Loch Ness is under threat from over 500 wind turbines approved and in the planning stage within a 22 mile radius. Loch Ness and the Great Glen are now prime targets for windfarm developers. There are calls to classify Loch Ness and the Great Glen a World Heritage Site because of their international importance. They are Scotland’s second most popular tourist draw. Yet, environmental destruction could threaten some of the Highland’s most scenic areas. Loch Ness and environs and the Great Glen are under threat as never before from the attention of wind farm companies. You can make a difference by signing a petition to the Scottish Parliament pleading to save Glen Urquhart, Loch Ness and the Great Glen. These are the world’s most beautiful landscapes and contain some of Europe’s last remaining wild land. http://www.savelochness.com/main.html http://www.stop-turbines-at-glenurquhart.co.uk/index.html http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2015/04/03/loch-ness-anti-wind-farm-campaigners-speak-out-about-new-turbine-proposals-for-this-scenic-scottish-jewel/ Windfarm developers Force9 have now appealed this ruling to turn down the windfarm at local authority level. They have now appealed to the Scottish Government. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/914554/victory-for-campaign-after-windfarm-above-loch-ness-is-turned-down/ https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/about/resources/774-cnoc-an-eas-wind-farm

Where there is a caring role, very often the family experience severe financial hardship and this is exacerbated if the carer cannot claim carers allowance. Many carers have to give up work, training or education to look after the person they care for and are unable to claim any money in recognition of their caring role if the person they care for is on ESA and does not qualify for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). An example of this is a 25 year old carer who had to drop out of university 4 years ago when his father died suddenly and his mother had a breakdown. She is unable to look after herself without his help yet he is unable to claim carers allowance as she is on ESA and has been refused PIP and he is unable to work because of his caring responsibilities. Consequently, they suffer extreme poverty and are in debt which has resulted in potential eviction from their home. Another example is a 17 year old who had to move from his father's house to another county to care for his mother who suffers extreme anxiety which means she is unable to leave the house on her own, answer the phone or the front door so relies heavily on her son. As he is only 17 and unable to work or engage in training or eduaction due to his caring role the family are unable to claim child benefit for him or carers allowance as the mother is on ESA and has been refused PIP. There are many more such examples and I feel strongly this needs to change so that those who suffer some of the wprst financial hardship are not made to suffer further.

My son has multiple needs and had no home school or any type of education in 2 years 5 special needs schools have refused my son and stats dont no what to do they lied to the press and since my article many parents have come forward with the same problem in the local community y should we fight so hard for our kids to have education my son is 2. Years behind because stats failed

The nurseries are outstanding and a fabric of the local community. Some have been running for over 30 years, with dedicated well trained staff teams. They provide affordable childcare to children with different type of needs i.e special educational needs, deaf children, parents on low -medium income, lone parents, students, residents that may require support. Cutting funding for these nursery's will affect parent’s ability to work and will affect the children's well-being, especially children who are disabled or have other specialised needs. If privatised the cost of these nurseries will go up, meaning that many parents will not be able to afford to send their children. As parents we are concerned that cuts are the driving force of the Tower Hamlets proposals. Value needs to be given to quality of care provision, service user’s experience, rather than who can do it cheaper. Tower Hamlets Council is depriving the vulnerable children the services vital to their development, putting additional stress on parents of Tower Hamlets and communities, destroying long lasting community hubs. Our Tower Hamlets, Our Voice, Our Nurseries.

Currently, in the UK everyone has to pass their maths and English language GCSE, regardless of any disabilities that may prevent them from doing so. Since 2013, all 16 to 18-year-old students who do not already have a grade C in English or maths have to continue studying the subjects. Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has said: “Inspection evidence shows that, for some students, having to retake their GCSE can be demotivating and that attendance at these lessons is lower.” My mother works in the field of special education and says it is upsetting and unfair to those with learning difficulties who just can't pass. It is obvious that some people are more able than others, and judging everyone by the same standards is unfair and wrong. I know of a 19-year-old resitting his GCSE maths and English for the fourth time this summer, and planning to continue trying for another two years. He is perfectly eloquent, has a job, and plans to join the army. The only thing holding him back is his dyslexia and dyscalculia (number and letter blindness) that means he can't read the test papers and is stopping him continuing with his life. We plan to ask the government to allow people with a diagnosed learning difficulty to stop repeating their GCSE Mathematics and English after they have completed full-time education (at 18) if they and a specialist learning support member both agree they do not wish to continue. The government should then be more flexible with other qualifications and job prospects.

