Sir, I take up the challenge of Rupert Litherland (letter, Oct 25) to show in which sectors the public gets value for money.

The Eastbourne Citizens Advice Bureau holds 200 or so official pamphlets and leaflets, which advise the public what advice on a variety of complex matters may be found at the local CAB. We have a team of 60 volunteers, advisers, receptionists and administrators, who help 10,000 local people each year. Elderly folk in this town receive £1 million or so in additional benefits each year as a result of the work and 95 per cent of benefit claims on behalf of clients are successful.

Yet local CABs receive not a penny of government funding nor, according to a parliamentary answer, does the Government plan to direct or encourage local authorities to ensure their survival.

JOHN BOYLE
Chairman, Eastbourne CAB

Sir, Your leading article (Oct 24) rightly praises the civic contribution of older volunteers (worth £24 billion a year to the economy). Volunteering England is campaigning against a discriminatory retirement age being imposed on volunteers and we welcome David Cameron’s comment that more recognition should be given to older people (report, Oct 24).

More than 150 volunteering organisations have pledged to embrace the principles of our campaign, run in conjunction with Volunteering in the Third Age. These include boycotting insurers who charge an unreasonable premium for older volunteers, or do not offer cover at all.

Changing attitudes is important but we also need practical ways of recognising the value of older volunteers.

CHRISTOPHER SPENCE
Chief Executive, Volunteering England

Sir, I was concerned to read David Cameron’s proposals for grandparents to be paid for childcare (Oct 24). The National Childminding Association welcomes any commitment to choice and flexibility in childcare provision but the proposal to fund informal childcare will undermine moves to secure quality, regulated childcare for all families.

By providing state funds to support informal and unregulated care, via family and friends, the policy reverses the consensus built up over many years that childcare is the start of a child’s early education and is best provided in a safe and supportive environment and independently regulated.

Childcare is not simply about finding a place for children to be while their parents are at work. It is also about giving them the early learning opportunities that support their development and prepare them for their time at school.

Mr Cameron’s use of the word “childminder” confuses informal care supplied by family and friends with professional home-based carers. Registered childminders undertake and update training and qualifications, and are inspected against stringent standards and regulated by Ofsted in England and the Care Standards Inspectorate in Wales.

Most parents, particularly those working and without access to the traditional support networks, want high-quality, affordable childcare delivered by trained and qualified professionals. Investment must be focused on this if parents are to have access to the childcare services that they want and need.

ANDREW FLETCHER
Director of Policy,
National Childminding Association

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