My association with the NSPCC goes back over 40 years.  As a child I went round carol singing every year to raise funds for what was then called in rather patronising language The League of Pity, the junior arm of the NSPCC.  I remember the collecting box was made of papier-mache in the shape of a blue egg on a yellow base – the bluebird being the logo of the League.

Then in the days before desktop publishing, I used my secondary school printing press to design and print programmes for their fundraising events.

Later, when I ran BT’s corporate social responsibility programme, we had major partnerships with the NSPCC.

And recently I was pleased to be asked to chair a fringe meeting organised by the NSPCC at the LibDem national conference on the issue of child safety on the internet – see the picture here.

In this regard Liberal Democrats have set out plans for online bullying and abuse to be tackled by using quick-report buttons on social networking sites, enabling offensive postings to be speedily removed, or concerns about abuse to be addressed immediately.

As for other aspects of national LibDem policy, we produced a child protection paper in 2009, and within it we committed to many of the other requests made by the NSPCC in this campaign.

They include continuing to fund Childline (with which I had a very close association when I was at BT, providing the major source of industry funding). The LibDems have also called for helpline services to be accessible and confidential so people know when and how to report suspected abuse.

We have supported calls to amend the Home Office’s definition of domestic violence in England to include the impact of domestic violence on children.

We believe that the Children’s Commission should be a truly independent position; if it is to receive taxpayer’s funds then it must be given the power and authority to make positive changes for children and challenge the Government and media when children’s causes are being ignored.

As a parent I have a horror of any and all kinds of child abuse.  The NSPCC does brilliant work.  If I am fortunate enough to beat Anne Main at the general election, I look forward to a continued close association with the NSPCC in Parliament.