Since the early part of this year, Sinfin Health Centre has been closed for face-to-face consultations with patients. This has meant that we have had to travel to the Heatherton Village branch of the practice. Without a car this means four bus journeys or a taxi fare of £8 to £9 each way. The doctors and other staff are much appreciated by many of us and we do understand the effect that Covid 19 has had on our NHS. However, we feel it to be unfair for one patient group to have to struggle in this way, especially as Sinfin is home to many elderly people and young families on lower incomes. We therefore ask our doctors to consider the impact of their decision and to reopen Sinfin Health Centre now.

In just under a month the suspension on the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for Universal Credit payments will end. [1] This may seem like an insignificant fact but the suspension of the MIF has been the only lifeline for self-employed people like myself and 3 million others who fell through the gaps in the various coronavirus employment support packages [2]. What the reintroduction of MIF means is that any individual who earns less than £1,322 (after expenses) per calendar month will be considered unemployed even if they submit a tax return. They will be expected to be looking for work for 35 hours a week and to take any job that is offered even if it might clash with their pre-existing self-employment [3]. Their existing profession will not be considered viable. My sector has been on standby on the instruction of the government in the interests of public health. My business is only temporarily interrupted because of the closures of venues which will eventually reopen, and yet I have not received a penny in Covid-related support from either furlough or the SEISS. Like many others like me, I have managed to survive on Universal Credit and/or through the generosity of friends. With the reintroduction of the Minimum Income Floor, not only will I be forced to close my business, I will also not be able to afford to retrain in anything that I have the potential to succeed at. This will force self-employed artists like myself into precarious unskilled jobs, if available, and poverty. Productivity will drop and recovery of the arts sector post-pandemic will be delayed by a generation. It’s also a real slap in the face to artists who already make huge financial and personal sacrifices to be able to create joy and escapism for other people. The arts are viable, and we’re important. For the last 8 month, we’ve been largely ignored by the government despite their assertions that they won't "leave anyone behind" [4]. The removal of the MIF will be the last straw. __________________________ References: [1] The Social Security (Coronavirus) Regulations | "Section 2 deals with MIF suspension. Section 10 deals with the expiry of this legisaltion which says "(2) Regulations 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9 cease to have effect at the end of the period of eight months beginning on 13th March 2020." | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/371/made?fbclid=IwAR1aIcgQ62JmRfKr98sKkQDlqJV_mO1En8rLb281xz_KGEHRJsPVuP3Fy7Y [2] Calculation for the 3 million taxpayers excluded from UK Government Covid-19 financial support | ExcludedUK | "Self-employed excluded: 1.6 million, CJRS excluded – ltd company directors: 710,000, CJRS excluded – other employees: 790,000" | https://www.excludeduk.org/three-million-breakdown [3] Universal Credit: Your Responsibilities | https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/your-responsibilities [4] "You have not been forgotten. We will not leave you behind. We are all in this together." | Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer) | https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1243235450908803072

Redirect this budget to families, food, heat, warmth and keeping businesses open for people to earn.

St Benedicts is Primarily a Retail Street, Footfall is now DEAD, No Traffic = No Customers = no business. Retail Jobs will be lost, There was no real Consultation with Retailers or Residents. This is a Working Retail Street, The access to which has been restricted by Al Fresco Dining areas which will remain unused for next 8 months. During this time, with Parking and unrestricted access back in place, the majority of Independent businesses on the street could trade effectively, secure jobs & help re start the economy.

The "CHIS" Bill would allow state spies to commit crimes in the UK and overseas with impunity - without even exempting crimes like murder, torture and sexual offences. These extreme powers would be handed to a broad range of agencies - from police and MI5, to the Department of Health and even the Food Standards Agency. This is being rushed through Parliament at breakneck speed with insufficient scrutiny. Just this week, environmental campaigner Kate Wilson was in court fighting for justice. She was manipulated into a romantic relationship for two years by Mark "Stone" - who she later found out was Mark Kennedy, an undercover police spy. But this Bill would prevent victims of state spies from seeking redress, by protecting those who commit authorised crimes from civil liability forever. Police spies have abused innocent campaigners in the UK for decades - from environmental activists to trade unions and race equality campaigners. Undercover police even infiltrated the grieving family of the murdered black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, during their quest for justice. Undercover state agents have been involved in conflict too. Former Prime Minister David Cameron found they were responsible for “shocking levels of state collusion” in the murder of lawyer Pat Finucane in Northern Ireland. Currently, prosecutors decide whether it's in the public interest to trial undercover police crimes. But the SpyCops Bill would bypass prosecutors entirely, allowing state agencies the unprecedented power to declare serious breaches of UK law ‘lawful’, as long as agents had an internal authorisation. This Bill is unnecessary, unconstitutional and unconscionable - it must be stopped.

