• Helen is the vice chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Armed Forces, Army Division. The APPG's role is to promote the interests of our forces in Parliament and to keep Parliament informed about developments in the Army, Navy and Airforce. With Maidstone being home to 36 Engineer Regiment this role will keep her abreast of the challenges and issues facing our soldiers as well as allowing Helen to be an informed voice for 36 Engineers in Westminster.
• Helen has also been accepted onto the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS). This inducts selected MPs and other politicians into the Armed Services through an extensive training and familiarisation programme. The strength of the AFPS is that it allows MPs to hear the views of servicemen and women directly and candidly, rather than through the MOD. The scheme includes visits to service personnel and facilities both in the UK and in operational theatres around the world, including Afghanistan. Central to Helen's involvement is her interest in the effects of service life on the families that remain at home, and what can be done to improve life for them.

Helen is one of five Conservative MPs serving on the 12 member Commons Justice Select Committee. The Committee scrutinises the policy, administration, and spending of the Ministry of Justice. In addition, it examines the work of the Attorney General, the Solicitor General, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service and reviews draft Sentencing Guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council. The committee decides upon its own lines of inquiry, gathers written and oral evidence and reports its findings to the Commons. The government, usually, then has 60 days to reply to any recommendations.

Prior to the summer recess the Committee has sat on three occasions, most recently taking evidence from Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Kenneth Clarke.

In terms of what the Committee will be reviewing in the coming year:

• The committee recently decided that it would initially focus upon the work of family courts and the future role of the probation service. Helen will be applying her 23 years of experience as a family solicitor and as a member of the Family Division of Social Justice Policy Group and the Conservative Party Family Law Reform commission. Changes to legal aid, transparency in family courts and considering ideas from Australia to improve the outcomes of family law issues are among the subjects to be tackled.
• Helen will also be applying her knowledge to ensure that the probation service is made as effective and efficient as possible, considering matters such as the role of private and voluntary sectors in its delivery and whether community sentences are being operated to their full potential.

Helen is a member of the Parliamentary Support team for the Home office and will be working on a range of issues relevant to that department in support of Home Secretary Theresa May, who is also the minister for Women and Equalities.