Noor Imyat Khan gave her life for the cause of freedom in this Nation‘s war to overthrow the Nazi Regime. Ms Noor served in the WRAF (Women‘s Royal Auxiliary Air Force) before transferring to the top secret Special Operstions Executuve set up by Winston Churchill, then as part of SOE was airdropped into France and organized and ran Churchill‘s network of resistance communication in Paris. Ms Noor was betrayed, and after suffering starvation and torture by the Gestapo in Dachau concentration camp, was executed by firing squad by the Nazi SS in 1944. Ms Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross by King George VI in 1949. Here is proof of the inclusivity within Britain of the Muslim community. Ms Noor was also the first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France in 1943. She was 29. Here is an opportunity to recognize the United Kingdom‘s inclusivity and its belief in democratic freedom. I respectfully invite likeminded members of the public to sign this Petition to the Bank of England.

Many groups and individuals, often those who refuse to give the source of their funding, are allowed to air opinions on BBC news and current affairs programmes. They are rarely asked the source of their funding. At the same time millions are being raised in the USA to fund British rightwing think tanks who are frequently asked by the BBC for their opinions. As a result we, as the audience, can never know whose opinions are being represented. This undermines fair access to information, a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.

I've lived in four different counties in England and Wales over the past decade and it's struck me that despite wanting to recycle, every time I moved, I had to do hours of research to find out what was locally recyclable and what wasn't. Why can I recycle polypropylene (plastic no. 5) in Northamptonshire, but not in West Yorkshire? Why do I have to throw out into general waste what I could recycle, were I in a different county? Should I keep all that waste and recycle it at a friend's house 150 miles from my own? This is not an acceptable state of affairs. All we want to do is the right thing: divert unnecessary waste from landfill. Landfills use land, pollute waterways and the air we breathe. They affect humans, animals and plants alike. Landfill should be a last resort for our waste, and recycling should not be an uphill battle. Many manufacturers want to do their bit too. But when there are different rules in different councils, how can they ensure that their packaging can actually be recycled everywhere and not in just a few areas? How can they be expected to solve such a massive problem? Locally managed recycling schemes don't work for consumers or manufacturers. They add to confusion and frustration. A nation-wide recycling policy would reduce unnecessary waste going into landfill and make the most of existing facilities. It would lead to less confusion and higher recycling rates. It would also allow manufacturers to make economically safe, more environmentally-friendly decisions about their products and their packaging. The more we recycle, the less waste goes into landfill and the lower our impact on our environment is. Calls for a unified recycling policy and kerbside collection have been made over a decade ago.(*) This issue is only growing in importance. The time has come to show some real leadership and do the right thing. * Guy Singh-Watson, Riverford, in 'Guy's Rant: The Plastic Problem', https://youtu.be/Cylp_tTrSZg?t=208

🐝 There has been a Government commitment to create a network of wildlife habitats in the countryside since 2010. Our bees and other pollinators are in trouble, their wildflower habitats are widely fragmented and they are unable to move north to escape from climate change. 🐝 The Protection of Pollinators Bill, due for 2nd reading on 26th October, would create an English network of B-Lines – corridors where wildflower meadows would be restored, linking back together the homes of our endangered pollinators. 🐝 Without bees and other pollinating bugs we would not have apples, strawberries, tomatoes or many other crops – they are worth about £700 million to British agriculture. Our pollinators are also wonderful animals and our populations of wild flowers and birds depend on them as well.

Grantown Initiative and Grantown-on-Spey and Vicinity Community Council recently wrote to The Highland Council regarding the changes to parking arrangements in Grantown-on-Spey which appear to have been made without due consultation with community organisations or consideration for businesses in Grantown-on-Spey. We believe that changes made to the parking arrangements in Grantown-on-Spey have resulted in a dangerous situation for drivers and pedestrians, are potentially damaging to businesses in the town and generally make the Square far less attractive to visitors. Meanwhile Highland Council has failed to provide adequate additional parking in spite of the fact that it holds land at the former council depot which could be used for such. A review of these newly made parking restrictions and a meeting to discuss was requested by both groups. Whilst we support the principle of Highland Council taking civil enforcement powers in respect of parking in Grantown, we must object to the implementation of this draft Order. We feel that that the Parking Scheme recently introduced in Grantown, over which Highland Council appears to be seeking these powers, is not fit for purpose. Not only does it raise serious safety concerns but it has removed essential parking bays around the Square and along the High Street. Not having had the opportunity to discuss the recently introduced parking scheme, Grantown Initiative now requests that The Highland Council takes immediate steps to rectify these issues enact sensible parking restrictions in Grantown-on-Spey. Specifically we request the following changes; • The removal of the parking bay(s) opposite the Co-Operative which have added to congestion around the busy High street / Seafield Avenue junction and have created a hazardous situation for pedestrians and motorists alike. • Removal of the chicane style parking bays along the length of the square which creates congestion, particularly around the Bus Stops where busses cannot properly access the stops due to parked cars. We would suggest that spaces be realigned to allow easier access for buses and freer flowing traffic and reduce unnecessary congestion. • Removal of the new double yellow lines, which have robbed the square of 20 parking places. • The creation of a new off street parking facility to provide sufficient parking for the town as a whole. This could be provided at the site of the old council yard adjacent to Grantown Primary. This could also be used to provide a safe drop off area for the school. • Provide an opportunity for the community to have a say in parking restrictions in Grantown-on-Spey

