Amber Rudd MP: We should look at the Danish model of childcare for a higher quality system providing quality jobs

Amber Rudd is the Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye. Follow Amber on Twitter.

Since she suggested reforms to childcare earlier this year, the new Minister for Childcare, Elizabeth Truss has been attacked by the left – not least Polly Toynbee in the Guardian on Friday.

Much of the debate has centred around staff-child ratios – in other words, the number of children a childminder or nursery worker can look after at any one time. In her pamphlet, Truss suggested looser ratios, with staff allowed to look after more children than they are at the moment. According to Polly, this amounts to "cut-price baby farming".

Let’s look at the facts. England has some of the most restrictive ratios anywhere in Europe. In France, nursery staff can look after eight 2-year-olds each. In Holland and Ireland, they can look after six 2-year-olds. But in England, they can look after only four 2-year-olds.

The story is similar for childminders. In Ireland and Holland, childminders can look after five children under the age of 5. In France, they can look after four under-5s. In England, they can only look after three.

What do tight ratios mean in practice? For a start, there can be no overlap at all between the children a childminder is looking after. If a childminder is looking after 3 children, they cannot look after a fourth for even a few minutes. So if one parent is late picking up their child and another is early, the early parent must wait until the late parent arrives, because the childminder would risk losing their job for looking after an extra child just for a few minutes.

Amber Rudd MP: More reasons to be positive about the UK economy

Amber Rudd is Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye.  Follow Amber on Twitter.

Last month I received a number of negative comments when I suggested on ConservativeHome that, despite the disappointing Q2 2012 GDP figure, there were some reasons to be optimistic about the outlook of the UK economy. I pointed to encouraging employment figures, which have risen by 201,000 in Q2 2012 with the number of people working full time increasing by 130,000. As predicted by many economists, these figures suggest that the -0.7% Q2 GDP figure published in July was overstating the weakness of the economy, and today’s revision to -0.5% proves this to be the case. If you discount the extra bank holiday, this means that the UK economy roughly experienced zero growth during Q2 2012.

I will not pretend that the road to economic recovery will be easy. Although the UK’s budget deficit has fallen by 25% since May 2010, it is still a major challenge for the Government. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the Eurozone crisis is a continuous drag on the UK economy. A long term solution to the European sovereign debt and banking crises is still lacking, affecting confidence across Europe. Even Germany, the Eurozone’s strongest economy, is now experiencing a slowdown in economic growth. This just goes to show the challenge that the UK and other European economies will face over the coming years.

Let me be clear – I am by no means claiming that we should be celebrating this revision. It does, however, suggest that the scaremongering about the state of the UK economy should be treated with caution. Unemployment is at an 11 month low, employment is up substantially, inflation has fallen dramatically over the past few months and retail sales were up in July. These are all reasons to be positive. Let’s now get on with the essential task of freeing up businesses and encouraging entrepreneurs, to build real growth back into the economy.

Amber Rudd MP: Yes, the GDP figures are disappointing, but it’s not all bad news

Amber Rudd is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye.

There is no getting away from the fact that today’s GDP figures are intensely disappointing, especially since employment and inflation statistics have been pointing to steady progress. However, the subsequent chorus of the Left demanding a change of course in economic policy is all too predictable and completely misguided.

The most striking statistic to emerge from the Office for National Statistics is the contraction in construction by 5.2 per cent on the previous quarter. On this point, there is certainly no need to change course. The Government is already committed to investment in infrastructure, providing public guarantees of up to £50bn of private investment in infrastructure and exports and allocating a massive £9.4bn programme in rail improvements.

Amber Rudd MP: The final day of the Council of Europe's meeting

Amber Rudd is the Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye. This week she was reporting from the plenary session of the Council of Europe. Read her report from yesterday.

It is true that the chamber (actually called the hemicycle) at the Council of Europe can sometimes make the House of Commons Chamber even during an adjournment debate look full.

But yesterday the delegates started to arrive like an audience at a premier just before David Cameron walked in. There was a lot of interest in his trailed views on reform, and also a desire to put questions to him. I have never seen it so full. In his speech he repeated the commitment of the UK to the reform of the ECHR. He laid out the good reasons for the need to reduce the caseload in order to stay true to the principles of the founding intentions to protect human rights. The action plan for implementing that will follow the Council of Ministers' meeting on April 18th in Brighton.

