The closure of respite care and transfers for after care from hospital to Winifred Kettle home in Westhoughton is very important to our community Many people have used the facilities of this wonderful care home over many years. The services of dedicated staff from cleaners, domestics, carers and managers is exemplary. We all may need the services in the future. The elderly population is increasing, but more homes are closing. Many carers are elderly themselves and circumstances do not allow them to look after loved ones. We must rally round together to put pressure on Bolton councillors to change their minds.

The cuts mean that in the cases of divorce and separation the spouse denied legal aid will be the one who cannot afford to go out to work because they are looking after young children. The spouse who can afford legal representation is the more likely to win the custody battle. In very many cases he or she is really not the best parent to look after the child/ren and the heartache for both the children and the better placed parent will be grossly unfair. This matter should most definitely NOT be a case whereby the parent who has the money to spend on the case is the victor. Lives will be severely blighted. Many in particular only see their children as a key to the door of the family home and do not have the children's interests at heart. The withdrawing of legal aid in these cases is grossly inhumane and really must not go ahead.

Its a no brainer. People are hungry and poor and food is being wasted. Three men were recently arrested for taking food from a supermarket skip, this food would be wasted and yet the needy get arrested for taking it.

The UK throws away over 5.3 million tonnes (£12 billion worth) of edible food each year. In a time of economic hardship its grotesque that such a huge quantity of food is wasted whilst more and more people are becoming reliant on food banks. Supermarkets are one of the worst contributors to food waste but rather than donate their excess food to charity, many supermarkets send it to landfill or to be incinerated. This is partly due to fear of prosecution should someone become ill and partly out of a desire to maintain their profit margins - if people are getting food for free then they don't need to buy it from you. At the most basic level people take food from bins out of desperation, because they need to eat to survive. However, many others rescue food because they wish to reduce their environmental impact or because of an anti-consumerist ideology. Many of these freegans donate rescued food to charity or share it with their friends, family and neighbours. Technically something which has been thrown away still belongs to the person who threw it out and taking it can be seen as theft. People who rescue food from bins are charged with "theft by finding" or similar offences. But how can someone "steal" food which has been thrown away and is destined to rot on a landfill site? Below are some links containing more information and details of some of the arrests and prosecutions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13037808 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6933744.stm http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-bin-raiders-revelations-on-waste-food-put-21st-century-scavengers-in-the-spotlight-8904765.html http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/28/three-charged-vagrancy-act-food-skip-iceland

This is important to me, because there's a lack of awareness that men can get raped or sexually assaulted despite the recent male rape attack in Bristol. According to UK charity Mankind 1 in 29 have reported being sexually assaulted and 1 in 20 have been affected by sexual violence. There's a huge denial that male rape exists, rooted in mistaken ideas that 'real' men can fight off an attacker, women cannot rape men, and male rape only happens in prison. These mistaken beliefs make it hard for male survivors to come forward, because they are left with feelings of shame, confusion and self blame for what happened. That's why we need the council and police to publicly recognise male rape to make it easier for male rape survivors to get the help they need and to report the crime.

Peter Lilley has been accused of lying and making deliberately misleading statements regarding fracking and its safety on national television (Channel 4 news 26/1/14). He was unable to adequately defend his statements. It is vitally important that any minister involved in such a sensitive area be trustworthy. He also has a conflict of interest as he is employed by Cayman Islands-based oil and gas company Tethys Petroleum and so has a vested interest in promoting fossil fuels and not investing in their alternatives.

Did you catch the Benefits Street programme on Channel 4? You'll find a benefits street in most towns or cities, particularly in the north of the country. Many of the students affected by this cut in funding will have not followed a straight forward path through education. They may not have achieved GCSEs in Maths and English; English might not be their first language at home; they may have been in care; they may have behaviour or learning difficulties; young women who have been pregnant; young people who live independently; young people who have suffered any emotional or socio-economic trauma, all generally take longer to progress compared to others from more privileged backgrounds. Sustaining Britain's benefits streets by denying young people, particularly those who've had tough start in life is just not right. These young people need help and support to gain qualifications and life skills to get that first job.

This is a very important facility which at present serves 7 Schools, 4 Day Centres, 6 Care Homes and about 135 individuals each week. The people using the Pool are aged from 6 months to 80+ and cover a very wide variety of disabilities and injuries. It has 2 Physiotherapists who do one to one sessions, some Aqua fit classes and of course the straightforward sessions for people unable to exercise in a normal swimming pool or on dry land. This facility keeps people mobile, in less pain, helps them recover from surgery, eases spasms and so many more wonderful benefits. It is the only facility fit for purpose in the Peterborough and surrounding area. We need you to keep funding it until an alternative is in place. Feel free to check out St George's Community Hydrotherapy Pool on http://www.sgchp.btck.co.uk/

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, ‘fracking’, is a way of extracting oil and/or gas. Water, sand and toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into underground rocks to shatter them. This releases the gas/oil which can be collected. But investing in carbon-intensive fossil fuels is a distraction from the need to decarbonise our electricity supply. And it's hazardous. Studies show that fracking pollutes water supplies (with arsenic and lead), causes earthquakes, and spoils local communities. And there are nightmare stories coming form the States. Like in the town of Dimock, PA, residents have reported their water turning so brown that it stains crockery. Their water was later found to contain methane, and a host of toxic chemicals. But it gets worse. "My son had sores up and down his legs from the water." " My daughter... would have to get out the of the shower and lay on the floor." Those are the words from Greg Saunter, a local resident, whose water supply was shut off for his own good. He cannot shower in his own home. Or drink water out of his taps. Fracking has ruined his life. It cannot happen here. We call on the council to preserve the quality of life of its residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