The recent successfully prosecuted fraud case where a Capita employee stole over £2million from Barnet Council underlines the urgent need for the Council to take back control of all of the former Council services from Capita. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45641513 Barnet Council commissioned Grant Thornton (GT) to undertake a major review to identify how such a large scale fraud had been able to take place. This project, called Project Rose, was given a budget of “up to” £500,000 and has been on-going ever since. The review found: • Lack of budgetary controls • Not carrying out basic bank detail checks • Inexperienced managers responsible for large amounts of money • Lack of written financial procedures and checklists Barnet Council agreed to pay Capita £252.54 million But, Barnet Council have already paid Capita £352.41 million with FIVE more years to go! Barnet Council is in financial crisis with a budget overspend of £10.3 million this financial year and a funding gap of £66.8 million over the next three years. Frontline services such as street cleansing, waste and recycling, Libraries, social care are all facing more and more cuts that are already affecting Barnet residents. Capita Plc are in their own financial crisis. Their Share Price has dropped from £13 a share to under £1.50 a share in the space of the last two years. On 11 December 2018, Barnet Council Policy and Resources Committee will decide on whether to end both contracts. We are campaigning that they VOTE to end both contracts and begin the urgent process of taking back control of those services. End Details of the Grant Thornton Review on Capita https://www.barnet.gov.uk/citizen-home/council-and-democracy/finance-and-funding/Financial-controls.html Is this the end of Capita in Barnet - Grant Thornton's report is a devastating critique of Capita's dismal performance http://reasonablenewbarnet.blogspot.com/2018/09/is-this-end-of-capita-in-barnet-grant.html Project Rose: the devastating report Barnet Tories didn't want you to read http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.com/2018/09/project-rose-devastating-report-barnet.html Damning report slams Capita and financial management at Barnet Council http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2018/09/damning-report-slams-capita-and.html

Paul Ermitano, a highly respected cardiac physiologist and his wife Jamila, an experienced nurse, are Filipino citizens who gave up their careers overseas and came to Poole over 3 years ago to tackle staff shortages in our NHS. The Home Office are refusing to grant the family an extension on their visa stopping Paul carrying out the vital, life-saving heart scans that he is trained to do. They’ve been ordered to leave the country immediately. This decision has come about because they briefly accepted child benefit for their son. They've paid it back in full. The family have no means to support themselves financially and Jamila is due to give birth to their second child in 3 months time. Our new Health Secretary the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP has put NHS workforce and efficiency at the top of his agenda. Therefore it defies common sense and decency that resources are being spent on ejecting these lovely and useful people. Home Secretary Sajid Javid should extend the stay of this family so they can safeguard the delivery of their unborn baby and continue their vital work for our NHS.

Stoke-on-Trent has the dubious distinction of being called the Monkey Dust capital of the U.K. A blite on the reputation and economy of Stoke-on-Trent. We the undersigned, are disgusted and ashamed that Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Police, rather than tackling the supply and use of drugs and other street crimes, are focusing on the homeless and fining them £100 - for being homeless! We demand that as the Councillor responsible for Communities, you take immediate action to stop the persecution of the most vulnerable people in our city and drop plans to fine the genuinely homeless. This is the second year in a row that Stoke-on-Trent City Council has attempted to victimise the homeless and profit from their misfortune In a move so disgusting that Scrooge himself would be ashamed by it. Homelessness will not end by hiding the problem nor profiting from their misery but by acting with compassion, decency and vision.

This issue is vital to the betterment of youths services in Peterborough. Currently, the people that are in charge of youth services have not been classed as youth in years and are in no place to have a say in the issues of the youth no matter how good they are at their job. However, if a youth council did exist, or there was a youth presence in the council (11-16 year olds) there would be better input for the decision makers. This could lead to less crime and violence as the youth would be occupied elsewhere and may lead to better results for the youth of Peterborough in academic and social terms.

On 26 September 2018, four protesters received lengthy custodial sentences for their part in blocking fracking trucks from entering Preston New Road site. The civil space for local communities to protest against the shale oil and gas industry in the UK is becoming more and more restricted and this represents a growing threat to fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly. This is exemplified by: - The granting of sweeping civil injunctions to private companies, giving them special legal treatment in the face of widespread public protests. - Central government proposals to bypass local councils by making exploratory drilling a ‘permitted development’ - removing the need for planning permission and for local communities to raise their objections through their local representative body.

Maidstone is a highly populated town with plenty of traffic and a centralised population. This means that many residential roads become "rat runs" for cars looking to avoid traffic on the major roads. A 20mph limit will make our residential roads safer.

Every parent of a child within Suffolk, that has to rely on funded school transport to High school from September 2019 will have to pay between £600-£800 pounds per child per year for continued transport to their current recognised catchment school. SCC will only fund travel to what it now considers to be a pupils nearest school, but nearest schools admissions policies for year 2019/20 prioritises places for students from its feeder and catchment Primary schools, not students from Primary schools outside of catchment. The financial implications for Suffolk families will be immense. Siblings may have to attend different High schools, as an older child already receiving funded transport will continue to do so but parents may not be able afford to fund a sibling or siblings. There is no guarantee that a child from a non feeder or out of catchment school will be accepted, so parents could be forced to pay for their child to attend a school, occur debt and hardship to do so, have to consider home schooling. SCC sent out an online transport survey this year to parents within Suffolk. According to a report by Councillor (County) Robert Lindsay 3600 responses were received, 85% strongly opposed these proposed changes and 5% opposed, but SCC still passed the changes. School Transport should be free and funded for all pupils.