The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community groups, voluntary organisations and charitable causes in the country. It provides over £850m for people and communities most in need and benefits over 10,000 communities every year. Big Lottery Fund grants go direct to those who need them most. Now the Government plans to switch the money and devastate funding for the most needy at the very time it is taking other far reaching austerity measures which are making life even tougher for the same people. Why does it matter? The Big Lottery Fund is in the warp and weft of local communities and charitable causes across the country. Its funding benefits: -local groups supporting the disabled, elderly and those in poor mental health or with dementia -organisations tackling social ills including alcoholism, abuse, suicide and isolation or meeting social needs like getting online, accessing food banks or overcoming facial disfigurement -household name charities including Addaction, RNIB, Groundwork, Mind, NSPCC and University of the Third Age -programmes to help young people find jobs and be economically active -the life chance of babies though the Better Start programme -the quality of life for pensioners through the Centre for Ageing Better -supporting war veterans through Heroes Return -community centres, libraries and village halls run by the local community -everyday activities such as after schools clubs, scouts groups and community transport -the things that bring people together like the Big Lunch, community choirs, parks and allotments -everyone who wants to do something good for their local community - over 90% of funding is for less than £10,000 and given in response to ideas and proposals from local people and organisations -voluntary organisations and community groups - who receive over 95% of the funds

As pointed out recently by the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, the global health improvements witnessed in recent decades risk being undone by climate change.. We also know that most of the existing coal, oil and gas reserves must stay in the ground if this is to be avoided. However, the energy sector’s continued exploration for new fossil fuel reserves makes clear that they will only respond to market forces. The ethical and financial case for fossil fuel divestment is thus well founded, and widely supported by, amongst others, the President of the World Bank and Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO)- both public health physicians. Whilst we commend the Gates Foundation Asset Trust’s recent decision to divest $765.9 million worth of shares from ExxonMobil, we feel that this does not go far enough. By failing to divest from the major fossil fuel companies, the Gates Foundation is implicitly providing moral support to companies that continue to obstruct meaningful action to reduce GHG emissions. Just as important, it sends the wrong signal to many governments who continue to frame their energy policies under the influence of the fossil fuel industry. It also misses the opportunity to support a transition to a safer and healthier world through transfer of investment to the renewable energy sector. Constructive engagement with the fossil fuel industry is important, but the Gates Foundation is better placed to support the transformation of the energy sector if it does not simultaneously signal that it is morally acceptable to profit from industries that cause global warming and threaten the health, biodiversity and security of the planet. Yours sincerely, Dr David McCoy, Medact, UK Prof. Hugh Montgomery, University College London Prof Sue Atkinson and Dr Robin Stott, on behalf of the Climate and Health Council, UK Dr David Pencheon, Director, Sustainable Development Unit for the Health and Social Care System, UK ----------- If you are from outside the UK then please email [email protected] with the following details, and we will add you to the petition manually: Full name, Email, Job title, Country and whether you work in the health sector.

We want the FULL TRUTH, visible and standing next to each other as Parisians are equal to Lebanese and Palestinians as ALL of us are HUMANs and suffer equally. Angelina Jolie posted about the ISIS attack in Lebanon which didn't receive any media coverage (see: https://www.facebook.com/OF.Angelina/photos/a.127159833963497.22403.127098593969621/1137146722964798/?type=3&fref=nf) Look at the current BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news Can you find anything about Lebanon, other ISIS hit regions and daily Palestinian sufferings?

UK economy requires and benefits from island produce and services such as for the Isle of Wight with its: garlic, milk, tomatoes, rapeseed oil, blue cheese, asparagus, enjoy flying with the knowledge Isle of Wight companies have built a large section of the plane and electronic communication devices, and the detention of dangerous criminals. UK mainland can enjoy these products and services, these islands offer, these islands however, are unable to acquire good and services from some of the mainland distributors .

Residents from adjoining roads could not only join in to celebrate and enjoy the festivities, but come together to talk and get involved in workshops to discuss traffic congestion, think about possible interventions that would improve the area, look at measures to reduce traffic overall, and understand the affects of pollution upon our health. Biannually Harringay has a Food Festival, and is a great success closing Green Lanes to traffic for the day, the Wightman Road Street Party could alternate with a focus on improving residents health and the health of the eight thousand people living on the Harringay Ladder. A street party would provide a respite for residents from traffic for the day., traffic that Wightman Road face every day throughout the year. This would also allow the 28 roads on the Harringay Ladder to come together to have workshops and challenge the amount of traffic the area is exposed to. Wightman Road takes the brunt of traffic on the Harringay Ladder, and has been designated a B road, it is no different to any other residential road, it was intended as a service road by the late Victorians, not a bypass. This event is important because of the traffic that relentlessly travel up this road every day affects the health of its residents, and reflects the situation where residents have no control over the roads they live on across London.

I have 2 close friends whom can suffer badly from MS depending on whether it is a good day or a bad one... and any drug that can help to swing things in their favour to have more good days has got to be a bonus!

