Leahurst Road Preschool is largely funded by charitable donations, so the improvements needed cannot happen without support from external funding, such as the Local Improvement Scheme. The funds applied for were in part to pay for access to speech therapy within the preschool setting. For some children this is vital developmental support to ensure a confident and worry-free start to school. A separate application was made for a covered area outside to enable our children to play and learn outside in all weather. Being outdoors promotes a healthy and active lifestyle, and exposes the children to nature and the world around them. Many children learn best through active movement, but this is limited in the winter months particularly without access to a covered play area.

The UK Government is looking to outsource Veterans Services without public consultation taking place. Notice of tenders were issued in April 2018 which considerably expand the services that will form part of the Future Service Delivery Contract (FSDC). This contract provides provision of Armed Forces Pay, Pensions and Military HR and Administration Services and will be expanded to include: • Administration of the War Pensions Scheme and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (including payment and financial accounting with interfaces to other Ministry of Defence and other government department financial systems); • MoD Medal Office – the administration and issue of medals and awards; • Provision of Veterans Enabling and Supporting Services; and • Maintenance and development of existing Information System (IS) and enquiry services in support of the above services. We are concerned about the impact outsourcing these services will have on the quality of service provision that veterans currently receive. We are also concerned that the MoD is reserving the right to include/add any other work related to delivery of Military Human Resources or Veterans Services during the lifetime of the contract. The contract is worth up to £800 million and an estimated 400 jobs are being put at risk.

I believe it is the will of the People!

This petition has been amended to correct an error, to incorporate new information and to add this new development: On the 8th May 2018, the government announced a consultation on 'litter officers' and is asking for your views. Please sign this petition and then see the government DEFRA consultation page to make yourselves heard. The 1990 Environmental Protection Act is being misused for profit by Kirklees Council and its controversial private outsourcing firm Kingdom Security. The following cases are a small sample of what is happening across the UK in each of the 30+ areas where councils have initiated a ‘litter policing’ scheme by outsourcing to Kingdom. These cases highlight some of the ways in which our rights are being abused by local councils in the pursuit of shared revenue. They also highlight some of the dangers of local authorities outsourcing to private companies, abandoning oversight and disregarding responsibility; and illustrate why Kirklees should immediately cancel its contract with Kingdom. Imagine your elderly mother is leaving a shop and is suddenly cornered by two strange men demanding she give them £75 and her personal details because they say her receipt fell out of her bag as she left the shop. They are not policemen and they do not look or act like professionals, so she tries to ignore them but they stand in her way. They threaten her with the Police and the Courts if she does not 'comply' with them. They say they work for the Council. They do not tell her she has the right to remain silent but they do tell her she has no right to question them or to protest. How would she feel? Imagine you're in the park, peacefully feeding the ducks, and two of these 'officers', equipped with little more than a basic security check and a lanyard, loom over you to demand the same because they say feeding the ducks is littering. They intend to issue you with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for an environmental 'offence'. You protest at such a ludicrous interpretation of the Act and try to leave. They follow you, demanding you comply. People are stopping to stare and listen. How would you feel? You come home to find your wife distraught after she and your two young children were followed in a car for ten minutes by a stranger demanding she pay £75 because she had stopped for a moment to shake something from her shoe. She was so scared and upset she had to seek shelter in a friend's house, when the Kingdom officer finally left her alone. How would you feel? That case was witnessed by a Welsh undercover reporter who expressed the discomfort he had felt while spying on the victim and following her. In the same report, an ex-employee described Kingdom’s pressure to achieve four FPNs a day. The staff issuing these fines are not trained police officers and they have no professional rigour or standards. They have little understanding of the law and they use no discretion in its application. They are frequently caught on camera denying people's own right to film them. They wear bodycams but record no evidence of alleged offences. They only start recording evidence once they cherry-pick a target, giving no protection against false accusations. One ex-employee said he made almost £1000 in financial incentives in one month. The system is ripe for exploitation and that is exactly what is happening. The dubious practices of Kingdom Security have also been the subject of countless other newspaper reports and a BBC Panorama documentary in May 2017, after which Kent Council suspended all their Kingdom staff. In addition, YouTube has hundreds of videos by shocked victims and witnesses which evidence the aggression, as well as the distress and the public disorder being caused. In one of these, a Kingdom 'officer' in Liverpool is chased off by a small crowd of shopkeepers, disgusted by his manhandling of a visibly frail, elderly man with learning difficulties.  This is what happens when police powers are given to members of the public. This is what happens when councils like Kirklees put profits before people. This is what happens when services are outsourced to private firms. Kirklees has already seen many complaints from its own residents, demanding to know why they are being intimidated, harassed, publicly humiliated and falsely accused on the council's behalf. A sham appeals process does not allow for the concept of innocence, since no evidence is apparently required; meaning victims are simply stonewalled with threats of court action. I have been falsely accused myself by Kingdom in a distressing, humiliating experience which felt like an assault. All protests were overridden with threats of the police and demands for personal information. I will be giving my testimony in court. Kirklees will not bully me. Pensioners, students, the unemployed, the homeless, people with learning difficulties and mental health issues: no distinction is made as Kirklees demands money with menaces from its already austerity-hit residents. In 2017, one of Kirklees' own councillors publicly cautioned them against Kingdom after personally witnessing a worrying incident in Huddersfield. In March 2018, following public protests by several campaign groups over the dubious tactics employed by Kingdom, Gwynedd Council in Wales halted a 12-month trial after just two days. Anglesey Council also suspended their contract in March. In May, Llandudno’s tourism chief stated that Kingdom are doing more harm than good to the town; underlined by another official’s description of the environment being created by Kingdom as ‘purely negative’. It is time for Kirklees to adopt some respect for the public it serves; to follow the lead of these councils and to end its contract with this unethical company. Kirklees needs to clean our streets of the Kingdom 'litter police'.

