The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUNHSFT) is responsible for five hospitals across East Kent. In a recent meeting with the interim CEO of the trust, Chris Bown, 38 Degrees members learned that A&E and maternity services were at risk of closure. He stated that “current provision is unsustainable in East Kent”. He warned that there will be proposals released early next year that will be "radical and substantial". He added that the proposals will be "politically controversial" and that he fully expected public protest. A&E and maternity services were highlighted as particularly vulnerable. Chris Bown’s previous six month appointment at Stafford Hospital resulted in the loss of the hospital’s A&E and consultant led maternity services. He has been given a twelve month contract at EKHUNHSFT to carry out similar cuts. It would be totally unacceptable to close or cut any of Kent’s A&E departments in Ashford, or Thanet They serve a large and growing population and the closure of one, let alone two, would result in greatly increased journey times leading to unnecessary deaths. Likewise, retaining the existing consultant led maternity services at all sites is essential for the safety of mothers and new born babies. Closure of any of the existing services will place unmanageable strain on the rest of East Kent’s health provision. The safety of East Kent residents cannot be allowed to be compromised in this way.

On 14th September the Vice Chancellor and Student Services Director at the Open University announced plans to close seven English regional centres in Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Gateshead and London. They claim this is with the aim of putting students first and giving them a better support services experience. 500 highly qualified, experienced and dedicated staff members stand to lose their jobs or face having to compete to retain their posts at another location with all the disruption this causes. Worst of all is that their academic and student support expertise would be lost. The Open University has already closed one regional centre and transferred student services from a regional to a faculty based model. This already means that students who once could have all their support needs met in one team might now have to contact as many as four separate teams for this. Increasing reliance on online resources also leaves students floundering when they could previously speak to a student support expert as a first resort. The plans to close offices and jettison staff teams with as much as 190 years of academic and student support experience among them, for new, inexperienced staff working in call centre conditions are only likely to further reduce the quality of service students can expect

Jamaican campaigners and parliamentarians are calling on the UK government to apologise for Britain's role in the Atlantic Slave Trade and colonial theft, and to contribute reparations to help tackle the lasting damage that slavery and colonialism have done.

In the 18 years I have lived in Norfolk there have been a substantial number of accidents that have resulted in death and serious injury on the A148 due to poor visibility and failure to give way. There have been two serious accidents at this junction in the last week and I have also been personally affected by this issue when my parents were involved in a crash in the same location a few years ago. On the 14th of May 2006 a pedestrian died after an accident and on the 1st of March 2010 a woman died and two others were seriously injured in a collision with a JCB tractor. This is just two of many more fatal crashes on the crossroad and just two of the many people who have been killed. The crossroad is far too dangerous and I do not want to see more people lose their lives and loved ones. A roundabout would calm traffic and certainly reduce accidents.

Hundreds of children and young people with autism/learning disabilities and mental health problems across the uk are being shipped miles away from their families because there are no provisions in their own locality. As Norman Lamb said " we wouldn't ship a child hundreds of miles away for a broken leg, why are we doing to children with mental health problems." This has disastrous consequences for not only the child, but their loved ones. Often families find it financially difficult to travel, emotionally draining having to listen to their loved one heartbroken in an unfamiliar environment 100s of miles from home, their condition often deteriorates leaving their recovery period much longer and more painful, children are often drugged and restrained as a means of treatments (control) This barbaric treatment has to stop, children should be in their own locality and received the necessary treatment they need surrounded by their family. If no such provision is available then bespoke placements should be built around the home locality of that child and specialist experts in their condition be available. Children and young people have a voice and should be heard, they should be listened to and every effort made to adhere to their wishes and feelings and not ignored and dismissed as the NHS says EVERY CHILD MATTERS!!!!

Brighton and Hove receives an invaluable service from this department. Any reduction in its' services will lead to pain and misery for both animals and humans in the community. Charities such as the RSPCA cannot manage this workload alone!

A Saudi pro democracy teenage protester lost his appeal against a death sentence by crucifixion, and could be killed at any time. The justice ministry still says that it would not be in the “wider interests of the British government” to withdraw the bid at this late stage. The UK cannot condone the abuses taking place in the Saudi system because of its financial interests! It is urgent to pressure the Justice Ministry to DROP THE BID and save a life. Read more about this here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/29/the-uk-interest-in-saudi-prisons-and-why-corbyn-opposes-it

The offer of affordable fresh fruit and vegetables should be available at all hospital sites, surely it's preferable to have a healthy option than having fast food or snacks and chocolates. The fruit and vegetables are sold by local people who are in danger of losing their jobs, but this is also about supporting our local economy.

PCSO’s are a critical component in helping to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour across London and they are making people feel safer in their homes and within their communities. We ask you to please act now to keep our PCSO’s in place carrying out their often heroic jobs making Londoners safe.

Syrian refugees are living in desperate and degrading conditions in Calais. These people have survived deadly journeys out of Syria - many through Turkey, by boat to Greece and then smuggled into France in the hope of being reunited with family members in the UK. Now they're surviving on the cold steps of Calais. A friend and I were personally moved by the situation in Calais, enough so that we decided to go and spend a few days there. During that time, we got to know the Syrian people who have camped in front of the church in town and asked them if they could give us an idea of how many Syrians there are in Calais. They said they didn't know so we suggested that we collect names. One of the Syrian guys took it upon himself to compile this list, which consisted of handwritten names of all the people camped in town and in the "Jungle". The names added to 269. Two hundred and sixty nine on the 6th of September 2015. That's 269 Syrian people who have made it this far and seek only safety and the love of a family member who is already in the UK. We ask David Cameron MP to review the situation of the Syrians in France and to allow them refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.

There are so many unfortunate families out there who struggle to finance healthy, nutritious meals for their children let alone finance any food at all. A daily free school dinner could be the difference between a child surviving and starving to death. Just think how much pressure this will take off the parent who is struggling, worrying, preying for a bit of help, All children deserve a healthy, nutritious diet not just the smaller generation or children who come from more fortunate back grounds. We have homeless shelters and open kitchens for adults and such like so why shouldn't we be giving back to the children too? Children are vulnerable and should not be taken for granted they deserve the option!

A large agricultural anaerobic digestion plant is planned in East Lothian, between Longniddry and Ballencrieff on the B1377. The plant will convert energy crops and agricultural by products into gas which will be fed into the national grid. It will be the largest agricultural (non-food) in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK, three times the size of the current largest agricultural plant. We believe the plant will have a detrimental effect on the local environment, and pose serious risks to wildlife. Other issues such as increased HGV traffic, noise, and odour will also be of concern to local residents and commuters along this road alike. The site sits in an area of outstanding natural beauty, with the size, and especially height of the development far in excess of any other nearby structures. It will also sit less than 400m from residential property. The proposals are not yet on the online planning portal, but we expect them to be very soon. There will be a short window where objections can be lodged against the proposal and we will provide more details as they become available.