I know this Petition will be a touchy subject for those who have had to apply for a Spouse Visa in the last four years to allow a non-EU domiciled spouse into the UK from abroad. I have made every effort to keep this petition explanation short and hope my point comes across to your clearly and concisely, and that you will support my initiative to urge our fellow Minister of State, Rt Hon Brandon Lewis to look into this as a matter of urgency and bring about a change in pricing policy. Here is my Story: I, Andy Wilkinson am a UK Citizen and married my wife Sylvia Alexis in 2010 who was from Pretoria, South Africa. She joined me in the UK as my partner having acquired a spouse visa - costing around £600 in 2010. In March 2012, we decided to move to Cape Town for few years for a job opportunity for which I had been accepted. Late last year, my role came to an end, and we had to move back home. After reviewing the criteria for the UK Visa, it was obvious I would have to come back to the UK alone and find a job that qualified me for the financial requirement of the minimum income threshold which was required. In June 2017, we were set to apply for Sylvia’s Spouse Visa and was advised the cost to be £1,464 pounds. The Issue: Given the current recessionary economic climate in the UK, a huge population of the work force just about get by with what they earn (See my link to the Guardian’s newspaper below to see the income situation of UK Citizens). What happens when a UK Citizen finds their match from abroad, and have to pay £1,464 to bring them into the UK, this becomes a sticky situation an unaffordable price for many. Therefore a number of questions have come to mind? Why has the government which came into power in 2010, suddenly hiked the prices of a spouse visa for a UK Citizen’s partner. Ofcourse the government has an ambition of curbing the national debt, but penalizing UK citizens for having chosen a partner from abroad is not one of the best ways of doing it. A visa cost of £600 in 2010, and the same visa in 2017 costs £1,464. It would frustrate any logical minded person how the steep increase of 140% is justified. Or is the government simply trying to rake in as much money as it can from a situation they know the applicant has no alternative choice but to pay. I feel this is a penalization technique to those who have found their match from abroad. Ofcourse it will be argued that this has been a decision to curb exploitative marriages. But what about those who have been married for many years, those who have kids, certainly they cannot be labeled as exploitative – so why should they have to pay such a hefty visa cost? Finally, it may also be argued this is to stop UK Citizens bringing in partners from abroad. This cannot be something the government decides. It is every Human’s Right to marry whomsoever they wish. It is not justifiable for the government to apply strong charges, as if to punish a UK Citizen from marrying outside the borders of the UK. Referring back to the article by the Guardian, many people who have spouses abroad will have to wait, or pay the cost using expensive methods of credits (credit cards, loans etc), and this certainly can’t be a reasonable strategy. What do I want? I want your support to urge our Minister of State, Rt Hon Brandon Lewis, to look into reducing the cost of a spouse visa for UK citizens who plan to bring in their spouse’s from abroad. The visa costs should be designed so that they are equitable to all UK Citizens, not assuming everyone is a high income earner. (For I am not a high UK earner, but am grateful Sylvia has now joined me in the UK). I also understand that the government has taken a consultation process to determine fee levels for certain visas, but the visa that I am concerned is for UK Citizens who have/plan to bring their spouse from abroad. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/20/one-in-four-uk-families-have-less-than-95-in-savings-report-finds

The NFL games are now broadcast weekly on the BBC. Protests also took place in the UK last week when the NFL players played at Wembley on September 24. With further games scheduled to be played at both Wembley and Twickenham this season, the opportunity for Theresa May to publicly condemn President Trump's racist comments is now. Failure to denounce dangerous and divisive rhetoric sends the poor message to UK citizens that it is acceptable to hold racist sentiments and marginalise minority groups.

It’s important that families get crb checked too. Too many nannies are verbally and physically abused by families some cases even resulting in murder. It’s important to feel your Children are safe but it’s also important for those whom are caring for your children to feel safe too. Just last week we heard of another case where a nanny was murdered by the parents of the child she was caring for. This cannot happen again. I feel families should be checked too and if you feel the same sign this petition and let’s get the ball rolling.

These are amazing carers who maintain and promote independence for people who have various and complex care and social needs. Our assistance dogs care for us 24/7 who should be legally recognised by the government and save the government millions a year in care charges. The government needs to offer people the right to be able to claim for these costs to be able to keep us independent and motivated and socialised within the community. The average homecare cost is £200 per week the average cost of an ADUK is about £50 per week. Some more progressive councils allow for these amazing carers to be honoured and covered by a direct payment, whilst other councils take the guideline discriptor of carer ( meaning human ) as literal- this should be addressed to show the change since it was written. It will also help with the crisis in the health and social care situation.

Most other schools have 9 sessions per lesson over the course of two weeks, and some have 8, but Penglais only have 7 due to funding. It is important to have at 9 or at least 8 over two weeks as when it comes to exams we will be less prepared than other schools in Wales, and if they score higher marks in the exams, overall we will fall below and not get the results we deserve. The study sessions that have been used as a replacement do not offer the support of the classes to help towards exams

Poverty is a fundamental part of society, even affecting Scotland. In particular, poverty affecting children was announced to be rapidly growing. Recent statistics show an increase from 1/5 to 1/4 children in poverty, meaning an approximate 260,000 children are officially classed as in poverty. Despite the lack of publicity on the issue, this epidemic affecting dozens of families nationwide, and we need your support to convince local MSPs to consider the small cause. Spare change of £5 per child to create a big change, taking hundreds of families out of the grip of poverty.

This is important because they help people with LD to develop their skills and gives them a chance to thrive in the community.

Personality disorders are often dismissed as behavioural problems that simply put pressure on to the NHS and cause professional people problems. The truth in fact, is that they are not a choice, they are very real illnesses that often see some of societies most vulnerable people shunned, discriminated against, fall into the criminal justice system, and ultimately lose their lives. There are many media stories in circulation around personality disorder patients, being denied treatment, losing their lives and being denied basic human rights. This is wrong in one of the wealthiest and developed countries in the world. We need change. We need a voice. We need compulsory training for all frontline, primary, secondary and tertiary service staff.

Students are currently paying 6.1% on the loans they take out so they can complete their education. TO put this in perspective, the government and large banks can borrow money at 0.25% interest. A 6.1% interest rate means that graduates will have to earn £55,000 a year just to keep up with the interest and prevent their loans getting larger. Its completely unrealistic, unsustainable and unfair. Its inevitable that most loans will never be re-paid and a generation will be saddled with un-payable debt. Interest rates are this high because the government has sold the debt on to private companies who hope to make a profit on young people trying to get an education and make their way in the world. We need people to go to university. We need a highly skilled workforce to drive the economy and tackle the urgent problems of the 21st Century with the creativity and innovation that Britain is known for. There is no excuse for charging students 24 times the base rate of interest. Ask Jo Johnson, Universities minister to ensure fair interest on student loans now.

Because innocent people are getting killed and burned alive and these acts must be stopped and the people responsible should be held accountable for crimes against humanity and this must stop now

A woman doesn't get to choose whether she has a period or not and it's certainly not enjoyable. Why are they classed as a luxury if you can't choose whether or not you want to use them.

Men do not have to specify their marital status at all and have a one-size-fits all title. What sort of message is this sending to women? That their marital status is somehow related to their worth? That society might judge them based on their marital status? If marital status is irrelevant to our value in society then why do we have to specify it?