Seafarers’ union Nautilus has applied to demolish this grand Edwardian home for sailors' widows, which stands on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool’s famous waterfront World Heritage Site. The imposing brick and stone Andrew Gibson House was completed in 1906 to provide a sanctuary for the widows of elderly sailors and men lost at sea, and was the gift of a wealthy Liverpool cotton merchant. Built by individual philanthropy and maintained by the collective contributions of individual Union members, the building represents a unique piece of Britain's maritime and welfare history. It stands in its own landscaped grounds with unrivalled waterfront views and is owned by the merchant navy union Nautilus, formerly NUMAST, that has managed the building and its extensive Marine Park retirement and convalescent estate for over a century. Until about a decade ago the building was in use, but it has since been left empty and has become increasingly derelict. Nautilus has now applied to the local authority, Wirral MBC, for prior approval to demolish the complex. The Council will meet to determine the decision in the next two weeks. Surprisingly, the building is unlisted, and the prominent site is likely to be sold for the development of waterside flats. The building has already demonstrated that it is ideal for repurposing to apartments, indeed the local authority has already granted permission for conversion, and has approved permission for some enabling development on the grounds. We urge Nautilus to work with the local authority, Wirral MBC, that supports renovation. In addition, there has been interest from several developers and at least three housing associations to convert the building. The building remains in essentially good order, requiring mainly remedial works to its roof and services, and it would be inexplicable and inexcusable for Nautilus to knock it down.

The fur trade is so sick and cruel that it has now been made illegal to produce fur in the UK. Unfortunately, there are still a few shops, such as Coco Blush in Pontypridd, who place 'fashion' above ethics. I've attempted to contact the manager to ask her in person, but she refuses to return my calls or answer my messages. I intend to gather as many signatures as I can, in a bid to show Coco Blush just how many people think they should change their ways. I'm hoping that this will show them how we feel, without having to launch full scale protests... Please sign and share, if you ,too, think that Coco Blush should stop selling Fur in their Pontypridd branch, as well as in the rest of their stores.

Special Support Centres (SSCs) provide a unique and dedicated educational environment for children with moderate to complex learning difficulties who are deemed unsuitable for mainstream education.

It’s been a while coming but it has been revealed that TerraQuest has been chosen by DCLG to partner with them in a joint venture to provide the ongoing delivery and commercialisation of the Planning Portal service. This has been quietly processed to avoid the public having their say. The joint venture has claimed it will not charge applicants or LPAs for using the Portal’s 1App planning application service [yet] and that a new and improved 1App and website will be delivered by TerraQuest’s prime subcontractor Civica, later in 2015. They say existing service will remain in place until the new website is launched – they promise there will be no disruption to the public, but how can privatisation of a core planning service be in the public interest? It is the intention to transfer staff to the new business before the end of the financial year however the JV is subject to final negotiation and therefore any questions regarding the process of commercialisation should be urgently directed to the Minister to question how the government can justify this conflict and prevent this public service being privatised. Why privatise something that is not intended to make money and that is presently free to everyone?

It is a vital service for elderly people with Dementia/Alzheimer's and should stay open. This centre is situated in Ainsdale, Southport. It is the only Dementia specialist care centre in a catchment area of approximately 150,000 people. The council proposes to close it and move everybody across to another centre. This unit with specialist trained staff provides a day care service for older people with Alzheimer's and Dementia and deals with cases from early onset to the later stages of the illness. It provides a vital life-line for carers giving them the required respite whilst being assured of the safety, health and well-being of their loved ones at the centre. The centre is geographically perfectly placed in the middle of the areas it services. Please look at the response on our Facebook page 'Friends of Brookdale' https://www.facebook.com/brookdaledaycentre

"Several biologists regard Bishopsteignton as having ... greater biodiversity than any other parish in Devon" The local green spaces within the village add to the biodiversity of the Parish. The green space at The Lawns/Lawns End is no exception, with this beautiful area providing a vital role in the health and well being of both human and non-human residents of the village alike. The Lawns/Lawns End is an asset which is available to all and enjoyed by many residents. It offers a wide range of recreational and health benefits, both physical and mental wellbeing. Including dog walking, walking, sporting activities, picnicking, nature discovery, relaxation, and the general enjoyment of simply being outdoors. The Lawns/Lawns End is also of significant value to wildlife. It supports the grey long-eared bat, which is one of the rarest bats in the UK (and protected by European Law) by providing foraging and navigational routes. This bat has a maternity roost immediately adjacent to the Lawns/Lawns End which "is the biggest in Britain, and therefore of top national conservation importance". It also supports a species rich birdlife and is located within a known breeding territory of the rare Cirl bunting, which is a Wildlife and Countryside Act Schedule 1 species. Cirl buntings were once widespread and locally common across much of southern England, but are now rare and very range restricted. Bishopsteignton is an important area for this species.

