Car Parking charges will kill off Dingwall High Street altogether. Please show your support for this cause by signing our petition and sending the letter below to all 4 of our Councillors elected to represent Dingwall. You will find their email addresses below. Thank you. Email template: Dear Councillors elected to represent the Dingwall & Seaforth Ward, I am writing to ask you to reverse Highland Council's decision to introduce car parking charges in the Dingwall south car park. Whilst car parking charges may help other towns across the region, Dingwall does not currently have parking or congestion problems. Therefore, these new charges will be seen as a barrier and are likely to deter locals and visitors from doing their shopping in the town and consequently disadvantage its small businesses. One of the best things about Dingwall is the FREE parking available. The council should be doing more to support local businesses and not hamper them. I urge you to help protect Dingwall and reverse the decision to introduce car parking charges. Finally, please update me on what action you have taken to achieve the above. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours Sincerely, Name: Address: Please cut and paste above then send to: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

This would be privatisation by the back door. The company would be outside the NHS publicly owned and provided structure. It would own all the assets, land and buildings transferred to it. This would not be an acceptable disposal of public assets. At some stage in the future, it will be at risk of an aggressive buyout which will remove all once publicly owned assets building and land transferred with it, into profiteers hands, forever. It would remove the rights of the workforce to NHS terms and conditions after the statutory TUPE date and in any case, in the event of a downturn in revenue or other ‘financial crisis’ scenario and to new employees. It would create a 2 tier workforce as new employees will have less security, terms and conditions, holiday rights, sick pay and no access to NHS pension. This is likely to impact negatively on patient experience if the new workforce is more transient, without the public sector ethos. It’s a VAT scam? Certainly, it’s worrying that many of the SubCo plans seem to emphasise this VAT “gambit”. Gloucestershire, for example, told staff it would save £35m over 10 years through this ruse, whilst the staff savings were merely “unquantifiable”. And the Department of Health has advised against it. But the biggest similar scheme to date, UnitingCare in Cambridgeshire, collapsed spectacularly – and one of the major reasons (according to both NHS England and the National Audit Office reports) was because the NHS signed the contract on the basis of incorrect advice about their VAT position, meaning an unexpected £5m a year was added to the costs and the arrangement collapsed. There has been no consultation to date with members of the public and patients. Privatising cleaning services lead to development of MRSA a study shows. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314890.php By the time this new move is shown to be a disaster it will be too late. A Special Purpose Vehicle could prove to be a false economy. We are not opposed to change for the better, but we view the input from management consultants and attempts to privatise NHS services and estates, with suspicion. Please explore other options. New research shows use of Management Consultants increase inefficiency. http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k893. https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/jonathan-allsop/time-to-halt-nhs-gravy-train-for-management-consultants http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k893

This is incredibly important for the freedom of people and democracy around the world. It is difficult enough for people to make a decision of importance based on information which is provided by a Biased and propagandist media. Psychological manipulation and deliberate large scale misinformation is despicable and very dangerous. Why was a Phd professor having been asked to leave Cambridge university return after 3 years in South America , then allowed to continue at Cambridge under his new name of SPECTRE ? It beggars belief. Why was Steve Bannon involved in both BREXIT and the Trump vote Along of course with many others ......

Plastic stirrers/stoppers are used for 4 seconds: they then last 4 centuries. There are alternatives available: metal tea spoons, bamboo, or sustainably-sourced wood, even. The plastic stirrer - this is the most absurd, damaging, pointless single-use plastic available - it should not be so. Don't offer them for free! You will save money, the world's environment and your reputation of being 'natural'. If we really want to potentially toxify our coffee or water with a stirrer, at least make us pay for the pleasure. C'mon - charge us!

