Bristol Energy is an energy company owned by Bristol City Council. Following huge losses, the Council has decided to sell the company. At least £35m of public money has been put into the company, but it is unclear exactly how much mismanagement of Bristol Energy has cost Bristol residents. A well supported petition is needed to demonstrate to Councillors that there is a public demand for this inquiry, and that we as Bristol residents expect an explanation for the expensive failure of the energy company we collectively own. News coverage: BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-52822862 Bristol 24/7: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/call-for-independent-inquiry-into-bristol-energy-voted-down/ Bristol Post: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/call-independent-inquiry-bristol-energy-4168284?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar Original Council motion here (see Item 5): https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=8430 Watch how the motion was debated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZWSRrV-tlo&t=2541s

Thousands of people are in dire circumstances after being deprived of most public funds since the coronavirus outbreak because of strict visa restrictions. Under current rules, people here on short term visas are subjected to the “no recourse to public funds” policy, meaning that they are prevented from accessing many benefits, such as Universal Credit. Councils are prevented from giving them certain help, including access to housing. This harsh rule is leaving thousands of families really struggling to survive during the coronavirus pandemic. We’re calling on the Home Secretary, the UK Work and Pensions Secretary and the government as a whole to scrap the “no recourse for public funds” status for migrants during Covid-19.

As part of the dispersal system Asylum Seekers are sent all over the country, having no choice on where they live. The housing provided is generally in terrible conditions, with many people having to share bedrooms with people who are complete strangers and are expected to survive on £35 per week. Once an Asylum Seeker has been granted refugee status they are then forced out of their NASS housing, having no means of support and are often left homeless.

Housing is a basic human right, however, it is no secret that the UK is amidst a major housing crisis. Millions of people are unable to access decent housing at an affordable price. With housing costs continuing to increase, many individuals and families are pushed into overcrowded situations, and into poverty. Hundreds of thousands of houses are required to be built each year in order to resolve homelessness, affordability and overcrowding issues. A shelter report found that ¼ of people have had to reduce the amount of money they spend on food, in order to cover their housing costs and avoid rental arrears. With house prices rising, many are unable to move away from the private rented sector towards home ownership, and therefore affordable housing is crucial to support the livelihood of millions. In 2019, over 10,000 people were homed in temporary accommodation due to their inability to afford the costs associated with housing. Despite this, not nearly enough affordable, or social housing was built to relieve this number. It is essential that adequate funding is given to allow Local Authorities to take control, and build enough social and affordable housing within their area to alleviate this issue, while supporting sustainable growth within the community.

We are living in a time when coming together as local community is more important than ever before and Spire FM has been at the heart of our local community. Bauer Media will be combining Spire FM with stations from Blackpool to Norwich and Swansea as Greatest Hits Radio. Although there might still be some local news, that means no more local voices or businesses on War of the Works or Ring-a-ding-a-donut, no more local schools singing on the Countdown to Christmas and no local presenters living in our communities and understanding issues from Novichok to gridlock getting out of Tescos in Southampton Road. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/may/27/local-radio-regional-stations-england-bauer-rebranding-national-network

its the heart of city radio station local and Informative cares about its listeners

Homelessness is a national scale problem in the 21st century so I'm seeking for the help of funds to identify and help those currently in need. Also to prevent homelessness being seen and chosen as the only alternative. Please sign the petition today so men, women and children no longer have to go through this during a global pandemic.

Granting new secure tenancy’s to social tenants with assured tenancies and providing support to victims of domestic abuse by placing them in safe accommodation is the least Leeds City Council can do to uphold women's housing rights. Ensuring that women have access to safe housing is a RIGHT and makes sure women can avoid becoming homeless.