Since July 2013, the EU and the USA have been negotiating on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment partnership (TTIP). These negotiations are to determine which goods and services TTIP will apply to. These negotiations are in secret. MEPS, and MPs are not allowed to see the documentation. As tariffs between the EU and the US are low anyway, the main focus is on increasing trade through the harmonisation of standards as this will supposedly stimulate the economy.. What this actually means could well be a lowering of environmental standards and standards regarding hazardous chemicals and food safety, and labour rights, to the detriment of the majority of the population. TTIP also includes usage of the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). This allows corporations to sue Governments if a government passes a law which could infringe on the profit that that corporation expects to make. In the past, with other Trade agreements, the ISDS has been used to overturn democratic decisions by all levels of governments at significant public cost. ISDS provides for the usage of secret private arbitration tribunals which are held in secret, and there is no possibility of appeal against decisions. One case where a government has been dragged before an ISDS tribunal as a result of a decision by a local authority has already happened: In 1997, the US waste management company Metalclad sued the Mexican government as the municipality of Guadalcazar , in San Luis Potosi State , had rejected their application to run a hazardous waste depot. In spite of San Luis Potosi declaring the area a nature reserve, Metaclad sued Mexico , who had to pay a fine of $15.6 millions. This was possible under the Investor State dispute settlement, part of NAFTA, and also in TTIP.* Fines have been up to billions of dollars and the cost of an ISDS case averages $ 8,000,000. If governments start passing laws and making decisions out of fear of being sued by corporations then this will have a devastating effect on democracy, especially in times of austerity. Sourcing of supplies and employment by local governments is badly needed to local economies and TTIP could prevent this happening. Although local authorities would be bound by whatever will be in the final TTIP treaty, there has been no impact assessment of the effects of TTIP on local authorities, neither has there been any consultation of local governments or organisations representing local governments. They have not been allowed to scrutinise negotiation documents. What is especially important for local authorities is that under TTIP procurements for goods and services would have to be tendered across the entire EU and US area. Very likely is that the winners would be multi-national corporations. Local firms simply would not get a look-in and money otherwise supporting the local ecnomy and providing local jobs would go elsewhere. And besides, under the ISDS clause in TTIP any attempt by a local authority to reverse this could result in the UK being sued before a secret ISDS tribunal. This has already happened I other countries (see Metaclad suing Mexico because Guadalcazar council turned down a hazardous waste dump). We would like Barnet to join the hundreds of local authorities across Europe have declared themselves TTIP-free zones including over 26 local authorities in the UK including Conservative-run North Somerset,, 64 in Spain 450 in France and 300 in Germany, including Barnet's twin town Siegen-Wittgenstein.

We have occupied the former West Hampstead Council Housing Advice office , that is still owned by Camden Council. It has been left empty for three years, while they were trying to sell the land to property developers. It will lay empty for another 1-2 years unless Camden Council agrees to our interim meanwhile lease use of this incredible 5 floor community resource. There are nearly 1.5 million empty buildings in the UK and we feel strongly that they should be used to create homes,community and environment projects. We are a collective of groups who have come together, to benefit the residents of Camden and London,who desperately need community space.We aim to help highlight solutions to the housing crisis.

It is important to the economy and confidence in Sierra Leone that British Airways reinstates flights to Sierra Leone. When the Ebola crisis hit Sierra Leone major airlines stopped flights. This led to the loss of thousands of jobs. It is now 10 days since Sierra Leone was declared Ebola free but British Airways have yet to re start flight http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/destinations/freetown/flights-to-freetown?clickpage=destinations-en--africa--index&kmtag=c&ban=||ACC|1|LNK15|||||CampID||||L2||||||| S/Leone in talks over London-Freetown flights Par KC/as/APACréé le 2015-11-23 16:22:17 The authorities in Sierra Leone are reportedly in talks for a new flight linking their capital Freetown and London as repeated requests for British Airways (BA) to resumes its services remain fruitless. BA first suspended its flights to Freetown on August 2014, claiming fears of a possible transmission of the Ebola virus. That followed reports of cases where the disease was reported in foreign countries through air travel. However, over two weeks after Sierra Leone was declared free of the virus, the airline is reluctant to resume flights to the country. The new flight in the pipeline, according to the pro-government Torchlight newspaper in Freetown, which on Monday criticized the British government over BA`s continued reluctance, will be provided by Kevin McPhilips Travels. About seven airlines subsequently suspended flights to Freetown during the peak of the epidemic, but almost all of them, with the exception of BA, have since resumed flying to Freetown. BA has been a major concern because it was the only one linking directly the two cities. “Sierra Leoneans felt abandoned by the former colonial masters when even an attempt by Gambia Bird Airlines to resume direct flights was met with stiff rejection from the British government,” the Torchlight said in its Monday editorial. The paper said if all goes as planned, the new airline is scheduled to commence flight between Lungi International Airport in Freetown and Gatwick in London in December. But, Tony Rogers, who in February 2015 worked at the British-built Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Center in Freetown, finds the suspension of the flights as an “unjust” attempt at isolating the country. Rogers therefore set up an online petition on the site 38 Degrees. “I understand that there has been an enormous economic impact of loss of tourism and commercial trade by the airlines such as British Airways. “I understand that some airlines have returned but British Airways remains sadly reticent regarding reinstating flights,” the UK nurse told APA in an emailed statement. KC/as/APA - APANEWS

At present, there is no recognised method for nil tax disabled vehicles displaying the Blue Badge, to be easily identified by Traffic Wardens or Parking Attendants. Since tax discs are no longer displayed, it is necessary to send individual Councils proof of tax exemption, for the entire journey and hope that they pass the information on to the relevant officials, to avoid the vehicle being subject to a parking fine.

Numbers have been depleated to unsafe levels

In a world traumatised by acts of terror, we should only ever divide ourselves into those people who live their lives in love of their fellow man, woman and child and those who live by hate and fear. Never by colour, belief or geographic location. We are strongest if we stand together, side by side, against those who would divide us with extremism and terror. Those who would break us will often attempt to turn their victims against each other. Let's remember that we're in this together. And together, as one people is the only way we can win.