Currently there are 2 planning applications, one is full planning application for the redevelopment of the new downsized stadium whilst the other application is pre planning proposal that involves the selling off off and using the surrounding surplus land to build student accommodation, hotels and 360+ flats. Only a minority being 'affordable housing'. The development will involve the loss of 150+ mature healthy trees including very rare healthy Wheatley Elms, which the Council has spent millions over the years caring for, and green spaces. All of this will have a detrimental effect on local residents and the wider Edinburgh community for numerous reasons e.g. health, community cohesion, environment. The consultation in 2016 was inadequate and the recent planning application notification list was distributed to approximately 450 homes. While this may be legal, it is inadequate and undermines the Scottish Government policies which push for more community engagement. Local residents and the wider Edinburgh communities deserve to be made aware that they are losing an international sports centre due to sustained and constant lack of Council’s investment and for the sake of private developers’ profit. The proposed redevelopment will not meet the needs of all the current service users.

The importance of this school to it's pupils and their parents is clear from their personal testimonies - This is a unique setting for our medal winning sportswomen and men of the future and present, many of the children at PSS will struggle to find schools with the same provisions, not only in sport, but the SEN support that's available. Dispite a recent disappointing OFSTED report (that we feel does not reflect the diverse work being done at Plymouth Studio School), children are thriving here.

