Live webchat with David Cameron - this Thursday 19th, 1.45 pm

[JustineMumsnet]

Hello all - David Cameron is coming on to Mumsnet to answer your questions this Thursday at 1.45-2.45. Please post advance questions here if you can't make it on Thursday. (And please read our Webchat guidelines above before posting ie only one question each). Many thanks.

what's mntv? I am seeing nowt - apart from a flashing ad.

er thanks for that Sylvia. Not quite sure what that has to do with anything now MrC has gone but no doubt the politics of breastfeeding lady will be delighted by your helpful emboldening.

Hi all, I'm a new poster here, but have been lurking for a few months. I wanted to ask Cameron about his plans for the police, but couldn't register for some reason.

Anyway, I've registered now, and read some of the thread. It seems I'm the only one thinking that the policy in answer to riven was actually quite good!

Basically, he said that he will give you more control of your personal SN budget - so if you wanted to buy more nappies you could. Sounds pretty sensible to me. AIBU?

Don't shoot me by the way, I'm not from Conservative Central Office! I think Cameron's policy on inheritance tax cuts is bonkers.

Actually, I think on politics threads it's useful to declare your voting record, so here is mine: 2005 Conservative, 2001 Labour, 1997 Labour (before that too young).

Katie on paper it sounds good

Trouble is, we already have that- its called Direct Payments.

And if you can actually access them (we cannot for example, 2disabled children) then youa re already a step ahead; after that I am told its a paperwork hell (but you see I oculdn't tell you taht from experience)

Ideally, the items should be available from a continence nurse because he or she should then be avilable to advise on the many other related issues around continence, it should be a joined up service. Many children with Sn will be incontinent for all their life and need expert support with that, a great many thers won't be (mine was out of nappies at 6) and the aprents need helpwith attaining that,a s well as enough nappies.

Making aprents reponsible for the entirety of their own budgets has a few exciting possibilities but lots more implications- for a start if I could se my two cost X I would feel bad absolutely, choice or not. And whilst there are perfectly capable people able to manage budgets, there are also those who cannot. It is a truth that children with some types of SN often ahev similarly affected aprents, and that could be a big issue for them.

Plus it could be taken as income for toehr services.

And of course when the services you need don't amterialise or cost toomuch, it becomes your fault for ineffective budgeting, not theirs for failing to provide enough funds.

Just caught up again after yesterday. Two things that really worry me, and weren't even mentioned in the wider press:

1. His assumption that people are splitting up to access more benefits

1. His assumption that everyone thinks the BBC licence fee is too high.

It really does bring home that he's completely out of touch - it's the sort of opinion a cabbie ends up spouting because he's used to not being contradicted (because who wants to get on the wrong side of a cabbie).

Gah!

Starlight - quite right. Unfortunately what does happen is that the different companies work instead on lowering our expectations of quality, telling us that they offer hte best value and pricing real quality competition out of the main market - as has happened with the majority of foodstuffs over the last 20-30 years...

Speaking of crappy food, am watching 'Jimmy's food factory' from this week, and I really want a vienetta now!

V good posts starlight

"We" Sylvia? As far as I can tell, you only started posting today, so I'm not sure you qualify as 'we' just yet.

But welcome to MN all the same...

Thanks for all the replies.

I agree that where parents aren't able to make good decisions for their SN children, the state should obviously play a big part. That probably isn't true in most cases though - especially when the parents are as articulate and forthright as riven!

In general, I like having choices. I don't understand why people want everything decided for them. I like the fact that I can choose my GP. I like the fact that I can choose where I shop. I like the fact that because I am seriously annoyed with T-Mobile at the moment, I can switch over to another mobile network in 1 month when my contract runs out.

I like having choice in food, and think having more choice and competition HAS improved the quality and range of food. In my local Sainsburys there is now Indian food, Chinese food, Middle Eastern food, organic food. They sell fruits I hadn't even heard of 10 years ago. There are about 50 types of pasta. When I was growing up we couldn't get any of that stuff.

I don't necessarily agree with the idea that nappy prices will be necessarily be higher for individuals. Obviously this is true if they have to buy individually, but the NHS already negotiates prices for medicines, which are then paid for by hospitals when they use the drugs. Why can't it negotiate prices for wheelchairs, nappies, walking frames, and all sorts of other non-medicinal stuff in the same way? Then parents of SN children decide what to spend their direct payments on, whether bought from the NHS or privately?

Maybe if not parents of SN children themselves, then their GPs, or incontinence advisors, should decide how to spend their personal budget - but the decisions should be made as far 'down the chain' as possible. The further you get from the child, the more the number crunchers and bean counters will take over.

I think a lot of politicians' ideas are very badly researched. Though it probably sounds awful, I simply can't believe that with what they went through with Ivan, David Cameron doesn't understand the real problems with SN help. Just because he is rich doesn't mean he doesn't have to go through bureaucracy and paperwork!

'MN demographic undergoes seismic shifts as kamikaze posters from the rival Women's Institute and Federation of Tory Wives websites [sponsors: Jaeger and the Daily Mail respectively] parachute in to join in the charming discussion with Cameron"

"I had no idea it was so thrilling", said Sylvia, 58, a housewife and church flower arranger from Bushey, "I have already punched a chav for occupying a P&C parking space when she only had her Staffie with her, and I'm getting all a-quiver that it's Friday night and we all know what that means..."

Sylvia winked one blue Estee Laudered lid at me coquettishly. Under her breath she panted: "Bumsex"...'

but matey - don't you think it puts parents in a horrific position if they have to keep their child in dirty nappies in order to save the budget for a new wheelchair?

What if the child manages to potty-train - do they lose part of their budget? In which case you are still back to putting a price on what you think an incontinent child "deserves". Yet if you don't lose part of your budget then you are penalising parents with a child who hasn't managed to achieve continence through no fault of their own.

If you need nappies you need nappies. Simple. It shouldn't be down to scrimping from the budget for a hoist in order to afford an extra change.

behave now wilf

Or I shall have to start emboldening my words

ROFL @ Wilf

Well said TYV. And yy Riven - much less burocracy and paperwork when you only write one cheque instead of filling in 20 forms.