YOU USE IT - DON'T LOSE IT The accessibility to the estuary seawall via the path which runs alongside Bradwell power station is under threat. Although the area has, in the past, been maintained by the power station, the footpath has no official designation. To ensure it remains open and accessible, Essex County Council is being requested to officially designate the path as a Public Right of Way. There is a petition form in the village shop – which aims to demonstrate to Essex County Council that the path is sufficiently used to justify becoming a Public Right or Way. So if you would hate to lose this access, please sign the petition which asks how long you have been using the footpath. Additionally, you can comment on this post and/or share it with others in the Dengie who also enjoy the benefits of getting to the estuary via this path.

National Arts in Education Week was introduced in the US in 2010, and passed by Congress, and is designed to promote and showcase the immense role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, and college- and career-ready students. In the UK, with EBacc not containing creative subjects, uptake of arts subjects at GCSE level at the lowest level for a decade, the closure of some arts A Levels, including Creative Writing which comes to an end this year, and a decrease in University level uptake of arts courses, National Arts in Education Week would allow us to protect the important role arts education plays. Research has shown the creative industries are the most rapidly growing sector of the British economy and with more jobs becoming automated, creativity is likely to become increasingly important. Arts education has also been shown to help develop important skills such as idea generation, problem solving, and imagination – for example Congress’s resolution to create National Arts in Education week in the US states “arts education enables students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, imagination and creativity, discipline, alternative ways to communicate and express ideas, and cross- cultural understanding, which supports academic success across the curriculum as well as personal growth outside the classroom”. Finally, National Arts in Education Week would also be important in terms of who goes on to work in the arts industry itself - the arts are a chance to reflect on who we are, who we were and who we can be and research has shown that those from backgrounds not connected to the arts are most likely to be put off studying arts subjects by EBacc and other recent developments and also that students who don’t study the arts at school are then less likely to study the arts at university level then less likely to pursue the arts as a career then less likely, when they have children, to encourage their children to pursue the arts, so developments like EBacc not including creative subjects are likely to have a long term impact on who our artists, writers, film-makers and other roles in the arts industry are. For all of these reasons, it is important that National Arts in Education Week is introduced by the government in the UK.

Oil based plastics & their role in waste pollution are undeniably one of the most prominent problems facing our planets ecology to date, it affects all of us and our future on this planet. While we and our industries now rely on them for various uses, we must ask ourselves whether the damage we are causing out weighs their necessity and also whether the financial costs of making the change are viable. I would hope every single person would quickly and clearly say that in the case of most plastics, the answer is *Yes*. So what can we do?.....There has been a solution and an alternative for a long time: bio-degradable plastics made from hemp cellulose. We aim to get legislation passed that all plastics where possible are replaced with 100% biodegradable plastics & the use of oil based plastics reduced to the most necessary of uses such as HDPE plastics for industrial purposes. This does not mean that we can just sit back and relax, the biodegradable plastics will still require diligent collection and the correct conditions to degrade. This change should be made along side methane capture projects to ensure the methane given off at all landfill is captured and used as an energy source and not just left to escape into the atmosphere. Whilst traditional plastics take a long time to decompose and release harmful toxins into the ground, hemp plastics do not. They do however release methane, which we must be vigilant of - but as stated above this also opens up possibilities in methane capture and re-useable energy. Increased recycling availability (especially near the coast) will be paramount, as will clear identification of biodegradable plastics but this small step will have a great impact for the planet we live on, as well as our future generations. On top of that the increased growth of hemp will have a substantial impact on reversing the effects of deforestation and open up a whole new industry for hemp use in 100's if not 1000's of applications, reducing our reliability on crude oil. Win Win Hemp was once our greatest and foremost industrial crop for thousands of years, it is only in the last few centuries that it has declined in the U.K. And USA especially, due to its affiliation with marijuana and outdated drug laws. Let's work together and make the world a better place 💚

It is wrong for a political party to question the decisions of licensing officers. This is akin to rejection of the law to suit political ends rather than protection of the public or workers. This is important also because it shows an unashamed attempt to garner support from a voting section of the public. Moreover it does not represent the Local authorities inhabitants alone and cannot be proven. A political party should not be lobbying to obfuscate the work of those carrying out licensing.

The Directors of Airedale NHS Trust are about to transfer the staff who run hospital buildings, grounds and purchasing departments into a private company. This private company can only provide cheaper services to the hospital if it cuts corners, or cuts jobs, pay and working conditions. Lower pay and increased work will hit the morale of already overstretched NHS staff, making it hard for their families to make ends meet and the whole community. Hospital staff should be thinking about how to provide the best service for patients, not worrying about how they’re going to pay the bills. The NHS is not only a provider of health care for all, free at the point of need but an important provider of good quality, fairly paid jobs.

Because he disabled people like myself have accidents and are unable to stand to be cleaned up or changed they cold fall or abuse injury to those who are trying to help us

In 2011, residents voted against a merge of the councils in a referendum. If the conservatives want to now merge, they must seek a mandate to do so. To go ahead without properly consulting would be a betrayal to local residents. Whether you think it's a terrible idea or a good one, residents must have a say.

Conductors are NEEDED on train's for safety reasons and for helping disabled people to access train's, all so tickets are not available at all stations which leads to delays and possible prosecution

The above is important because at the moment we are seeing a kind of bus pass apartheid, in that the sixty year olds of England are being treated grossly unfairly by this unjust law. Why should sixty year olds in, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and London be treated better than sixty year olds in England. So either make bus passes available for all at sixty, or bring the aforementioned in line with England. This bus pass anomoaly is a glaring misscariage of decency, and England’s sixty year olds are seemingly deemed as less worthy than the rest of the country.

