Midwifery is a separate role from nursing. Both professions are unique in every way, from character of the role, all the way back to preregistration study. Midwives have a completely different way of working and totally different responsibilities. This has meant that an individual arrangement has always been necessary to ensure public safety, public health, support of women's choice and, of course, promoting the health of generations to come. The NMC have, in one fell swoop, and ignoring the results of their own consultation, removed supervision, removed the need for a midwifery committee and declared that independent midwives have inadequate insurance to provide intrapartum (birth) care for their clients. If an independent midwife has provided antenatal care, she may not now provide intrapartum care. If she attends the birth, the NMC have stated she will be struck off the register. This action has resulted in many women suddenly being faced with the loss of the intimate and trusting relationship they have developed with their midwife. There is unlimited research proving that this model of care is the gold standard. The long term implications for the mental and emotional health of all those affected will be enormous. Any stress during pregnancy has the potential to affect fetal neurological development and maternal attachment and bonding. Far from protecting the public, this decision is creating serious emotional and financial harm to women (including midwives) and their families. In summary, the ultimate outcome of this action will lead to the downgrading of midwifery as a profession. This will result in a much higher level of maternal and infant death. (Look at the USA where midwifery has often been outlawed). Act now to save midwifery before it is too late.

Safety on the school run!

This is the last bank in our town of Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire. A branch in the adjoining town of Dollar already closed. Customers would need to travel either to Stirling, or Falkirk, or use online banking. Our argument is that a good number of elderly customers(and maybe some younger) who use this branch have no knowledge of using a computer far less online banking. Many will not be able to use buses to these towns, or have family convenient to drive them to the other branches. We do not want this branch to close.

O'Donoghues is a true community pub in the heart of Marlow. It's the only pub in the town that doesn't serve food, that shows a wide array of sports and appeals to a variety of (adult) ages. We think the proposed plans will remove the community aspect of the pub, and transform it into a gastropub like the others we have in the area. Currently, it is a quintessential British boozer that is a favourite, not just amongst locals, but also the friends we have brought here. Countless relationships have been made in this pub and all the regular patrons (of which there are many) are saddened and disappointed at the proposal to fundamentally change what makes our pub so special. We understand that the pub needs to make profit, but surely there is a way to still make a profit whilst keeping the character, clientele and true essence of our local pub. Please support us.

It seems reasonable to ask for longer hours for local health centers - although mornings and early evenings would surely be adequate. A government that makes demands without considering the cost causes us a huge problem. I am a taxpayer, and am very happy to pay more to get adequate public services. I am certain that every tax-payer will be content to pay more in order to have adequate health care. BUT our local practice - and very likely many others - have already cut back their operation to the bone, to the point at which an further increase in running costs will have to mean a lack of attention to patients - essential home visits to patients who are unable to get to the surgery might be one possibility. Our own surgery runs a drop-in every weekday morning. Two excellent nurse-practitioners and one doctor are in attendance. All of them make home visits after morning drop-in. Extra staff to cover extra hours will cost money the surgery does not have.

This will enable parents and grandparents to have access to children when parental relationships breakdown. This will reduce the emotional harm done to children when they are prevented from seeing their family members. They will not feel abandoned. It will reduce the conflict between adults who need support to understand the affect their behaviour has on a child. This will make conciliation affordable to all.

The Plantation Gardens are a Grade II English Heritage registered garden of national importance. A major part of Norfolk's heritage and history is involved with the gardens and we must fight to stop it's forced and unfair closure. The head of MJB hotels who owns all the paths into the gardens is set close them on the 27th of January! The Plantation Garden Trust have a permanent legal right of access to the gardens. So please sign the petition to make sure everyone can continue to enjoy this beauty spot.

The former vicarage is of special architectural and historic interest; it contributes to a group of important listed buildings (all by the same designer) at the heart of a conservation area. Although heavily vandalised (caused by neglect and poor security over many years), the listed building is capable of rehabilitation, adaptation and extension to form multiple dwellings. Lost interior details can by copied from Austin's own 1875 home, The Knoll, in Lancaster. To pay for the scheme, additional houses can be built in the vicarage gardens in such a way as to open up the views to the west end of the Grade I listed church, save the south lawn, and better use the listed boundary wall and gates. The counter proposal to demolition is more sustainable, sympathetic to the site and enhances a forlorn and abandoned heritage asset.

This is going to place further financial strain on families and also the safety of children is paramount as the children who normally get a bus to school would have to walk along busy roads

