‘I Stand for Children’ called on Parliament and the Government do everything in their power to keep child protection at the top of the political agenda. We asked candidates from all major political parties to stand up for protecting children ahead of the election.

Specifically, we asked parliamentary candidates to commit to do all they can if elected to Parliament, to ensure that the UK Government took the following key measures:

1. Continue to fund helpline services for children and for adults concerned about the safety or welfare of a child.
   • current UK Government funding is guaranteed until 2011. The NSPCC is calling for continued funding for services like ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline for adults concerned about a child


2. Make the internet safer for children
   • Government and industry should research and devise an action plan on how to combat the use of peer-to-peer software for the distribution of child sex abuse images
   • training should be provided for professionals who work with, or come into contact with, online offenders to help manage the risks they pose


3. Tackle domestic violence from a child’s point of view
   • training for professionals, to consider children involved
   • adequate support services for children and families affected
   • extend the current definition of domestic violence used in England


4. Ensure that vital child protection reforms take place, following the death of Baby Peter and other child deaths since. Specifically, to:
   • save child protection funding from expenditure cuts
   • make sure professionals know how to deal with neglect
   • ensure that children are seen on their own by concerned professionals
   • support professionals so that they spot the signs of child abuse


5. Provide resources for vital therapeutic services for children who have experienced abuse.
   • all children who have been abused should be assessed to identify whether they need and wish to receive therapeutic support to help them deal with the effects of abuse on their health and emotional well-being


6. Strengthen role of the Children’s Commissioner in England to act as a genuinely independent voice for children.
   • to protect and promote the rights of children and young people effectively, the Children’s Commissioner for England needs to have new powers already available to commissioners and ombudspersons throughout Europe

Calls 1-6 above apply to the campaign in England. Calls 1-3 apply in Northern Ireland and Wales, and calls 1 & 2 in Scotland.  This is because Westminster MPs elected in these countries can influence on these policy areas, the others are devolved issues.