The Government has recognised the vital role played by our maintained nursery schools and have stated; ,As the universal base rate is introduced, we will allow local authorities to continue to provide a higher level of funding to maintained nursery schools' (Reference, (15) page 8 Changes to funding for three- and four-year olds , Government consultation response , December 2016) Haringey's maintained nursery schools are all rated by Ofsted as 'good' or 'outstanding'. They have very good outcomes with regard to closing the achievement gap and supporting children with special needs. They employ highly qualified and skilled teaching staff proven to give the best opportunity for academic achievement . The petitioners request that Haringey Council recognise the school status of our maintained Nursery Schools and continue to support them in delivering the integrated early education and care which has benefited generations of children, especially those with special needs and from very deprived circumstances in their critical early years.

This is important because this impacts our most vulnerable families and will reduce and take away the services avaliable which have had a massive positive impact on our families. The services provided by staff are currently around early intervention. Our Children's Centre's provide a one stop shop of early help services.

The idea of fining those who already have so little, that they are forced to sleep out in the cold or ask for food and money is a cruel and heartless act. This is attacking vulnerable people and does not resolving the issues homeless people face. Other campaigns have successfully stopped other councils from imposing similar fines. This campaign is based on this information from the Redbridge council's website: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/crime-and-public-safety/anti-social-behaviour/ If you have anything that suggests that this council are no longer able to fine people for begging then we'd love to hear more from you, drop us an email at [email protected]

The idea of fining those who already have so little that they are forced to sleep out in the cold or ask for food and money is a cruel and heartless act. This is attacking vulnerable persons and does not aid in resolving the homeless issues, instead it makes the situation worse. Fixing Penalty Notices can be issued by the Council and fines of £50 imposed. Failure to pay these fines can lead to prosecution that will criminalise those already vulnerable in society. Efforts should be made to help these people so that they don't need to beg. Other campaigns have successfully halted other councils from imposing similar fines. This campaign is based on this information from Worthing council's website: https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/safer-communities/pspo/ If you have anything that suggests that Northampton Council are no longer planning to fine people for begging then we'd love to hear more from you, drop us an email at [email protected]

We are calling on the Mayor of London to tackle air pollution and save lives by creating an Ultra Low Emission Zone (‘ULEZ’) to cover the whole of Greater London. An ULEZ is an area in which vehicles must meet exhaust emission standards or pay a daily travel charge. The highest charges will be paid by the most polluting vehicles. The Mayor is proposing to create an ULEZ for all vehicles in central London in 2019. He is consulting on whether to extend it to cover the area inside the North and Circular Road and also to create an ULEZ for the whole of London but only for heavy vehicles. We are asking him to go further. Air pollution is now a major health risk. We need powerful measures to tackle it. An ULEZ which applies only to heavy vehicles will not be enough to protect people from pollution in outer London, especially where people live and work next to the North or South Circular. Creating an ULEZ for all vehicles to cover the whole of London would significantly reduce pollution in outer London and would better improve the air quality in central London than an ULEZ that covers central London alone. For these reasons we ask you to add your name to this petition:

Q: Why is the building important? A: Dunelm House was completed in 1966 by the Architects' Co-Partnership and engineered by Ove Arup. Ove Arup was born in Heaton, Newcastle Upon-Tyne and was one of the greatest engineers of the 20th Century. Arup played a crucial role in pioneering engineering works worldwide, serving most notably as the designer and supervisor for Durham’s own Kingsgate Bridge (Grade I listed), and as design engineer for the Sydney Opera House. Arup, an honorary Geordie, considered Kingsgate Bridge one of the most important projects of his career, requesting that his ashes be scattered from the bridge following his death in 1988. Kingsgate and Dunelm House are physically connected, as a marriage of structures that depend upon each other. This makes Dunelm House and Kingsgate Bridge two of the most significant structures in the UK, if not Europe, if not the World! And they are on our doorstep in Durham. Why would you want to lose or damage either? Q: It’s a load of ugly dirty grey concrete - knock it down. A: Yes, it is dirty. It is white concrete. And it needs a clean. If you had not cleaned your house for 51 years, it would look grim too. The building needs major work, which Durham University calculate would cost £14.7m. It might seem like a lot of money, but this is a fraction of what recent building projects have required, and is comparable to renovations and extensions to other university buildings. And just think what it could cost to demolish it, bury it in a landfill (how unsustainable!) and rebuild on the same site. Q: The building 'is not able to accommodate new uses, so we should demolish it. A: This statement has been reached as part of the University’s ‘strategic masterplan’, which wants to put another building use on the site of Dunelm House. Of course, this doesn't work without significant investment. So perhaps the masterplan has not been adequately evidenced or justified in trying to impose a new function on an existing building - it’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Why not simply adjust the masterplan? Demolition is highly unsustainable, wasteful and very costly financially and environmentally. It should always be the last move when all else fails, and your building is literally falling down. Dunelm House is not falling down - it was designed by one of the greatest engineers of the 20th Century. Q: But the building has a leaky roof! A: Yes it does. All roofs leak at some point (even Durham Cathedral’s roof leaks - it doesn't mean we should knock it down). Most new roofs are only guaranteed for 20 years. Dunelm House's roof is 51 years old, and so like any other building it needs a new roof! Durham University has been aware of the leaky roof for over 10 years. Now is the time to fix it. Q: It will cost too much to repair it. Isn’t it cheaper to just build new? A: Durham University have carried out detailed estimations on the redesign and repair estimated at £14.7m. Dunelm House has a gross internal area of 3980sqm, making the refurbishment cost an estimated £3600 per sqm. That seems like a lot of money, but it is cheaper than the cost of Durham Universities new Ogden Center for Fundamental Physics (the new abstract timber building) which is costing £11.5m for 2,478 sq. m – that’s a whopping £4640 per sqm! Refurbishing the building could be cheaper than building new. A completely new building on Dunelm House’s site could cost millions more due to the cost of demolition and disposal to put Dunelm House into a landfill, not to forget the complexities of the site due to the topography, retaining walls, structures required and access issues that make this project site very complex – and as a consequence very costly! Q: We want a shiny new building by some famous international starchitect. That will put Durham on the map and make it a world class city! A: Durham is already a world class city, with a world class University. It has a diverse architectural grain from across the past millennium, and this includes the twentieth century. Durham University has been an amazing patron of modern architecture, particularly during the 1960s. So why undo that good work and lose it all now? Yes, hire great architects with lots of imagination and creativity. BUT, please look at what other highly successful refurbishment projects of Modernist buildings there have been. Look at Park Hill refurbishment in Sheffield (Hawkins Brown) or the Barbican refurbishment in London (AHMM) completed in past 10 years. Both hugely successful developments, prestigious, award winning, high profile, world class buildings that simply recognise and celebrate the value of Twentieth Century Architecture. Go on Durham, you can do that too!

