Hundreds of thousands of innocent animals - foxes, stoats, weasels, and hedgehogs - are killed on the Scottish moors every year. Why? So a small group of people can participate in the elitist sport of grouse shooting. The economic benefits of grouse shooting are tiny - but the environmental impact is massive. The ‘sport’ takes up huge swathes of the countryside and causes the deaths of huge numbers of innocent animals, which are caught in traps laid down by the shooters. The Scottish government have the power to fix this. Right now, they are considering what they should do about grouse shooting in Scotland. The answer is simple: ban the needless killing of hundreds of thousands of animals just so that moore grouse can be shot.

There has been over 8 accidents in the last 3.5 years and every day there are people exceeding the speed limit of 30mph it won't be long before there is a fatality and as residents we are very concerned that it could be a member of our family

Many hundreds of frontline healthcare workers have contracted Covid-19 and died. Details of the PPE fiasco that left them further exposed are now starting to emerge. The Government has committed £15 billion for buying PPE. Shockingly, three of the biggest beneficiaries so far are companies specialising in pest control, a confectionery wholesaler and an opaque family fund owned through a tax haven. Now, the Government has admitted that 50 million masks that they purchased from the opaque family fund “will not be used in the NHS” because of safety concerns. It means PPE which should be delivered to the NHS to protect frontline staff is now piled up in warehouses gathering dust. Why did the Government award vast amounts of public money to companies like this? And how many more of these contracts have failed to deliver PPE to the NHS? We don’t know. The Government is ignoring the usual rule that contracts should be published within 20 days. To prevent future PPE procurement failures and protect taxpayers’ money we need to uncover the truth of what really happened. Will you sign the petition and call on the Government to publish the PPE contracts?

Urgent action needed before the current ban ends on Monday! My name is Nichola. I have lived in my home in south London with my daughters for ten years. In May, my landlord gave me a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice, giving us three months to move out. We are devastated. I was furloughed for a while and receive housing benefit, but have managed to keep on top of rent. Sadly this hasn’t been good enough for my landlord who hasn’t given me a reason – they just want me out. The government has suspended most evictions over Christmas but they lifted this in September, so we have no option but to find alternative accommodation. But moving isn’t an option. Benefits would only get me a 1 bedroom flat, which is unacceptable with two girls, one of whom is about to start her GCSEs. And I can’t move away from my mother, who’s recovering from a stroke, or my daughters’ father. The local council can’t help – they’ve just sent us to letting agents who are demanding an above average income and the details of someone who earns more than £50,000 to guarantee the rent. Single-earner households are excluded from the rental market. And I’m a key worker, so I’m one of the lucky ones. There are thousands of others who have always done the right thing but the government has shut down their workplace, and hasn’t provided enough support to cover the rent. They too face homelessness when the courts open back up after the government’s Christmas truce. I spoke to Generation Rent about my experience - they estimate that homelessness could treble as a result of coronavirus. While the latest surge of infections threatens to overwhelm the NHS, the government must do all it can to keep people in their homes. He’s running out of time to keep that promise and keep us in our homes with He needs to act now to give renters and the wider public the protection we need during the pandemic

Jubilee Swimming Pool is a well-used, much loved and vital community resource for local health and wellbeing. It provides leisure facilities within walking distance for all demographics of citizens in Knowle. It is a heritage building and a unique survivor of formerly common Bristol swimming pools. It represents the last remaining operational 1930s (Baths Committee approved) swimming pools in Bristol. It is a place where people meet, share experiences of learning to swim and keep fit and healthy. A variety of classes are held here and there are elderly swimmers at the pool who still use it, decades after learning to swim there as children.

On a hot day like this, I can cross the road, jump in the sea without a seconds thought.  I don't need to plan weeks in advance, hire expensive equipment and be at a specific place at a certain time. Who actually wants this? It takes the whole fun out of it. I can't believe I live in a town populated of almost 90 thousand people and no permanent disability access to the sea!  Hastings has always been about inclusivity, and being able to take a dip on a sweltering day like today is a very basic human right. There has already been great interest in this idea from many people in the Hastings area and people have come forward to say it has always been a dream to go in the sea whenever they want. With your help we can make these dreams a reality.

