Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he made of the south-east of England regional assembly's advice on the relative regional priority of the A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received (a) opposing and (b) supporting the approval of the A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme; and what representations he has received on this matter from (i) individuals and (ii) organisations in Portsmouth North constituency.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role the (a) South East England Development Agency, (b) South East England Regional Assembly, (c) Highways Agency, (d) Environment Agency and (e) local councils will have in plans for the A3 Improvement Scheme at Hindhead.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice the Department will take when considering the approval of the A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make the final decision on the affordability of the A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the earliest date is on which pre-works could commence on the A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme if approval is granted.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Will the hon. Gentleman explain to the young people in my constituency who have seen a massive improvement in the percentage of people getting five GCSEs, from a very low 25 per cent. in 1997 up to 46 per cent., how he can interpret that as no improvement in education?
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Due to the hon. Lady's rationing policy on interventions, I must refer back to her remarks on admissions. The Bill states that looked-after children will have priority on admissions, which already happens in my constituency. By voting against the Bill, the hon. Lady will deny that right to all the other looked-after children in the country. How will that help disadvantaged children?
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Does the Minister agree that the decision by the United States to cancel the development and construction of the second engine, apart from delivering a blow to British jobs, was shortsighted? In creating competition by developing two engines, we could have driven down costs in the whole project and secured a better engine design.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the cost implications of the time scale for making a decision on the A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of initial applications to HM Revenue and Customs for renewal of Construction Industry Scheme Certificates since 6 April 2005 have been refused; and what the proportion was in each of the three previous financial years.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether a regulatory impact assessment was completed by HM Revenue and Customs on the excluding of appendix 4 of the May 2001 version of IR40 from the July 2003 version; (2) whether a small firms impact test was completed on the exclusion of appendix 4 of the May 2001 version of IR40 from the July 2003 reissue.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Labour councillors in Portsmouth wanted pensioners to have free bus travel at all times of day, but the Tories and the Liberal Democrats voted together to offer free off-peak bus travel or free parking vouchers. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is an example of both Opposition parties displaying chamaeleon qualities by pretending to be green but in fact promoting more use of private cars?
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Two of my constituents, Jeanette Macleod and Margaret Prior, have both received Respect awards for taking a stand against antisocial behaviour. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating them, and also in assuring them and other concerned residents in my constituency that this Government will continue to back and support them with tough measures against antisocial behaviour?
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The population is increasingly ageing, so the level of state pension is pertinent to many pensioners in my constituency, and the Department for Work and Pensions is currently undertaking a consultation about it. However, one of my constituents has sent me a copy of an advert asking for information, and the only way of responding to the consultation is via a website. Given that many pensioners...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Like others in all parts of the House, I want to pay tribute to those who lost their lives this weekend and to welcome my right hon. Friend to his new position. I was in Basra in March, along with my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones), and I spoke to senior military officers, who agreed that there is a fine line between our presence there being part of the solution and being...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The hon. Gentleman said that the Bill does not refer to active operations, but subsection (3) states: "In this section 'relevant service' means— (a) actions or operations against an enemy".
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Notwithstanding my hon. Friend's argument, with which I disagree, he has admitted that his amendment is flawed, because it does not offer an alternative to a two-year sentence, and he hopes that another amendment will be introduced in another place to resolve that matter. Does he agree that that is a dangerous precedent for the Committee to adopt?
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I concur that on our visits it was plain that this was not something about which commanding officers felt strongly. However, I was told about an incident—I think it was the Trooper Williams case—in which the commanding officer acted exactly as the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer) proposed. He consulted lawyers and then decided that there was not a case to answer. That action was...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I want to pick up on the hon. Gentleman's point that Trooper Williams looked to his commanding officer as his god, but the fact remains that he was let down, because he was then put into the civilian system. That is the point that this measure seeks to address. For precisely the reason that the hon. Gentleman gave about civilian judges and juries having no idea what it is like in the heat of...