On the 1st of July 2017, Angus Council plan to commence the implementation of proposals which will see social care provision changed, services cut and privatised. ‎The number of staff responding to Community Alarm calls will be cut during the day, working hours will be cut, some staff will be forced to provide a car to undertake their duties and there will be approximately 170 job losses. All of this will impact on the most vulnerable members of our community. We believe that the evidence does not exist to support these plans or to implement them safely. We believe that private sector interest to provide social care in rural Angus just isn't there. Care for profit is wrong. We call on Angus Council and the Integrated Joint Board to halt these plans and to reassess this strategy. Cuts to vital care services will impact on the most vulnerable members of our community.

I’m calling for a change in the rules so that people with dementia are specifically eligible to apply for a Blue Badge, which means easier trips to the shop, the doctor’s or the hospital for dementia patients if they choose to apply. “I hope the Government will consider this change.” The final decision on who is eligible is up to local councils. But Government provides guidance can prove crucial in earmarking badges - and dementia is not on the list of criteria. Charities say some local authorities give blue badges to people with dementia while others enforce much tighter rules. Although the person with dementia may be able to walk the required distance that exempts them from being issued a Blue Badge the person has to be helped in and out of their vehicle, and guided, they can be unsteady on their feet and suffer dizziness/confusion as to where they are because of their dementia. This means that, e.g. they cannot be dropped off while a driver goes to park, because they are in danger from wandering off or walking into the road. Campaigners say the disease can be as mentally and often physically debilitating as other illnesses. The number of people with dementia is set to rise from 850,000 this year to over two million by 2051. Alzheimer’s Society national campaigns manager Sam Gould said: “Many people with dementia gradually lose their ability to walk and perform simple tasks as their condition progresses. “This means activities that many of us take for granted, like visiting the shops or attending GP appointments, can become physically challenging and make some journeys daunting. “We support the call for people with dementia to be able to access the Blue Badge scheme, as this could mean that more people with dementia are able to continue doing the things they enjoy and maintain their independence for longer.”

Self employed people generally work over 50 hours a week - many work considerably longer hours. They get no job security or holiday allowance. Their salary is not paid if they are sick and yet they contribute hugely to the nation's wealth. Many self employed people manage all aspects of their business from the PR, to office admin, to ensuring that they keep up to date with H&S, keeping accounts etc as well as delivering the core nature of their business. A three monthly submission process of tax return would create an unacceptably huge administrative burden on self employed people. It would stifle our collective ability to deliver our core business. It would discourage entrepreneurialism. In terms of the arts and third sector self-employment - it would add further administrative duress to an already ailing and underfunded landscape.

The youth project and KRAN are based at the Shed. They work with local young people many of whom live in Harbour Ward, one of the most deprived in the area. The young people receive sex and health education, drug and alcohol awareness, and help with writing CVs and applying for jobs. They are also encouraged to take part in a range of positive activities (such as sport, art, and music technology) and are able to make friends and integrate with other local young people. The Shed is a safe, non-judgemental space where all are welcome. One young person who uses the Shed said this, "People who find it hard to fit in anywhere else come here which enables them to feel valued...it also provides them with education and teaches them that everyone is equal no matter what their background is. We wouldn't have learnt these life lessons and morals if it wasn't for the Shed and the kind-hearted staff that give up their time to make sure we feel we belong."

The Potting Shed@Radstock is an important resource for local people who suffer with mental health and isolation issues. Closing the project will result in the loss of a valuable wellbeing project and a possible route into employment for people living in Radstock and the surrounding areas. Many people have benefited from the project. The community also benefits from the project. It makes no financial sense for the Trustees to charge the group rent and water charges to maintain the gardens voluntarily, as without the group they will need to pay a gardening contractor to do the same work. Without a Support Worker managing the project and encouraging people to attend the project is doomed to fail.

As the North East is one of the most unemployed areas in the country, an additional loss of around 400 jobs, on top of the jobs lost last year from steel works closures, would be a massive loss to the area and would also see a number of families left without an income.

Millions of retired people rely on their pension payments keeping pace with inflation.A leading firm of actuaries has calculated that this would result in a 30% drop in income over the average period these payments are paid. Apart from anything else this would dramatically reduce the spending power of the retired, badly effecting the economy, and create a "pensions apartheid". It is totally unacceptable for people to be denied what they are legally entitled too under the terms of their employment/retirement.

Shaw was crying on the phone. It's not acceptable to see a 6ft odd 23 stone man cry over a pie. True injustice here - worse than the disallowed Ajax goal the other night. Max bet was only a £5 so the gambling commission need to do one. No club is bigger than the man. In all seriousness everyones had a laugh over past few weeks thanks to Wayne and he doesn't deserve to lose the job with the club he loves over a trivial matter.

The High Street, in the town of Huntingdon, has suffered with many shops having to close due to high rents making it difficult for shops to remain profitable. It is hoped the JLP will work to find a solution, with the present landlord, to keep this store open, so it may continue to serve the people of the Huntingdonshire District as it has done for the last 40 years.

These rises of 66% for low paid support workers and 166% for social workers, when wages rises are again below inflation, are unfair and a disincentive to people joining the care sector.

Small businesses are already struggling. Many are seeing their rateable value triple. This will cause thousands of small businesses to fail.

Mooboo, the chain of bubble tea shops, ask staff to work a 40-hour unpaid trial shift before they start, but they’re not guaranteed a job after that. This is an outrageous way for them to exploit young people looking for work, and is a completely unacceptable way to treat their staff.