Glyphosate is used by Edinburgh Council as a weedkiller. Edinburgh City Council sprays Portobello's streets, pavements, parks, playgrounds, cemeteries and green spaces in an effort to control weeds. Research shows that pesticide use has multiple harmful effects on human and animal health, and causes environmental pollution and degradation. Although available data can be contradictory it seems sensible to use the precautionary principle, and avoid spraying chemicals in our environment unless they can be shown to be safe. Children are more at risk than adults due to their behaviour, for example, investigating nature, crawling and playing on grass and spending time in areas such as playgrounds and parks where pesticides are used. Dogs and cats are particularly vulnerable too due to their close proximity to the ground. There have been 3 successful lawsuits against Monsanto, which brought glyphosate-based herbicides to the market in the 1970s, and there are many more cases going to trial. Nineteen countries have already either banned or restricted the use of glyphosate, and 5 more have plans to do so imminently. Many towns and cities across the world have made the decision to go pesticide-free, using methods such as hot-foam, flame weeding, scraping, acetic acid solution and accepting a certain level of ‘weediness’. Edinburgh Council have already agreed to stop spraying pesticides in Balerno after the locals ran a successful campaign on the grounds of health concerns for animals and people. We call on Edinburgh City Council to put an end to all pesticide use in Portobello, using safe alternatives instead, to protect the health of people, pets, wildlife and of our environment. References: * Weedkiller use in Scotland: https://theferret.scot/glyphosate-weedkiller-cancer-councils-scotland/ * Countries that have banned Glyphosate use: https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/toxic-tort-law/monsanto-roundup-lawsuit/where-is-glyphosate-banned/ * Monsanto sued over cancer claims: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/13/monsanto-cancer-trial-bayer-roundup-couple * Pesticides - risks of use: https://www.pan-uk.org/key-issues/?fbclid=IwAR1zDqJmDQZMULOhs5YUhFWPhG3wc_Fr73RoDFDIUpJINQbPjbY2y6DQRVI

By the time you finish this sentence, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos will have made £12,000. But despite its massive wealth, Amazon has started wriggling out of paying a new UK digital tax - by passing the extra cost directly onto the small businesses that use its website. At a time when these businesses are struggling to get by, it’s an indefensible decision. The UK Government introduced the new tax in April, to try to make massive digital companies like Amazon pay their fair share. But even though Amazon has made billions during the coronavirus crisis - and only paid 2% tax on it’s UK earnings last year - the company has found a way to get out of paying the new tax by directly hurting small businesses. Let's show them that is not acceptable.

Speeding and antisocial driving are of significant concern to many residents. We would like to see speed limits and road safety measures reviewed and more frequent speed monitoring on several roads, at the times when residents know that the issues are most severe.

The government just unveiled its “once in a generation” plan for housing - and and it’s a huge blow to nurses, teachers and anyone struggling to pay sky high rent, or unable to find a home they can afford. Under the proposals, property developers who don't build any affordable housing on some sites, will continue to get away with also not having to chip in to help councils build affordable homes elsewhere. A whole generation of people are being locked out of decent housing, and housing charity Shelter has said that social housing “could face extinction” if these proposals are approved. We can’t let that happen. These plans aren’t set in stone - yet. The government wants to hear from us before it makes any firm decisions. It’s the perfect opportunity to tell them - loudly and clearly - how disastrous this could be for millions of people struggling to find affordable housing.

Thousands of school students have had their final results unfairly downgraded. Many received a mark lower than what their teacher predicted - even though no-one sat an exam this year!Those in deprived areas were twice as likely to have their grades lowered. There’s a simple, fair solution: no student should get a grade lower than the one they earned on their mock exam. But today we need to prove to John Swinney that tens of thousands of us in Scotland think this is a better, fairer idea.

The Swanscombe Peninsula is home to a remarkable mix of habitat of high value to wildlife – these include grasslands, coastal habitats, brownfield features, scrub and intricate wetlands. Known as Swanscombe Marshes, this urban wilderness is home to thousands of species, including over 200 invertebrate species which are rare or under threat. As well as abundant bees, butterflies and beetles, Swanscombe Marshes is one of just two places in the UK where you can find the Critically Endangered Distinguished jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus). It is home to Nightingales, Cuckoos, Marsh harriers and a thriving population of Common lizards, thanks to its array of rich habitats. Swanscombe Marshes is not just important for wildlife. The site has been enjoyed by local people for years for walking, bird watching, angling and escaping the hustle and bustle of North Kent. But all of this is now threatened by the proposed London Resort theme park. Hyped as the ‘UK’s Disneyland’, much of the unique habitat of Swanscombe Marshes would be destroyed and concreted. The wildlife riches of the site simply will not survive this development. At a time when the value of wildlife and open spaces is being appreciated more than ever and amid a biodiversity crisis, we urge the Secretary of State to reject this unnecessary and ill thought out application. Please sign our petition to save this unique site, let’s save Swanscombe Marshes! For more information please visit our website https://www.buglife.org.uk/campaigns/save-swanscombe-marshes/. Photos l to r (c) Diamond Geezer, Peter Harvey