Over 30 years 1,800 young people have participated in workshops, performances, international tours. We provide apprentices, work experience and employment. Many of those young people credit the youth theatre for changing their lives, helping them to develop their careers - not just through skill training in the arts but also through confidence building, increased self esteem and team work. These young people are ambassadors for our city, they can help to build it's future. Wolverhampton needs creative talent in these dark days.

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, ‘fracking’, is a way of extracting oil and/or gas. Water, sand and toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into underground rocks to shatter them. This releases the gas/oil which can be collected. Investing in carbon-intensive fossil fuels is a distraction from the need to decarbonise our electricity supply. And it's hazardous. Studies show that fracking pollutes water supplies (with arsenic and lead), causes earthquakes, and spoils local communities. And there are nightmare stories coming form the States. Like in the town of Dimock, PA, residents have reported their water turning so brown that it stains crockery. Their water was later found to contain methane, and a host of toxic chemicals. But it gets worse. "My son had sores up and down his legs from the water." " My daughter... would have to get out the of the shower and lay on the floor." Those are the words from Greg Saunter, a local resident, whose water supply was shut off for his own good. He cannot shower in his own home. Or drink water out of his taps. Fracking has ruined his life. It cannot happen here. We call on the council to preserve the quality of life of its residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

The bill is about to have its second reading on the 28/2/2014. The general public are not aware of this occurring and I as an individual of this so called democracy would be highly offended if they took to renaming the bank holiday after such a destructive and demoralising woman like Thatcher. Not everyone in this country lives by her values, far from it. Caring for others and being part of a large society is not a weakness. It's an insult to Miners, socialists, families of the Hillsborough Disaster and too many more to name.

This is not a scare story: Beverley's beloved common, Westwood, is under threat. There is a proposal to allow temporary access across a portion of the Westwood to permit the developers easy access to the old Westwood Hospital Site. If this were to happen this would set a precedent that could then be used by other developers to access other potential development sites adjacent to the Westwood, such as the Grammar School, Minster School, Archery Field, East Riding College, Longcroft Lower School, Longcroft Higher School and potentially Grosvenor Place. If any such access is granted, it is unlikely that it will ever be removed completely and damage will be done to the integrity of the Westwood as well as its fauna and flora: trees will be cut down, hedges broken through and grasslands compacted and altered forever. This, over time, will result in the loss, piece by piece, of the Westwood we know: a Westwood we have a duty to pass on to our children in the condition we inherited it. Beverlonians have protected our commons for centuries, are we really going to throw this away for the sake of six or so lorry movements per day over 18 months? If we do, we would be betraying those who fought for these commons in the past. There is a vociferous, ill-informed campaign promoting the idea of access across the Westwood, however, the emotive campaign they are running is full of omissions. The facts of the case are set out below. Town Route: Problems Congestion in the narrow streets; Increased traffic movements on these streets; Increased noise for the residents. Westwood Route: Problems The route of this access road will cross and damage ancient common land; The route will damage the existing grassland; The route will involve the removal of a section of species-rich hedgerow; The route will involve the removal of a small tree; There will be increased traffic movements on the Westwood; The temporary road will set a precedent. Town Route: Mitigation Measures The developers have said they will limit lorry movements to 12 per day during demolition ( c. 2 months); The developers have said they will limit lorry movements to 6 per day during the construction phase, 16 months; The developers will use a small lorry; There will be no lorry movements during the rush hours nor at school pick-up and drop-off times. Westwood Route: Mitigation Measures The developers say they will re-instate the grassland; They will replant the hedge; They will replant the tree. It would appear that the problems associated with the town route can be easily mitigated against and the very small number of lorry movements per day is more than reasonable, especially when you take into consideration the number of movements there used to be when the Westwood Hospital was open and when the new housing estate is built. These movements included ambulances, delivery vehicles, skip lorries, gritting lorries and patients being picked-up and dropped-off. Concern has also been raised regarding the danger to schoolchildren at Minster School. The developers appear to have taken this into account in their plans and will schedule no lorry movements during the rush hour or at school pick-up and drop-off times. In truth the biggest risk to school children is local residents speeding along The Leases or rat-running up Central Avenue and Thurston Road to get to Cartwright Lane. In terms of the access across the Westwood, there appears to very little that the developers can do to mitigate against the damage they will cause. Whilst they have said they will reinstate everything they damage, in ecological terms this is easier said than done and, in most cases, is impossible. Their route will destroy a species-rich hedge which cannot be replaced in our lifetimes. The problem of precedent cannot easily be undone, once the access route has been constructed. This will encourage other developers to do likewise in order to develop other sites, more difficult to access than the old Westwood Hospital site, by insisting on temporary access across the Westwood. This would open-up areas, such as Grosvenor Place and Minster School to development pressure.

