http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from Annette Brooke en-GB Annette Brooke http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2008 Annette Brooke 2008-07-20T18:13+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000027/conservatives_walk_away_from_phone_mast_battle.html Liberal Democrats in Mid Dorset and North Poole have launched a stinging attack on the Conservatives for refusing to support calls to tighten up planning rules on mobile phone masts. 2008-07-15T13:21+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000026/annette_brooke_mp_in_remploy_plea.html Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset & North Poole yesterday used a House of Commons debate to urge ministers to look at alternatives to closing the Remploy centre in Alder Hills, North Poole. Annette Brooke MP told Westminster Hall that any solution which involved workers travelling to Southampton for advice about work was 'not acceptable'. She was also concerned that Remploy did not know how many disabled people were employed by the factory and the fact that staff with learning difficulties facing the prospect of losing their jobs were unable to understand the 'long words' used by the counselling service. 2007-06-14T13:45+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000025/annette_brooke_mp_delighted_at_plans_for_right_to_breastfeed_law.html Annette Brooke MP today welcomed the news that a new law is being proposed by the government which would grant women the right to breastfeed in public. Annette Brooke, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children, Young People and Families is one of three key MPs who have been leading the Breastfeeding Manifesto campaign in Parliament, calling for the Government to take greater action on breastfeeding. 2007-06-14T13:43+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000024/please_support_our_breasts.html When I was first elected to Parliament in 2001 I didn't imagine that I would be involved so actively in campaigning for more support for breastfeeding both locally and nationally. After all I had been there and done that well over 30 years ago! 2007-01-24T15:58+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000023/improving_services_for_disabled_children_and_their_families.html In 2006 HM Treasury and the Department for Education and Skills announced a cross-cutting review of services for disabled children and their families. Ministers asked two Labour MPs to set up a process to gather evidence and to put forward recommendations to be submitted to the comprehensive spending review later this year. Three special parliamentary hearings were arranged during July, 2006. I was very pleased to be invited by the Chairman, The Right Honourable Tom Clarke MP, to be a member of the MPs 'Hearing Panel'. Our Report was published in October 2006 and is available on the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign website www.edcm.org.uk. 2007-01-17T12:26+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000021/footpath_number_5_could_it_be_the_path_to_somewhere_at_long_last.html When I was first elected as a Broadstone Councillor in 1986, footpath number 5 was a longstanding issue. People had tried to get a nice walk established from Corfe Hills through to 'Happy Bottom' for many years. Footpath number 5 starts just opposite Corfe Hills School but after a short distance it comes to a halt. Some people believe it should carry on to Merley but others believe it should follow the route of the old railway line to Ashington. Questions have arisen over the years as to whether there was a right of way over the old railway bridge, what land was controlled by the Borough of Poole and what land was controlled by Broadstone Golf Club. How could walkers co-exist with golfers? Were there dangers from flying balls? Year after year I tackled the issues and eventually a small land swap and a stopping off of the potential route to Merley was agreed with the Golf Club. In return there was land given by the Golf Club to gain access to the route of the old railway to Ashington. By now this cutting had become a Site of Special Scientific Interest and so dealings with the then English Nature ensued and the Herpetological Society became pretty involved to protect the species on the banks! Compromises were made and we tried to address the issues that would also make our path suitable for the disabled, after all this will be a really great walk! I worked with many groups of people - Broadstone Residents Association and Friends of Rural Ashington to name but a few. However, one objection was lodged to the stopping off of the path to Merley, and this eventually stalled the whole process. 2007-01-15T10:07+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000020/clarion_column.html First, may I wish all Clarion readers a very Happy New Year! 2007-01-15T00:00+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000018/children__parenting_selfhelp_not_sin_bin.html Liberal Democrats believe that the state has a role in protecting and promoting children's safety and welfare, and encouraging their personal development. 2006-12-11T00:00+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000019/skills_south_west_turning_the_tide.html I am very proud that the first dedicated marine skills centre in the country opened in my constituency in Poole in early 2005. A network of three centres has now been set up in the South West, based around focal points for the marine industry, with Falmouth and Plymouth hosting the other two centres. The project has been facilitated by an initial commitment of three years' funding by the South West Regional Development Agency. 2006-12-01T00:00+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000022/small_peoples_sentinel_annette_interviews_esther_rantzen.html Launched in a blaze of publicity 20 years ago, Esther Rantzen's ChildLine continues to provide a lifeline to abused children. Annette Brooke meets its guiding spirit. 2006-10-16T00:00+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000017/government_losing_its_way.html Crisis in the Middle East, threats from terrorism are intensifying, airport chaos... and yet Parliament in is recess until October 9th. I have joined many other MP's in requesting a recall of Parliament. Who currently responds to this request - the Goverment! I firmly believe that there ought to be a mechanism whereby Parliamentarians rather than the Government of the day makes such a decision. After all we live in a democracy and it should be possible to call Government to account at times of national and international crisis. 2006-08-21T16:06+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000016/in_my_view_column_for_nursery_world_february_2006.html The Government is to be congratulated on the progress that has been made in the provision of childcare since 1997 and overall the new Childcare Bill is to be welcomed. However, as always the devil is in the detail and despite having spent 9 sessions in scrutinising the Bill in Committee, for me there remain many unanswered questions. For example, will local authorities have adequate resources to meet the requirements of the Bill? I want this Bill to make a difference but without sufficient funding what true progress will be made? 2006-01-19T18:00+00:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000012/fathers_rights_and_family_justice.html Fathers' rights issues have been brought to the forefront of the political agenda only quite recently. In June 2004, the government introduced a consultation paper - Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities, a report of the responses, and an agenda for action called 'Next Steps' was published in January 2005 and the draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill was published in February 2005. The Children and Adoption Bill, introduced since the General Election, which includes a focus on enforcement of contact orders, is now going through the House of Lords. All this shows some commitment to addressing the complaints of non-resident parents, who are mostly fathers, and who feel that the legal system as it stands is inadequate to meet the needs of particular contact cases. Such cases have been highlighted by Fathers4Justice, and the high profile achieved by this movement appears to have been a catalyst to jolt the government into taking steps to reform. 2005-08-25T18:00+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000013/tribute_to_patsy_calton_mp.html Patsy and I were first elected to Parliament in June 2001. We had met before then but on our arrival at Westminster we immediately struck up a really strong friendship. We were both 'homegrown' MP's, having campaigned for many years in the constituencies where we lived with our families. We were both teachers and both deputy leaders of our respective local councils. Patsy's majority was 33 and mine was 384 and we always said that of all the new MPs we were the most determined to win a second term! We shared an office for the whole of Patsy's time in Parliament and shared all our ups and downs and frustrations in this male dominated environment. 2005-07-30T18:00+01:00 http://www.middorset.libdems.org.uk/articles/000011/children_school_and_diet.html The extent of the problem facing children, parents/carers and presenting challenges for government policy is quite phenomenal. Recent studies report that over one million children in the UK are obese , with an additional 200,000 children in Britain becoming overweight and obese each year . 2005-07-18T18:00+01:00