It is a local landmark. Everyone locally calls it Rackstraw Farm. Beefeater removed the sign as part of its renovation. Local people want it reinstated.

Local council's need fairer funding to deliver services to residents - without further funding services may be at risk.

The cuts to access to justice for those facing criminal prosecutions must be reversed before the disaster that has occurred in civil legal aid cases representation is repeated. It is essential to halt the erosion of access to legal representation in the UK when citizens are facing funded prosecution (especially by the State). The erosion of legal aid strikes at the heart of our democracy, destabilising the level playing field that Justice requires and increasingly divides the nation between those wealthy enough to buy legal services and the rest who increasingly are forced to act in person. This false economy causes delay and unplanned expense. It increases social division The present cuts are imposed despite steadily a steady reduction in legal aid expenditure (From £1,289 in 2010 -11 to £863. In 2016-17. [£’000s]. At a time when the Government is attempting to present a positive image internationally for our legal services the damage to our reputation is in fact immense: From the Bach Commission evidence ‘Appendix 5: An analysis of evidence received by the Commission’ the following stark conclusions are reached: 1) Cuts to the fees paid under the Litigators Graduated Fee Scheme (“LGFS”) make much of criminal legal aid work uneconomical; (2) The rate of remuneration for advocates in many hearings often falls below the minimum wage. (3) The application of the merits test and means tests to legal aid in the magistrates’ court and Crown Court prevents deserving clients receiving representation and causes delay. (4) The number of offices handling legal aid criminal work has gone down by 20%. Legal advice deserts are being created and increasingly those denied Justice will beat a path to MP’s surgeries in desperation. We call upon the Government to reverse the cuts and engage in discussions for meaningful reform of the criminal Justice system and its funding.

The Boundary Commission published terrible proposals that would change the parliamentary boundaries in Dudley and chop our town in half! The proposals put St Thomas's ward - which includes part of Dudley town centre and areas like Kate's Hill, Buffery Park, Oakham, Sledmere and Blowers Green - into a new Sandwell constituency stretching almost ten miles to Edgbaston in Birmingham - Imagine that! I think these plans would rip the heart out of Dudley. They would: - Split Dudley's historic town centre in half - Put just one Dudley ward in with SEVEN Sandwell wards - Force local people to travel across Sandwell to meet their MP - Put the town centre church of St Thomas's in a different constituency from the ward that carries its name! I'm working with the ward Councillors to fight this plan and we're encouraging residents, businesses, charities and community groups to write to the Boundary Commission and urge them to think again.

From Tuesday to Friday, the library closes at 4pm, and it doesn’t open at all at weekends. Many children and students in local schools finish too late to to use the services after school, and residents working 9-5 jobs do not have much opportunity to access the library at all. The current opening hours seem only to serve the needs of the City workers coming into the area during the day, rather than the people living in the local community. This issue has been raised in a recent customer survey, and a consultation into a new spread of opening hours is under way. We, the residents of the City of London, want to make sure that our voices are put front and centre on this issue, rather than the corporations and City workers, which is too often the case.

In the news we see daily reports of the deterioration in the quality of Mental Health Services, e.g.: seriously troubled children being sent 500 miles from home to find a hospital bed; patients with eating disorders locking themselves in their bedrooms and starving themselves in order to prove their need for help; police having to deal with health emergencies by detaining patients in police cells. Too often patients are offered standardized telephone consultations or brief treatments that are meant to cut costs, but can lead to greater expense down the line when those patients are forced to return for help repeatedly. Shortages of funding and trained professional staff are resulting in: • professionals not having the time to listen and decide the best course of treatment for adults and children seeking help; • worried parents not finding the care they and their children need to ensure the good mental health of the next generation; • a revolving door of admission, discharge and readmission instead of the long term care that is needed; • frontline staff not having the experience and support to provide ‘asylum’ - i.e. a truly containing and therapeutic environment in which to heal. • a lack of resources to provide proper care in the community The Government promises millions in more funding for mental health, but that money is not ring fenced and is being used to plug funding shortages elsewhere in the NHS.

It's frightening, trying to cross the A606 to get to the heart of the village, even if you are a fit and healthy adult. The roads and footpaths are narrow, and a great volume of traffic including a large proportion of HGVs goes through the village. If you are a parent of small children, a vulnerable adult, or simply trying to cross with your dog, it is difficult and feels unsafe to cross the busy road. Our proposal to Rutland County Council contains many accounts of injuries sustained and 'near misses' when people have, as they say, 'taken their life into their own hands' crossing the road. Our proposal for improved footpaths, crossings and a reduced speed limit for such a short section of the A606, would have a tiny impact or drivers, yet an immeasurable improvement in quality of life and peace of mind for the residents of our lovely village.

