I was really privileged to join about 300 men, women and children on the Reclaim the Night walk from the Spinnaker Tower to Guildhall Square to raise awareness of domestic violence and rape against women. This coincided with the United Nations International day for the eradication of violence against women which is part of a fortnight of campaigning.

While we walked there were chants and banners flying and cars were stopped while we crossed major roads. Some of the marchers were police who deal with some of the 47,000 rape cases in the UK a year. When we got to Guildhall Square there were some very good speeches including one by a woman who told us about the physical and emotional abuse that she had received from her husband before escaping. It is extremely difficult for many women whose self esteem is very low after years of abuse and it takes a very brave woman to walk away particularly if they have no job and have children. We must not forget that there are incidences of men being abused too, and for them admitting it and leaving an abusive relationship can be just as hard. Patterns of behaviour are also learned by the children who then believe that is normal behaviour and go on to abuse the next generation. Breaking the cycle is essential and because of that, I do welcome the Government’s latest initiative in bringing it into discussion at school as part of the personal and social curriculum. Children need to know that it is not acceptable behaviour along with bullying outside the house.

Many women do not feel safe on the streets at night and my surveys show that this feeling is widespread in Portsmouth even if it is a misconception. We need more police visible on the streets and we must work towards reclaiming the night for everyone.

Cllr Linda Symes and I at the march

Sadly I could only make the afternoon session of this valuable conference on grandparents. Many grandparents look after their grandchildren while their sons or daughters are out at work. My mother did all my childcare as I could not afford to work as a school inspector and pay for childcare particularly as I had to leave the house very early in the morning or stay away for nights as I joined inspection teams around the country. The staggering statistics are that grandparents undertake childcare worth £3886 million a year and 6 in 10 working parents use grandparents to look after their children. But these are the good statistics.

The sad statistics are the numbers of grandparents are those who no longer have contact with their grandchildren because of divorce or distance. Some grandparents have to go to court to get access to grandchildren, others go to court to become wards for their grandchildren because their parents are unable to look after them often because of misuse of drugs. When I was working on the Social Workers Commission we heard from representatives of grandparents who wanted to look after their grandchildren rather than foster carers. Many of them cannot afford to look after their grandchildren and we need to ensure that they get the same allowances as foster carers receive if they are performing the same duties. It is much better to keep children within the family groups where possible.

The Grandparent’s Association is very good support group and you can find them at www.grandparents-association.org.uk or ring them on their helpline 0845 4349585

I have decided to blog this letter rather than rewrite it as it states the issues very clearly. I hope you will sign the petition which is going to affect our hard working families.

Dear Mrs Drummond,

I am writing with regard to an issue that affects every constituency, not least Portsmouth South.

Gordon Brown used his 2009 Party Conference speech to announce the phasing out of tax exemptions which underpin Employer Supported Childcare (childcare vouchers) from April 2011. The intention is to use any savings to fund 10 hours free childcare per week to 250,000 two-year olds from lower income families. The overall effect of this move, however, will be to reduce child care support that many hardworking families rely on.

This decision will significantly affect working parents and employers in Portsmouth South, many of whom are basic rate taxpayers. Such tax payers currently £900 per year towards their childcare costs, through the scheme, but will now see their childcare costs rise by over 20% (per family). Indeed, over 600,000 working parents across the country have benefited from employer supported childcare and would struggle if the benefit was removed.

Nationally, 33,000 businesses use childcare vouchers, many of whom are struggling to stay afloat in the recession and will also be hit by the move, as the Federation of Small Businesses explains: “Childcare vouchers help employers and employees manage the difficult balance between work and childcare, cutting costs for mothers and allowing them the flexibility they need. They are vital to small businesses who can’t otherwise help subsidise childcare without incurring financial penalties. If the government is serious about addressing equality and the gender pay gap it won’t stop this vital scheme.”

Maria Miller, Shadow Children’s Minister also criticised the decision by saying: “It is hard sustaining family life… The prime minister is axing [tax efficiencies on] childcare that 300,000 working parents need. These are basic rate taxpayers, working in areas such as the health sector and doing vital jobs. They rely on this support. Hard-working families will be left to pick up the pieces and this has got to stop. A Conservative Government will support families, building systems around them for childcare.”

Many parents, employers and child carers are lending their voices to the campaign through signing a petition on the Downing Street website calling on the government to reverse its decision. This is currently the most popular and fastest ever growing petition on the site, with over 70,000 signatories at last count. The petition can be found at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/keepvouchers/.

For further information, please contact us on: 020 7222 9500 or at: savechildcarevouchers@cvpa.org.uk.

Best wishes,

Marc Woolfson, Campaign Director – Save childcare vouchers campaign

David Cameron has launched a petition on NHS spending and announced the five Conservative priorities for a Department of Public Health. We will be out in Portsmouth soon with the petition for you to sign.

The petition urges the Government to increase spending on the NHS every year, and to stop precious NHS money being wasted on targets and bureaucracy.

The five priorities are as follows:

1. We will create a patient-led NHS where patients are able to choose between a wide range of public and independent sector providers where and when they receive treatment, and where patients are able take control of their own health records.

2. We want to take day-to-day political interference out of the NHS and put healthcare professionals in charge of delivering patient care, according to the demands of patients and in competition with other providers.

3. We will devolve decision-making to doctors and nurses but they will be more accountable than ever for the results they achieve, but to patients not politicians, because we will measure health outcomes, publish extensive data about what providers achieve and pay those providers by results.

4. Having set the framework for these reforms to the NHS, we will be able to focus government action on improving public health.

5. That action will include reforming long-term care to enable people to stay in their own homes and communities.

David Cameron launched the petition and priorities in a keynote speech at the Royal College of Pathologists. In his speech he set out his vision for the NHS and tackled some misunderstandings of Conservative policy.

“Labour wasted their first term in power by failing to reform. And now, after they had finally assumed the mantle of change in the NHS, they have lost their nerve and failed to go far and fast enough. With the publication of our priorities for the Department of Health today, we are ensuring we do not make the same mistakes”, he said.