Because these charges would impede local businesses, especially hoteliers and guesthouse owners, whose guests would have to pay for parking whilst another hotel's guests down the road would not. One hotelier calculated that the parking charges would cost £8,000 per year, due to the amount of time their staff would spend explaining the parking situation to guests and administering permits.

Anyone listening to the recent BBC Radio 4 File On Four's episode entitled 'Benefit Sanctions' will have been shocked at reports that Benefit Sanctions, i.e. the withdrawal of state benefits, a procedure designed to discourage benefit claimants from avoiding realistic job opportunities, are often being imposed on claimants who are suffering genuinely debilitating, often chronic, physical and mental disabilities. These sanctions invariably entail an automatic withdrawal of benefits without a fair trial. The DWP guidance about hardship payments actually officially accepts hunger and a deterioration in health as an inevitable consequence of a sanction. On a personal note, a friend who manages a local homeless drop-in centre which, among other things, provides hot food, informs me that staff there are seeing a marked increase in the number of service users who are suffering from such conditions as clinical depression, schizophrenia and a whole range of physical disorders and who have had their benefits withdrawn for reasons which, considering their state of health, are neither fair nor reasonable. This is often leaving them penniless, unable to buy food and there have been more and more cases where these people are losing their accommodation and having to sleep rough. The impact on the mental health as well as the physical condition of those affected is often disastrous. This is happening nationally. These people often have little or no ability, let alone opportunity to defend themselves effectively against these sanction decisions and the result is very real suffering. Sometimes the lives of the most vulnerable are actually being put at risk. It is the mark of a decent society that we help and support those genuinely unable to look after themselves. We call on the Department of Works and Pensions to put a stop to this compassionless injustice.

"Failed" asylum seekers are prohibited from working and will not have the resources to present themselves in Liverpool. The effect of this ruling will be to make appeals virtually inaccessible to "failed" asylum seekers. In the past many asylum claims have been upheld on appeal.

Many people have called out the company to repair and get left worse of then they were. My neighbour left with no heating for two weeks, they then came in meant to have fixed, broke again was told had to wait again for a new part. Run up a huge electric bill due to borrowing heaters. I myself no heating radiators half heating again had to wait for parts. A single mother brought them in waited again 3 weeks, many more young mums and elderly being left to wait. And always the same excuse no parts. Please look into this and sort it.

Background David suffers a bipolar disorder, his condition is well controlled with medication and family support but oddly enough this story is not only about David, it is also about his Uganda born wife Mary (not her real name). Mary was an asylum seeker who went through the proper channels to request asylum in the UK. It was during this time that she met David and love blossomed. Mary's asylum request was refused and in 2005 she was deported from the UK separating her from David. In 2006 David pursued Mary to Uganda and they were legally married. David and Mary applied again as a married couple for Mary to be permitted to live in the UK, because of her deportation history, she was refused permission. David has been reluctant to raise the profile of the case, for fear it might reignite problems for his wife with the authorities in Uganda, hence we have changed her name in this story. David sought help from his local MP Rosie Cooper, she liaised with the then immigration minister Liam Byrne MP. David was advised in a letter that he had to appeal the refusal decision, but as long as their marriage was legally recognised in Uganda and the UK, there would be no problem. The case was represented by a barrister who failed to disclose the existence of the letter from Liam Byrne MP. The appeal was refused based seemingly only on the past asylum history. David has considered emigrating to Uganda, but his medical condition is not treatable in Uganda. He returns to the UK frequently for medication and the trips play havoc with his medical condition. Between visits to Uganda to be with his wife, David continues to campaign to get permission for her to enter this country legally and is currently receiving the support of John Pugh MP for Southport in his quest for justice. Other information In a recent EU legal case the judge ruled that foreign families of EU citizens cannot be stopped from moving to Britain http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2878913/Millions-given-right-UK-court-rules-EU-workers-free-bring-families-from.html Yet David and Mary are still struggling to get justice. Please help them in their quest for fairness and justice by signing the petition.

We are petitioning the London Borough of Southwark to stop destroying trees, open spaces and graves in Camberwell Old and New Cemeteries and make the cemeteries nature reserves. Southwark Council is destroying the woods and graves of Camberwell Old and New Cemeteries for the largest grave mounding and excavation project in UK history. Southwark Council is destroying 12 acres of woodland, mounding over tens of thousands of public graves then excavating every grave over 75 years old for 'new' inner city burial. These woods are the lungs of London. These graves are our history and our heritage. We want the Camberwell Cemeteries saved and declared Local Nature Reserves, as Nunhead, Highgate, and Tower Hamlets Cemeteries now are, with the graves and monuments protected with respect for the dead, and woods for the living.