Children with ASD usually suffer with anxiety, but this can be increased massively due to not handling or coping with the children correctly. Increased anxiety in ASD children can then cause a "meltdown" or tantrum to occur which can last a long period of time and the effects of this usually result in the said child being excluded from School as they are now labeled violent and a Health & Safety risk. We are increasingly hearing of children being labeled and treated as "Naughty" by teachers simply because they do not have the ability to recognise or understand ASD and the impact that this has on the child. This is not the child’s fault but the way the situation is handled. We are seeing and hearing of an increasing number of children being penalised by mainstream schools for having a disability. They do not receive the correct level of help and support whilst in school due to the lack of teacher training. If all teachers received the appropriate level of training and support then all parties involved and most importantly the child, would benefit. Children are often left demoralised and anxious and feel picked on by their teachers. This is due to their teachers not getting the required training to help them cope more effectively with the challenging concept of handling these unique personalities. More importantly, parents are left fighting for understanding and help against budget cuts and the bureaucracy of Government departments and LEAs. Whilst this continues both the child and parents feel bullied by the LEA's and the Government’s lack of understanding of ASD which results in stress for parents and children and the officials getting defensive instead of dealing with what should be the common goal… the child’s welfare and education. This then causes years of struggles between the parents, schools and LEA's to try and get the correct level of support for the children themselves with the children and parents often made to feel like criminals. If a child has a physical disability such as being in a wheel chair, provisions are made for their disability to ensure they receive the appropriate level of education and core skills that can only be learned as a child. Why should it be any different for a disability that you can’t see? Why should it take so long for the professionals we trust our children with each day to recognise and understand the educational and developmental requirements of our beloved children? This shameful treatment of our ASD children who have to fight for the right to be understood, to have someone who understands what they are going through and is able to nurture not misunderstand when they are going through difficult stressful times that create sometimes violent outbursts. This can be changed by the government and LEAs who set the curriculum and have both the means and the power to ensure all children no matter whether black or white, physically disabled, able bodied or indeed mentally disabled, have the appropriately trained teachers and staff to help them develop to the best they can be. Give these children a chance by giving teachers the appropriate training to recognise, understand and help these children. They are neither naughty nor stupid, they are simply misunderstood. Help our teachers to help our children! This is appalling treatment of our children. Please help to put an end to it.

GP surgeries could lose up to 15 per cent of their income from April if some services they currently offer such as spirometry, ECG and 24-hour blood pressure are given to private providers. This financial loss could harm the overall work of the surgeries, while patients would have to travel further to access the privatised services. The threat of privatisation of LES services arises from the Government's unleashing of competition law on the NHS. But Stockport CCG should stand up to the pressure, as some other CCGs have done - we need to tell them this urgently, at their February 12 meeting.

With more than 5000 children already in temporary classrooms in Oxfordshire and an expected shortfall of around 1000 school places in the next two years, a funding gap of beyond £19m will have devastating effects on our children's schooling experience and the state of our schools We fear existing classrooms will be evermore cramped, increasing clutter, noise and stress levels. Where extensions have become un-fundable temporary classrooms might provide short term relief. But their cost can be up to a third of a new build, with an up to ten times shorter lifespan – not a good investment. And who is picking up the bill for exorbitant heating costs of temporary provisions? We fear some children will have to travel further where there is no space at their local or preferred school, breaking up friends groups, and generating costs where transport has to be provided, and traffic and pollution where it isn't. And it's not only classrooms that are affected - what will our expanding schools look like if halls - now deemed non-essential - are turned into classrooms, and new builds and conversions scrapped? School lunches in cramped classrooms, no room for PE in winter, no assemblies, no nativity play, no school community. With former play areas and sport fields sold off to generate funding or blocked by temporary classrooms, where are our future champions coming from, and where do our kids recharge their batteries to excel in their next lesson? Leaking roofs, crumbling walls and cramped conditions give a strong message to any school community: We don’t care about you. But as parents and voters we do care, and the state of our schools says a lot about the value we as a society place on our children's education - I would like my children to think that their school, and their learning, matters not only to me, but also to their government. Please convince us that it does. Below a list of schools at risk, with expansions scheduled between 20014-18 (source: Oxford Times, 21st of Jan): Bletchingdon Parochial CofE School Caldecott Primary School, Abingdon Charlton Primary School, Wantage Cutteslowe Primary School, Oxford Deddington CofE Primary School Faringdon Infant School and Junior School Fir Tree Junior School, Wallingford Frank Wise School, Banbury Grove CofE Primary School Hanwell Fields Community School, Banbury Harriers Banbury Academy Hill View Primary School, Banbury Hill View Primary School, Banbury Hook Norton Primary School John Hampden Primary School, Thame John Watson Special School, Wheatley Larkrise Primary School, Oxford Longfields Primary School and Nursery, Bicester Mabel Pritchard Special School, Oxford Marcham Primary School Matthew Arnold School, Cumnor Hill Queensway Primary School, Banbury St Christopher’s CofE Primary School, Oxford St Ebbe’s CofE Primary School St Francis CofE Primary School, Oxford St Gregory the Great Catholic School, Oxford St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Oxford St Michael’s CofE Primary School, Steventon St Swithun’s CofE Primary School, Kennington Watchfield Primary School William Fletcher Primary School, Yarnton Windmill Primary School, Oxford Wolvercote Primary School, Oxford Woodstock CofE Primary School