So here is our story and why i feel strongly enough about this to start a petition. Myself and my husband have been trying for a child now for close to two and a half years, after a year and a half we were referred to a fertility specialist in Glasgow and we got our first appointment in Oct 2019, we saw Dr Sastry who was wonderful and extremely helpful, we were advised however that we could not go on the list for IVF until we had been trying for at least 2 years which we expected so this was fine. We had some scans done to check that everything was ok and it was found that i have what looks like a cyst on one ovary and also on the other side what could be a cyst or a possible blockage of a tube they couldn't tell so at this point we were advised the best thing to happen would be surgery to check, we were fine with this and were placed on a waiting list. There were some other conditions for the IVF too i had to lose weight and get my BMI under 30, this was also expected so i got to work on losing the weight. At this point we were so relieved that things were moving forward and we had a plan, for anyone going through struggles with fertility its easy to feel lost and like your getting no where. All was going well we received a date for surgery the 31st March and we received a letter for our next appointment with the fertility specialist for April this would be to get weighed and be put on the IVF waiting list. Then Covid struck and everything fell apart, not just for us but for every other couple waiting for fertility treatment. A week before my surgery i got the call that it was cancelled, it was expected but still a shock and upsetting and then in came the letter that the appointment at the fertility clinic was postponed then shortly after cancelled. I was devastated, id lost the 22lbs to get my weight where it needed to be and id been mentally preparing myself for the next stage of our journey. Luckily we contacted our specialists secretary who advised our specialist that i'd lost the weight and she agreed to add us to the waiting list. Now to why do a petition? In Scotland if your under 40 you get 3 rounds of IVF on the NHS if your 40 as long as they think your chances are good, and you have a good egg reserve etc you will get 1 round, so, what about those people including ourselves that would of had time for 2 or 3 rounds but due to Covid will only get 1, what about those of us waiting on surgery whose surgeons aren't doing gynecological surgery at the moment but when you ask about being referred to a surgeon who is they suggest they send you materials on having it done private? Why should couples be penalised for delays outwith their control? This petition is for allowances to be made for those couples effected by the delays, if someone turns 40 before treatment can be given however they are in good health and have a healthy egg reserve why shouldn't they receive the 2 or 3 rounds they would of had if Covid hadn't hit. My specialist advised that the best way to get the government to look at this was to shout about it, so here i am, shouting, please shout with me.

Even before Covid-19 and the lockdown, the Shooting Star charity shop has always been extremely popular in our area, particularly as it specialises in selling good quality second hand (and often brand new) items for babies and children of all ages at reasonable prices, and all for a very important cause. There are a huge amount of young families (many on low incomes) in Ashford who benefit from the large selection of toys, games, equipment and clothing. Not only is it the only place in our local high street to have such a large selection of children’s items, but if you needed something urgently, the only other choice would be to travel to Staines and many don’t have their own transport to do so easily. It is an absolute asset to our community and has been for many years, being only the second Shooting Star shop to open. Without it and it’s fundraising the Shooting Star House hospice wouldn’t have been able to be built. At this present time, many families are struggling financially because of the affect of Covid-19. Many have lost their jobs due to lockdown or are unable to work due to shielding. People in this situation really will miss the benefits of this essential charity shop. So although we are all in difficult times, it doesn’t make any sense to close the shop for good, especially as it was so popular and is now in more demand than ever before. We all need it as much as they need our donations. Also a large housing project is being built on Church Road which will mean that very soon, even more families will be in the area, so a shop like this will be in even more demand. Not only this, but the wonderful ladies who work there will be without jobs. There are all so friendly and welcoming and have worked so hard for this great cause We implore Shooting Stars Children’s Hospice charity to please think again about keeping this absolute asset to our community in Ashford.

Our Trees and hedgerows are precious to us, they are characteristic of the area having been here for a very long time. Since Covid-19 hit there is even less need for a new bus, our roads In the stokes and surrounding areas at rush hour are practically empty and the busses that do run have even less passengers than before. Our hedgerows thrive with small birds and other wildlife. Where will they go? If the trees and hedges are removed there will be nowhere. This is not the behaviour we would expect of a local authority in an area so caring about its wildlife and trees. We question whether there’s even a need for this bus, the COVID-19 crisis is predicted to last years not months, what a huge waste of local council tax payer’s money. Surely our money could be better spent helping small businesses and families rebuild and adjust to our new post lockdown normal.

The expertise of teachers has been completely devalued by the unjust and incomprehensible reduction of subject grades and consequently, thousands of students nationally have suffered. Across the board, this reduction has been aimed at secondary schools, academies and sixth form colleges, whilst independent and smaller schools have received a disproportionate rise in top grades. This is blatant discrimination. It is a biased and unjustified action suggesting qualifications are now based on postcode and affluence, not ability. Potentially, highly knowledgeable and hard-working students, completely committed to their subjects, have had their futures obliterated by a skewed, unfair and inscrutable system. Furthermore, to lodge an appeal to the system that discriminated against them is simply unacceptable and students should not feel this is a reasonable way to receive their due results. We urge the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, to reinstate teacher assessed grades for A level with immediate effect.

It is a fundamental human right to have access to a fair and representative trial. But right now in the UK, there is a risk that the suspension of trial by juries will create avoidable stress for those of us waiting to get justice. Virtual trial juries would help to tackle the backlog of cases and make sure that people are given a fair and representative trial. Not having trials can have huge implications on those of us who face oppression and discrimination. The diversity of jurors helps ensure the justice system is fair and efficient by having more experiences and voices in the room. The risk of not having jury trials could have lasting impacts and hit certain groups who experience discrimination - like Black, Asian or other people of colour - harder.

Because I and I’m sure others are sick of seeing their offensive headlines every time we go into a shop. Today their “Death Express headline was utterly disgusting.

on the 19th of April, 1989, the people of Liverpool had barely had a chance to bury their dead. Four days after the Hillsborough disaster – the worst sporting disaster in British history, in which 96 people were killed and countless others were left injured and traumatised – the country's biggest newspaper ran a front page claiming, among other accusations, that Liverpool fans had "picked pockets of victims", "urinated on brave cops" and "beat up PCs giving the kiss of life". The allegations, citing comments made by South Yorkshire Police and a Tory MP, were provided by a Sheffield news agency. We don't not accept tabloid newspapers glorifying death especially when it's now Scotland it's time to stand up and get them out.

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.