My Mum who has rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s disease uses the centre. It is a local lifeline for many local residents, as a caring unit which understands her condition and provides a friendly and stimulating environment, and for the carers such as myself to get some much needed respite. The proposal is to move the Patey clients to the Royal Albert Day Centre in the centre of Portsmouth which would be extremely detrimental for the majority of them. They are a close knit group of individuals who thrive on the familiarity and security of both their number and setting. The skilled carers provide stimulating activities which maintain their clients' skills, helping them to feel valued and promoting independence. The move to the much larger Royal Albert Centre and much longer journey would be frightening and hasten the progress of their disease as the unfamiliarity will cause confusion. Portsmouth City Council's own Dementia Action Plan 2013/14 states: “Objective one of the Portsmouth Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy is to enhance the quality of life for people with dementia” “2142 residents will have some form of dementia · 55% (1178) will be mild, 32%(685) will be moderate, 13% (279) will be severe” “Portsmouth aspires to be a dementia friendly city where people with dementia will be treated with respect and feel included in our local communities.” “There will need to be a shift away from acute care towards primary and community based service provision, including rehabilitation and reablement.” “Support for carers is key” By closing the Patey Centre there will be just 60 spaces for the 2142 sufferers of alzheimers and dementia in the whole of Portsmouth. Portsmouth NEEDS more spaces not less. The Council claim this is a cost cutting measure however this is only true in the short term. Longer term there will be: growing costs of caring for increasing numbers of isolated dementia sufferers in their homes for whom there are no day care spaces; an increased need for residential care as overwhelmed carers without specialist day care respite will reach breaking point faster; and additional costs transporting people to the Royal Albert. The Council's intention is to sell the land the Patey Centre is on to help fund a residential home for people with alzheimers in the north of the city, why doesn't this incorporate the Patey Centre? The 2142 sufferers of alzheimers and dementia in Portsmouth are vulnerable people, many with carers such as myself who are stretched to breaking point. Their needs are being ignored and their excellent day centre is being lost. Please don't close the Patey Centre in Cosham, without providing alternative specialist day care for people with alzheimers and dementia in the north of Portsmouth, put the needs of the people of Portsmouth first.

Bees pollinate 70% of our food crop and their numbers are dramatically falling. Over the last 100 years, the UK has lost over 75% of its Bee population but human population has nearly doubled from 38 million to 63.7! This will keep increasing and with their numbers falling, Bees cannot keep up with the task of pollinating our food supply which we rely on. We are asking the Government to provide financial support for farmers and beekeepers who in return will invest the money in their bees to encourage their maintenance and growth. Also, it may encourage others to take it up if there is a financial incentive. If we do not help bring back the Bees, our food will become more expensive as pollination of crops reduce. This is also a global issue so without our own Bees, what will we do when other Countries cannot pollinate enough crops for export to us? At present, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides free training for amateur beekeepers but this is not enough. We are asking you to sign this petition and share it with your friends. We need a 100,000 signatures for the idea to be presented in Parliament so financial grants for beekeepers can be discussed. Thank you for signing :) Carmen and Sam

Hillside Animal Sanctuary has offered to re-home feral goats from the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to prevent them being culled. Hillside urged RSPB Scotland to halt the cull, which is being carried out to protect Pollochro Woods. The area is viewed as a site of special scientific importance. RSPB Scotland have previously said they would consider alternative solutions in March, but that the cull will continue until then. They are now saying that they will continue with the cull in September. Wendy Valentine of Hillside Animal Sanctuary said it had offered to give the goats a home for the rest of their lives rather than have them shot. Ms Valentine, whose sanctuary in Norfolk is home to more than 2,000 rescued animals, added: "It is a shame that an organisation that is set up to look after the welfare of animals should take a stance that goats should be culled. "We have rounded up herds of Highland cattle that have gone wild and Highland ponies, so goats would not be any different. We have 70-80 of them already. Hillside's offer to re-home the goats follows an approach from the Scotland For Animals charity, which has also enlisted the help of Humane Wildlife Solutions, a Borders-based company specialising in pest control without killing. John Patrick, from Scotland For Animals said: "We have presented a do-able option that is not going to cost them (RSPB Scotland) any money. "I would have thought they would have jumped at the offer if they really are pro-conversation, pro-nature and pro-wildlife."

This area of land has been underwater for two months now Horses have died in the past on this land and others have had to be dragged out of the mud in conditions less wet than at present These animals are at risk and need protection

Our Ancient Woodlands have evolved over hundreds of years and cannot simply be replaced by new plantings of trees, no matter how many trees are planted for every one destroyed in an ancient woodland. These Ancient Woodlands have very complex relationships, for instance between some of our rarest Orchids and Fungi. But there are many such relationships which cannot be replicated in a new planting. These complex relationships between trees, flowering plants, insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, worms, nematodes, bacteria and fungi would be destroyed if the destruction of these Ancient Woodlands were to be allowed.

