ful, and the SWP have played a crucial role, but it would not have been less successful if the original initiative had come from the Socialist Alliance.
Closely connected to these debates is the issue of Alliance publications. Producing a broadsheet for the anti-war demonstration on September 28 is a step in the right direction.
The debate on publications straddles the practical and the political. At the moment there are not the resources or organisational structures for a regular well produced publication (not necessarily a paper) and its effective distribution. But how do we get there? The importance of a publication in the political development of the SA towards becoming a party must be recognised.
The Scottish Socialist Party, of course, cannot be an exact model for such a party in England. The relationship of forces between the revolutionary organisations within it are very different. We don't have the equivalent of the Scottish Parliament in England around which to construct a public profile. But attacks on workers and communities here are just as real and there are many opportunities to sink roots and build support between elections. We also have a radicalising political situation around the US war drive and its consequences. These can give us openings and can bring new people into the Alliance. adres this audience with the he Alliance is beginning to
conference at the end November on the new imperialism, and it is participating in the European Social Forum in Florence. SA representatives have also attended conferences of the European left designed to co-ordinate broad parties and organisations across the continent.
These positive developments, however, need to have an objective and a framework, and that must be the aim of developing toward a party. At a certain stage the Alliance will either go forward or it will go backwards. We have to ensure that it goes in the right way. Timing is key but moving too late poses as big a danger as moving too earty.
The far-left in Britain has a unique opportunity. The demise of Stalinism, the decline of the Labour left, and the crisis of working class representation, bring it doser to centre stage than at any time since the 1920s.
It is able to mount initiatives that were previously outside of its preserve, for example taking the leadership of the anti-war movement. The way responds over the next few years to the building of broad and indusive left parties will determine the future and role of the left for a long time to come. The Socialist Alliance National Council in September took a decision to launch a campaign around childcare. Though women's officer Margaret Manning had produced a well developed paper motivating the importance of this issue for the Alliance, there was unfortunately little time to explore the issues or discuss how to develop such a campaign. Here, PAULINE ROLAND argues that childcare is a key issue for the left to work around.
One of the reasons the labour movement, especially women's organisations, in the past campaigned for public services was that they provided extra resources for working class families and individuals which could not be provided out of individual income. They were an expression of community solidarity. Good public services are still central to reducing child poverty and a key service is childcare.
Good quality, universal childcare would have an enormous effect on the lives of working-dass children and parents, especially mothers. Tackling poverty is incompatible with privatisation and the introduction of the market into public services. Once the market is introduced, access to services depends on the ability ..... There is one group who benefit from parents working but who contribute practically nothing to childcare -employers. to pay. No money, no services.
The government has introduced a childcare strategy but this is patchy. There is currently only one childcare place for every seven children under eight years old, which is down from one for every eight children in 2000.
Good childcare is expensive to provide, without adding on the cost of keeping the shareholders happy. Pre-school daycare is almost entirely provided by the Putting her first foot on the ladder of education. Free childcare should be a right for all children - because it's good for them. private sector, with fees beyond working dass people's means.
In Inner London average weekly rates are £134 with some parents paying much more. The lowest rates (£90) are in the North East - but they are not low at all considering wages in the area
The Childcare Tax Credit part of the Working Families Tax Credit pays 70% of the cost, but the other 30%, which has to , be paid by the parent, is often too much to meet out of low pay.
Provision gravitates towards better-off areas and prices have been going up as a result of shortages and high demand.
The government says it is targeting finances on deprived areas to compensate for this. But although poor people are increasingly concentrated in declining islands of council housing or run-down terraces, most poor people don't in fact live in the most deprived areas.
Only universal provision will provide for all children living in poverty. It should be a right for all children because it's good for them. It should be a universal, free, high quality, public service.
The government has also attached childcare to the activity of the parent rather than the needs of the child. So lone parents going back to work are given priority - but about half are still reporting a shortage of childcare in their areas
There is some childcare for education and training with a view to returning to work. But this means that if the parent loses her job or completes her training, the child loses its childcare and friends. Yet continuity of care is important, especially for vulnerable children. Maternity leave
There is still a lack of childcare to enable women to return to work after maternity leave, leading to loss of continuity in their work and disadvantages over their lifetime in terms of promotion and earnings.
Childcare is less available to children of unemployed parents, those who are ill or suffering depression and to those in family transitions, for example, from couple to lone parent families coping with separation, disruption and insecurity.
Children in such circumstances may well be those who most need the extra resources, social contact, continuity and security provided by good childcare. There is also very little provision for disabled children and what there is costs more. Many black and ethnic minority parents can't find affordable, local or culturally appropriate childcare.
A wide range of childcare is needed so that parents can chose what suits them and their children best. This should include childminders attached to centres with access to facilities and training, not working in isolation, day care centres, nursery classes, pre- and after-school care and holiday clubs and activities for teenagers in every area
There is one group who benefit from parents working but who contribute practically nothing to childcare - employers. Many parents, especially of babies and very young children, would prefer workplace nurseries, but only 5% of companies provide them, whilst only 5% make a financial contribution to childcare places elsewhere.
• ither employers should provide quality childcare for workers' chil-dren in the workplace, or they should have to contribute to a fund to provide childcare places in local areas.
Childcare workers generally are underqualified and underpaid. There is a division, often artificial, between care and education. There are high rates of tumover, as many women find better jobs elsewhere.
Working on the checkout in some supermarkets pays more than caring for children. Staff turnover affects the continuity of care for children. Some provision can't expand because of difficulties in recruiting staff.
The pay of childcare workers reflects the contempt for women's unpaid work in the home, and the low value placed on female-dominated occupations, and on the well being of children.
The level of training needed to be a childcare worker in Britain is lower than most other European countries. The work should be professionalised and workers valued to ensure the quality of childcare.
All workers should be trained and have the opportunity to move through higher levels of training to degree level as they gain experience in the workplace.
Parents and workers should be involved together in developing childcare in their area so that it really meets the needs of all children and their families.
Only universal, publicy funded, good quality childcare, democratically run and staffed by a well qualified, well paid and valued workforce will support all children to develop their talents and abilities and enable their parents to work, study and train, recover from illness or just get on their feet.
It is central to tackling child poverty anc dass and gender inequality.
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Phil Ward how to be made compatible with 'clean' freshwater from sea water) and even in dung burning for cooking, mostly in very inefficient stoves or open fires that cause a lot of lung disease in poor countries.
The issues of water resources and renewable energy are connected Human-induced greenhouse gas emis sions are predicted to significantly alter weather patterns, leading to more droughts - like the ones currently occurring in Southern Africa and India - and floods like those in central Europe and Asia in August. Control over water supplies is thus an increasingly important political issue.
It would be a mistake to assume that the decisions of the summit will be ignored completely. Even though the Rio summit targets have not been met, they still provided a framework for some multinational corporations to pursue projects, such as 'sustainable forestry', large. scale projects for trading carbon emis-