UK and EU governments to close serious loopholes in regulations to protect our air, water, soil and landscapes from known risks. The Green Party would redirect the destructive fossil fuel subsidies to fund energy measures, community owned renewable energy sources and the elimination of fuel poverty.

2. The Green Party is 100 per cent opposed to the privatisation of our NHS. We will maintain a publicly funded, publicly provided health service free at the point of use. Money spent on health will remain in the public economy supporting the NHS rather than into private companies profits. The Green Party will repeal the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and introduce an NHS Reinstatement Bill which restores the obligation upon the Government to provide a comprehensive health service.

3. The Green Party acknowledges there is a shortage of affordable sustainable homes to rent or buy and addresses this in the following ways. We would take steps to ensure development is more easily distributed across the whole country so reducing pressure on housing in the South East. Take action on empty homes to bring them back into use, there are estimated to be approximately 700,000 empty homes at present. Minimise the encroachment onto undeveloped "green field" sites wherever possible by reusing previously developed sites that have fallen into disuse. We would prohibit developers from being allowed to destroy unique habitats by way of biodiversity offsetting elsewhere. We would repeal the National Planning Policy Framework and in particular its presumption in favour of development.

4. I can certainly empathise with you, having worked all my life and brought up my children I was expecting to retire at 60 but was over 62 when I eventually received my State Pension. At present the Green Party will stay with the current pension age BUT this is not the same as signing up for all expected rises – we would look at this as the situation arises. We would introduce a Citizens Pension for all of £180 per week for a single person and £310 per week for a couple, irrespective of contributions history, taking all pensions above the poverty line. Future increase will be higher than price increase on basic goods, services or average earnings. We would keep housing benefits, free bus passes and winter fuel allowance. There would be free social care for over 65’s funded on the same basis as the NHS.

The BFP also sent the list of questions to UKIP candidate Alan Stevens, but he has not responded to our email.

Questions and answers from candidates standing in the Beaconsfield and Wycombe constituencies will be uploaded to the BFP website later.