Speeches by Vaughan.

“So expertise is the criteria?”

“Why would the new system be better at addressing these particular problems than the current one?”

“I am the Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe. I am also an associate tenant at Doughty Street Chambers. I hold a current practising certificate as a barrister. My office receives support from the Refugee, Asylum and Migration Policy Project. Before being elected, one of the areas I practised in was immigratio…”

“I entirely agree. That is absolutely key. A coastguard officer said to me that the money they get helps to offset some of the costs, but I think this phrase sums it up: “we do not do this for the money; the money means we can do it.” Other Members have talked about sacrificing family time; one officer said to me that h…”

“It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I pay tribute to the brilliantly dedicated and inspiringly selfless coastguard rescue officers across the country, but particularly those who operate in my constituency—at Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh. They are represented in the Gallery today. For my con…”

“I want to ask a question arising from Vikki Slade’s questioning. It relates to how many rape and serious sexual offence cases where the victim essentially disengages results in the dropping of the prosecution. That is often something that has been cited in relation to the debates about jury reform. What are the statist…”

“My name is Tony Vaughan. I am the MP for Folkestone and Hythe. I am a barrister with a practising certificate and an associate tenant at Doughty Street Chambers. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial interests.”

“Is the CPS taking any steps to address that?”

“I will ask this very quickly. You rejected the Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s recommendation for a new electronic monitoring strategy but agreed that clear communication is essential if the expansion of EM is to work. Could you set out what strategic action you are taking ahead of the expansion of electroni…”

“Is there a contractual mechanism whereby, if that did happen and somebody complained about it, it would be held against Serco?”

“What was the problem there? One might suppose that the elements that you just described are all constant and have been constant throughout the periods of poor contractual performance. You must be saying more than the fact that you all get on a bit better. There must be an imposition of some kind of threat or penalty th…”

“All right. Is there time, Chair, to ask a last question about women in prison?”

“It is a tag.”

“I want to continue on this theme, because the question of public protection following release and how we use electronic monitoring for that is important. What is the anticipated increase in the numbers of offenders who are going to be tagged now compared to September 2026? Are you confident in Serco’s ability to delive…”

“You indicated quite a large increase of offenders who will be on these tags to manage them in the community. What are the carrots and what are the sticks to ensure that if there is substandard contract performance you can take action in the moment to steer them back in the right direction?”

“On the part of the Government, what are the carrots and sticks that you can pose to Serco to make sure that it actually pulls its socks up if that seems necessary?”

“Hello. I am Tony Vaughan, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe. I am a barrister with a practising certificate and an associate tenant at Doughty Street Chambers. I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests.”

“Is this GPS or RF tags?”

“Will it deal with the suggestion that they will take on work where they can make ends meet and reject work where they cannot? Some people have called it cherry-picking.”

“Minister, I want to ask about how we monitor demand. We spoke a moment ago about how it can be difficult to work out how many people never ended up asking for advice in the first place, or could not be represented. Your research in the civil legal aid review shows that we have an issue of rising demand and people being…”