Stand Up to Trump statement The election of Donald Trump is deeply disturbing and a stark warning to us all. Every right-wing figure and organisation is rejoicing at the prospect of President Trump. The shameful list stretches from Marine le Pen and the Front National in France, Gert Wilders in Holland, Norbert Hofer in Austria, right wing leaders in Poland and Hungary to most of the Republican Party and the Ku Klux Klan. In Britain Nigel Farage and UKIP are at the head of the Trump bandwagon supported by sections of the Tory Party. Racism – whether Islamophobia, or antis emitism, relentless scapegoating of migrants and refugees, the disregard for black lives or shockingly, blatant belief in white supremacy – is growing significantly. Racial attacks and other hate crimes are worryingly on the rise. In addition, Trump’s election is encouraging and legitimising a backlash against women’s and LGBT+ rights - hard won over the past half century – not to mention the possibly devastating impact on climate change. Against the background of a discredited neoliberal ideology which has devastated lives and communities and whole countries globally, these developments have already encouraged some to vote for Brexit and translated into electoral success for the right in the US. This could very possibly now be repeated in France with the election of Le Pen in France next spring and the further growth of UKIP in the UK. The parallels with the 1930s, while not exact, are too disturbing for comfort. But the outcome is far from settled. It entirely depends on how millions of us – at home and abroad - react. We and our values of respect and cooperation, represent the views of millions. We now need to turn that huge reservoir of support into a resounding internationalist answer to the divisive politics of despair of Trump, Farage and their Tory outriders. Time is short. We cannot allow racism to seep deeper into society and whatever our other differences, we must unite together to meet this serious threat. We the undersigned therefore urgently call for anti-racists, trade unionists, community and campaign activists, and above all everybody of goodwill, to join the growing opposition to Trump and what he stands for. In particular, please help us build for two vitally important demonstrations initiated by Stand up to Racism: The ‘Stand up to Trump’ mobilisation on Presidential Inauguration day, US Embassy Grosvenor Square Friday 20 January 2017 Stand up to Trump, Stand up to Racism, No to Islamophobia and Antisemitism, Refugees are welcome, Black Lives Matter National Demonstrations 18 March in London and Glasgow, supported by the TUC Signed by: Diane Abbott MP, Shadow Home Secretary Emily Thornberry MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary Clive Lewis MP, Shadow Business Secretary Talha Ahmad, Muslim Council of Britain Rabbi Lee Wax Dr Shazad Amin Muslim Engagement and Development CEO Dr Siema Iqbal, Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) Bruce Kent Len McCluskey, General Secretary Unite Dave Ward, General Secretary CWU Tony Kearns, Deputy General Secretary, CWU Kevin Courtney, General Secretary, NUT Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, PCS Mick Whelan, General Secretary ASLEF Manuel Cortes, General Secretary TSSA Sally Hunt, General Secretary UCU Ian Lawrence, General Secretary NAPO Ronnie Draper, General Secretary BFAWU Ian Hodson, President BFAWU Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Shadow Attorney General Lord (John) Monks, former General Secretary TUC Lord (Bill) Morris, former General Secretary TGWU Baroness (Angela) Smith, Shadow Leader of the House of Lords Weyman Bennett, Stand Up to Racism Sabby Dhalu, Stand Up To Racism Grainne McGuire, Comedian Shakira Martin, NUS Vice President FE Mohammed Kozbar, Muslim Association of Britain Steve Hart, Unite Against Fascism Hugh Lanning, Unite Against Fascism Lindsey German, Convenor Stop the War Kate Hudson, General Secretary CND Dave Anderson MP Tracy Brabin MP Ben Bradshaw MP Ruth Cadbury MP Nic Dakin MP Wayne David MP Bill Esterson MP Paul Flynn MP Kate Green MP Carolyn Harris MP George Howarth MP Stephen Kinnock MP David Lammy MP Holly Lynch MP Rachael Maskell MP Madeleine Moon MP Ian Murray MP Lisa Nandy MP Kate Osamor MP Jess Phillips MP Steve Reed MP Virendra Sharma MP Wes Streeting MP Chuka Umunna MP Valerie Vaz MP Catherine West MP Daniel Zeichner MP Baroness (Tessa) Blackstone Baroness (May) Blood Baroness (Jean) Corston Lord (Quentin) Davies Lord (Derek) Foster Lord (George) Foulkes Baroness (Joyce) Gould Lord (Peter) Hain Lord (Alan) Haworth Baroness (Bev) Hughes Lord (Bob) Hughes Lord (Frank) Judd Baroness (Alicia) Kennedy Baroness (Glenys) Kinnock Lord (Neil) Kinnock Baroness (Doreen) Lawrence Lord (Chris) Lennie Baroness (Helen) Liddell Lord (David) Lipsey Baroness (Ruth) Lister Lord (Ken) Morgan Lord (Tom) Pendry Baroness (Dawn) Primarolo Lord (Tom) Sawyer Lord (David) Triesman Baroness (Janet) Whitaker Lord (Larry) Whitty Micheline Ngongo, Councillor Islington Claudia Webbe, Councillor Islington Suzanne Jeffery, Chair Campaign Against Climate Change

Camden Council is planning to close Netherwood which is a specialist dementia day centre - the only one of its kind - in Camden. This will be the third time Camden has tried to close it since 2011. Each time we campaigned and won. We need to win again. Situated in NW6 between West Hampstead and Kilburn, Netherwood is regularly visited by people the world over, so impressive is its design and the care received by the people who attend it. If Camden Council closes this centre and sells off the land, as is the general feeling, then it will be lost forever. The council will never be able to afford such a site again. If the closure goes ahead, those attending their beloved Netherwood will be "decanted" to another nearby centre which is not a specialist day centre and is not purpose-built. The council says it will have money to make alterations to the building to make it "dementia friendly". We argue: why spend money on partially reconfiguring another centre when you have one right there that is purpose built? We appreciate local governments are having to make huge budget cuts, but we believe losing such a jewel of a resource will be a travesty and will adversely impact generations to come. Please help us save this incredible community resource a third time! Dementia is recognised as a growing concern in today's society. Not only is it important that there is excellent care for the person with dementia, it is also crucial that family carers are given time to themselves to recharge from what can often be a hugely challenging and exhausting situation. Places like Netherwood enable families to STAY together. They also keep people from being hospitalised and we know how important that is in the current climate. If we have brilliant services in the community the ultimate saving to society, both financially and in terms of general well-being, is enormous. Cutting such lifelines will ultimately cost more in the long run with some families perhaps deciding that residential care is the only solution. The cost of this to the council would be enormous. If we are to have a truly dementia-friendly society then places like Netherwood should never be threatened with closure but should be protected in perpetuity.

Most Scottish teachers saw their take home pay drop this tax year. This follows years of either no pay rise, or rises which are less than inflation. In addition pension contributions have been raised considerably, further reducing take home pay. GTCS fees were increased by 25% just 3 years ago - a further increase is unfair to teachers who are, like many in our society, under substantial financial pressures.