Throughout 2010, The Grandparents’ Association responded to a number of government consultations and has met with a number of members from each of the major political parties. This has been a particularly busy year with the build up to a general election and the Chief Executive has been invited to give both verbal and written evidence to a number of review groups before the publication of party manifestos.

The organisation has also:

• Been a member of an advisory group looking at the new statutory guidance for family and friend carers.
• Along with Kinship Care Alliance colleagues, held a lobby day at Portcullis House to raise awareness of the issues facing kinship carers
• Attended Children Act Green Paper consultation
• Met with advisors to the PM at Downing Street
• Attended All Party Parliamentary Groups
• Met with the Department for Works and Pensions
• Met with Ministers regarding child poverty
• Invited, with grandparents, to meet the Minister for Children Schools and Families (and others) at the launch of the Green Paper
• Met with government advisors on a number of occasions
• Taken part in a lobby day as part of the Kinship Care Alliance Met with the government advisors on education
• Attended DCSF reception to celebrate two years of the Children’s Plan
• Asked by the DCSF to assist with the Celebrating Grandparents event at Lancaster House
• Attended seminar on grandparenting run by DCSF and DWP that fed in to proposed legislation
• Attended reception at 10 Downing Stree
• Given evidence to the Conservative Party Family Law committee
• Attended a number of advisory boards looking at guidance and policy change
• Attended summit on Families
• Attended launch of Sarah Brown’s book on grandparents at 10 Downing Street
• Along with some of our members had a personal meeting with Ed Balls MP, Minister of State for Children and Families accompanied by FRG.
• Consulted on numerous Green Papers
• Attended election debate on family policy

These meetings have resulted in grandparents really appearing in family policy. It has also shown that there is a need in the future for a Policy Officer who will facilitate our organisation to develop more such contacts and enables the charity to be more proactive.