The BBC is one of Britain's crown jewels, and number one export in terms of influence around the world. Along with millions in this country, I grew up with the BBC, as did my children. I want it to be free from interference for my grandchildren, too.

Private policing is not accountable to the public. G4S have a very dubious past and at no point has there been any consultation with the public of Hertfordshire to outsource police powers.

G4S is a private company and is known to charge a lot for bad service, low wages, and unreliable staff, probably because of low wages. There is no substitute for a State-owned police force.

Giving private companies more "public" power diminishes the ability of those public servants with the training and focus to use the power with the job. So, trined Police use Police powers: not untrained private G4S use police powers.

Because public safety and police matters should be fronted by the police, not an agency that has proven history of making big mistakes! How do you feel knowing this could be coming to your community soon? Scary isn't it.

Many carers continue to look after people with substantial caring needs once they (the carers) reach retirement age, yet are no longer financially rewarded for doing so. Attendance Allowance is only payable to the disabled person once they reach 65! Unlike paid employment, where upon reaching the age of approximately 65, the State Pension is payable and those retired can spend their time doing as they please. The Government considers Carers Allowance to be overlapping with the State Pension (both are considered payments in lieu of paid employment, but Carers Allowance, according to the Government is neither a wage nor a salary). Carers continue in their role 24/7!!

We have a skilled, trained Police force that is having its budget carved up, officers losing pay and benefits so that incompetent G4S can make more money from the UK Government despite being bailed out by the army when they completely messed up Olympic security

It is essential to maintain the integrity and reputation of the office of Constable and to ensure the people of Hertfordshire continue to receive a professional high quality service with proper safeguards in place

We do not want to be stopped and questioned by people other than those officially in the police force. To employ an outside company to do this is not the right way to go as some of the people who will do the questioning are not always the upstanding citizens they are supposed to be. They would simply be glorified bouncers. We pay the police force to do the work and that's where it should stay. Employ more policemen rather than paying outside companies exorbitant fees.

The BBC is a fundamental part of British culture. It has provided the backdrop for citizens lives in this country for over half a century. It is already working to a very tight budget in difficult times. Taking production budgets to pay for a social welfare policy will undermine the quantity and quality of content.

All schools in the UK need qualified teachers to fill in for short and long term staff absence in order to provide the best education and a seamless handover for children in the classroom. In England, the provision of substitute/supply teachers is now administered by private employment agencies. Some agencies take up to 100% mark up on charges to schools for supply teachers. Supply teachers are paid significantly less than their full time colleagues for doing the same job and yet schools are being made to pay more for their services per day because of the expense of the middle man.  This money was ring-fenced for education, but it is ending up in the hands of the corporate shareholders of recruitment companies.  Millions of pounds of public money is being lost to private, profit-making companies. It is not being used to pay for teachers, special needs support staff, classroom equipment, books, computers, children's' services or staff training. Schools are responsible for their financial prudence. Agencies do not have to account for how they deploy the money they receive. There is little or no inward reinvestment from the agencies; they take but they do not give back. That money is gone for good; money that tax-payers were assured was specifically for education not the sales agents and investors and shareholders of the recruitment agency market.  Schools are being asked to cut spending, and yet most schools have no choice but to source supply teachers from agencies who now control over 70% of the temporary and supply teacher market in England and Wales. As teacher numbers dwindle, the need for substitute and short term cover increases. Agencies are cashing in on this. But why should they? They are not publicly accountable and there is no statutory regulator to oversee their business activities. They are not recognised by the Department for Education as approved education service providers, so their candidates, although qualified as teachers, are not eligible for the Teachers' Pension Scheme or included in the remit of the pay review body, the STRB. By contrast, in other parts of the UK, namely in Northern Ireland and Scotland, there are no agencies. Schools do not pay a middleman to source their substitute teachers. They source their temporary staff directly from a publicly accountable central register. Teachers are paid to scale, tax revenue from their pay goes back into public services. No one profits out of schools. The Welsh Government has also recently set up a teacher booking system, leaving England as the only part of the UK that still undervalues and rips off teachers, when there is a national recruitment and retention crisis. To add insult to injury, many agencies insist that supply teachers are paid via umbrella payroll companies. This results in a significant loss of tax revenue, causing further cuts to public services. It is a ludicrous situation that could be reversed immediately if a publicly accountable central register of substitute teachers were in place as it is in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most supply teachers would prefer to be paid directly by schools and local authorities. They resent agencies charging high fees to schools for their services. What agencies do, does not justify their fees. The teachers do the work in increasingly challenging schools. It's a rip-off. Can the Secretary of State for Education investigate profiteering out of the Education system?  Nearly 5000 signatories believe it is time to stop the rip-off. There is no benefit to children, parents, schools or communities. In a cost of living crisis, we cannot afford their services.  Stop the rip-off in our schools.  Get rid of the agencies and ensure that your money is spent directly on our children.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Government must take more action to reduce air pollution. At the moment, diesel trains pass through already polluted cities, causing more illness and premature deaths. Diesel trains also have a bigger carbon footprint than electric trains. The towns and cities along the route will not be able to meet air quality and carbon emissions targets until the Midland Mainline is electrified.