Students and teachers alike are frustrated with the constant changes to the education system. Sometimes these changes are necessary but in this case it is simply a great inconvienience not only to teaching but also to employers. I am seriously annoyed by this proposed change to levels 1-9 instead of GCSE grades and extremely glad that I have narrowly escaped from this having just completed my GCSEs. If you want to keep current GCSE grading please sign this campaign.

The government and the national planning framework and many influential organisations such as Nature England have provided clear guidelines on what are the most suitable sites for large scale Solar panel installations. The Energy Minister has quoted that such installations should preferably be on brownfield sites. Many in the community believe that Solstice Renewables are giving very little consideration to these guidelines with this proposal - and this has angered many who value the community they live in. If this goes ahead, we believe this beautiful village landscape, which adjoins the South Downs National Park, will be ruined for atleast the next 25 years. Solstice have acknowledged that they should be seeking more brownfield sites for such developments, but then are entering into deals with landowners to convert perfectly decent agricultural land to solar Installations, in the heart of communities and bringing misery to residents who love their views and their countryside. The Localism Act 2011 is giving communities more say about their local environment. We don't accept what this company is doing, do not believe it has considered fully the planning guidelines set out and are campaigning to get the proposal refused. We believe that these companies must focus much more on the sites they should be focusing on: brownfield sites, rooftops and land that is well hidden from communities, not on top of them. We petition our MP Damian Hinds to bring pressure to bear on this company to do the right thing and find a more suitable location. " We are not against renewable energy - far from it. Bentley already has a large solar farm identical to this proposal and has already done its share of combating global warming. 5 MW for 430 houses in the parish works out at 12 kW a house. This is far more electricity than we use. If every other community did the same we would soon solve the energy crisis."

Children have enough pressure and to constantly either be told their qualifications are not good enough or to put more stress on this age group is not good enough. The vagaries of each examining body need adjusting to structure the same achievements on all pupils.

Do you think that British citizens living in EU countries and worldwide should be able to vote in the UK's EU referendum? There are at least 3 million Brits living in EU countries but many of them will not be able to vote! The results of the referendum will affect all of us, no matter where we live. Do you know that British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years lose their right to vote in UK elections? David Cameron has promised in this Parliament to give UK citizens living abroad a lifetime right to vote in UK elections, but he has said that this will not happen before the EU referendum. If Britain did leave the EU, what would happen to people who live in EU countries? Would they become illegal immigrants in their EU homes? Would they lose their rights in those countries? What if they all came back to Britain? Where would they live? What would they do? A lot of ex-pat Brits are old. How would they cope, and how would the UK cope with them? Isn't it unfair and a bit crazy that they cannot vote in a referendum that will affect every part of their lives?

More than three million UK pupils are being under-funded for their education because central government, incredibly, does not fund basic education costs and extra learning needs equally across the country. Local Authorities are allocated money for schools based on out-dated, historical criteria, which has created shocking underfunding of pupils in more than 50 areas, across the country. Schools in those areas have only managed through their thrift, resourcefulness and others' charity. Their deprived children have not received the extra funding that they need and would receive if they lived elsewhere in England and all of their pupils have been affected. This unacceptable situation has been going on for decades, obscured to the public by layers of funding complexity. But no longer: it is time for parents and communities to push for change urgently, because, with education cuts forecast, more than a ⅓ of the already underfunded schools can no longer make do and mend - they face bankruptcy. Millions of our children's futures are at stake.

Britain has a huge responsibility for the present chaos in Libya and Iraq yet expects the rest of Europe to shoulder the repercussions. Everyone in England is an immigrant as are all Europeans: we all came here from Africa!. There is something particularly distasteful in the language of racial prejudice and the casual cruelty of refusing to welcome refugees suffering at least in part as a result of recent English foreign policy disasters.

Firstly to ensure that those thrown out on the scrap heap of unemployed because the MOD wish to reduce pension rights for veterans. Next to Keep them off the streets. Thirdly to reduce the chance of becoming a statistic and finally for helping veterans to have something else other than low paid security work. The disused barrack and homes and ex married quarters could be maintained and used for training or veterans to enable them to take up work and also then mean that providing a charity set up as Barrack homes for Ex Service Personnel could result in less veterans finishing up in prison or homeless on the streets. Why? because often, families have moved on and it is so difficult to adapt to civilian life. How do I know? I am a veteran and it took me over 5 years to come to terms with having nowhere and no one

The Scottish Parliament was brought into being to bring the standards of democracy in Britain up to those in other parts of the European Union. For Westminster to give itself the right to disolve that parliament at any time without the agreement of the Scottish people is not only against the will of the Scottish people but the will of the Council of Europe. In taking away the Scottish Governments power to veto the repeal 'The Human Rights' Act, Westminster also taking away the rights of the Scottish people who did not vote for the Conservatives or Labourbut voted for 56 SNP mps to represent them.