15th August 2019, BBC Wales published the information that "BBC Cymru Wales will broadcast every game of the qualifying campaign live, with home games broadcast on BBC Two Wales, and every home and away leg live on BBC Radio Wales. There will also be coverage online on the BBC Sport website and on BBC Cymru Fyw." https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/wales-womens-football Since this statement was made, we have already lost the home fixture to the Faroes to the Red Button. We would like BBC Wales to return to their original commitment and ensure that the final game of the campaign, the home fixture against Belarus on December the 1st, will be shown on BBC2 Wales, with the high standard of coverage that we know they are capable of. If luck goes our way, qualification could ride on this fixture and to have it relegated to a platform that not everyone can use, at a time when fans are unable to attend games, would be a crying shame.

Government plans will allow communal night shelters for people experiencing homelessness to reopen this winter. But we know this isn’t safe - these shelters were shut down in March as they were deemed unsafe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government’s plans could force people to choose between freezing on the street or going to a shelter where they could catch Covid-19. Both options needlessly put lives at risk. Major health and homelessness organisations, like Crisis, have spoken out against the plan - they say the government isn't going far enough to protect people and keep them safely off the streets this winter. The government has previously committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and ending it by 2027. Winter and COVID-19 present a dangerous emergency. They must do everything possible to protect homeless people this winter.

I’m one of 4 who have lost there child at birth childloss is such a taboo subject that gets forgotten about ive lost 2 children in neonatal due to early labour me and other greiving parents use this month to remember our babies and raise awareness to the fact it happens

Thousands of Union Reps have been trained to help adults retrain, go into apprenticeships, support English for speakers of other Languages and have promoted many workplace based Adult Education Opportunities, this is minimal funding that makes a big difference it needs to continue!

This is a local route for our children to walk to and from school, it is also used by many children to get buses to and from school. Drivers will regularly go over 60mph on this road and unless we have speed cameras that’s not going to change After the tragic incident where a local resident lost his life due to a speeding driver, action needs taking!!

The emergency legislation that allowed Councils to suspend holding meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic also enabled meetings to be held virtually to allow democracy to continue. Almost all councils are now holding virtual Full Council meetings. This enables all elected Councillors to represent the views of residents and for democracy to continue. South Tyneside Council is a notable exception. The last meeting of South Tyneside Borough Council was held in February 2020. There are currently no plans in place to hold a Borough Council meeting before February 2021 by which time the majority of those elected to represent the people of South Tyneside will have been silenced for a year. As Councillors for Beacon and Bents Ward we have repeatedly asked why we are the only Council that are not holding these meetings. Responses received to these requests have included we aren't able to organise a virtual meeting of this size, it would be too difficult for officers who wouldn't be able to see every Councillor on screen at the same time and some Councillors are not IT literate enough to participate in virtual meetings. These are not reasons they are excuses. Councils far larger than South Tyneside have been holding virtual meetings since six weeks after lockdown began; the government have held virtual meetings with hundreds of MPs taking part; and a trade union recently held a virtual conference in which over 700 delegates took part. We have also requested that all virtual meetings that are held and live streamed are recorded and published on YouTube so people can watch them when they finish work. We have been told this is too difficult to do but other Councils have done this for months. There is no legitimate reason why South Tyneside Council cannot hold Borough Council meetings and why they cannot record and publish all meetings. As Councillors for Beacon and Bents Ward we have been contacted by residents from our own Ward and from others who want to know why South Tyneside Council is trying to stifle democracy. We have been asked why we voted to introduce local restrictions. But the truth is that we, and the majority of Councillors across the Borough, have had no say in this decision. We are being asked about plans for the future, for reviving our town centre, and for rebuilding our economy. Again we have to say that we are being prevented from raising questions about these and other important issues because Borough Council is not meeting. The residents of South Tyneside deserve better. They deserve to be represented. They deserve to have their voices heard. And they deserve to see democracy return to our Borough. The Chief Executive has left and can only be replaced by Borough Council. Officers have been left without leadership and residents without a voice. This is not about Party politics. It's about doing the right thing, returning democracy to our Borough and working together to create a better future when the pandemic finally ends. Councillor Angela Hamilton (Labour Party) Councillor David Francis (Green Party)

Homelessness is a not a choice.