How many of you with a landline actually use it? Ofcom proposed an upto 8% cost reduction, yet the costs have just gone up by 6%+!! Ofcom produced a report that proposed the reduction in the costs of landline rentals over a number of years. At the time of the Ofcom report, 11th July 2013, the wholesale cost of a landline was £93.27 per annum or £7.77 per month. These are phone lines rented from BT by the likes of Sky, and then re-sold to Sky subscribers at a cost of £196.80 per annum or £16.40 Ex VAT per month (current price after latest price rise). The current landline rental price from Sky Is £16.40 Ex VAT per month and that's a rise of 6.49% on last years cost - yet Ofcom proposed a reduction in these rental costs! Ofcom stated in its published article 11th July 2013, and I quote: "Wholesale line rental: the regulated wholesale price today is £93.27 per year. Under Ofcom's proposals the prices will fall in real terms by between CPI - 2% and CPI - 8% every year" and if the proposal was successful the reduction in charges would come into effect on 1 April 2014 and run until 31 March 2017. CPI = Consumer Price Index. See full details of Ofcom's proposals here:http://media.ofcom.org.uk/news/2013/new-prices-for-landline-and-broadband-services/ What happened to Ofcom's proposals as monthly costs for landlines are still rising? Perhaps this text below explains the price rises?! According to a BBC article; Latest figures from the regulator, Ofcom, show that consumers spent three billion minutes fewer on their landlines in the year to June 2014, a reduction of 12.7% in one year alone. As a result, operators lost out on £85m of revenue compared with the previous year. "Call volumes are declining," said James Barford of Enders Analysis. "People are using Facebook or WhatsApp, or even email if they're a little old-fashioned, so operators are having to recover their costs from increased line rental," he added. see full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30251029 The landline price increases: Sky: up by 6.49% to £16.40 a month BT: up 6.25% to £16.99 Virgin Media: up 6.25% to £16.99 Talk Talk: up 4.7% to £16.70 Why are the costs of landlines still rising and what happened to Ofcom's proposals to reduce the costs of landlines? We all understand that companies have to make money but making a margin of £103.53 per year, per landline, per customer is scandalous, especially when the likes of Sky do not have to do any work or maintain the landline, as they pass this job back to BT. We do understand there are processing costs associated with these charges though!! Let's put this into context:- SKY have 5.3 million subscribers who need a landline to receive the full TV service from Sky and use their broadband services. So, all the subscribers have a phone line, thats 5,300,000 x £103.53 (Sky's margin on landlines) = £548,709,000.00 income from landlines per year! That's over HALF A BILLION plus revenue, per year from landline charges! BT, Virgin and Talk Talk are making vast amounts of money as well from landline rentals per month. There where as of December 2013 - 22.6 Million residential and SME broadband connections - do the maths at £103.53 margin per connection! See full details here: http://media.ofcom.org.uk/facts/ 'Margin' is the amount of money made by Sky when charging for a landline:£16.40 x 12 = £196.80 less the £93.27 quoted by Ofcom = £103.53 Margin. What about the elderly that don't have SKY TV or Talk Talk TV or BT TV/Sports? These are people that need a landline to stay in contact with family and the outside world? The fact that it costs them £16.99 + VAT per month or £203.88 +VAT per annum for a landline from BT is outrageous. Is it any wonder some elderly people will not put the heating on? They probably can't afford it when they are paying £16.99 + VAT a month NOT TO TALK! In 1995 BT ran an advertising campaign with the late great Bob Hoskins and the strap line was "It's good to talk". Their next advert should use No Doubt's song 'Don't Speak' as the backing track and they should have a Dick Turpin character holding a sign with the strap line "It's great for us!" or they could pay Bork to use her version of the song 'It's Oh So Quiet" with an elderly person in a cold house, staring at the landline telephone!! The more people that sign the petition the better. "Come on BT, Sky, Talk Talk and Virgin, show some community spirit and immediately reduce the costs for landlines for the elderly and for those who need landlines to communicate with the outside world because they are house bound. Individually we can moan about the costs of landlines, sign the petition and collectively we could get cost reductions as proposed by Ofcom. Please sign. Thank You Philip Smith-Lawrence

The small amount we receive in profit is apart of our Welfare State and should go back to the few public services we have left. Our Government seems to be trying very hard to privatise our NHS and ALL of our transport services and the ten million pound yearly profit from the Eurostar should play a small part in financing what our nation needs the most. The money made from selling it will disappear very quickly and we will never know how that money was spent. Every time we have privatised a public service, such as the Royal Mail, the estimated profit was never reached and it just so happens that George Osborn's close friend, Peter Davies bought the most shares. Interestingly, very few other share holders made any profit where Davie's is said to have made £18 million. It is important that our politicians realise that if they sell everything the State owns, then there will be nothing left to help the Nation in benefits, health and education. These are fundamental issues that are not being looked at enough by our Government and the Eurostar is just one example of how, little by little, our Welfare State is being shredded to pieces. Please sign this petition in the hope that this will play a role in saving our services. We shouldn't sell business's that generate any kind of profit which could be put back into our system.

