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

Cars have been speeding round these streets at break neck speed something needs to be done before someone is killed

The funding of £1m was given to this area in 2012 over a 10 year period and one main priority should be education for our children and young people, there has been a great demand for supplementary education but we cannot afford to fund this ourselves. Whilst the funds for this Big Local Area has been inappropriately allocated to pay Big Local Co-ordinator’s salary, run activities and events that attempt to address short term needs of some members of the community to the detriment of Barnfield children education. We therefore solicit that the Barnfield Big Local funding subsequently be allocated in a way that prioritise our children’s education.

Our children,wives and husbands are the most precious things in the world and wearing a cycle helmet should be like putting a seatbelt on in a car so why is not the case that this isn't a law.

People block up our street so much that an ambulance wouldn’t get in for the severely disabled child living in a house at the end. Parking for the people who actually live there not people visiting Academy house offices. Reduced speed limit to stop them speeding through street before someone is knocked down!

Children are very young to know what they want. They are also to young, at a certain age, to speak. So why should parents cause unnecessary pain just to make their child look prettier or adorable. Are they not adorable without piercings? It’s important because again they shouldn’t be put through such pain just for an accessory. They should be at least 10 before the child decides if he or she wants to have them done. It’s wrong and whether people like it or not it’s a form of abuse.

Children do not have many areas which are safe to play in as it is. In todays society, it is more important now than ever that our children have safe play areas to access close to their homes.

- We all feel this is an important group to save as there are not many other groups in Downton. - Some mums that attend the group do not drive so the need to keep this group is vital to some. - As this group is from ages 0-5 it targets a lot of parents. - Groups like this can help Mums and their children to make new friends and grow more confident. - Groups like these can help many people in different ways and we all feel this is a group to be saved for that reason.

Northgate Ponds is a popular location within Chester for members of the public, dog walkers, children and local residence. A rise in antisocial behaviour has resulted in litter, vandalism and injury. A call for CCTV to combat: •Drug dealing •Drug consumption •Public disturbances •Litter (inc items thrown into the Ponds, drug paraphernalia e.g. Needle packets, tin foil etc). •Vandalism (graffiti etc). Please sign the partition to help make Northgate Ponds a safer and cleaner environment for everyone. Thank you.

Are our children second class citizens ? 2 school buses are currently avalible, one for Kirk Sandall and one for Barnby Dun, These buses park at the school and even have old signage for Hatfield bus which no longer runs a service. Why not Hatfield and Dunsville ? Our children have to wait for a normal public transport bus, This can take up to an hour to get home, Its only 2 miles away . These public buses dont always stop, and only let a few children on at any time due to being full. Its not good enough and I feel its not safe, some children can wait for as many as 4 buses or more to get on one. It's not safe to walk home because of the open country side from Edenthorpe to Dunsville. Would you want your child to walk home in open country side? As a parent Im very nervous when my child has to use public transport. You dont know what bus they can eventually get on and when they will get home. Many people have raised concerns about the public buses. Now we need people listen to us and take action to make our children feel safe while traveling home.

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.

As a student in bootle I can see how our schools our being affected everyday and they are having to make hard decisions to cut things from our school to save money. For example, my school has had to get rid of a reward system recently due to the high cost and the money needing to be spent elsewhere. Therefore this will have a bad affect on students behaviour,causing disruption and not helping within the community either. As well as this I have saw my school cut the numbers of teachers such as 3 geography teachers to 2 even though it gained popularity as a chosen option. Finally, not only teachers are being sacked but subjects are having to be lossed such as food technology, this means students who want a career path towards things like cooking will be made harder as getting onto further courses might require this gcse. This needs to be adressed how our young people are being hindered by money and can not do the career they want to enjoy in the future due to cuts needing to be spent in main subjects which are also struggling.