The right to protest is a human right. The changes proposed in part III of the Home Office's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill (published 9/3/21) will give the police and government powers to silence protests, whether a protest of 1 or a protest of 10,000. Whereas the previous powers (Public Order Act 1986) have allowed police to restrict demonstrations that risked serious public disruption, serious disorder or serious damage to property, the new bill adds additional justifications for restrictions: noise and the potential for ‘impact’. It also increases the opportunity for protestors to be prosecuted if they fail to comply with restrictions they are unaware of, and in broadening the definition of what constitutes a protest. Protests are noisy events - they are designed to demonstrate the public's feelings, many of those people may be marginalised from mainstream politics, with this their only way of being heard. They are designed to make an impact! The proposed changes are a clear attempt by the government to prevent dissenting voices being heard. In addition the changes proposed reduce future scrutiny by parliament through the use of statutory instruments, undermining the democratic process and placing the decision as to whether a protest can go ahead in the hands of the Home Secretary. These changes restrict the rights and freedoms of people from all sides of the political spectrum to assert their human and democratic right to protest. The Bill has its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 15th and the first vote on Tuesday 16th March - urgent action is required. Please sign, share and write to your MP (link below). Links & photo credit: 1. https://www.politics.co.uk/comment/2021/03/11/silencing-black-lives-matter-priti-patels-anti-protest-law/?cmpredirect 2. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0268/200268.pdf 3. https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP 4. Photo: Police Barricade, Parliament Square cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Nigel Mykura - geograph.org.uk/p/2327817

Young single parent families are up to £66.13 worse off per month under Universal Credit compared with the legacy system - a drop of 20%. This is because rules have been changed so that single parents under 25s no longer receive the same rate as over 25s. People under 25 are entitled to a lower allowance of benefits than people aged 25 and over, but before Universal Credit was introduced there was an exemption for single parents in recognition of the cost of caring for a child alone. Now, that exemption has been removed. For parents receiving benefits this means a drop in their family budget when they move to Universal Credit – often through no choice of their own, and with little or no warning. Children in single parent families (92% of which are headed by women) are already twice as likely to be living in poverty than other children. We all want all children to have the best start in life – but this isn’t possible when there is inequality built into the safety net which is meant to be there to keep families afloat when times are hard. Denying young single parents the same level of social security penalises children on the basis of their parent’s age and pushes young families into poverty. We, and many parents we work with, think this is unfair, unjustified, and needs to be reversed as a matter of urgency. Find out more about the campaign and why it's important to young single parents and their children here: https://opfs.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/campaigns/end-the-young-parent-penalty/

Huge and illegal volumes of sewage continue to blight Whitburn. 760,000 tonnes of untreated sewage were discharged into the sea at Whitburn in 2019. Sewage pollution is a contributor to climate change. Background Our sea life at Whitburn is being destroyed by Sewage; the rock pools at Whitburn beach once teemed with wildlife but are now barren. The dolphins that are sighted daily swimming near the sewage overflow are forced to make their way through a soup of sewage when discharges are taking place. The seagrass meadows in the nearby River Tyne estuary have been devastated by sewage flowing from nearby Combined Sewer Overflows. https://bit.ly/3bHG7db Seagrasses can absorb more carbon up to 40 faster than terrestrial forests and these ecosystems become sources of CO2 emissions when they are degraded or destroyed. A major driver of seagrass decline is nutrient pollution from sewage. Discharge levels of wastewater (sewage) into the North Sea at Whitburn, South Tyneside, are controlled by an environmental permit (245/1207) which was authorised by the Secretary of State after a public inquiry into the local sewage system was held in October 2001. It is a bespoke permit with strict conditions aimed at limiting the levels of sewage discharges. Despite these conditions, the sewage system at Whitburn (in a landmark ruling) was found by a court (ECJ) in 2012 to be not in compliance with the Urban Waste Water Directive. Too much sewage continues to be discharged into the environment at Whitburn without the required treatment. In 2015 a new sewer was built which directs new flows to the Whitburn system and no application was made to vary the permit to allow for these new flows. These new flows contravene the conditions of the permit 245/1207. Huge volumes of sewage are discharged during light to moderate rainfall - normal seasonal and climatic conditions. The system remains in breach of environmental law as the discharges are only allowed in 'exceptional circumstances'. The application to vary permit 245/1207 will retrospectively permit new flows to enter the system. Extra flows to the sewage system increase the volumes of sewage discharged through the Long Sea Outfall at Whitburn and so increases sewage pollution in our coastal waters. This sewage pollution harms the environment and risks the health of recreational users of the sea at the popular resorts along the North East coast. The application by Northumbrian Water Limited to vary the permit has been required by the Environment Agency to be made (5 years after the new sewer was constructed) only after a complaint was made. The application is being considered presently without any public consultation. Public consultation lets people and organisations take part in the Environment Agency's decision making. (Image is courtesy of John Short)