Bield care homes provide care for more than 160 people in Scotland, all of whom are about to lose their homes. Most of these residents are elderly and have complex needs, including dementia. My 87 year old Grandmother is a resident of Bield. Leaving her house of over 50 years was a massive wrench. She has said that "having to start over again is terrifying". She feels the situation to be "just hopeless". Other residents have said that they feel "completely forgotten about" and are "fearful of what their future holds". The thought of my gran and others having to find new accommodation and to go through another long settling in period, doesn't bear thinking about. The impact on my gran's and that of other residents' mental health would be catastrophic. For a person living with dementia, having familiarity of surroundings and trusted faces contributes to them feeling safe and secure. How sad that for so many of Bield's residents all that they know is about to be taken away from them. Bield's overarching values include "Dignity" and "Caring". Their slogan is "a home for life". They plan to close 12 care homes. This is also believed to be affecting 200 staff. Several of these homes will be giving notice to their registry body close to Christmas, so time is of the essence. We implore the Scottish Government to take action against these closures in order to spare these residents further distress. Bield Care Homes planned for closure: Woodlands - Bo'ness (Falkirk) Thornton Gardens - Bonnybridge (Falkirk) Grantsbank - Dunfermline (Fife) Gillie Court - Dunfermline (Fife) Finavon Court - Glenrothes (Fife) Lochar Lodge - Pollok (Glasgow) Milfield Gardens - Jedburgh (Scottish Borders) Langvout Court - Biggar (South Lanarkshire) St Andrews Court - Broxburn (West Lothian) West Port - Linlithgow (West Lothian) Haugh Street - Edinburgh Craighall Gardens - Edinburgh

We the undersigned wish to express our profound disquiet at the roll-out of digital Universal Credit (UC). The Government’s plans will continue to replace all means-tested social security benefits and tax credits for those of working age, across Greater Manchester and beyond. We believe that we should not stand for such wilful ignorance of the impacts of the new system. We urge individuals, groups, organisations, MPs, councillors, landlords and housing associations to stand in solidarity against the Universal Credit roll-out. Signed and shared by: Greater Manchester Law Centre, GM Poverty Action, Big Issue North, Salford Mayor Paul Dennett, Salford Council Welfare Rights and Debt Advice Team, Salford Star, People's Plan GM, Coffee 4 Craig, St Mungo's Unite, Kill the Housing Bill, Cllr Gary Bridges, Cllr Bev Craig, Cllr Basat Sheik, Cllr Richard Leese, Council Labour Group, Manchester Shield, Withington Lib Dems. As this catastrophe unfolds the shortcomings and blind spots of UC have increasingly become clear. The following are the six issues, faced by individuals and families, which concern us most: 1. People are experiencing waits of six to twelve weeks (sometimes longer) for their first payment of Universal Credit. Consequently, people are spiraling into debt and rent arrears which they may find it impossible to recover from. 2. Universal Credit claims can only be processed online through a system called verify which cannot be completed without requisite ID or computer access. Some of the most vulnerable people, such as those who are disabled, precariously housed, homeless or non-UK citizens, find it extremely difficult to claim. This both lengthens the waiting period for first payments and makes it difficult for individuals to maintain their claims, putting them at risk of sanctions. 3. Sanctions are being applied erratically and arbitrarily in relation to UC. There is mounting evidence highlighting unfair use of sanctions, for example individuals have received them for being at work and missing their work focused interview. Full service roll-out will also bring housing benefit into the realm of sanctions, directly increasing the risk of evictions and homelessness. 4. Under UC many will see a reduction in their financial entitlement and will be living off substantially less money. In some cases individuals will be around £100-£300 less well off per month than on previous legacy benefits like Employment and Support Allowance and Severe Disability Premium . Disabled people and those with debilitating heath conditions will be pushed further into poverty as a result. 5. Young People aged 18-25 will be disproportionately affected by UC, . For example, those aged between 18-21 will not be entitled to housing benefit under UC unless in an exempt category. The exemptions will not cover thousands of at risk young people, resulting in mounting debt and homelessness. 6. Evidence suggests that UC is pushing more children and families into poverty. Unjust elements of UC like the two child limit do not support working or non-working families. Direct links to welfare reform, specifically UC are causing professionals to highlight the risk of more children going into care and families becoming homeless. We call on the Government to halt the roll-out while all of the problems are reviewed, to avoid creating unnecessary suffering. Universal Credit, if rolled out in its current form, is a Universal Catastrophe that will place an unsustainable burden on the finances of local authorities, charitable organisations and support services who will ultimately be left to pick up the pieces.

This is important because the cafe has been part of all our childhood and a huge amount of people have happy memories of this cafe. LLP Properties should be held accountable to explain why they are driving out our town’s local businesses and forcing the local people out of jobs which they need to support their own families too. NLC should be doing more to help local businesses NOT helping and standing by and watching them close down. Our home town is slowly dying due to the total greed by this company’s attitude towards its residents who are trying to make a living and serve a community. Start to think about folks livelihoods NOT bank balances for your own self gain. We the people of Motherwell demand that you withdraw the outrageous hike towards our town’s businesses. We demand it NOW!