Maggie* won't have had much of a Christmas. She has been living rough since she was brutally evicted and her boat and all her possessions seized by the Canal & River Trust in late November 2013. Her home was towed away by a team of 20 bailiffs, Canal & River Trust officials and police. She was left standing on the towpath with only the clothes she stood up in. Maggie suffers from schizophrenia. She hasn't been seen for weeks; friends, family and even the Police are concerned for her safety. They fear that the frightening nature of the eviction has affected her already fragile mental state. A friend who witnessed the eviction said "Maggie's illness contributed to the situation that led to the eviction. But what an appalling and distastefully unnecessary dispossession of a schizophrenic's home. Canal & River Trust should have helped this vulnerable woman to resolve the situation. They should not have waded in with this draconian show of force. Their behaviour is a disgrace". He continued: "Maggie needed support and as a charity, they should have acted with compassion, not sent in the troops to remove an eight-stone sick lady from her home. This is just one of many examples of Canal & River Trust's bullying of live-aboard boaters. Canal & River Trust is a charityless organisation. If Maggie has come to any harm I will personally hold Canal & River Trust responsible". Derek's* Christmas was almost as cheerless. A pensioner, he has lived on boats for more than 30 years. He became seriously ill several years ago. He needed regular medical treatment and had to stay near the hospital and doctor. Without a permanent mooring, the law states that under normal circumstances he should travel to a different place every 14 days. But in exceptional circumstances such as illness, he is entitled to stay for whatever longer period is reasonable. This did not stop Canal & River Trust pressuring him to take a mooring and then taking court action to evict him and seize his boat. He stands to lose his home in early 2014. Harry* is terminally ill. He needed to moor his boat near the hospital for extended periods while receiving treatment. Threats by Canal & River Trust to seize his home unless he took a mooring have forced him to pay for a mooring that is a long distance from the hospital, even though he has the right to stay longer than 14 days in one place if it is reasonable to do so. Canal & River Trust won't drop their enforcement action against him because they claim his past record of boat movement is poor. The reason he couldn't travel much was because of his terminal illness, but Canal & River Trust don't seem to care. They are legally a charity, but their actions are uncharitable. Harry deserves better in the remaining months of his life. There are many more disabled, elderly and vulnerable boat dwellers like Maggie, Derek and Harry who are being threatened with eviction and seizure of their homes by Canal & River Trust. These boat dwellers have rights under the Equality Act to be protected from losing their homes; rights that Canal & River Trust refuses to recognise, in breach of the law. A report by Bath and North East Somerset Council condemned Canal & River Trust's failure to meet its equality obligations. The report, published in July 2013, stated that the Council "met with senior executives of the Canal & River Trust and were disturbed both by their lack of awareness of equalities issues, and by their use of draconian powers to enforce the conditions of the licences they issue..." Boats can be licensed to use Canal & River Trust's waterways without a permanent mooring under Section 17 (3) (c) (ii) of the British Waterways Act 1995. For more information about the rights of boat dwellers without permanent moorings on Canal & River Trust's waterways, see this 30-minute film by Wiltshire Council http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYsBn5xABEc The report, Boat Dwellers and River Travellers: Housing and Major Projects Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel: a Task and Finish Group Review, by Bath and North East Somerset Council is online here at page 19 http://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/documents/g3691/Public%20reports%20pack%2023rd-Jul-2013%2017.30%20Housing%20and%20Major%20Projects%20Policy%20Development%20and%20Scrutiny.pdf?T=10 *Names have been changed to protect these vulnerable people.

Dear Minister, Maria Eagle stated in The House of Commons Debate on Food Poverty on Wednesday 18th December 2013 that, "there is a very straightforward way for Ministers to clear up any doubt about the reasons for the increase in reliance on food aid: they can finally publish the official report into the growth of food banks, which was delivered to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in June. That report has now been sat on by Ministers for six months, longer than it took to produce. In April, the then Minister of State at DEFRA, the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath), said: “The conclusions of this work will be available in the summer and published on the Government's website.”—[Official Report, 23 April 2013; Vol. 561, c. 821W.] Now Ministers say the report is still being subjected to “an appropriate review and quality assurance process.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 26 November 2013; Vol. 749, c. 1293.]" I demand that The Department of Work and Pensions and DEFRA release this report so that we can all see if the Government's report agrees with, or disputes claims from Voluntary Organizations and Churches; that one third of people referred to Food Banks are due to Social Security delays and cuts. I would also like to remind you that people, working and unemployed, who are referred to Food Banks, can usually only be referred to them three times within a twelve month period, after that there is no help! I would like to know from you, why this report has been subject to "review and quality assurance" for so long and when will it be released?

The new Universal Credit replaces JSA, Income Support, ESA, Housing Benefit, Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits. Government says Universal Credit will make work pay. This is rubbish. Universal Credit is about cutting the Social Security bill meaning millions will be worse off. Once fully implemented Universal Credit :- Will mean easier sanctioning forcing people to live off nothing. Housing subsidy will be time limited forcing more to be homeless. Support for child care drastically cut. Disability elements cut or abolished altogether. Thousands of small businesses will be forced out of business. Some rates are lower than current benefit rates. For the unemployed UC will eventually become time-limited. The government has so far wasted hundreds of millions in IT and other failures but even they admit the benefit savings will be in the BILLIONS. BILLIONS taken from the needy and most vulnerable in society.