SCHAC (Save Care Homes And Centres) RCT Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council are proposing to close many of their 11 residential care homes and their 5 ‘day centres’. We believe these proposals are not a ‘modernisation’ as they are described by RCT but an attempt to reduce costs to, in their words “... deliver care services more efficiently to maximise the benefits and manage cost pressures.”. We do not believe that ‘extra care’ sheltered housing is an acceptable alternative for people who are assessed as requiring residential care. In closing council owned and run residential homes, RCT are pushing people into the increasingly financially insecure private sector. Our SCHAC response to the RCT proposals can be read here: https://schac-rct.blogspot.com/2019/04/schac-save-care-homes-and-centres.html?view=magazine And RCT proposals here: https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/GetInvolved/Consultations/CurrentConsultations/CurrentConsultations.aspx We request that RCT: End the paragraph 6.14 restrictions on entry to residential care immediately Not one closure - keep all 11 residential care homes and the 5 day centres open Refurbish all 11 residential care homes to highest legal and care quality standards Give priority consideration to RCT owned residential care homes and day centres in the allocation of funding support following an assessment We propose that RCT think through again what they are proposing in relation to day centres, provide details of organisational structures, aims, strategies and a detailed operational plan then issue a new statement and start the consultations again. Open the books - RCT to disclose how the closure proposals will cut its annual spending on adult care both in terms of revenue and capital spending, together with comprehensive details about how these amounts were arrived at. RCT should defend and speak out for the older people of RCT and prioritise council owned provision. RCT should directly request that the Assembly and UK government provide the financial support needed to provide improved provision of adult care and supported housing without making cuts or privatisation - the money was found for the banks, it can be found for our older people who need care and support.

Late Junction is a vital outlet for new 'folk' , 'experimental' and 'world' music. It is one of the only places on the BBC that gives a platform to new world music artists directly from the BBC Introducing uploader. To cut the already limited potential airtime will be damaging for both artists and fans of these genres. If the BBC needs to save money , please trim some fat from the mainstream programming and leave these vital areas to grow and thrive. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/15/bbc-radio-3-late-junction-carries-john-peel-spirit-into-digital-age

When a fire is reported the first appliance should reach it in 10 minutes or less, this standard should be achieved in at least 80% of cases: Under these proposals this will not be possible. The response across Surrey would increase by 38 seconds but Runnymede would be hit particularly hard: Fordbridge has a 12 minute run to Egham using blue lights, Camberley is approx 18 mins and Chobham (with only intermittent ‘retained’ staff) around 16 mins. 3 appliances are needed for an incident on the M25 or M3 and 4 appliances needed for a house fire, despite these demands Egham station regularly attends incidents in Berkshire. What has Egham and surrounding area done to be excluded from very minimum standards? The potential for disaster and life-loss is self evident. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has experienced brutal cuts, with 131 firefighter positions slashed between 2010 and 2018 – a 17% reduction in the workforce. The proposed cuts would see a further 70 firefighter posts axed in the area, cutting numbers by 22% since 2010. This follows a December 2018 report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) voicing “serious concerns” about the service’s effectiveness and efficiency in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks. Proposals from Surrey County Council would see drastic reductions to fire cover at night, with Egham, Painshill and Banstead fire stations closed at 18:00. Fire cover at Guildford, Woking, Camberley, and Fordbridge would be cut in half. The drastic reductions to firefighter availability at night are under the guise of what the council calls “risk-based cover”, as more fires occur during the day than in the evening. However there is, in reality, a far greater chance of fire deaths at night, as victims are often asleep. Home Office figures show that, from 2017-18, 73% of all deaths from residential fires and 77% of all deaths from accidental residential fires occurred between the hours of 18:00 and 09:00. The appalling Grenfell fire started with an electrical fault at 1 am. Response times in the area have already suffered, with it now taking an average of nine minutes and 13 seconds for a crew of four firefighters to arrive at a fire, the longest response time for Surrey on record. In 1994/5, it took just six minutes and 52 seconds to send a larger crew of five, showing the cumulative effect of decades of cuts to the service. These proposals offer no improvement in public safety and do nothing to address how firefighters are supposed to keep themselves safe. We value the work of our fire fighters, their safety and we value our lives and we reject the proposals. Additionally you can reply to this consultation, the comments box is the most useful part: https://www.surreysays.co.uk/environment-and-infrastructure/surrey-fire-and-rescue-service-making-surrey-safer/?fbclid=IwAR3aKxMm4psO81f53Twzq_RJGx91OEkRDEmU1reUstGt6f3L2wAw1BR-NCY

