David Cameron: Stakeholder views

With David Cameron resoundingly elected as the new Conservative leader, ePolitix.com Stakeholders detail the pressing issues facing their organisations and how they would like to see the Conservatives respond.

Stakeholder Response: Disabilities Trust

Congratulations to David Cameron MP on his election as leader of the Conservative Party.

Mr Cameron has in the past demonstrated a welcome support for the work of the voluntary and charitable sector and in particular, because of his own family circumstances, to those organisations working with disabled people.

It is to be hoped that as Leader of the Opposition and with a stated commitment to social justice, he will continue to be active in championing the interests of a sector that delivers such vital support to some of societies least empowered communities.  

Stakeholder Response: CKS

We would like to see David Cameron encouraging debate on issues relating to the growing environmental impact of ‘no longer wanted/discarded’ electrical and electronic equipment – especially from mobile phones, PDAs, laptop and desktop computers and so on - and take the discussion away from the ‘waste’ debate to one about ‘recycling’.

Whilst the EU Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive) will address some of these issues and confirm producer responsibility, there is a wider audience that needs to be informed, many of whom are ignorant of this directive and its future impact.

These include environmentally conscious consumers, as well as businesses which will have data protection and significant privacy compliance issues to consider and understand in relation to WEEE legislation. 

Stakeholder Response: Association for Charities

We hope that David Cameron will take a cue from his predecessor-but-one and show a keen interest in charity issues and the work of the voluntary sector.

There is still work to be done to secure a level playing-field between charities and the regulator, especially in the Charities Bill which is due for debate in the Commons any time from now.

We hope Conservatives will play a big part in overcoming government resistance to amendments enabling charities to challenge the Charity Commission and constraining it to use its powers in a fair and reasonable manner, which it hasn't always done over the past some 10 years.

The result has been damage to charity work, trustees and beneficiaries for which there is no redress under the present system. Surely charities deserve the best treatment and the fairest possible law in recognition of the work they do.

We heartily hope Conservatives under David's charismatic baton will rally to the defence of the charity sector and of traditional values such as justice and equity, and their modern counterpart accountability, and help put this Bill right.

Stakeholder Response: South London Partnerships

Amongst other things, we would like the incoming leader of the Opposition to actively support the case for investment in transport infrastructure and in particular to commit a new Conservative government to review the role of light rail and tram systems in the UK as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable means of providing public transport in our cities.

Trams are popular, environmentally friendly and highly effective at encouraging people out of their cars – they are more cost-effective than buses or guided buses where large numbers of people need to travel and thus are ideally suited

Stakeholder Response: Ensuring Positive Futures

The Ensuring Positive Futures Partnership look forward to working with the new Conservative leader on progressive policies that will improve the lives of people with HIV in the UK.

Key to this will be efforts to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination, particularly in the workplace, to enable people living with HIV to participate fully in employment and as UK citizens.

The Ensuring Positive Futures Partnership would like to see the new leader encourage the Department for Work and Pensions to work with employers to develop and share good practice around employing people with HIV and tackling prejudice amongst their workforces.

This should include removing irrelevant health related questions from recruitment forms and supporting people living with HIV around the country into work through the Pathways to Work scheme.

Stakeholder Response: The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health welcomes the Conservative Party’s greater commitment to sustainable development, which will improve quality of life now, release resources to invest in children's services in the mid-term, and improve quality of life in the future.

This should be positively encouraged and the NHS should contribute substantially to sustainable development, as its long-term intention is to improve health.

The health of children in the future depends on a healthy environment, supportive social structures and adequate natural resources. Globally inequalities within and between nations are becoming larger, and children and the elderly are most affected

The NHS is the largest organisation in Europe, and has a significant impact on its one million employees, the environment and the social/economic fabric of the UK.

Examining the potential of sustainable development to improve the health of the population, and more specifically examining the potential to release resources to invest in children's services within the NHS deserves consideration as a potential lever for change.

Harnessing a universal human commitment and creating a practical agenda for sustainable development within the NHS is potentially feasible and largely unexplored.

Stakeholder Response: Construction Products Association

The Construction Products Association seeks recognition from the new leader of the Opposition that this country needs to continue to invest in schools and hospitals, but achieve better value in investment in our public services.

Recent international studies have shown that the poor quality of our transport infrastructure is a major constraint to improving business competitiveness.

The Construction Products Association therefore wants to see the new Conservative leader commit his party to tackling this problem, and to pledge that a future Conservative government would undertake a substantial and comprehensive programme of investment in Britain’s roads and railways.

David Cameron must continue and develop the government’s commitment to better regulation in the UK and the European Union.

It is vital that he recognises the need for additional housing in this country, and that he adopts an open approach as to how this can be delivered.

He should review the effectiveness of the planning system, which is currently holding back key business investment, much of which is increasingly international.

Stakeholder Response: CILT, the National Centre for Languages

The National Centre for Languages hopes that David Cameron will recognise the importance of languages skills in relation to competitiveness, and the need for languages not to become an elitist subject.

Stakeholder Response: HCIMA

The new leader of the Conservative party needs to recognise the economic and societal importance of hospitality, tourism and leisure sector and have a commitment to increasing the skills of the workforce involved.

A recent CBI survey highlighted the desperate need for competence development at supervisory and junior management level in the sector.

Of all industries, ours faces a critical shortage in this area, which is why we the HCIMA will be working closely with the SSC to ensure the country has the best possible team in place in hospitality to meet the challenges of the next decade.

The importance of hospitality to the economic well-being of the country should not be underestimated, and we must ensure that it is equipped managerially to maintain its vital contribution to GDP growth.

Without this commitment to professional development, we shall be incapable of making the Olympics real 'showcase' of British hospitality.

Stakeholder Response: FLA

The FLA would like to see the new leader propose a tax system aimed at encouraging investment.