Sited amongst a large residential estate and amongst growing housing estates The Beverley and Molescroft Surgery provides care for wide ranging population in Beverley as well as the outlying villages. While more homes are being built in the area, the closure of this surgery and all the facilities it offers there will result in a lack of care provision for the new homes, not to mention the lives of the patients whom Drs Clayton and Williams currently effectively care for . Both doctors have contributed to the NHS provision beyond running the practice and because of the changes within the system their efforts have been reduced. Thus the change in the NHS system is impacting other areas within the town and surrounding areas. NHS Cuts and Government influence on new policies within the NHS has directly impacted the service the surgery on Lockwood Road is able to offer.

Many people don’t know that North Lanarkshire Council do not regard Shotts as a Town. The Council prefer to divide our community into two neighbourhood centers of Stane and Dykehead. In 2013 Councillor Cochrane and Councillor Cefferty put a motion to North Lanarkshire council that Shotts be recognized as a Town. This was defeated, Shotts is still not regarded as a Town. Our community cannot apply for Town Centre regeneration as to quote North Lanarkshire Council, “Shotts is not a Town”

The role of the Conductor is extremely involved, incorporating safety, customer service, and time keeping along with revenue protection / collection responsibilities on train services. Sir Roy McNulty published his report on 19th May 2011 on how to reduce costs and make Britain’s railways more efficient with the Government and the heavily subsidised TOC’s bulldozing the report into the railways currently. This is now putting the safety, a decent level of customer service (especially helping the elderly, anti-social and disabled passengers) and the erosion of T’s & C’s in favour of cheap, untrained agency staff on zero hours contacts. As you can see, this is not just about a grade within the railway but much, much more throughout the industry. The Department for Transport’s consultation on the future of The West Coast & West Midlands railway services could see the successors of London Midland and Virgin Trains being forced to make further cutbacks because of the McNulty Report that Unions are fighting to stop on a large scale. However, be in no doubt the new 2017 franchises on the West Coast and West Midlands could introduce, the closure of more ticket offices with reductions in staff who are safety critical trained at stations. Reduced hours at remaining ticket offices, gate-lines (barrier staff) and revenue protection grades and replacing them with outside contractors on reduced T’s & C’s and a minimum wage. Driver Only Operation, which will see the end of Safety Critical Conductors on the network not for any other reason than cost and to get staff off TOC’s books that, will put safety of the travelling public at huge risk. Two-thirds of the UK’s railway services have a Driver and a Conductor, and for good reason! The Conductor not only opens the doors and sell tickets, but also makes sure the permanent way is safe for their colleague and the passengers. Take for instance any issues which may afflict the service, such as broken down trains holding the journey back; delayed goods trains; or making sure the passengers don’t miss their train – more so at request stops. To deny the Conductor any duties of operating the doors and/or train despatch will reduce the skills and mission critical nature of their job. In the words of one trade unionist several years ago, reducing them to ‘glorified Kit Kat sellers’. What is forgotten about are their other skills which Conductor-Guards possess. One is as a point of contact in the event of a serious incident is protecting the train, arranging for the arrival of emergency services, alternative transport for subsequent journeys. In addition, the use of signal posts telephones and the use of GSMR on board the trains to make the emergency calls. If anybody reading this assumes they only sell tickets, they are wrong by a mile off! Another important aspect of the job is he or she is able to help stop any form of anti-social passengers from getting out of hand. He or she could speak to their colleagues in their respective controls / liaise with British Transport Police so if trains needed to be stopped safely, they can be. Another good example would be for an instance of a lone wheelchair needing to board a service and the Driver cannot leave the cab without causing some delay to the timetable, as there is also no station staff on hand. Hence the need for Conductors! With passengers who are taken ill on train services that before DOO came about, the neighbouring passengers could have given the Conductor a friendly knock on the rear cab door or finding them whilst they are performing revenue duties, he or she would tend the passenger with little interruption to the service. Under DOO, he or she cannot knock on the driver’s door. Therefore, the neighbouring passenger has to pull the emergency alarm, stopping the train. Will staff on board have had the same level of training as the Conductor if there was no Conductor aboard to tend to passengers who are unwell under the new franchise / s? Driver Only Operation not only demarcates the Conductor’s duties. It has an effect on the driver’s role too. He or she should be able to concentrate on the permanent way ahead. As the McNulty, report states; …other staff on-board the train are able to focus on customer service and revenue protection.” Customer service has overtones of ‘is everybody all right’ style. On no account is there within that section any reference to the safety and the welfare of its passengers – which is important. The safety and welfare of its passengers, which has made the UK’s rail network one of the safest in the world. The economies of DOO are a falsehood. Unstaffed stations could lose revenue if there is no Conductor present and passengers, I strongly recommend you make a passionate case against DOO in the future franchise requirements which we could all see be implemented in the near future.

Before the 2015 General Election, the National Audit Office (NAO), asked the DWP to release the costs of introducing Universal Credit. The DWP, needless to say, refused. The NAO then asked a judge to ask the DWP to release the figures. Again, they refused saying that they had to stay under lock and key until after the General Election.. The people of this country need to know the cost of implementing this benefit.