When cars and lorries are waiting at schools or level crossings with their engines on, also known as engine idling, studies show that it can have an adverse affect on children's health. That's why Stowmarket Eco Future Group decided to come together to ask Suffolk Country Council to take action on air pollution caused by engine idling. Every bit of carbon emission that can be saved is not only vitally important for the planet, but also for the health of our children and young people who breathe in these damaging fumes. That is why we are asking Suffolk County Council to pass a Bylaw which prohibits engine idling outside schools. With over 260 schools and colleges in Suffolk, this would make a significant difference to the health of people and the planet.

The road is overdue resurfacing as has many potholes and cracks.

On current trends, our children will experience an unthinkable 3 to 5 degrees of global warming within 80 years! 2020 was the joint hottest year on record and the hottest six years on record have all occurred in the last six years. The UK Government’s target is to go carbon neutral by 2050. But this is too late, because the world is set to exceed the dangerous limit of 1.5°C warming by 2040, causing irreversible harm and costing millions of lives. In fact, Government advisers also say that the UK is not on track to meet its own target. We call on Bristol Council to show leadership again, by declaring support for the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (CEE Bill). Bristol City Council was the first UK local authority to declare a Climate Emergency, and has a strategy for a carbon neutral Bristol by 2030. The CEE Bill is a game-changing vehicle for positive action. It is a draft law which has been introduced to Parliament and already has the support of over 100 MPs. The Bill would ensure that the UK Government plays its fair and proper role in limiting global warming to the 1.5°C recommended by scientists. It would include our carbon emissions from aviation, shipping and international trade, which are currently ignored! It would set up a Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the people who make up UK society, to advise on the Government’s emergency strategy. We call on our elected representatives to show climate leadership! When we get to 3,500 signatures from people who live, work or study in Bristol, our petition gets debated in Council!

They did it to Meghan and Harry. They did it to Caroline Flack, to Gareth Thomas and Ben Stokes, and to hundreds of ordinary people every year. Just to sell newspapers and make money. Press abuse - the publication of relentlessly intrusive, untrue, and often personally abusive stories about people in national newspapers - has to stop. Many of the people affected are well-known. That shouldn't make them fair game for newspapers to attack for a quick profit. But thousands of the people attacked in the press are not well-known at all. They are victims of terrorist incidents, small business-owners, academics. Anyone who is caught up in a news-worthy event, or who even publicly says something which a newspaper finds objectionable. Newspapers get away with this behaviour because they aren't regulated. The BBC is regulated, and so is the news on other TV stations and the radio. Yet most newspapers remain outside of any independent form of accountability (they are members of a body called "IPSO" instead, which doesn't have regulatory powers and is controlled by the press). We need the Government to act to stop press bullying & abuse. Add your name today.

The closure would be a devastating blow and it would leave our community with neither a bank nor a post office. The nearest Barclays branches, and branches of any other bank, would be at Ealing Broadway, Hounslow High Street, Chiswick High Road, and Richmond town centre. Many in our community, including the most vulnerable, have no access to online banking facilities and they would find it very difficult indeed to conduct their affairs at other bank branches. During the current Covid crisis it is particularly inappropriate to require customers to travel considerable distances, often by public transport. In recent years, Brentford has experienced very considerable increases in population and this growth will accelerate in the coming few years. We would suggest that the imminent closure of this branch is entirely inappropriate and may, in the fullness of time, be regarded as a very poor business decision

