Approx. £1.9m was wrongly collected from 70 thousand motorists who were not aware they were even entering a bus lane. The adjudicator said the signs were confusing and inadequate, so these fines should not be enforced. Innocent motorists, many of whom were visiting the nearby Children's Hospital, have paid the fines not realising the Councils serious errors, but no offence whatsoever has been committed. Birmingham City Council are refusing to repay the money and now refuse to discuss this in the public domain, reverting to debating in a private session with no one else allowed to know what has happened in the meeting. Citizens and visitors to Birmingham, experiencing recently altered city centre road layouts, will find this confusing. You can read more about how this happened here: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/new-birmingham-city-centre-bus-6681476

NHS England are stewards of the NHS's £95 billion budget. How it spends our money matters. We know that roughly two thirds of its budget goes to local groups to buy care, with the rest spent centrally by NHS England on mainly specialised and primary care services. However, unlike other government agencies, NHS England has never published details of where its money is going. Since May 2010, government departments and their agencies have published monthly reports on all their spending over £25,000. This was a commitment to transparency that would allow taxpayers to see where money is being paid out and what it is going on, so that we could better judge if it is being spent wisely. This meant that we could see, for example, the amount of money the Department of Health paid to management consultants; how much was finding its way to companies with strong political links; and whether unpopular policies were draining resources. Other NHS bodies, like the regulator Monitor[1], regularly tell us how they are spending our money. But, in the two years since it was established, NHS England has never once published this data. NHS England says it is committed to transparency. And it is fast opening up and sharing other data on health services, including our personal data. NHS chief, Simon Stevens claims that NHS England “has set new standards for openness and transparency in all of its operations, compared with what went before.” This is not the case. In August NHS England said it would publish its spending data in September. Then it said by the end of October. It has yet to publish it. Don’t let NHS England kick the can down the road. Tell them that you want to see how it is spending our money now. Thanks to pressure from 38 Degrees, earlier this year NHS England made a commitment to publish details of its top executives' meetings with private companies. We can put pressure on them now to do what they should have been doing all along: tell us where the money is going. We are repeatedly warned about the NHS’s dire financial situation. We hear of hospitals facing bankruptcy, services being rationed, and the need for massive savings to be made if the NHS is to survive. But first, we need to see that the stewards of the NHS budget are spending with care and where it matters. Tell Simon Stevens to come clean about how NHS England spends our money. Notes [1] Monitor spending over £25,000, April 2010 - June 2014: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/financial-transactions-data-monitor

The recent court case in Norfolk where a gamekeeper was found guilty of poisoning 10 buzzards and a Sparrowhawk and only receiving a paltry 10 week suspended sentence, highlights the need for these birds to be given far better protection with much heavier sentences to the perpetrators, which should include the landowners who these gamekeeper work for. The killing of these birds is widespread is something I find totally abhorrent as these people are destroying creatures that belong to all of and are an absolute delight to see.

Glandwr Cymru, who own the canal in water from Clydach to Ynysmeudwy, wish to restore this section (including the lock) and, in conjunction, with the City and County of Swansea regenerate the site. The plans include a small number of new homes, an attractive public open space and improved pedestrian and cycle access to the area. This will completely reinvigorate the lower end of Pontardawe Road, enhance the environment and bring significant benefits to the community. The Swansea Canal Society fully supports this restoration and development plan. On the 2nd of December, the CRT Development Manager, has been allocated a ten minute slot at 5.00pm to present the full plans to all the Swansea Councillors. The Swansea Canal Society sincerely hopes that you too will support this scheme. We wish to hand in a petition of support for this project to the Leader of the Swansea Council on December the 2nd. Please add your name to this petition.

This display will only happen ONCE, it takes time and organising for people and family's to save their money and find time to get to London to see this, for anyone 100 plus miles away it gets very expensive, this applies to well over half the population.