On Thursday 28th June 2018, Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet will meet to discuss the possibility of starting a tendering process to privatise these vital services, based on the “Soft Market Test” report, published in January 2018 and the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee, which met on 9th April. At a time when there is much evidence to suggest that other local authorities are having to take these services back in-house due to the failure of private companies to run them effectively, we need to control and safeguard the future cultural service provision for our community, particularly for our children, young people, and isolated, vulnerable groups, such as elderly and disabled people. UNISON believes that the public deserve the best possible service when it comes to Museums, Libraries and Archives and our policy is always to keep services in-house. The Council say they need to do this to save money. However, the total budget spend for all 3 services last year represents a spend of less than £8 per head of population. Official figures for the library service already show a below average spend in comparison to similar authorities so it’s difficult to see a reason for taking these services out of local council ownership, when the figures show that it is already a very cost-effective service. UNISON is committed to working with Herefordshire Council to find a solution to its budgetary pressures without undermining our loved arts and library provision. Ealing, along with Croydon, Harrow and Hounslow recently had to take back their library services due to the collapse of Carillion. Staff at privatised library services in Bromley, run by Greenwich Leisure Ltd, have been on strike. UNISON believes Museum, Library and Archives staff deserve to be recognised for the trained, professional job they do, and the threat of future closures, reductions in hours and the loss of friendly, knowledgeable staff is unacceptable, These things are at risk if they are transferred over to a private company or charitable trust. Finally, UNISON has part funded work with We Own It. They are running a pledge for councillors and council candidates in elections to commit to ending all privatisation in local council services. The detail can be found here: https://weownit.org.uk/local-pledge Thank you, Herefordshire Local Government UNISON

The artefacts will go to Lincoln if we do not take action. This building is a community asset and the future of the building and contents will be secure under Stamford Town Council guardianship. The artefacts are of historical importance and should be displayed in our Town for all the enjoy.

The Children's ward at Boston's Pilgrim Hospital is under threat of temporary closure because of staff shortages. As the largest county in England, with it's population spread over a large area of mostly agricultural land it is imperative we keep this vital children's ward open. Grantham Hospital is also scheduled to close, so where are all the children going to go? This could put lives of children at risk! Telling parents they simply have to drive further is not acceptable. Not all parents can drive, or have access to transport over long distances. What happens when the other hospital children's wards are all full? Surely this will just increase the pressure on other hospitals which are already at breaking point. Will children be refused treatment if no beds are available? As the population is expanding why are essential services shrinking? What impact will this also have on the maternity ward, and children born requiring treatment or special care.

This is the last bank in the community and must remain open and a fully functioning bank branch to allow the residents and businesses in the town to function, trade and undertake their financial affairs. Whilst there remains a Post Office and some banking can be undertaken through this two kiosk facility in part of the co-operative supermarket it is not an adequate or appropriate banking facility for our town. The nearest alternative bank is at least 2.5 miles away in the neighbouring town of Cannock. This branch is constantly busy and transport links and times of access will hinder the trading hours and conditions of businesses; increase the risk of crime with cash takings being transported greater distances and routes; isolate vulnerable members of our community with limited access to longer public transport journey times. Hednesford has been undergoing considerable housing and business expansion over the last few years and this will accelerate further in to the next few years including a significant increase in tourist and leisure visitors through the town to Cannock Chase an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and premium destination for mountain biking. Hednesford has always had a Lloyds, we implore you therefore to reconsider.

I have always regarded Clifton Hill sports centre as an asset to the city and understand its importance within the community. The facility has attained excellent user numbers over the years and its closure would not be in the best interests of the city The centre closed in March due to a roof leak and a burst pipe, but the council won't commit to a reopening. Help the city get its much loved Clifton Hill sports centre back in service! It has left an irreplaceable void in peoples lives. It was a real community hub used by all ages from toddlers to pensioners and all socio economic groups. Exeter is bidding to be the UK's most 'active city' and so closing the centre is insanity! Come on Exeter City Council tell us it will reopen - it was only some snow through the roof and a few burst pipes!

This another important service to Coventry people that is stealthy been made private. This service is vital to local people but also needs to be kept public and not fall into the hands of private companies such as Virgin or Care UK. In a city of over 300,000 people the GP Out of Hours Service at the Stoney Stanton Walk-in-Centre is essential to help stop our local A&E departments being overwhelmed. Please take the time to sign this important petition which we plan to hand into the CRCCG by the end of May. Many thanks from all at Coventry Keep Our NHS Public (COVKONP) campaign group.