Ms Harriet Parsons:

We had never said anything about it before. It was probably due to the increase in the numbers of people contacting us. A lot of people were contacting us telling us of the effect and the pressure they feel, and all of the different ways it filters down into their lives. There was also a bit of commentary around it at the time. We felt that the people who use our services needed to have their voices represented. They needed to feel that somebody was part of that conversation who was representing them. This is why we felt the need to put out the statement. The feedback we received from service users was positive. They felt that the things we said were what they would want to have said about how they felt, and how they feel around that time of year. That is why we did it.