But it was at the Q and A that followed that our Prime Minister showed his steel. The audience was cautiously hostile. But he managed to absorb their occasional anger, speak up for Britain, and finish with a smile. In answer to a question on helping Southern European countries with immigration numbers, he countered that we were doing our bit, and that he would always protect Britain's borders. Several questioners objected to the UK refusing the Financial Transaction Tax, and he was unequivocal in his rejection of the tax, while pointing out that we are leaning on the banks with our bank levy, and that such a tax would damage Europe, not just the UK.

Amber Rudd MP: Day two of the Council of Europe's meeting

Amber Rudd is the Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye. Throughout this week she'll be reporting from the plenary session of the Council of Europe. Read her report from yesterday.

Every delegate at the Council of Europe is appointed to one of the eight Committees covering key themes of human rights, democracy and the Rule of Law. On Tuesday morning, the Committees met at 8.30am. At my meeting, Baroness Nicholson raised the terrible practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and made an impassioned plea for particular attention to exposing this crime against women in Europe, and even in the UK, where it still goes on and where there have sadly been no prosecutions. The Committee will consider whether to carry out a report on this to raise awareness and to look for ways to eradicate it, as part of a wider report into violence against women.

For the British delegates, the main event was the presentation from David Lidington MP at 12.00pm. As we have the Chairmanship for six months, he reports on behalf of the Committee of Ministers of Member States. British Parliamentarians were looking for two things here: a) recognition of the need for reform, of both procedure and costs, of the Council of Europe, and b) clarity on what the Government view is, and what action it proposes, to address the growing conflict between British judges and the European Court of Human Rights.

Amber Rudd MP: Day one of the Council of Europe's meeting

Amber Rudd is Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye. Throughout this week she'll be reporting from the plenary session of the Council of Europe. Her first report appeared yesterday.

It seems I needn't have worried about friction between the Russians and the Poles in our European Democrat Group meeting on Monday morning.

For a start the Russian delegation is much reduced as they have not yet appointed new members since the election, so only a few of the regulars have been confirmed.  And the Poles have withdrawn from the group.  The criticism in the recent official Russian report heaped on the Polish pilots over the Smolensk crash last April, that killed the President and 95 others, has been too much for them - they blame Russian air traffic control.

But the friction instead bristled between the Armenians and the Turks over the "Armenian Genocide"  (and the Azerbaijan rep too) and  the French proposal to make it illegal to deny it. The French Senate incidentally debated and confirmed this late pm yesterday.  Three months before a general election...

The lively exchange of views was halted by our Chairman of the Group, our own Robert Walter MP.  But in the free debate later that afternoon it came up frequently.

Amber Rudd MP: David Cameron's battle against the judges of Strasbourg

Amber Rudd is Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye. Throughout this week she'll be reporting from the plenary session of the Council of Europe.

Today is the first day of the plenary session of the Council of Europe that lasts until Friday and I will be joining fellow Parliamentarians for a discussion with our political allies at 9.30 this morning. We are led by Robert Walter MP, who has a calm expertise on all Strasbourg activities, earned after many years service on the Council. I will walk past the room containing the EPP grouping, perhaps glance wistfully inside, and then take the next door to join the Russians, Poles and others in our European Democrat Group.

At this session we try to agree positions regarding forthcoming debates and select representatives amongst ourselves to speak on behalf of the Group. This is the best opportunity to get a speaking slot as with 47 member states and over 600 delegates, it is hard to get in to speak in the conventional manner.

The morning session in the Chamber for Monday carries a report from the Standing Committee on what was observed at the Parliamentary Elections in Morocco and in the Russian Federation. Given the well publicised issues around the Russian elections this might be interesting. I am aware that some UK delegates (18 in total and cross-party) are keen to point out the flaws in the election. That should liven up the morning session.

Amber Rudd MP: Banning Overtime in the NHS

Amber Rudd is Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye.

In May this year, my own  Primary Care Trust, Hastings and Rother, suddenly appeared on a "sin" list in the recently departed News of the World as having one of the worst waiting lists for vital tests, including cancer scans, in the country.  The waiting list had apparently escalated by 41,733%.  In April 2010, there were only 3 people in Hastings and Rother waiting over six weeks for a scan, by April 2011, there were 1,255 (it is now down to 44 and still falling).

As the MP for the area I immediately asked the Chief Executive for a meeting and an explanation. The answer, was:  overtime.  The newly appointed Chief Executive had banned overtime in Radiology.  He had done this when he realised that some radiologists were earning their salary again in over-time charges.  Some of these salaries can be as high as £100k a year, and he needs to save £5m per annum locally on the current annual budget.  These are therefore significant sums.  In order to "improve working practices" he had banned it.  Waiting lists grew faster than Jack's beanstalk.  Subsequently, when both sides had shown their muscle, limited overtime was introduced (at less cost) and waiting lists have been coming down ever since.

