Hounding and bullying celebrities and ordinary people. Harassing Grenfell Tower survivors. Stoking prejudice and hate against muslims, migrants and refugees. Some newspapers are getting away with ruining lives because the system that’s supposed to hold them to account is run by the very newspaper bosses publishing the stories. But it doesn't have to be like this. An independent regulator - with the power to really hold newspapers to account - could make sure there are real consequences when papers overstep the line. Broadcasters are regulated independently and soon social media companies could be too. Why shouldn’t newspapers be held to the same standard? It’s time to level the playing field. Nobody’s tweets should be more regulated than huge media outlets like The Sun and The Mail.

Winklebury is already getting 3,500 houses built to the west, any more houses will add to the already-expected congestion. The plans show 3-storey flats which is an overdevelopment not in keeping with the area. The Iron Age fort is a national treasure and should be treated with respect.

The bill was an answer to the Public Health England report ‘Taking the P**s’ which found that the lack of public toilets was a serious health issue. In light of the present Corona virus emergency, a large union has highlighted the fact that there are insufficient public toilets where the public could wash their hands.

From 1st April 2020, Wilko are set to scrap sick pay for 21,000 workers across the country. This means that Wilko will not issue sick pay for all workers after their first absence. The rules effectively mean if you're ill more than once in a year - you will not be paid for it beyond statutory minimum. The maximum statutory sick pay is only £94.25 a week The new policy will increase the likelihood of people going to work when they are unwell and contagious because they could not afford to miss out on much needed wages. Wilko should scrap the policy and make sure their employees are looked after correctly with acceptable sick pay.

In April 2019, the government launched the Windrush Compensation Scheme in response to the Windrush Scandal. According to the latest report from the National Audit Office The Home Office estimated it might pay out compensation worth between £120 million and £310 million to 15,000 people. By the end of March 2021, the Department had received 2,163 claims. The Home Office to date have paid £14.3 million to 633 people. The National Audit Office discovered that massive delays and back log of outstanding cases which many have been not being resolved in the last two years. They also found out they are only 6 full time case workers to support over 15,000 potential claims. Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: "The Windrush Compensation Scheme was rolled out before it was ready to receive applications and two years after it was launched, people are still facing long waits to receive their final compensation payment. Since December 2020, the Home Office has made some progress, but it needs to sustain its efforts to improve the scheme to ensure it fairly compensates members of the Windrush generation in acknowledgement of the suffering it has caused them". The compensation has failed the Windrush Generation during this time over 21 people have died without receiving compensation. One person is Paulette Wilson who died in July 2020. Her daughter Natalie Barnes said, “Home office still operate the hostile environment policy which contributed to the death of my mother. Before she passed, she was struggling with the forms and lack of support and respect from the Home Office. The scheme needs to be moved so there is proper justice to families like mine.’ Stephanie O ‘Connor is still mourning the loss of her mum Sarah who moved to the UK in 1967 and died in July 2019 as a child says: 'For my mum the compensation scheme has come too late, and I am so disappointed that it is still taking this long for people to get what is owed to them. I just hope that people get compensated fairly for everything that they have been through.' The compensation scheme was meant to help people get their lives back on track and for the government to acknowledge and apologise in how they abused the rights of Black British Citizens and other Commonwealth citizens But instead the scheme has been far too complicated for victims to use, with very little support for those making claims. Over the last two years there have numerous reports and news stories on the failure of the scheme. This has affected people's entire lives, like Michael Braithwaite who was born in Trinidad and came to Britain in 1961: ‘Over the last two years my life has been turned upside down. The mental stress and turmoil that caused me ill health still impact my daily life. The government compensation scheme has not been fairly documented, it was constructed behind closed doors, no public input and no one to represent the Windrush victims.’ Charlotte Tobierre has been advocating for her father Thomas said: "The Windrush compensation scheme must be moved to an independent organisation. Each category is a battle, You have to fight for every penny and it’s tiring. It is so damaging to a claimant to be asked to provide so much evidence to then be offered a small percentage of what they lost. My father worked for over 50 years, paid into a private pension, He was then caught up in the Windrush scandal and told he couldn’t work, He cashed in that pension for bills, rent and food. The compensation team asked for all documentation of the pension, which my father provided, He was then told they do not compensate pensions and would receive nothing for pension loss. All those years working, £14,000 lost just like that, He continues to work now at the age of 67."

