I have been self employed most of my life and not by choice.. as a Shopfitter self employment is the only choice available to you if you wish to pursue your trade. Taxes are subtracted at 20% and then must be submitted for review at least once a year but this more often than not gets missed/ignored for a host of various reasons.. this then never gets fixed with the self employed now not having had valid accounts to show for over 10 years plus.. the fear of being landed with large late submission fines being the most common reason for not sorting out the problem) being ‘self employed’ keeps most people in work 8 months of the year (if they’re lucky) in between work no unemployment benefits or government help is available because you’re simply told that you’re ‘self employed’ and don’t qualify! Also, we never qualify for holiday pay because again we’re told we’re self employed! Change is needed, the only benefit to self employment is to the government statistics keeping unemployment numbers down and employers saving thousands of pounds on holiday pay and expenses with the self employed now being responsible for supplying their own vehicles, own tools, h&s safety/training courses, accommodation and living away expenses etc. Basically the employer has no outlay and if you don’t meet the required criteria then somebody else will.. a no win situation for the so called ‘self employed’

The current design of Universal Credit is one of the evils of our age. The design of Universal Credit was supposed to make it easier for people on benefits to move into employment. A key feature is that it is paid monthly and wraps all benefits into one payment including rent. There is a huge problem with paying benefits monthly. Because of the often chaotic nature of the finances of people on benefits, most poor people run out of money long before the month end. The result is that children go hungry for days, even weeks at a time and food banks proliferate. Moreover paying claimants the money needed for their rent, which they are supposed to pass on is folly. 73% of Universal Credit claimants are now in arrears on their rent, this is causing real strain on housing associations. Basically housing associations and landlords have become the lender of last resort to those on Universal Credit. But there is a sensible quick fix that will make Universal Credit work. It is repackaging an old idea. Pass a law that anyone in employment paid under £20,000 pa has the right to be paid weekly. Admittedly that will cause a short term cash flow issue for many employers. But that could easily be overcome if the Government lent every employer the right amount of money to move people to weekly pay. They already know all this information due to the HMRC real time submissions that employers are obliged to make to HMRC any time any payment is made to any employee. It would be dead simple to work out exactly the cash flow shortfall an employer would face, this could be advanced as a Tax and NI Credit and it could be repaid over an agreed period again by an adjustment to the amount of Tax and NI an employer has to make. Then simply, pay Universal Credit weekly and pay any rent element direct to the housing association or landlord. Then insist that ATMs and point of sale equipment in the supermarkets use fingerprint recognition technology and give access to benefit accounts using the ID God has given us all. At a stoke of legislation this would reduce the problem of running out of money for too long. Basically claimants are likely to be able to budget better on a weekly basis and if they make a mistake like drinking too much it only impacts their family for a week and not a whole month. So join me in asking Parliament to pass legislation to achieve this. It is so simple and sensible that it is quite remarkable that it has never been suggested. Adrian Hill

To work on in the Aviation industry as a Aircraft Maintenance Engineer you are required to hold either an A or B licence. For many years Brighton MET formally Northbrook College (Shoreham Campus) ran the EASA 'A' Licencing programme through part 147. Recently, MET decided to shut down the courses due to a series of unfortunate events. We are petitioning to reinstate the course.

If we can end loneliness with a little community spirit then this will lessen mental health issues down the line. This will have a positive affect on the NHS and community spirit in general. If someone knows they will get at least one visit a month it will give them something to look forward to.

Libraries matter to communities. To make informed decisons about libraries the Council needs to know what people think. But this consultation will not do that. The consultation is stuff full of jargon. The language is confusing. It should be in plain English. Readability of text can be measured using a SMOG test. That's "Simple Measure of Gobbledygook". The Sun newspaper has a SMOG value of less than 14. The Express is less than 16. The Guardian and Telegraph is around 17. The SMOG value of Worcestershire County Council's consulation is an amazing 44! Ordinary people have little chance of understanding it. But a good consultation should be about getting ordinary people's views. The Council should therefore abandon it and do it properly!

This is a thriving and successful community pub that has served the area since the 1850s. We urge the London Borough of Lewisham planning department to refuse the application to demolish this handsome, landmark, historic pub which is well-used and much-loved by the community.

After the loss of the lease for Edinburgh's only 7 day retail market in the Tron Kirk in April 2018, an application was submitted for a new space at the Courtyard inside Old Stamp Office Close, just off the Royal Mile. The plan is to erect 13 smaller, wooden stalls for retail use (so no cooking/ smells), around the perimeter of the Courtyard and operate during business hours only. The market will likely offer jewellery, fashions, Scottish arts and crafts, memorabilia and heritage products, bath and beauty products and much more. The Planning Committee are due to decide on the application on 5th December 2018, and we want them to say "YES" to the return of jobs, more trader pitches (which are being cut elsewhere), more opportunities to promote Scottish arts and craft products and offer a sustainable income for local micro business owners and their families. With this, it will provide a much called for alternative shopping experience for visitors to the Royal Mile whilst reducing the volume of traffic in the area by not forcing traders to erect metal framed stalls and carry stock to and from the High Street each day, under the current, unfair "ballot for pitches" system. Furthermore, an onsite cafe and office will be established to support the market by giving access to bathroom facilities, first aid/ health and safety resources, market management and a meeting place. This planning application is a "one of a kind" opportunity to deliver a number of benefits to the street trader and craft community of Edinburgh and the Lothians, which has recently seen Council votes go against them with the loss of the lease and closure of the Tron Kirk Market and the impending closure of Edinburgh Palette craft studios in Meadowbank. The city council will also receive a significant rent for the property and regular fees from annual Market Operator and Trader licences. With Edinburgh's High Street and North and South Bridge becoming ever more filled with souvenir shops, this will also bring a fresh alternative shopping experience for the many visitors to the Royal Mile. The location is also notable historically for being a house to Lady Eglinton and her daughters, a boarding school to Flora MacDonald and the founding location of RBS and will become more accessible to historians and walking tours if approved.