The NHS pays huge sums in overtime.  It is referred to as Waiting List Initiative work (WLI), which highlights the political sensitivity of these payments.  Waiting Lists are the equivalent of the patients' heart beat to politicians.  If they go up, the NHS is failing and if they fall all is well.  But the cost of keeping those waiting lists down has been bad management practices of vast over-time payments.  Of course we all want waiting lists to be kept down, no one wants a long wait for an important appointment, and it is in the NHS Constitution that all patients should be seen within 18 weeks of referral by a doctor.  But reducing waiting lists by throwing money at expensive overt-time contracts is costly and inefficient.

Amber Rudd MP: How I am promoting enterprise in Hastings and Rye

Amber Rudd is MP for Hastings and Rye.

The recent Index of Multiple Deprivation has seen Hastings slip from 31 to 19 (out of 352) in the rank of most deprived districts.   The two largest components in deciding this overall rank are income and employment, areas that Hastings continues to perform badly in and the two areas that I am focussing on, to move Hastings back up that rank.

Just as David Cameron stresses that "Britain is open for business",  I aspire to be the enterprise Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye.   Whilst he is doing everything he can to drum up new trade or business for Britain, I am doing  the equivalent for Hastings.

The good news is that since becoming Member of Parliament we have had Saga, who are currently expanding, set up a new office in the town, creating up to 800 new jobs for local people.  This has been an excellent boost for the town and I hope other private companies will follow their lead.

As well as encouraging existing businesses to grow, we also need to see more businesses set up.  We need to offer people the opportunity to realise their ambitions and talents by bravely becoming entrepreneurs themselves.

Amber Rudd MP: A new approach to welfare also requires a new approach to engaging with young people

Amber Rudd is Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye.

I note that employment and training opportunities for young people has been something of a theme of late on Comment with John Hayes MP and Robert Halfon MP contributing articles on the subject of apprenticeships. By coincidence, I have recently completed a survey in my constituency of 267 young people aged 16-24 to ascertain their perceptions of employment and welfare. I also wanted to better understand how we should communicate with young people about these issues, particularly in light of the changes that the Coalition is putting forward.

The abhorrent financial legacy that the Coalition inherited from the previous Government does in many respects, overshadow many of Labour’s other failures. The benefits system was a prime example of such a failure. Welfare reform was dodged at the same time as costs escalated and more people were trapped in a cycle of welfare dependency, poverty and worklessness. Despite their lofty rhetoric, Labour impoverished more of the very poorest people in our society, more children grow up in workless households than anywhere else in Europe  and we have almost a million 16-24 year olds not in education or training. This is a shameful record. The welfare reforms being proposed by the Government are one of the most exciting aspects of the Coalition’s agenda. Restructuring the welfare system so that it is based on sound principles will have a profound impact on our ability to get people off benefits and into work. That is why I particularly welcome;

1. The statement that people will always be better off in work than on benefits.
2. The Universal Credit so transitions between welfare and work will be made simpler and fairer so people will no longer be trapped on benefits from fear of negotiating such complicated and bureaucratic system.
3. The implementation of sensible marginal deduction rates to reward and incentivise people taking on more work whilst on benefits, rather than punishing them with de facto higher rates of taxation than top rate taxpayers.

Amber Rudd: Women helping women, wherever they are

Amber Rudd, candidate for Hastings & Rye, reviews this year's CWO conference.

The Conservative Women’s Organisation (CWO) met for its annual conference on November 12th at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster.  The theme was billed as “creating a better world for future generations”.  The theme that I took away was that women in the Conservative Party can and should focus their attention on helping other women at home and abroad.  This was not about bread- making or child-care, but about the relevance and importance of women’s roles and skills in our world.

The Chairman of the Organisation, Fiona Hodgson, opened the day with a frank speech about what unites women and what the challenges are. Sometimes politicians duck the differences, not the CWO – the key one that Fiona highlighted was  that women as mothers, mostly have the responsibility of a family.  This inevitably colours their careers, their priorities and in distressing cases that we heard about, their vulnerability in war zones.  The point about the CWO she emphasised is that the women do so much more than make the sandwiches in the local Associations.  The sandwiches still need making, but our sights are set much higher as well.