On 5th November 2014, Falmouth University announced the closure of their Contemporary Crafts degree. This degree, with historic roots in pottery & ceramics, is vital to the Cornish economy & creative culture. Let's not lose something with such personal, regional and national importance. There has been a ceramics/crafts course attached to the Falmouth School of Art since 1976, when Tom Cross was appointed Principal and the School continued to develop its resources by improving its sculpture studios and creating a new studio for ceramic sculpture. Adding ceramics to Falmouth School of Art, founded in 1902. The links between ceramics and crafts at Falmouth School of art and the wider economy cannot be underestimated with ex graduates flourishing both county, country and internationally. As we, as a society, increasingly lose the skills to make things and forget that not everyone wants to pursue academic studies, this is a course which applauds creativity and talent and maintains the nation’s skill bases. How can it be appropriate to close down one of the countries few excellent facilities? Again, a price has been placed on a course without considering the long term future of the individuals and future generations. How disappointing! The Contemporary Craft course isn't just about learning and training in a skill, it is about pushing boundaries, discovering new processes, working with inspirational peers and lecturers, and most of all a chance to explore who you are as a maker. We demand Falmouth School of Art reconsider this closure for the betterment of the school and the wider community. The cultural enrichment of ceramics and craft courses to both Cornwall and the wider community and the contributions Falmouth School of Art graduates make to the cultural development of the county, cannot be measured by spreadsheet. Sometimes the right choice is not about money and we would hope that upon realising the support for these courses both county and country wide, the University and its Director, Vice-Chancellor & CEO, will reconsider severing the ties between the vibrant crafts community and the university. as 38degrees petitions require a UK post code, if you are outside the UK and want to sign please send your name and comment to [email protected]

So that silence cannot be bought by managers of the NHS for their own benefit. For example, the Baby P case.

This effectively removes the main option for exercise in the local area for anyone without a considerable income (whom already have many private fitness options). There are no other alternatives in Saltash. It will add to the UK's obesity problem, effectively costing the council more in the long run. It's a terrible idea that isn't thought through at all, this ruthless cost cutting jeapordises the health of Saltash residents.

This will give better protection for birds of prey on shooting estates. The Scottish Government has made landowners share the blame when gamekeepers are found to have killed birds of prey. The UK government should do the same. For more details please refere to the BBC report dated 6/11/2014 re the conviction of yet another gamekeeper.

This proposal will have a permanent detrimental effect on the biodiversity and historic environment. One of the last unspoilt areas of county Durham is under threat of irreversible destruction for executive housing and sheltered accommodation. The area is home to the bats, badgers, otters and many more protected species. The spa grounds is a conservation area & county wildlife site and a greenfield site. Ancient woodland will be felled to make way for an access road. This application contravenes all of the National Planning Policy Framework guidelines and the local plan for the area.

For 46 years Stonebridge playground has served the community. It has supported 3 generations of children and young people with special events, camping trips, and opportunities for fun and learning. It’s well-used and well loved. The playground has been crucial in the integration of many different ethnic and cultural groups including children with special needs. The playground has a lot of support not just from the community. Former Olympic gold medalist, Audley Harrison MBE, who attended when he was a boy, has championed our cause. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83x9Z61Edkk&feature=youtu.be And the local paper the Brent & Kilburn Times is behind the campaign: http://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/environment/stonebridge_adventure_playground_campaigners_reach_their_1_000_signature_petition_target_1_3826047 But we are a small charity fighting a large organisation, Brent Council. They want more homes and more school places for children. We say what happens after school, at weekends and in school holidays? Not just for the children of one school, but for many in this area; when there is nothing for them, nowhere to meet their friends, We need to save this sanctuary in the midst of a concrete jungle for children and young people!

Latest Update: The first specification outlines have been released and it is still 70% theory! Now it is 60% Exam 10% written coursework and still only 30% Practical! Following the consultation regarding changes to GCSE PE (in which the opinions of PE teachers seem to have been completely ignored) the government are forcing incredibly damaging changes to GCSE PE which will have far reaching impacts right down to year 7 PE lessons. They have decided that the course will change from the current 60% practical 40% theory to 30% practical and 70% theory! This change will almost completely take the physical/practical aspect out of Physical Education. They are also proposing to massively narrow the activities that students can use as the practical element (moving to a much more traditional / Public school offering of activities). The impact of this will mean a narrowing of the activities offered by secondary schools which will feed down through the year groups. The move to an almost solely theoretical course will also have an impact on the activity level of students in PE lessons, due to schools trying to maximise the performance of students by focussing much more on theory lessons rather than actually being physically active and taking part in sport. This will have long lasting and damaging effects on the health and fitness of future generations. The changes will also take away another avenue for students who are less academic to be successful and get a qualification in an area that they may wish to follow as a career. If these changes go through then many schools may choose to no longer offer Physical Education as a GCSE and the change to the GCSE PE course may well be the final nail in the coffin for physical education in secondary schools, if people do not force a change of direction.