Financial feasibility has been cited as the reason for ceasing all creche services at council run leisure facilities in East Lothian, but we would urge Enjoy Leisure to consider the wider impact of these cuts on children and families in the local community. While we can see that Enjoy Leisure as a business cannot continue to subsidise the creche in the way it has been admirably doing for a decade and beyond, we are deeply saddened by the lack of regard on the part East Lothian Council for the group of users who rely on the creche for their physical and mental wellbeing. 'The only way I can attend fitness classes is by putting my toddler into the creche. I use it twice a week as its all I can afford and attend five classes over those two days. Without the creche I will have to cancel my membership which will be hugely detrimental to my health as well as my mental well-being' 'Having the creche meant I could continue taking my toddler to swimming when my new baby came along.' 'I use the creche for my three year old so I can take my one year old swimming. It allows me to introduce exercise at a young age, gives me one to one time with my baby, and also learning to swim is a valuable life skill that she will otherwise miss out on.' 'I am a single mum, I lost 6 1/2 stone with the help of the creche and gym. My mother just died and I have no family close by so its the only time I can go. It help with my moods so much and sadly if there was no more creche I will no longer be able to go to the centre.' 'I took out gym membership on advice from my doctor to aid physical ailments related to post-partum recovery. I can only attend the appropriate classes with the help of the creche. Regular excercise is by far the best way for me to manage my ongoing health problems, the alternatives being long term physiotherapy or surgery on the NHS.' The creche facilities offer widespread benefits to the local community, from the physical and mental well-being of new mums, which impacts directly on children in the community, to the ability of parents and carers to immerse their children in exercise and a healthy lifestyle from a young age. A great many mums who chose exercise over medication to manage post-natal depression now see their options significantly reduced, as do those trying to follow a healthy, balanced post-birth weight loss programme. For many more mums a supervised exercise programme is key to resolving post-partum recovery issues, such as diastasis of the abdominal muscles, weakened pelvic floors, sciatic nerve damage, and back pain caused by weakened core muscles. We urge East Lothian to support Enjoy Leisure, the primary provider for leisure facilities in the area, to take their responsibility to the families and young people in this community into consideration before depriving them of this essential service.

We are told that our client group is disappearing and that we are no longer financially viable. Although we do offer employability courses we also provide other valuable training and help to people in our communities. Although the headline unemployment numbers for Fife and Scotland are at a record low. We know from experience that the realities on the ground are much bleaker than the statistics show, largely due to the roll out of Universal Credit. We are now working with the most hard to reach client groups in Fife. The very long term unemployed. Lead carers who have not worked for years, as they were bringing up their children and were always under the radar. People recovering from drug and alcohol issues, homeless people, people with mental health issues, people on ESA and PIP. Since the full roll out of Universal Credit in December 2017, the numbers having to actively seek employment and can benefit from our help has actually increased. Youth unemployment is still sitting above 9% in Fife. At the end of 2017 the amount of 16 to 19 year olds who were not in education, employment or training was higher in Fife than anywhere else in Scotland. West Fife Enterprise has always offered these young people an environment where they can learn, develop and successfully move into work or further education. Over the past year we have been working with more single parents and lead carers who now have to seek employment. A huge part of this work is overcoming and helping this group who were largely isolated and ignored in the past, to look outward and to help them move on. Our courses provide a new network of people and contacts for them. It builds their confidence and allows them to meet and interact with new people. It provides a very successful work placement programme, that results in a huge boost to their own confidence. This group have huge gaps in their employment history and have very little recent work experience. They are also very much IT novices and are struggling to cope with the new requirements UC puts onto claimants. As part of the Scottish Governments “Fair Start Scotland”, contracts have been given to Triage and Working Links. Where they have people in Fife directed to them for up to 2 years by the DWP. The Scottish Government has allocated £96m for the delivery of this “employability” service across Scotland. Once again private companies will profit whilst third sector companies like WFE and Gingerbread is face closure. Below are some quotes from some trainees who attended WFE • “I learned a lot from the course and my confidence improved. The tutor was very approachable and supportive. I am the way I am because I got somewhere to go, something to do” • “Thanks to WFE, I am in a better place right now. I am actually doing what I want to do: getting out of the house, volunteering, seeing people” • “The tutor’s support on the course was amazing. The agency is brilliant. They build people up again” • “Change does not frighten me anymore. I now have a clear goal and the placement organised by WFE means the world to me. I do not want the journey to come to an end…’ • “Very sad news indeed , changed my career path for the better and has helped 100’s of people from our wee village alone” • “I got my SVQ2 thru west fife enterprise then went on to college to do my HNC they helped so much with building up my confidence I hope this wee place can be saved” • "This experience has been one of the biggest and best life changing opportunities I have ever had. I have grown so much in the last few months and I couldn't have done it without your unconditional guidance. You have set me up for the next chapter, thank you." • “Just wanted to send you a quick e-mail to say thank you for all of your help and support. You really have gone the extra mile and it's appreciated more than you will ever understand. You have helped me so much and my family. That's me into my second week now and I'm really enjoying it. Still in training until end of this week. It's great being back in employment and feeling part of society again!” The above quotes proves that WFE does much more than just employability and getting people into work. We help with isolation, confidence, we give people a purpose.