UPDATE: If you agree, please sign this petition and ALSO complete the Hackney Public Consultation survey on IF and where to create this space. Link to Hackney survey below. The consultation is happening NOW and they want to use the space for gym equipment - so please sign this petition and complete the survey, linked below, ASAP. https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/parks-green-spaces/clissold-consultation/?fbclid=IwAR2ZTnEApk1E3DANcmCwvde9u_c7snSPt1Ab5gnx9ybvXJe60jzKRZbxIFE WHY? Roller Sports need to be given the same recognition as tennis and golf. Marginalised for decades, roller skating has taken off during lockdown across all generations. Skate retailers are reporting a 800% uplift in sales of skates since the start of Lockdown 12 months ago. It is an all inclusive amazing aerobic fitness activity that is a great leveler. On a Fitbit it will show the same level of excercise as running. It provides a community for teenagers, children and adults including wheel chair users learn and share constructive skills in a socially distant way. It raises your heart rate and is excellent for muscle tone, dancing and all round fitness. Teachers are reporting waiting lists of 300 students who will need to conduct their classes on reclaimed park pathways - if they can find any that are smooth enough to skate on and if they don't get moved on. It encourages communication between different generations and is a wonderful family activity. I have observed how skaters all learn together and teach one another. It is socially distant and for teenagers especially it gives a safe, SOBER, social environment to see their friends. The tennis courts are a safe place to learn as roller skating can not be done on normal park pathways. It really does require a completely smooth surface to avoid accidents and there is nowhere in or near Stoke Newington to do this. The people signing this petition agree that this is an activity that should be supported and a suitable space created within the park or accommodated within the tennis courts. Roller skaters are talked of as a subculture but when given official space it attracts huge numbers of people and has done for 40 years. Currently roller skaters are too often relegated to car parks or in this case the illegal tennis courts. Stoke Newington has one of the highest birth rates in Europe and I for one do not want my teenagers to have to do this. A skate rink would give somewhere legal and safe for teenagers, adults and children to share. We have the support of the TeamGB speed skating champion Adrian Wordsworth and Wheelchair skating charity founder Isaac Harvey (www.Wheelsandwheelchairs.co.uk). HACKNEY SURVEY - THEY WANT TO HEAR OUR IDEAS!!! Hackney are currently running a public consultation on how to re-develop the old paddling pool (which is being re-sited and enlarged elsewhere in the park). The idea being presented at the moment is gym equipment. I believe a far greater number of local residents would benefit from including a large skate space as well as or instead of the gym equipment. This idea was put forward before lockdown. But during lockdown the roller skating explosion in the tennis courts have proven the huge local demand and we must show our support for this idea by completing the survey here (copy and paste): https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/parks-green-spaces/clissold-consultation/?fbclid=IwAR2ZTnEApk1E3DANcmCwvde9u_c7snSPt1Ab5gnx9ybvXJe60jzKRZbxIFE

Its dangerous and a death trap for the waterfowl

Marks & Spencer, an iconic UK retailer, has cultivated a reputation for itself as leader in quality and sustainability. Yet right now they are selling tens of thousands of tonnes of farmed salmon which scientists warn is causing environmental damage. To add insult to injury, they’re labelling this harmful product as “responsibly sourced”. M&S wants us to believe that farmed salmon is a “responsible” alternative to wild fish. In reality, salmon farms rely on catching vast quantities of wild fish to feed the caged animals. Recent investigations have found this to be driving over-fishing and endangering ecosystems as far away as South American and Africa. Closer to home, salmon farms are a huge source of pollution of Scotland’s beautiful coastline. And farmed salmon are infested with disease and sea-lice, which causes them huge suffering and spreads to wild fish in the surrounding area. Wild salmon numbers in Scotland are collapsing. Marks & Spencer describes itself as committed to a “sustainable future” and as a “leader in animal welfare”. But when it comes to their salmon, the reality is that it damages wild fish ecosystems and packs salmon into dirty, disease-infested cages. Treatments for parasites kill and hurt significant numbers of farmed salmon. These farms are not leaders in animal welfare. Let’s tell them to stop. Stop labelling unsustainable, factory farmed salmon as “responsibly sourced”. Be honest about the impacts that these products have so that your customers are empowered to make good choices.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is essential to holding the government accountable. But it’s being undermined by a major loophole: it doesn’t apply to government contractors. Since the Act was passed, outsourcing has vastly expanded. Government now spends £292bn a year buying goods and services – more than a third of all public expenditure. Private companies like Serco, G4S and Capita receive millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, but because they’re not subject to FOI we can’t properly hold them to account. During the pandemic £10.5bn of government contracts were awarded without competitive tender and hundreds of millions was spent on “potentially unsuitable” PPE according to the National Audit Office, the spending watchdog. It also found that suppliers with political connections were 10 times more likely to receive government contracts. Access to contractor-held information depends on the public authority and contractor agreeing to it in the contract – a totally unacceptable situation that allows vital information to be withheld from the public. We think the FOI Act should be extended to cover all contractor-held information via an FOI request to the public authority. Major contractors should be required to answer requests directly. Support for bringing contractors under FOI has come from: - The Information Commissioner, who enforces the FOI Act. - The House of Commons Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs Committee - The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee - The Committee on Standards in Public Life - The government appointed Independent Commission on Freedom of Information - The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, which brings together 18 of the UK’s leading anti-corruption organisations - The Open Government Network of civil society organisations Will you sign the petition urging Boris Johnson to extend FOI so we can hold companies with contracts paid for by the taxpayer to account?