Many of the older people of the town and surrounding villages rely on the Hungate Centre as a place where they can enjoy companionship and gain a sense of belonging. It is a well loved venue for activities and events which strengthen community cohesion and improve well-being and mental health outcomes, especially for older people. It's continued existence plays a major role in combating loneliness and isolation in the community. It must not be lost for the sake of corporate gain and short term profit.

We believe Bexley refuse workers and street cleaners deserve a fair wage for a fair day’s work. The London Living Wage is £10.75 an hour, but these workers are paid just £8.90 to £9.50 an hour. That’s up to £3,300 a year less than the recommended amount. Furthermore, many workers are on zero hour contracts and aren’t being paid sick pay. Serco, Bexley Council and Peter Craske, the Councillor in charge of public spaces have a responsibility to its 180 underpaid employees to provide a wage that lets people live, work and provide for their families in London. In Greenwich, refuse workers and street cleansers are paid £13.50 an hour and get paid up to £8,300 more annually to do exactly the same work. Why does Bexley Council and Peter Craske believe our workers’ time and efforts aren’t worth as much as our neighbouring borough? Serco made profits of £102.5 million in 2019 and increased their profits by over 20% from 2018. Serco has profited from underpaying and overworking its staff and Bexley Council has allowed this to happen. Refuse workers and street cleansers provide a valuable service for our borough and it’s about time they were paid a fair wage.

Jess would leave a huge hole if she left our community in Leek, this is her home she is part of so many people’s life. Jess would also be confused, stressed and potentially unhappy, she knows and loves the entrance of Morrison’s in Leek.

The National Gallery's Portrait exhibition is due to take place in April in the Ulster Museum sponsored by BP - one of the world's biggest polluters. Climate change is the biggest threat we face. But rather than acting on it, BP is trying to make clean up it's image by sponsoring art exhibitions here in Belfast, while it continues to make huge profits. BP is one of the companies most responsible for the climate crisis. It is the 11th biggest corporate source of greenhouse emissions in history. Late last year The Scottish National Portrait Gallery announced it will no longer stage the exhibition due to BP's involvement. There is no reason why the Ulster Museum can't do the same.

As a community we should be objecting to this proposal due to several factors which include - the safety of the children who play in this area with the increase in vehicular movement. - an increase in noise and pollution next to the 3g sports facilities and skate park. - the loss of green space used for public events such as the shows, fireworks, circus etc. - increase in traffic flow over the Victoria bridge causing more congestion. - potential of traffic self diverting causing a rat race through the residential area. - adding to the surface water run off in an area already susceptible to flooding - loss of green space which is beneficial to mental health and well being. - potential damage to the surrounding trees and wildlife. So please as a community help us fight against this proposal and save our green space at whittinghame drive, a space used by many, from children, to dog walkers and families. Let's stop this car park that will lead to the changes to our historic town centre, which could ruin people's businesses. Businesses which right now are thriving.

This policy would primarily help parents who are struggling with the ever-increasing demands on their finances. The cost of a school uniform can often be too much for many families to afford and therefore adds an unbearable pressure on the parents and often leaves the children not having a school uniform. Children grow so fast that it isn’t simply a case of budgeting to buy a new uniform every September, sometimes items need to be replaced 2 or 3 times in a year, this then becomes astronomically expensive. Having the school logo in badge form can help make it possible for all children to be equal by creating an affordable solution to the rising cost of branded school uniforms. It might also help parents whose child is disabled and may not fit standard uniform clothing. With the cost of living constantly rising, we need to stand together and ask ALL schools to work with families to make things easier. On a final point using badges would complement the environmental agenda, many clothes recycling schemes cannot use branded clothes so by creating the ability to remove the branding it means that many more children can benefit from an item of clothing.

This is a lifeline in every sense. Too many people will die as either have to travel too far or not be seen at all. There is only 1 road in and out to rah from vale/dumbarton. Takes too long to get other hospitals. Vale of leven is on our doorsteps