This is the United kingdoms legacy to its children We have a moral responsibility to retain Britain's wildlife, not wipe it out of existence. We have a responsibility to show our children compassion toward living beings We have a responsibility to show our children that the almighty £pound is not the be all and end all of our existence. - Morals before destruction - compassion before profit - responsibility, accountability and transparency

Because they are children not adults and its an offence not to send our children to school.. children also have to be in school by 8.45 so why should children have to be charged an adult price when they have no choice in what time they have to travel to school

By providing trolley’s in such disrepair it demonstrates a lack of respect for SEND families. They are a health and safety hazzard and they represent a total disrespect and lack of provision which reflects badly on the businesses that operate there. They ignore the rights of disabled children to be able to sit safely and comfortably, access the facilities there and be treated equally. The facilities for disabled adults are adequate so why not show the same respect for our disabled children. I have asked for 3yrs for these trollies to be replaced or repaired but have been ignored or excuses have been made. Enough is enough now and parents of disabled children what to be listened to and our children treated with respect they deserve.

Not many people are aware of the dangers of certain house plants and flowers if they have house pets. Currently it is only in small print on certain varieties and it is not clear enough - perhaps if buying a gift for someone, you would not notice it. Treatment for suspected lily poisoning in cats is over £600. A simple symbol could save lives, heartache and could prevent a well meant gift from being a fatal mistake.

As mentioned in the ongoing consultation on the property-buying process (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/653789/Home_buying_and_selling.pdf), hundreds of millions of pounds are wasted every year due to failed transactions in relation to purchasing property. But this consultation does not seek to address the fundamental problem underlying much of this waste: that potential buyers are being forced to prove aspects of the quality and value of a property that could have been proven - once and for all - by the vendor, yet, in the case of properties with issues, are unearthing issues that had been unearthed in surveys by previous potential vendors. The buyer has to prove to him or herself that the property is of sufficient quality! This should be the vendor’s responsibility to prove. This system only benefits those who charge fees to supply the services related to these surveys, i.e. conveyancers and surveyors. It takes place at the expense of buyers. It has to change and be aligned with the Australian system.

This is absolutely sick and a disgusting trend that has to be stopped as kids are desperate to upload their video to get the most views and likes. The effects on the victims must be horrendous with 100's of comments, views and likes.

UK cinemas are responsible for hundreds of thousands of plastic straws being thrown away every week. They make a huge amount of profit on selling fizzy drinks and last year there were 170 million tickets sold to cinemas in the UK. If all those drinks were served with paper straws it'd make a massive difference to the plastic ending up in our seas.* 'The marine Conservation society estimates the UK uses up to 8.5 billion plastic straws every year which are among the top 10 items found in beach clean ups'. Plastic straws should be considered a serious problem to marine species survival: I've done recent beach clear-ups myself and can testify they are a common, harmful type of sea pollution. Plastic straws can travel long distances throughout the world's oceans, getting ingested by marine animals- taking up vital space in their stomachs that takes up increasing space for digesting food to eventually starve and kill them. Straws get tangled in seaweed beds in coastal waters where they will continue to accumulate like an off-shore rubbish dump if the supply isn't stopped for good. The EU is considering banning them this year, and asking Environment Minister, Michael Gove to align with EU member states in this- but Gove has been cautious and not clearly affirmed this- yet. A large lobby and petition to ban plastic straw sale and manufacture in the UK could decide the matter this year, to see a change in UK law to make them obsolete. * We recommend that cinemas keep a small number of plastic straws behind the counter for customers with medical conditions or disabilities who require one.