On 23 January 2017 President Trump signed an executive order reinstating the Global Gag Rule, or the Mexico City Policy. This order denies U.S. funding to global health and family planning organisations if they use money from other donors to provide abortion services, counselling or referrals—even if abortion is legal in a country. It blocks critical funding for life-saving health services like contraception, maternal health, Zika and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for any organisation that refuses to sign it. It will have a devastating effect. The World Health Organisation estimates that every day, 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth and 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. The Policy will hit hardest women living at the margins of society – the poorest, the most remote and those under 25. Zika and HIV are more likely to spread. Millions will suffer. The Global Gag Rule jeopardises the investment the UK Government has made in women’s health globally. Due to close inter-linkages between women’s health and poverty, environmental degradation, forced migration and conflict, these trends will worsen. The Global Gag Rule is an attempt to silence the voice, choice, and control of the world’s poorest women. The Policy is an assault on every woman, everywhere. In the spirit of the Women’s Marches last weekend, we call on the UK government to join other governments in championing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights both politically and financially. So please sign and share our petition asking the UK Government to champion life-saving services for women across the world. Many thanks, The IPPF team For more on the Global Gag Rule: http://www.ippf.org/news/why-we-will-not-sign-global-gag-rule

The new X20 bus route no longer passes through the North Broomhill & Togston villages, the residents now face up to a 3 mile rural walk to the nearest bus stop based in Hadston village to use the X20 bus service to reach the two nearest towns. We have elderly, frail & young members of our community whom are too vulnerable to make an approximate 30 minute walk between rural villages and cannot navigate the suggested alternative bus routes as they all require bus changes in different villages with a considerable distance between bus stations. An alternative service (X18) allowing passengers to commute from North Broomhill & Togston village to Hadston village and only runs once an hour, has the bus stop located at what is known as the 'road end' thus these vulnerable members of our community have to walk a considerable distance in order to access their local Doctors surgery, Children's Care Centre, Community Centre, pharmacy and shopping precinct. We would really appreciate your help in highlighting our concerns and asking DR Manfred Rudhart CEO Arriva North East to reinstate a vital bus route for those most with need and vulnerability in our community. Many thanks for taking the time to read this.

The Belfast Telegraph recently published an article outlining plans to demolish the Movie House on Dublin Road. "Plans are now under way to knock down the Movie House cinema on Dublin Road and build a £65m 12-storey office scheme with a capacity for 3,000 staff." You can read more here http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/65m-office-block-at-belfast-movie-house-site-will-create-600-jobs-35398523.html I believe that the Movie House on Dublin Road is one of the best cinemas in the city, out of the very few that we have. Losing it would be yet another nail in the coffin for the arts in Belfast for the sake of the commercial and financial gain of the minority. Any proposal to demolish this wonderful cinema would be yet another example of the rampant 'beigification' of Belfast. Those of us who want to save the Movie House from such shameful fate need to fight for it right now. A petition signed by 1000s of people whilst an open consultation process is ongoing may just make developers think twice about demolishing our cinema. We need the power of signatures to help us convince developers that the cinema is worth keeping and important to many people. We must unite and reject any proposals to destroy our arts scene.

Portavoe holds a special place in our hearts, and it would be devastating to lose such a haven of beauty and tranquility. The decommissioning of our open reservoirs and placing them onto the open market has quite rightly caused outcry from us, the public, who have enjoyed them for so many years. A local property developer has won a recent High Court battle with Northern Ireland Water in his wider bid to buy lands, and if successful could completely ban the public from them. NI Waters fought the case at the High Court as hard as they could, but the judgement could be subject to appeal. Ards/North Down Councils had also expressed interest in purchasing the land for the benefit of all residents. Please sign the petition to show your support for keeping Portavoe accessible to all! For more information please follow "Friends of Portavoe" page on Facebook.

This is important because it is an outdated and ignorant approach to modern day work life. I left my role within a very large law firm as I was unable to continue working for a company who said that I cannot be taken seriously and would never have a successful career if I did not wear makeup or wear a specific nail colour. This archaic approach made me feel very uncomfortable and disheartened that as a woman, my looks were considered far more important and influential than my abilities to fulfill a role. Dress length, make-up, nail colours, heels are all things that don't define your ability to do a job, so they should not be made part of a company policy. I'd love Intelligent Office to take a stand on this and show the way for other companies on these sexist policies

Waiting time for appointments should depend on need not the basic ability to pay. Do we need to go back to pre NHS times just so extremely well paid GP's can increase their coffers? It is basically dangerous. Already the poorer members of our society have a lower life expectancy and generally poorer health, paying for a GP will just excesserbate the current situation. GP appointments for medical reasons, should always be free at the point of contact and remain a basic tenet of the NHS.

In the UK we use a staggering 38.5 million single-use plastic bottles and a further 58 million cans every day! Only half of these are recycled, so it’s no surprise that many of these end up on our beaches and in our oceans. Plastic bottles take 450 years to break down, killing marine life, harming the coastal ecosystem and ruining our beaches. Placing a small deposit on plastic bottles and cans would dramatically increase recycling and reduce marine plastic pollution. This petition has been set up by Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity. Find out more about Surfers Against Sewage here: www.sas.org.uk For more information on deposit return systems please visit Surfers Against Sewage’s Message In A Bottle campaign site. https://www.sas.org.uk/messageinabottle/ A delegation from Surfers Against Sewage will deliver the petition signatures to the Governments in Westminster (London), Holyrood (Edinburgh), Senedd (Cardiff) and Stormont (Belfast).