Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I welcome the Minister to his new role. I think that, given his performance today, he will be a formidable addition to the Defence team. I also welcome the process by which the Bill was examined. We went through reams of written evidence in the Select Committee, and also had an opportunity to examine witnesses. For me, however, one of the most important parts of the process was the...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I welcome the Bill. It has been a long time in its gestation, but that is its strength. It covers many aspects of company law, but I want to concentrate on just two clauses: clause 158 on the duties of directors and clause 399 on the business review, to which many hon. Members have alluded. The Bill addresses a fundamental premise. Should a company operate only in the interests of its...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the past few weeks I have visited two separate debt advice centres in my constituency, and both expressed concern about rising levels of debt among people who have been taken in by television adverts about debt consolidation and other financial products that were inappropriate for their needs and, far from solving their financial worries, actually made them worse. Will my right hon. Friend...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what her assessment is of the progress being made towards more women being selected to contest seats in general elections.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: What steps he is taking to give better support to rape complainants.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I thank my hon. Friend for her answer. In a recent report, Portsmouth was cited as the city with the highest number of reported rapes in the country, but that was partly due to the fact that we have an excellent rape crisis centre, offering support to men and women and giving them the confidence to report rapes and bring the perpetrators to justice. Does my hon. Friend agree that such...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I begin by paying tribute to the brave men and women of our armed forces, who risk their lives every day to keep us safe and secure. My constituency is the home of the Royal Navy and Portsmouth ships have defended our country in many famous sea battles. Portsmouth itself suffered badly from bombing during the second world war and we who live there are aware that our city still remains a...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have no argument with the hon. Gentleman about the need for robust training and the need to make sure that our troops are aware of what they will face when they go into operation. But when one hears stories, as I heard from someone, of a young recruit having a machete held to his head, that is not robust training. That is bullying and that, to me, is not acceptable. In a recent debate on...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I am grateful to the Minister. It is important that independent civilians on such a panel have experience of military matters because, as the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) said, the military context is different. Our professional, committed, agile fighting forces do not consist just of regular forces. To provide the flexibility required by modern warfare we increasingly...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I should like to add my sympathies to the families of those who have lost their lives, but laying out in front of the House the precise details of our deployment in Afghanistan, or indeed hard-won intelligence about the Taliban, could place our troops in greater danger. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should continue to be guided by operational requirements of commanders in the field and...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I recently spoke to a single parent in my constituency who has two young children. She told me that without tax credits she would find it difficult, if not impossible, to carry on working, and therefore would be forced back on to benefits and unable to give her children the standard of living they had been used to. Last year, the shadow Chancellor refused to acknowledge the part that our tax...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to encourage the use of public transport by bus.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: One of the frustrating aspects of the Committee's work is the time lag between our hearing, the subsequent reports and the Treasury's response. In January, when Public Accounts Committee reports were previously debated on the Floor of the House, I found myself, as a new member of the Committee, in an interesting position because I had not participated in any of the hearings on the reports...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I quite agree that there are instances of pilot projects working well. There is an example in one of our reports of good practice in the Treasury building project, demonstrating how advance planning can reduce risk. I am saying that there have been instances where pilot projects have not worked very well or where lessons have not been learned. If we look at the potential schemes for...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I entirely agree, and that need for a holistic approach came through in the briefings that we received from Citizens Advice and the Child Poverty Action Group.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I know from when I was a councillor that citizens advice bureaux get considerable resources through service level agreements with local authorities. They do a tremendous amount of work. We should take note when Citizens Advice tells us of the problems that it has. In 2003-04, citizens advice bureaux dealt with 1.3 million cases relating to benefits and tax credits. Citizens Advice...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It is important that we make sure that the IT systems are in place first, but I would be the last to say that we should not make savings and process benefits more efficiently. We must, however, put the user at the forefront. Efficiency savings and simplification must be delivered for the benefit of the user, and not necessarily for the benefit of the Department. The user must come first....
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Given that there is already a London weighting allowance, does my hon. Friend agree that that analogy should apply to the minimum wage?
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: What contribution the defence industrial strategy will make to supporting British armed forces and securing British jobs.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I met the commander of Portsmouth naval base and the managing director of Fleet Support Ltd this morning. We discussed the unique one-stop-shop service for ships at Portsmouth naval base, where concept, design, build, launch, support, upgrade and eventual disposal are offered. That is made possible by a partnership between industry and the Royal Navy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that...