Many Optician practices across the UK carry out each eye examination at an average time of 20 minutes per patient or a staggering 10 minutes in some cases. These are unacceptable time scales and they place patients in danger as missed pathology can lead to serious eye disease and can sometimes lead to other serious health conditions. The practitioners who carry out these eye exams are also putting their careers at risk by agreeing to work to these time scales. Missed pathology will almost certainly lead to fitness to practise (FTP) hearings with the GOC, and the potential for erasure from the optician’s register is a real concern for all practitioners. The GOC’s overarching objective is the protection of the public (Opticians Act Section 1). However, they have not yet addressed this time scale issue. The GOC Registrant Survey 2016 states: “One area identified by participants as having an effect on patients was the length of the sight test. Some participants explained that employers and businesses can put pressure on registrants to conduct as many eye tests as they can in a day. This can result in registrants not being able to always spend enough time with patients. Participants also mentioned that they were under pressure to achieve certain “conversion rate” targets (i.e. to ensure that an eye test with a patient leads to the patient then buying glasses or contact lenses within the store).” We also believe that The College of Optometrists, the Association of Optometrists (AOP) and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) have collectively failed to provide clear and concise guidelines on this matter. Many people working within the industry feel that the answers possibly lie with the major High Street Opticians and their influence on all the bodies mentioned above, which surprisingly includes the governing body (GOC). The vast majority of these representative bodies, if not all, have at least one board member affiliated with a national high street optician chain. This is seen by many as a conflict of interest. A recurring question amongst practitioners is, how are these board members influencing these representative bodies behind closed doors? Every high street optical chain is reliant on high patient volume within their business models. Reduced exam times and the absence of law in this area, means more patients can be seen in each clinic. Which is great for business, profits and turnover, but not so great for the quality of patient care and it’s certainly not beneficial for the well-being of the practitioners that carry out the eye exams. Unfortunately many practitioners who work within these high street businesses are ‘performance managed’ to work to these time scales. Failure to adhere to the current time scales leads to practitioners being ‘performance managed’ out of the businesses. This unacceptable behaviour highlights the profits before patients syndrome, which has been like a cancer that’s spread through the profession over the years. This conveyor belt system leads the public to view practitioners in this field as glasses sellers or salesmen. Whereas the truth is far from this view. A Journal of Optometry study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4911451/) found that Optometrists working in Multiple Optician chains were twice as likely to refer false positives to the Hospital Eye Service (HES) compared to Independent Optician practices. When you factor in the shortage of Ophthalmologists (Centre for Workforce Intelligence, 2014) working in the HES. False positive referrals can have a significant impact on the HES. The same study went on to claim; “Myint and colleagues found that lack of TIME to repeat measurements, or remuneration for doing such, as the most commonly reported barriers to effective glaucoma detection in the UK”. The study also found that after the introduction of the new Scottish NHS GOS contract which allows for longer exam times, “there was a significant reduction in false positive referrals and a significant increase in true positive referrals.” An example of the effect this can have on the HES: (https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/professional-support/health-services/2019/11/11/glaucoma-patient-who-went-blind-receives-three-point-two-million-pound-compensation) The AOP’s own “Optometrists Futures Survey” from October 2018 (section 7.3.2) clearly highlights the need for changes to increase the exam times. Almost two years have passed and this point has yet to be addressed by the AOP. The Optical Workforce Survey (2015), Lead by The College of Optometry, states the following regarding the pressures on the HES: “Since 2004, the Department of Health (DH) has been trying to encourage the delivery of more routine and minor emergency eye care outside hospital settings in community optical practices. The aim is to free up hospital capacity to cope with increasing demand from both the ageing population and new technologies such as treatments for wet age related macular degeneration (The King’s Fund, 2009).” This highlights the urgent need to reduce false positive referrals caused by the commercial pressures which impose inadequate examination times on practitioners. The current pandemic also highlights the importance of longer eye exam times. The use of PPE, disinfection and social distancing measures will require added time to carry out eye exams once the suspension on routine sight testing has been lifted. There is also the lingering prospect of potential monopolies being formed, (https://www.financierworldwide.com/essilorluxottica-and-grandvision-agree-8bn-merger#.Xs-8WxbTWEc). This will no doubt effect patient safety as the aim of increasing commercial revenue will take precedence. By signing this petition you will help safeguard patients and practitioners as well as highlight the points made in this petition to the government.

Wildfires started by barbecues are a danger to human and wildlife, property, livelihoods. People can not be relied on to use them responsibly, so their sale or use must be banned. Drier conditions mean the countryside is going to continue to be liable to burn, and there are currently damaging fires burning in Wareham Forest, Dorset https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-52799505 and Hatfield Moor, Yorkshire, https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2020/05/26/hatfield-moors-fire/ Recent years have seen huge fires on Marsden Moor, and at many other locations throughout the UK, which will take years for nature to recover from. Particularly hard hit at this time of year will be ground nesting birds. Use the countryside by all means, but take sandwiches or other cold food. Cook your sausages and burgers at home. Please don't start fires.

With social institutions likely being closed for the remainder of the year we should be able to drink in public areas, such as parks, which allow for individuals to socialise while still adhering to distancing rules.

More than 22 tonnes of formaldehyde, which causes cancer and is used as an embalming fluid, were poured into cages to disinfect salmon in Loch Ness, Loch Sheil, Loch Lochy and seven other lochs over nine months in 2019. Residents of Lochaber and elsewhere in the Highlands are rightly worried as many of these lochs feed public water supplies. Formaldehyde is a colourless, strong-smelling gas used in a liquid solution called formalin to treat farmed salmon in freshwater lochs. SEPA, which authorises its use, says that uncontrolled releases “have the potential to cause significant harm to the environment”. The chemical was classified as a human carcinogen by the UK government in 2016. New data released by Sepa disclosed that a total 22.4 tonnes of formaldehyde were used by 12 fish farms on 29 occasions between April and December 2019. Seven companies were given permission to apply the chemical, with the vast majority – 19.6 tonnes – being used by Norwegian-owned Mowi, formerly known as Marine Harvest. At one loch – Loch Lochy, near Spean Bridge – Mowi used 11 tonnes of formaldehyde – far more than elsewhere. The company poured 3.2 tonnes into fish cages at nearby Loch Arkaig, 2.8 tonnes at Loch Sheil in Glenfinnan and 2.2 tones at Camas na Mult on Loch Ness. https://bit.ly/fish_farm_pesticide