Southern Water seek to gain Michael Gove’s approval to increase river abstraction to levels NEVER SEEN BEFORE. Climate change is exacerbating the situation. We desperately need alternative & timely options to supply public water. The internationally rare English chalk stream riverine habitats & their wildlife are now under severe threat from over abstraction, especially in times of drought. This could prove catastrophic for species such as the genetically unique chalk stream salmon, sea trout, or Hampshire’s last population of the rare native crayfish, let alone the rivers themselves & the livelihoods that depend upon them. We must stop Southern Water using a Public Inquiry to gain Michael Gove’s approval to increase river abstraction to potentially catastrophic and reprievable levels. They intend to sidestep the correct procedure and ride roughshod over our public bodies, which are there to safeguard our environment. Challenging Natural England’s advice & the EA's sustainable licensing to increase abstraction to ruinous levels on our precious chalk streams, in order to meet their corporate goals – profit. We desperately need alternative, sustainable and timely options to supply public water. Action NOW is essential to ensure our rivers are properly protected in the future. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Hampshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Hampshire, Salmon & Trout Conservation, Wild Trout Trust, Test and Itchen Association, Angling Trust and Fish Legal, and the Wessex Chalk streams and Rivers Trust, all oppose Southern Water’s position. HOW? Beginning 13th March, Southern Water through public inquiry are asking Michael Gove (Secretary of State) to approve their increased abstraction plans directly. If upheld, this will by-pass the normal procedures for obtaining an abstraction licence, and will not involve full public consultation including direct and fair engagement with river owners and users - an absolutely CRUCIAL involvement as there is so much at stake in these very complex decisions. SW are using ‘strong arm’ tactics in the Inquiry to make the EA use their legal powers to force river owners and users to co-operate. Some of these proposed actions are highly emotive and again deny the public the fair right to comment. WHAT OTHER DAMAGE COULD THIS CAUSE? Increasing populations and housing in Hampshire are greater than our natural water resources can now sustain. Demand has already exceeded the capacity our rivers and aquifers can supply. So at a time of water scarcity, on already over abstracted rivers, the threat is that SWS customers will be literally sucking the life out of the rivers Candover, Itchen and Test. This will deplete the river flows to levels that will devastate the natural aquatic environment. People will be watering their gardens as the flow of these rivers falls to dangerously unprecedented levels. Is this what people would want if they knew about it? THE SOLUTION - As we speak, Southern Water are preparing to publish a 'draft Water resources management plan' (and Drought Plan) for public consultation. They claim their plans will have a bold vision, with ambitious and innovative ways to secure the necessary alternative sources of supply to enable the Environment Agency’s licence changes to be made. These alternatives will be costly and include trading with Portsmouth Water, Havant Thicket Reservoir and a desalination plant in the Solent. That is what it will take to protect our Chalk streams from over abstraction. HOWEVER, SOUTHERN WATER WILL ONLY IMPLEMENT THESE AMBITIOUS NEW PLANS IF IT LOSES THE INQUIRY! If it wins then it may well in likelihood implement a shadow version... This Inquiry is Southern Water’s last-ditch attempt to cling onto its 40-year-old business model of over exploiting our chalk streams – one that generates a healthy profit margin at huge expense to the environment. TO CONCLUDE - No more stalling by this corporate Leviathan, which is investing large amounts of bill payers’ money on scientific models not fit for purpose to prove their 'case'. Instead they should be working together with and not against NGO’s, stakeholders, their clients and you the people to find alternative water supplies that will safeguard our rivers for generations to come. Please help support the EA's and NE's efforts to protect our rivers by signing our petition to ensure that Southern Water Services take note of their customers’ concerns for the sustainability and protection of these British gems. Many Thanks, Jim & Howard. "The proposed increase in water abstraction from the Test, Itchen & Candover will have a serious, if not disastrous, effect on the delicate balance of this unique ecosystem. We obviously need to meet the water needs of our ever-expanding population but there are less harmful ways to do this. The true chalk streams are only found in Britain (apart from a small presence in Normandy); we are custodians of these precious jewels & we owe it to our children and grandchildren not to undermine them" PAUL WHITEHOUSE - Comedian & fisherman. SW's turnover last year was approx £800 million, with a profit of more than £250 million. Their divis to corporate shareholders were somewhere over £100 million. Thankfully their operations and behaviour are now being scrutinised. See BBC news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43139857 Documents for the public enquiry - http://www.hwa.uk.com/projects/itchen-candover-and-testwood-water-abstraction-inquiry/ Photo by Charles Rangeley Wilson