Gordon Brown on Mumsnet this Friday (16th October) lunchtime between 1-2 pm

[JustineMumsnet]

We're delighted to announce that the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will be logging on to Mumsnet for a live webchat on Friday (tomorrow) lunchtime from 1 to 2. The PM is ready to answer Mumsnetters' questions on a wide-range of policy issues from the economy to education and from childcare to climate change.

As you know we're not great ones for rule books here at MNHQ, but we'd like this to be as useful and enlightening an event as it can be, for all involved. We aren't going to pre-moderate or pre-select questions - the format will be as per usual - but given the likely popularity of this webchat, the sheer number of you all and our past experience of trying to fit everything in, we've come up with a few ground rules which we'd be very grateful if you'd follow.

Guidelines for MN webchat with PM

1. To allow as many folks as possible to be involved, please restrict your questions to one per member plus a follow up question if appropriate, i.e. once you've had a response. (NB don't even think about name changing to ask another, we'll be watching!).

1. Please keep your question reasonably brief (we'll not doing a word count but it will increase your chance of getting an answer, we suspect, if you don't bang on for paragraphs)

1. It's highly unlikely he'll be able to answer everyone's question but we'll make every effort to bring common themes to his attention. Please don't be too disappointed if your specific question doesn't get answered and do try not to keep posting "What about me?". He can't answer them all and he is the PM after all - so has a quite few time constraints.

1. Obviously you're free to voice your opinion but do be civil/polite - the PM is our guest on Mumsnet so, whatever your politics, please afford him the same cordiality you would if he stopped by your own house.

Many thanks - feel free to put your question up in advance if you can't make the live chat on Friday lunchtime.

Dear Prime Minister - PLEASE sort the Directgov website.

Edam,
Yes we are moving to a biometric passport, but that's what every country is trying to do. Your passport can be your source of identity. We are asking for very little more information than is now asked for your passport, and it is voluntary.

Prime Minister -apologies if it has been asked before but why can't we have the voting reform we need - I would like to see every vote counting properly.

I would reiterate what others have said as well about the next election - please can we actually have a sensible discussion about policy in this country and not rhetoric?

Nope, no biscuit answer yet. would go a long way to counterbalancing the stock answers we are getting, no offence Mr Brown, but we need to hear your voice!

Hello Mr Brown,

thank you for taking the time to talk to us today.

I run a local voluntary youth group, with over 50 kids attending regularly. We really struggle to pay for hall hire, insurance etc. We regularly apply for funding through various ways, but don't have much success. Most youth clubs in my borough were closed down a few years ago.
The local council has just closed the voluntary youth group council, which was the only place we got any help from.
We think we're providing a valuable service.
Any ideas on how to get funding?

Thanks

I'd just like to utterly disagree with everyone who says we should not be expanding university education. OK I have a vested interest... But it is fundamental to general social well-being that we have good graduates, not only for intellectual reasons, but for reasons of social cohesion, innovation and entrepreneurship, and the general contribution to our economy that they make.

I appreciate the expanded numbers entering education this year, and I very much applaud the changes to the support system which mean no upfront payments for maintenance loans are required.

But the issue is that thousands of qualified students have not achieved a place and many universities, including my own, may be fined for over-recruiting.

My first proposal is to waive this fine; and to waive the numbers cap for some years to take these young people off the unemployment figures and into useful and developmental education!

I look forward to the MN focus group when I am happy to rant speak about Universities endlessly.

I would like to point out as a childminder that there are only so many hours in the day and I currently work 11 of them not counting time spent on paperwork, deep cleaning or toy rotation.

Please cut the paperwork down for childminders, the parents don't want it and the worst thing you could possibly do for children is put more pressure and stress on their childminder who is already working long hours for little pay and has a busy enough day as it is.

I want children in my care to enjoy their day with me so we can have fun playing/ learning, not have me flashing a camara and bending my head to write notes!

As for writing statements, next steps and written risk assesments these are really cutting into my "time off" with my own small family which is very unfair.

Seems my question isn't high on the list of propaganda either....

Prime Minister,

has Labour turned its back on the Human Rights Act?

(longer question below....to which I'd love an answer. especially as I find it so sad that so many of the other questions people are asking are, in fact, about their human rights, but no-one seems to realise, because no-one (govt included) talks about human rights.)

How many TVs do you have?

[horrid henry]

to ronshar,
A decade ago 16 hundred schools didn't meet the 30% passmark at GCSE. Now we've got it down to 270 and the 2011 every school will have to be above that target, but I agree with you we've got to do even better than that in future. So we are putting in extra measures for personal tuition of pupils, tougher standards of discipline and achievement and better support for teachers and headteachers, and higher standards from them.

Oh yes Giant - I agree there should be electoral reform. The current system is terrible.

natfrank- I work through the night a 7 -7 - then lots of the time I don't get to finish work on time etc with no notice- which i don't mind as its part of the job

Gordon you have ignored the substance of Edam's question and we on Mumsnet notice things like that.

Mme D - he is very clearly a highland shortbread man and therefore does not need to answer the question

I like Franca/HerBewitchitude's combined q: who is more hideously embarrassing to be photographed next to, Berlusconi or Frederic Mitterand?

Mr Brown,
Did you really believe that 'boom and bust is over?'.

Hello PM

There is quite a lot of concern on a separate thread on MumsNet re Swine Flu and the safetfy of the vaccine. Apparently the WHO have approved Celvapan but not Pandemrix for pregnant women. It also seems that pg women won't be offered a choice between the two but that in other EU countries Celvapan is being held aside for pg woman. Will the UK follow in this regard?

Hope you can put a lot of worried MNers minds at rest!

I totally agree with LoveMyGirls, cut the paperwork please for us childminders.

really? I had him down for a scottish oat flapjack kinda guy...

CHILDREN OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS

This is someone else's qu so not going over my limit..

PM, Buca asked a question a while back about the cuts to benefits paid to asylum-seekers, including single parents, which will "further jeopardise the well-being of some of the most vulnerable children in our community" according to a coalition of charities in the news today (and JustineMNHQ )

Can this be fair? Can you please reconsider?

Gordon, of all the questions I do think you should answer hatchypom on why she had to pay £1k VAT for cochlear implants for her daughter, who is totally deaf without them. It is shockingly unfair wouldn't you agree?

Dear Prime Minister, please answer the question below. Thank you.

FlamingoBingo 13:39:40

Dear Mr Brown,

Please, please ensure you answer my question about the home education review. I'm concerned that your time is short, but I really don't understand the government's motivation and strongly suspect it is much more about surveillance and control than about what we are told.

So you don't have to look and find it, the questions I asked are:

Why is your government trying to push through legislation regulating home education that is based on a review that was highly flawed in many ways, and motivated by the suspicion that some parents choose to home educate to hide child abuse and domestic servitude when there is no evidence whatsoever for this suspicion?

No other sector of parents are assumed guilty of child abuse until proven innocent, so why home educators?