It's important that the Inland Revenue are fair to the tax payer. Collecting for days you didn't use the car on the road feels like theft. I got caught twice because I have a private number plate. I had to pay road tax for the vehicle I was buying on 14th November. By the time all the documents were returned & I took delivery of the new car on 2nd December, I lost the whole month. I correctly sent off the sale part of the V5 for my old car on 2nd December but won't get a refund for any of December, it's unfair.

Our rural roads are becoming lethal to everyone . Many have no pavements.Both drivers, horseriders, cyclists, horses, pedestrians are being killed or injured on a regular basis. Animals are also getting slaughtered on the road such as horses, donkeys, dogs. Outside some stables many rural roads are 60mph and horses have to get across the road. Some rural roads have become residential after farms are becoming family homes and yet the road can be 60mph. Many parents do not allow their children to walk along the country roads as the roads are so fast., and there is an obesity epidemic. Elderly and disabled people struggle to walk on the roads to get to their letterbox. Commuters risk their lives every time they walk to the station or bus stop. Massive HGVS and coaches now use narrow country lanes adding to the hazard. It is time for change.

Lord Malloch Brown, the former UN deputy secretary-general and a crossbench peer, said if Lansley got the job it would be a sign Cameron had used the global organisation for a “political dumping”. He told Channel 4: “This is one of the most difficult, important jobs in the world. There are millions of people in desperate situations from Ebola victims to victims of war in Syria who are highly dependent on the humanitarian activities of the UN. It’s an act of great cynicism to allow someone who does not have background and qualification in this area to be put forward.”

Having a site near Basildon Hospital will save vital minutes between onset of illness to the patient receiving specialist medical care in hospital. Therefore it is paramount that in the case of cardiac arrests and other heart problems; there is a dedicated landing site allowing these patients the best chance of survival. It would be a tragedy if this crucial and life-saving service lost its ability to serve our community. The Essex Air Ambulance team are attending an increasing number of cardiac arrest cases and for them to lose their ability to do their work is something we should all make a stand against.

The role of this UN secretary is vitally important in saving lives and livelihoods in emergencies that arise as a result of man-made and natural disasters. It is a post that requires experience, and knowledge of international relief efforts and diplomatic skills to permit the co-ordination of relief efforts by various nations at a time of great need. Lansley does not have such experience or knowledge and he is not a trained diplomat.

At present voters in the UK do not have an option to indicate their lack of confidence in any of the candidates (or their parties). If they write their concerns on a ballot paper it is treated as a spoilt paper. I believe we should have the right to express our views if we feel that none of the candidates are suitable to become members of parliament.

I've just watched PETA's shocking video about fur farms in "Origin Assured" countries (http://petauk.org/originassured) and I can't understand why Harvey Nichols continues to support animal cruelty. Video footage shows how on fur farms in Finland, Sweden, the US and other Origin Approved countries, animals such as raccoons, rabbits and minks are kept in filthy wire cages, sometimes alongside the rotting corpses of other animals, and are often left to suffer from open, untreated wounds and even missing limbs. Please support this campaign and share it via soical media Thanks Tom

John Swinney promised his would be the 'greenest government ever'. Yet he's come out in clear support of fracking, a new way of extracting yet more dirty fossil fuels, just when the UK should be leading the world in moving to clean renewable power. I call on John Swinney to focus on clean, safe and renewable energy solutions instead. I call on you all to reconsider your position on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, immediately and instead champion energy sources which do not risk our global climate, local environment or our health. in the parish of Airth ( Letham) 7 people i know have bowel cancer i lady aged 86 ( my mother in law) died of it in 2010 my ex husband + 1 living in Letham have skin cancer , an have both had 3 opeartiontoremove living tissue numerous people living and working in Letham have kidney cancer and other ailments the govt insisted at Aorth Castle last week that they could issues CPOs to the local farmers this is not a greener Scotland this is a death sentence Signed, Sonia McLay

The Crystal Palace Stadium is part of our athletics heritage and is an important training facility for aspiring athletes as it has an outdoor & indoor track. This stadium has hosted major sporting events for decades, and could continue to do so for many years to come if development of the site retains the Stadium & indoor training facilities

The governors and head have been meeting in secret with REAch2 over the past months and have decided to take this community school out of council control and into the private sector without so much as asking the parents for their views. This is not lawful and not in the best interests of the children. Let's tell them that we demand to be heard. Let them make their case to us. Let's not let them dictate that our children's education should be privatised. We would like answers to the following questions: 1) Why was the decision to seek academy status made in secret and without consultation? 2) When was this decision made, by whom, and with what outside influence? 3) What advice has the school received from Local Authority with regards to consultation? 4) At what point in the process where REAch2 selected as the trust? 5) What other trusts have made representations to our school? 6) Why was the decision to select REAch2 made in secret and without consultation? 7) What influence have they had on school policy and communications over the last several months? 8) What communications have the school received from the DfE and the LA on this subject?