Essex County Council have announced plans to close 25 libraries and to turn a further 19 over to be run by local communities to save money. My local library, in West Mersea, employs 2 people for 21 hours a week. Not only will they lose their jobs if these closures go ahead, but so will all the staff at the threatened 44 libraries. My library is thriving. It is always busy with people of all ages reading newspapers and periodicals, borrowing books, DVDs and CDs, accessing the internet, researching their family ancestry and speaking to others. Libraries are fantastic assets to the community and need to be saved. No libraries in Essex should be closed or downgraded to being run by volunteers The elderly population of Essex need these libraries. Many do not have computers and some of them may not speak to anyone else in their day. We need local libraries in local communities which can be accessed on foot or bike, by all sections of society. Please think again before implementing these closures.

Without it I can’t continue my business

The New School Butterstone was originally founded in rural Perthshire, as a safehaven for education for young people with complex needs such as asperges and autism. These students come to Butterstone having found mainstream education challenging, and find that they are able to get on and thrive in an environment tailored to their needs. Smaller classes, individualized lessons and like minded students. WHAT will happen to these young people now? Will they simply be segwayed back into mainstream education in large classes, where they will be misunderstood, ignored and left at a disadvantage. We shouldn't be loosing places like 'The New School...' we should be gaining them, and learning from them. Please sign and help!

Huncoat Colliery is one of the best places in Hyndburn to see butterflies, wildflowers and other wildlife. Since the Colliery stopped operating in the 1960s, the land has been reclaimed by nature and is now a haven for wildlife. Although classed as brownfield land, Huncoat Colliery is more like a nature reserve. 21 butterfly species are present at Huncoat Colliery, 13 of which are in decline, including 2 species classed as a priority in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (Small Heath and White-letter Hairstreak). Butterflies are attracted to Huncoat Colliery by large areas of wildflowers, including stunning patches of wild orchids. Huncoat Colliery is an accessible site which gives local people easy access to nature, as well as providing educational interest. Sadly, Huncoat Colliery has been earmarked for housing development. This could be terrible news for local biodiversity, as we stand to lose an area rich in wildlife at a time when it’s more important than ever to protect the precious habitat we have left. This site has the potential to be a destination and a contribution to tourism in the Borough.

For far too long the non-operational side has been outcast and a forgotten part of the prison service, whether it be admin, parole, canteen services or estates maintenance The Scottish Prison Service seem to think it’s acceptable to place families in what is essentially poverty by not fairly rewarding the work that they do the level of qualifications that are expected of them and the above and beyond attitude that is taken for granted. They bang on about the other benefits that there are for working for the prison service but in all honesty there are pretty much none, they bang on about the pension(the ones that have been Cut so much they’re effectively worthless) the staff discounts (available from a big company where you have to buy gift cards and often find the price cheaper elsewhere anyway) the sick pay and sick entitlement (which is greatly received but also needed due to the stressful nature of the job remembering that the staff including the non-operational are in contact with the most dangerous members of the public on a daily basis, the constant barrage of extra work and extra tasks with no extra reward they are grinding down their staff and sending them dangerously close to a burnout) There is a clear divide throughout the SPS where it seems that the non-operational staff are degraded and forgotten about. The Scottish prison service do not pay appropriately for these posts. For example a member of admin staff at one of the prisons effectively has 3 roles to do after 2 colleagues got fed up and left. Here’s the big surprise they can’t fill the post because the wages are so poor. Another member of non-operational staff at another prison keeps getting tasks added to their job role with no extra reward and then subsequently is rebuked when they cannot deliver on their original role. Yet another member of staff is effectively doing the job of two people because the post for the other person has lay vacant for months. They are afraid to fill the post with agency workers as then they may well be subject to an equal pay claim is it right that even temporary workers are better paid and have better working conditions than those employed by the prison service. Another prison is so short on staff they have had to beg, borrow and steal staff from across the country to deliver on a project. Yet another has had vacant posts for months upon months and has had to borrow staff from elsewhere effectively leaving them short and yet another prison has a vacant post and is sending labour to a different prison leaving one staff member to cover 3 roles and still no one is taking notice. Then there are the “B” bands the lowest paid workers in the prison service. Many have to travel considerable distances to get to work and are constantly belittled and passed over for other colleagues rewards before themselves. Such as recently an equal pay claim which was settled out of court and the prison service paid out£4000 to each of the the C, D and E bands but they didn’t even consider the B bands even with this 4000 the wages of the C, D and E bands are not proportional to the jobs that they do and nowhere near in line with what other similar roles are paid. But what about the B bands who just keep getting more and more tasks added to their job description without any extra reward. As it was said by the upper eschelons if the prison service someone has to loose out to give someone else something and yet they can hand back millions of pounds each year to the government. It is time that the Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Government sit up and take notice of the utter state of despair that the prison service is in. Time that they take a serious look at themselves and at the crash in morale they have caused and the real life implications of the desicions that they make. Why should anyone ever have to loose out? What about fair reward for the work that they do?