STOP - THE LOCAL COMMUNITY CUTBACKS. Used by 1000’s of Local people and more that 40 local Driving Instructors. DVSA choosing to save money (ASSUMED as no reason has been given) rather than support local community. Approx 1500 tests per year. Runs from a charity organisation. The DVSA income is very important to Glamis Hall. STOP - THE INCREASED LEAD TIMES FOR TEST DATES. Closing Wellingborough Test Centre will increase the lead times at other test centres, especially Northampton. STOP - THE INCREASE IN CONGESTION AND EMISSIONS IN AND AROUND NORTHAMPTON AND KETTERING. Extra 1500 test each year. More cars going up and down our roads too and from. More cars running around the other towns. STOP - THE INCREASED COSTS TO LEARNER DRIVERS AND PARENTS(up to 2x). Lesson times around wellingborough can be 1 hr long. Lesson times will have to be at least 1.5 hrs due to increased distance. STOP - THE INCREASED HASSLE FACTOR FOR LOCAL PEOPLE AND DRIVING INSTRUCTORS. Wellingborough Instructors have a great working relationship with the wellingborough DVSA examiners - they are a good bunch. Driving tests from Glamis Hall simply work for all parties. This directly affects more than 40 local Driving Instructors who live and work in and around Wellingborough. THIS MAKES NO SENSE GIVEN WELLINGBOROUGH’S CURRENT AND FUTURE GROWTH IN HOUSING Wellingborough is growing massively with Stanton Cross(3500 new homes) and Glenvale Park off niort way(3000 new Homes) The Wellingborough Test Centre is heavily oversubscribed - The DVSA were talking of increasing capacity.- now no capacity.

Music bring so many benefits to so many people and the ability to learn an instrument at school is critical in protecting our cultural heritage. Music should not just be for those that can afford it. Get It Right For Every Child

Cutting funding to these organisations will force complete closure of some centres and a dramatically reduced programme of groups/services to others. This will have severe consequences on the local community, young and old, with detrimental impacts on their health and well being. Pilton Community Health Project, Pilton Equalities Project, North Edinburgh Timebank, Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Muirhouse Millennium Centre, Almond Mains Initiative and North West Carers all face major cuts to their services. Some will have to close. These projects provide a lifeline for many people. They offer support for women experiencing domestic abuse; breakfast clubs for children; activities for older people; counselling and support for those with mental health problems; access to food for those on low incomes; literacy work with people with learning disabilities; low cost handyman service for older people and more. These services enable people to participate in their community, keep themselves active and healthy. Poverty and social isolation blight our communities. The organisations were already working to the limits of their resources and still not meeting all the need.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) are proposing to scrap the Lancashire Wellbeing Service. This service helps thousands of people with mental health, emotional wellbeing and long term health conditions. In its own report, LCC said that scrapping Lancashire Wellbeing Service is likely to result in increased pressure on already overstretched NHS, social care, emergency and voluntary sector services and the likelihood that there will be a lower life expectancy particularly, for people living in areas of disadvantage across the county. The government has just said that in 2019 it aims to target prevention of ill-health, community health care and improving mental health, all of which are have been key focuses for LWS. And an independent review concluded that LWS has provided excellent social return on the investment by the local authority, The council are having a budget meeting on the 14th of February, and there are rumours that the Lancashire Wellbeing Service will be discussed. We need to show them that the service is worth the money and vital to our community. Please sign the petition to say that you strongly oppose the proposal to scrap the Lancashire Wellbeing Service. Let's make public health a priority in Lancashire by saving Lancashire Wellbeing Service!

The cost of living in the south-east is spiralling out of control. Rental prices have far out stripped incomes. The situation is causing a real and substantial crisis in the recruitment and retention of public sector workers. Workers are finding the purchasing power of their wages has decreased with the average public sector wage being worth 16% less than it was worth in 2008. Staffing levels in the NHS and local government have crashed to record lows with 15-20% of positions vacant in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, remaining workers face worsening job and income positions from rising rents and stagnating wages.

We are currently in occupation of 169 Church Street, Eccles, Salford, M30 0LU. We are working alongside Salford Unemployment and Community Resource Centre and the Broughton Trust to use the building to house the homeless and help them get back on their feet. The building has been empty for many years yet they want to kick 15 to 20 homeless people out onto the street and leave the building yet again empty. We are willing to give them rent too. Please help by signing our petition to let us stay. If they kick us out that will mean 3 people we have just got employment will end up back on the streets. 4 people we have just got on courses will also be on the streets too. The rest of the homeless we are helping to get back on their feet will also be on the streets.

Edinburgh Council plans to stop funding many vital social services - this doesn’t need to happen. For too long, Edinburgh citizens have been paying to clean up after tourists in the city centre while non-central areas of the city are neglected. The only people who benefit from the tourist trade are business owners - the rest of us pay for it. A modest tourist tax could keep vital social services running.