Many people in the Old Trafford area rely on the Aldi store for their weekly groceries. The relocation has left local people, including those with mobility issues, facing a long walk to the new store. Pedestrian access is only available into White City via the Chester Road side, making this even worse. In addition, there are no bus services available from the main part of the Clifford or Longford wards to Chester Road. As any local person will tell you, the roads around this area are already heavily congested - even worse when Manchester United are playing at home, or there is a cricket match/concert at Old Trafford cricket ground, and we are concerned that without the proper public transport and pedestrian links, this will only be exacerbated. We call on Trafford Council to look at the public transport links and pedestrian access to this site. This relocation will have significant effects on the quality of life of Old Trafford residents, and we would like to see Trafford Council address this.

On 30 October 2017, NHS Lanarkshire voted to close Douglas Ward at Udston Hospital. This decision was made without proper public or patient consultation. The ward provides crucial lifeline care to patients with complex health needs. Many of the patients have lived there for over ten years and now consider this their home, as do the relatives who visit. Its closure means that its patients will move further away from family and friends, and have less contact from loved ones and the additional support they desperately need.

A recent survey within Sir Kevin Barron’s constituency showed 90% were against fracking. The environmental and health implications of fracking are well documented, and the UK is not reliant on it for future energy needs. Should this level of inactivity continue then, by signing this petition, we commit to vote against your party at the next opportunity unless a more proactive successor is appointed.

Caerphilly County Council plans to close Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre in order to gain the ‘full capital’ from the land sale, following the demolition of the old school grounds. The purpose in their proposal is: “ To seek Cabinet approval to commence the closure of Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre in conjunction with the opening of Islwyn High School and support the sale and development of the Pontllanfraith High School / Leisure Centre campus.” They claim there will be no loss of services, but in fact, quite the opposite is true. Their plans will result in a drastic loss of sporting and leisure services for residents. This in turn, will result in a LOSS OF WELL-BEING in the community, an UNHEALTHIER Wales and is utterly IRRESPONSIBLE. Their own proposal clearly highlights the following issues with the closure: - There is no other Football Association Wales approved G3 pitch in the area as the one in Ystrad Mynach is prone to flooding so is frequently unavailable. The closure will result in an end to competitive fixtures in the area. - The advance booking for the non-approved pitch in Islwyn High, is already booked with NEW teams and clubs, so the existing timetable cannot be absorbed. The closure will result in local teams and clubs having nowhere to train locally - There is no funding for a FAW approved pitch to be built at Blackwood Comprehensive and if there was, the £500,000 price tag would mean the cost of closing Pont Leisure Centre is almost double the cost of keeping it open over the next five years - The Centre’s other facilities are heavily used with everything from Zumba classes through to over 50s badminton on a weekly basis, many classes will not be able to move to Islwyn High or it may be too difficult for local residents to get there. The council should be encouraging more opportunities for sports and activity, not taking them away! In addition, other issues raised include: - Local residents who use the centre for social events such as parties, classes and other events will have to travel further and in many cases, this will be impossible. This means that opportunities for social interaction will be reduced or removed completely. Many clubs will have to close with the leisure centre - The consultation process has been extremely limited to date, therefore, the views of the community have not been properly taken into account The Council has a remit to meet the Wellbeing of Future Generation (Wales) Act 2015, which is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. It requires public bodies to think more about the long-term, working with people and communities, looking to prevent problems and take a more joined up approach. The closure of Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre in no way meets the well-being goals and we urge Caerphilly County Council to stop the closure. Please share widely.

Money for Croydon's school children has been squeezed and schools are reporting that they are now at breaking point. Sarah Jones MP surveyed over 50 Croydon headteachers about funding and found: - 96% of heads say funding is not enough - 92% have had to cut staff numbers - 85% have had to cut support for children with special needs Nationally, £2.8bn has been cut from school budgets since 2015. Things in Croydon are even more difficult because schools receive thousands of pounds less per pupil than schools in neighbouring boroughs such as Lambeth. Croydon now has the highest number of schools in deficit than any London borough. For two years, our schools have been struggling on, now they are starting to sink. The Chancellor has the opportunity to save our schools by releasing new money in his upcoming budget. Earlier this summer, the Government announced that parts of the Department for Education budget would be cut so that money can be redistributed into frontline schools funding. But over the next two years schools will see funding increases capped at 3% per year, with some getting as low as 0.5%. If inflation stays at 3% per year, that means no school will get the 'real-terms' increase they need. The Government found £1bn for the DUP within a week of the election - it's a scandal if they can't find any new money in the budget for our children's education. They deserve the best we can give them.