TRAVELLERS AND GYPSIES ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF CHANGES TO THE LEGAL AID SYSTEM.WE NEED THE LAW TO BE CHANGED

Local and Live 2014 was, I'm sure you'll agree, a fabulous success. Whilst we all enjoyed the fabulous music and the excellent organisation this year, most of us are aware of just how difficult it has been for Paul and his team to deal with garnering financial support and all the other issues involved in putting on an event like this. We hope that by asking for your help and support to be noted to TWBC at this stage, any detractors or obstacles to the event being held again in 2015 will be lessened and positive support and publicity can start now.

Based on data from the ‘Crime Survey for England and Wales’ around 473,000 adults were victims of sexual offences (around 404,000 females and 72,000 males) on average per year from 2009-2012 (Sexual Offending in England and Wales, 2013). 90% of victims of the most serious sexual offences reported they knew the perpetrator, yet only 15 per cent of victims of such offences said that they had reported it to the police. Stating that it was ‘embarrassing’, they ‘didn’t think the police could do much to help’, that the incident was ‘too trivial or not worth reporting’, or that they saw it as a ‘private/family matter and not police business’. We must learn from the tragic case of Frances Andrade, who tragically died at her home in Guildford, Surrey in January 2013, just a week after giving evidence in court about historical sexual abuse by her former choirmaster. Her husband, Levine Andrade, 59, found his wife, known as Fran, dead at 8am on 24 January last year. He said, "Apart from the trial bringing it all back up she felt the defence barrister seemed to be attacking her personally. "It got her completely down and she felt completely defenceless. I think she felt she was not prepared enough for the trial. She was not expecting to be attacked personally and have to answer so many direct questions in public. Much more needs to be done to provide and promote professional high-quality support services to help victims move on with their lives. Only when victims have sufficient support can they make the choice to go through the criminal justice system. More importantly victims must have sufficient professional support to endure the often lengthy and protracted court process. In the policy 'Ending violence against women and girls in the UK' it stated that the government would part-fund 87 independent sexual violence advisers and pledging £1.2 million for 3 years from 2012 to improve services. The problem is this funding will end in 2015 and 87 part-funded ISVA's are far from adequate for the number of victims we have in the UK. We need to put this on the public and government agenda before the next elections.

Using these solar conductors will be a benefit to raising the proportion of renewable eletricity sales under the Utilities Act of 2000 and it is only a matter of time until these windows get created commercially - no doubt at a great price. The future revenue created by these solar-windows will far exceed it's expenditure, not to mention the benefit of jobs created in the short-term. With the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff in 2010 people will be able to buy and install these themselves and the UK government will lose out on selling vast amounts of energy back to the grids. As a citizen I would love to harness the energy myself and live off-grid but this petition is not for me, it is for the future of the UK's energy sector and the general land itself. With certain moves in place to try and start mass shale gas "fracking" I am genuinely afraid of the effects this will have to our water supplies, energy prices and the general geography of our country. As the environment minister you are obliged to ease the minds of those of us who are closely watching how you are ensuring the UK are at the forefront of sustainable development and that you actually care about climate change.

At the moment the law favours developers, who can cast doubt on boundaries and have the resources to pursue such claims. Planners rely on a prescriptive set of measurements and rules which limit their ability to make ethical judgements. Councillors equally err in favour of planners to avoid expensive litigation. Neighbours who are unable to fund a challenge are easily disregarded. Currently planning applications are being passed despite boundary disputes, causing immense distress to residents in neighbouring properties who can object but are told by planning officers that there is no requirement for applicants to demonstrate ownership of land being developed.

This is an issue that must not be allowed to 'fall out of the news' again. The new head of the enquiry must be someone who has no perceived conflicts of interest and must be able to win the trust of alleged victims who are speaking out. You have promised MPs. that there is "a relentless commitment" to track down paedophiles and online child abusers. The public are not convinced that this is true.

Too many kids are being left un-supported by the education system just because theres no label or diagnosis does not mean kids who need support needs should get left and more importantly left unsupported.

1. This is a lifeline road for the west coast communities. The A9 is an unacceptable alternative. 2. Their are far too many accidents - many fatal - on this road 3. Between Crianlarich and Fort Augustus there is no real alternative route following the many closures this road suffers. 4. Lorries and buses/coaches frequently have difficulty passing; in particular on the Loch Lomondside section between Tarbet and Inverarnan. 5. The road surface does not meet 21st Century standards - despite many repairs/patches - costing drivers for the repairs to their vehicles.

The current plans to extend the M4 motorway will put otters, rare bees and wildflowers at risk. It would cut across the 'Amazon Rainforest' of Wales, the Gwent Levels, which is a haven for wildlife. Traffic around Newport needs to be improved but it would be better for Wales and the environment if the Welsh government invests in public transport instead. If we want to protect the environment for future generations we need to come up with alternatives to big polluting motorways. The Assembly's own environmental regulator and advisory body, Natural Resources Wales, is against these plans.

Closing schools on Thursdays causes maximum difficulties for child care, disrupts education if an extra day is not put into the term time.

It was "born" in Tredegar & vital for the health and welfare of the whole of the UKs population and should remain as it was intended. FREE for the people

The planning law below permits a single A4 notice somewhere near the site to be the only notification required to inform rural residents and local communities of an application for large, commercial wind turbine; no letters, no leaflets, no press notices. This is because the size of the base area permits it to be classified as a ‘minor’ application. This means many residents would never get an opportunity to submit objections within the 21 day ‘deadline’ due to their age, infirmity and isolation or simply by not hearing about it. Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure)(Wales) Order 2012 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2012/801/made The relevant extract from that legislation is in the section: (5) and (6) Publicity for applications for planning permission, Part 2 – Applications.