In a recent article by GScene Magasine, it was advised that Brighton based HIV charity The Sussex Beacon faces the prospect of closing services, including its ten bed inpatient unit, following a reduction in funding it receives from the NHS. The Sussex Beacon provides specialist support and care to people living with HIV through inpatient and outpatient services. It helps hundreds of people living with HIV each year and was rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission in September. Changes to local commissioning arrangements have led to a reduction in funding from some statutory funders. The Sussex Beacon has already lost funding with further cuts likely to follow in the near future. The charity costs over £2 million a year to run and the Charity Trustees say they cannot continue to absorb these cuts. While many people living with HIV are now able to live long and healthy lives, there are still many who need specialist services. Last year The Sussex Beacon’s inpatient unit had 233 admissions and was full for the majority of the year. It provided over 2,000 bed nights, relieving pressure on both health and social care services in Sussex. Please use #SaveTheSussexBeacon when sharing to help build momentum and to let the Sussex Beacon staff see what you are doing to help

Burning plastics, instead of recycling, will put Dioxide into our atmosphere, along with other harmful chemicals. This will be added to the further reduction in air quality from the burning itself. In Derby we are already suffering from air pollution. For the sake of everyone, especially children, we must oppose the start up of this Incineration Plant.

At present all military personnel and civil servants who work overseas can access every public funded service and benefit as though they have been physically present in the UK. This is a right protected by legislation whereas humanitarian workers face difficulties or are unable to access the same basic benefits and services as home clients because they have not been physically present in the UK. This creates unnecessary hardship for returned humanitarian workers.

The developer Sellar Property Group has received planning consent to demolish the Baroque Edwardian former Royal Mail sorting office in a conservation area, and build a 19 storey replacement office tower totally out of keeping with the surrounding buildings. The former sorting office, built in 1907, is an unlisted building of merit. Its loss will be hugely detrimental to the conservation area and the surrounding listed buildings. The proposed design of the replacement mega block does not respect Westminster’s scale and character - it removes a building with architectural interest and history and replaces it with something over dominant on a massive scale. At the planning committee meeting on 6 December Westminster Councillors acknowledged that the plans would cause harm to the conservation area yet still approved the demolition of the sorting office and the new 19 storey tower. The planning committee also waived aside a strong objection from the London Ambulance Service on the grounds that the proposals badly affected the major ambulance route to St Mary’s Hospital. Though a last minute alternative was proposed by the developer, the NHS is maintaining its objection. This case has triggered national interest. The amenity societies have made substantial objections, and there were many individual objections. SAVE along with Historic England, The Victorian Society and many others considers that this sensitive site deserves a better quality development – one that respects the townscape and retains the most significant parts of the historic building - rather than obliterating it. Westminster City Council – a central London borough brimming with important buildings and areas - used to be a model for enlightened planning, conservation and design policies. This proposal fails on all these accounts. We call on the Secretary of State to call-in this application for his own determination allowing it to be examined in the open forum of a public inquiry. Historic buildings and areas are assets for everyone to enjoy, and should be celebrated as such. Britain is respected worldwide for its sensitive approach to historic buildings - this scheme must go back to the drawing board. For more information and images see our press release here: http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/article/421/Press-release-SAVE-Britains-Heritage-blasts-outrageously-and-gratuitously-overscaled-Paddington-Cube Or contact the office on 020 7350 3500 or [email protected]

Most people don't realise that in this country anyone can set up a business working with children with no qualifications or DBS checks. Given that victims of child abuse often don't come forward until well into adulthood safeguards should be put into place to protect all children. The FA refuse to take responsibility for children working as referees, within football. So all aspects of the children involved need to be considered. Only paid child minders are registered and checked by ofsted I think a similar system needs to be rolled out to all organisations that deal with children.

Because letting rough sleepers remain on our streets could kill them. It is inhumane and lacking in basic compassion