In 2011, only 35% of young people voted in the Welsh Assembly elections, compared to 70% of those aged 65+. Young people are disengaged, disinterested and overlooked. But how can we expect young people to take an interest in something they've never been educated about? #TheAmendment will set in law things that Bite The Ballot have been doing for the last five years: > We believe local Electoral Registration Officers have a duty to make sure everyone is registered to vote. > If certain groups of people are less likely to be registered, then Electoral Registration Officers need to go that extra mile to get those groups on the register. > As well as targeting these groups, we believe Electoral Registration Officers should go into Welsh schools and colleges to run voter engagement sessions. The final thing that #TheAmendment will do is make registering to vote as easy and straightforward as possible: > We want to make it possible to register to vote by simply ticking a box at the bottom of a driver's license or a passport application form (this is only on an 'opt-in' basis - none of your details will be shared, unless you agree). On 24 September 2014, Members of the Welsh Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, voted in favour of our idea. But, the Welsh Assembly cannot make laws about voting or elections. This is decided at Westminster. That's why we are calling on all Members of the House of Lords to listen to us and vote in favour of #TheAmendment. And that's why we need you to to persuade them to listen, turn up to the debate - and vote.

Reduced School budgets will have a negative effect on the education of all children particularly in small schools. Although it looks as though school funding is increasing year on year, the expenditure faced by schools is increasing year on year. Budgets are not keeping pace with increases to pensions and staffing cost increases, as well as, the rapidly rising cost of heating and maintaining premises. This is a particular issue for small schools or schools in aging buildings. If this continues it will result in small schools closing especially in rural areas and hugely affect the education of all children in this country.

The current system is demoralising and damaging teachers and stressing students. It is counter-productive, even cruel and therefore destined to fail. If Ofsted were so effective why have we seen a decline in standards in the last twenty years it has exercised its malign influence over education? It should be enough to be good and to be aware of what needs improving in your own school and teachers should be be allowed to use own creative intelligence and professional judgement to bring about the desired change at a rate which is humane and capable of success. The need to allow a long period of peaceful stability is now paramount.

Too many kids are being left un-supported by the education system just because theres no label or diagnosis does not mean kids who need support needs should get left and more importantly left unsupported.

Students cannot afford tuition fees. It's not ok for them to have to pay huge debts when they start to earn a living wage. It is not ok for graduates to have to stay living at home for many years after graduating because they cannot afford to rent or buy.

EPSRC is a branch of Research Council UK, the largest public funding agency in your country. It supplies hundreds of millions of pounds in funding every year. See www.epsrc.ac.uk. The pretense is that this money is given to Research Organizations with adequate procedures to tackle scientific fraud. This is not so. In fact, fraud in publicly funded research has promoted the careers of incompetent people at British Universities. I know most of you won't know much chemistry, but there is Wikipaedia to check up simple scientific facts: what would you think, after checking that aluminum sulphate is Al2(SO4)3 and phenol an acid, I told you that two academics at two of the top five Universities in the UK wrote a research paper where they gave phenol as an alkali and aluminum sulphate as AlSO4? (Pst! Now that you are at the Wikipaedia site you could make a donation... ;-) ) And remember, corruption only spreads...It is therefore in your interest that public funding is not abused. Also, by claiming that organisations funded by EPSRC have procedures to deal efficiently with fraud lends legitimacy to such institutions when dealing with people they have damaged. For example, I want to confront EPSRC with a range of allegations which includes those made in this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2umhkGxHbasY241U3huLUZQTzA/edit?usp=sharing in an example case which still affects me.

As Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s first ever nature reserve, Askham Bog has special significance. In fact in 1946 the Trust was created with the purpose of looking after the site which was bought to save it from development. A brief summary of the issues relating to the proposals is as follows: Askham Bog supports an exceptionally high biodiversity with healthy populations of numerous nationally rare species, and the only regional populations of many others. Particular rarities include gingerbread sedge carex elongata (largest population in England), numerous water beetles and the fen square-spot moth diarsia florida. Askham Bog has been recognised as an exceptional habitat for two centuries. It is highly valued both by the population of York and by a national and international community of naturalists and ecologists. Just two miles from the city centre it offers a peaceful place to walk and enjoy nature. The importance of the site is entirely dependent on the integrity of the local water table and it is exceptionally sensitive to any disturbance of that. We are concerned that these housing proposals will irreversibly damage the hydrology of Askham Bog and its special interest will be lost. There has been no information presented to indicate that this will not be the case. We are also concerned about the huge increase in recreational access on to the reserve. There is highly likely to be unmanaged access from a range of locations, particularly from dog walkers and young people. Whilst we welcome large numbers of people on to many of our sites, Askham Bog is too small and fragile to cope with this high volume of unregulated access. We therefore consider that the site should not be allocated for development and that doing so would result in significant loss of the important wildlife features of the site. This allocation is therefore contrary to the Council’s own policies regarding the protection of biodiversity and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. http://www.ywt.org.uk/news/2014/06/12/help-save-york%E2%80%99s-wildlife http://www.ywt.org.uk/York

David Ross is being lined up as the new Chair of OFSTED. This is wrong - he is a Tory donor and the founder of a chain of academies - the very schools that will be inspected by OFSTED - this is a huge conflict of interest. How is it possible to keep State Education out of politics when this kind of back door cronyism is happening? OFSTED should be about improving the education of our children and nothing else.

As a person entitled to the Higher rate care componant, I receive an 'allowance' towards my own additional costs, but not the additional costs I have to pay for the care of my children. This is yet another example of society forgetting that disabled people can be parents too.

The government is now consulting on reducing funding by 30% - consultation closes on 19 June 2014. The UK has produced some of the world's finest musicians and composers which are supported by millions of people in this country. All our children deserve the opportunity to learn an instrument and/or sing in a choir. Music education can improve numeracy, literacy and social interaction (as demonstrated brilliantly by the El Sistema programme in Venezuela).

Our local precinct in Accrington often plays host to a man who carries his life's possessions in a large rucksack and two M&S bags. Standing there in his burst slippers he declaims himself a messenger from god sent to rescue us from the cesspool of our morals. He is an example of (Don't) care in the community. I see so many parallels but Gove is better dressed... * "Mice and Men", "Islamic Trojan Horses" and others * Micromanagement, Term Time Holidays * Fight people and shadows outside his department So many signs... Perhaps it is too late to send for Matron. He may need a time-out and perhaps counselling. It would be a win-win situation in that teachers, and the rest of the UK could take a breath, take stock and be worry free for a while. I ask the nation to chip in. Please show you care.

Is life itself not important ? If so you need to vote for this