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.

[ketchupkisses]

Dear David

To quote recent press "Gordon Brown is ready to climb down over plans to scrap childcare vouchers of hundreds of thousands of working families"

As a beneficiary of childcare vouchers, I have always wondered why under the current system there is an upper limit of £243 per month. This isn't an actual cost to the government, rather its a loss of potential tax revenue. I say potential because withdrawing the scheme could actually reduce tax income if it makes the difference between a parent working and not working.

We all understand that whoever wins the next election will have tough decisions to make. Can you assure mumsnet voters that the Conservative party will not withdraw this fantastic scheme and, in fact, look to increase the threshold to enable parents (that want to) to continue to work?

Thanks

[InMyLittleHead]

Seconding HerBeatitude...

[ronshar]

Can you also please promise to never utter the words;

Hard working families.
Which ones are hard working? Which ones are not quite so hard working?

All families work hard. By its very definition a family is hard work.

[saltyseadog]

Mr Cameron, I recently watched the documentary 'When a mother's love is not enough' and was very moved by your comments - thank you for speaking so openly. I was also very interested to hear about the concept of having a passport system for children with SN, which is what happens in some other European countries.

My dd has profound and multiple learning disabilities; she cannot walk, talk, sit unsupported etc. She is 5 (almost 6) and we have been waiting for one year for a wheelchair. The problem with procuring the wheelchair is that no-one takes accountability for the requirements, so we get passed from physio to wheelchair technician to school and back to the physio etc. I like to think that a passport system would facilitate getting essentials like this (and DLA, motability etc) sorted much more quickly. It would also outline who is responsible for sorting these things out - often it takes months to get referred to the person who can help.

I would also like to raise the four nappy rule as being a problem too. How many children without SN are limited to four loo trips a day? This is ultimately what the four nappy rule equates to for disabled children with incontinence problems.

Thanks for reading.

[ronshar]

Satltyseadog. WTF does the four nappy rule mean? I go at least once every hour. My DD2 is in and out of the loo all day!

[carriedababi]

dear david,
nice to see you on here again,
could you please tell me your views on tax breaks to support stay at home parents, ie my dh could have my tax allowence as he earns the money to support the whole family.

i know a while back last year, you where talking about supporting stay at home parents with a payment of 50pounds a week, is this something you would still like to see happen?

i am seriously considering voting for conservatives for the first time, and your answer to this would bag my vote, and quite a lot of other families i know, who all want to know the answer.

p.s i did ask gordon brown this question 7 times, but he did not answer me.
so i would be very happy if you did

[hunkermunker]

When you get into power in May(!), can you instantly make it illegal for anybody who actually has some clout and can do something about breastfeeding support education and provision to say, "We support a mother's right to choose what's best for her baby" and "We believe women should make an informed choice when it comes to feeding her baby" because those phrases are trite, meaningless and a total cop-out.

Most women WANT to breastfeed, but the health service, well, public services in general are full of people who don't have the first clue how to help them do it, so they spend the first precious months of their babies lives struggling, then guilty - needlessly - all because the people who are meant to be helping them are so bloody useless at it.

Please sort it out. It's just a little entire culture change. Surely you're up to it?

[scottishmummy]

nhs trusts and imperative to reduce costs and reduced pct spending have lead to many inequalities in provision of nhs services.indeed where one lives determines the services delivered,there are already many trusts who do not adhere to national recommendations.in England and Scotland and Wales, there is not parity of provision. so in essence the national health servive is not national nor does it offer equitable universal services.

in particular,the less affluent suffer more in allocation of resources

how will you ensure enhanced universal provision of service and end "post code lottery"

[whereareyou]

I also want a response to the summer born school starting date question raised a few times already.

Will you introduce a system similar to Scotland where there is the option to start reception the following year for these children?

See the thread linked by WillSelf earlier.

[carriedababi]

when will we get the same BF in public support in england as they get in scotland?.

ie, the fact it's illegal to ask someone to stop bf there.

[ViktoriaMac]

Mr Cameron,

I have, with much regret, left a teaching career in inner London, as teachers are under ridiculous pressures placed upon them from Westminster. I am by no means alone. How will the Conservatives encourage skilled teachers to stay in the job, (or return to it) as Labour have tried to plug the gap by hiring unqualified teachers on a massive scale (The Teach First Programme). This has divided schools, lowered morale and taken away more time from qualified teachers in mentoring the young staff members.
Pupils, particularly in the old EAZ boroughs, thrive on continuity of teaching staff, therefore, keeping teachers should be more of a priority than short-term recruitment schemes.

Thank you

[whereareyou]

Sorry, WilfSell thread link.

[Ronaldinhio]

Dear David

I'd like to question your stance on the recent government decision to sack David Nutt for his criticism of the reclassification of cannabis.
How would you treat experts in their field whose learned opinion disagreed with government polcy?

Thanks

[SomeGuy]

Dear David,

Coould tell me what your stance is on the Air Passenger Duty, which, from November 2010, will be £12 for a flight to Cyprus, but £60 to Egypt, a charge that is doubled not just for the passengers enjoying First Class luxury, but also those who have paid for just a few extra inches of legroom in Economy Plus.

The tax hits tourism in poor countries most dependent on low-cost charter flights, such as Egypt and The Gambia the hardest, as well as causing significant financial hardship to many Britons wishing to visit their families abroad.

What taxes should I expect to pay on my future economy-class trips with my wife and two children to South East Asia, under a Conservative government?

[cornsilkwearscorsets]

Hello David
Could you tell me which is your favourite pot noodle? I imagine that Gordon likes the Bombay bad boy.
Thanks

[Romanarama]

(agreeing with mackerel and hassled).

The decision to withdraw from the PPE and join the ECR is depressing, and has alienated many natural European allies. I find your Euroscepticism to the right of anything necessary to achieve political support from even the DM, so I would be grateful for an explanation. What do you think the UK has to gain in the long-term from withdrawal from European decision-making?

And as an aside, can you not see that supporting UK politicians for European top jobs would be good for the UK and UK influence in Europe? (They do not have to be your friends, British people do not care whether or not you like them).

I will not vote for you, because of my profound concern about your stance on Europe.

[MrJustAbout]

NICE turned down a drug for liver cancer today. How should the NICE balance the rights of a single patient to treatment against the tens or hundreds of patients who may need to lose their rights to treatment in order to pay for it?

[posieparker]

Can you outline a few ways in which you will make Britain a more equal place for all?

Ensuring that you do not penalise the middle income households for the sake of the poorer households ensuring the rich are untouched.

For example would you consider better help for working people earning less than £20,000 and limit banking bonuses?
Would you consider families coping with disabilities have enough resources and funding and close some of the many tax loopholes enjoyed, only, by those rich enough to have a tax accountant?

I would like to see tax breaks for married couples and stay at home parents, for up to five for most families and then beyond for families living with disability.

[Swedes2Turnips0]

The Tories have been accused of castrating Britain's EU position by taking an autistic approach on Europe. What is the Tory position on Europe precisely?