By September 2025, most working families with children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support from the Government, which is vital support when the average nursery place is an unaffordable £14,000 per year.  But thousands of children are locked out of most of this support right now - forcing parents to give up work, denying children vital opportunities to develop and pushing families into poverty - all because of their parents’ immigration status. Even if children are British citizens, they are still locked out - it’s completely unfair. This Government are stopping parents from standing on their own two feet by depriving them of access to vital services, leaving families struggling even more during the cost-of-living crisis. Every child, no matter their race, class or immigration status, has the right to a fair start in life. Yasmin’s story -  Yasmin’s first-born son didn’t get the chance to go to nursery because of nothing more than the fine print on her visa. The Government’s exclusionary rules locked Yasmin and her son out of this support. However, her daughter did get the chance because by the time she was old enough, Yasmin could benefit from government support with the costs.  The impacts on her son have been long-lasting. His teachers have told Yasmin how he struggles more to make friends and interact with his peers than her daughter because he was robbed of this vital early years support. No child should be deprived of opportunities that are so important to their start in life, and no family should be forced into poverty because of government action.

Lots of buildings in the 1960’s were built using RAAC concrete, commonly referred to as “crumbling concrete”. It has also been nicknamed Aero Bar, after the chocolate bar that contains pockets of air. Experts say its lifespan is only around 30 to 40 years. Buildings should have been repaired or replaced, but a succession of Prime Ministers have passed the buck or refused to fix the problem. More than a 100 schools have been forced to shut because of safety concerns. And it could get worse with fears that as more of this weak concrete is discovered it could lead to closures of courts, police stations and even hospitals. Rishi Sunak says he’s not to blame and the Government is failing to grasp the magnitude of the problem of unsafe concrete in the UK’s public buildings. The Government to stop passing the buck and get to work and solve the concrete crisis.

Cafe Joseph has become the heart of the local community. For parents of children at the school next door, Cafe Joseph is a place to meet and support each other. For the adults with disabilities living in the home around the corner, Cafe Joseph is one of the few places where they can go out and feel welcome and accepted. For people who are struggling with challenges in their life including mental health struggles, unemployment and bereavement, Cafe Joseph is somewhere they can find love and support. For the church members who come in after mass, Cafe Joseph a chance to socialise and meet new people. We have shared our stories and craft projects, and enjoyed discussions about our faith. Cafe Joseph offered a warm space and a hot meal for people struggling with the cost of living crisis through the winter. The staff have provided training and work experience for young people, enabling them to pursue careers in hospitality industry. The Kidzone mornings have provided fun and games for children during the holidays, allowing them to play safely with their friends and enjoy a warm meal. At Cafe Joseph, we have shared the good times and the bad, and wonderful coffee and cakes. The customers and staff have become our family, and it is a vital part of the community and our lives. Cafe Joseph really is “No Ordinary Church Cafe”!

Parents are scrambling to arrange childcare after schools have been forced to shut because of safety concerns that they could collapse. All because a bubbly, unsafe concrete called RAAC was used to build them in the 1960s. And that's just the tip of the iceberg because hospitals and more public buildings across the UK used the same materials. The Government is being called out for their incompetence and has already committed to paying for remedial damage because of the outrage. But this is not good enough. The Government needs to check all public buildings NOW to make sure they were built safely BEFORE any accidents happen.

It's important because there are a lot of families displaced or living far from where they work because they can't afford housing in popular tourist areas which are also their home villages and where their families live

It is unfair that money is collected under this basis given the fact that all revenue goes into the BBC's pocket. The law need to state: 1. The conditions of a TV license state that you must have a license if you watch "any" live channels, therefore, any money collected is distributed to all live broadcasters and not solely the BBC. 2. Should the license fee apply to live BBC programmes only, then the consumer should be given the option to delete said channels from their device should they not intend to watch them. Although the BBC do create some very good content, the consumer should have the option as to whether they want to pay to access it. I.e. via purchasing a TV license. It is unfair to be forced into paying for something that you do not use. People are very aware of the bully tactics used to collect, and this must stop.

I travel regularly and won’t be able to if they close the ticket offices. This is a discrimination against elderly and disabled people

It is important that excess solar power is saved and used at peak usage time because peak periods at the moment have to be covered by burning fossil fuels; a battery will help to smooth out production with demand. But it is impossible to know how much of their own solar power generated consumers will actually use until the panels have been operational for a while, and many will not be able to afford to install both at the same time. So more often than not these two installations will be completed separately. It is ridiculous therefore that 20%VAT is payable on the battery installation when it is done alone! Individual solar battery installation should be zero rated like most other “green” installations!

Mel and the team at The Cosy Coffee Corner have become an important and much loved part of the Bank community and are one of the few remaining independent coffee shops left in the City. Closure will not only mean that Mel will lose her life savings invested in the business but that her team will also lose their jobs. This doesn't need to happen.

I believe public pressure could make a change. The people involved in the main struggle to speak for themselves. And could end up living in a totally inappropriate environment, their community will be split up.

It's important to stop it now by ensuring developers face their responsibilities. We are trying to help with the environment and the future of our planet, which starts at our home environments. Making an open statement of abusing the safety of our rivers etc is extremely alarming.

A staggering 58 per cent of people with epilepsy who responded to our recent survey have faced dental repair costs they could not afford. And over two-thirds have broken or chipped their teeth as a result of a seizure. This startling data, gathered as part of a survey we conducted in March and April 2023, lays bare the challenges facing people with epilepsy who often suffer severe damage to their teeth as a result of their medical condition. That is why the Epilepsy Society has launched FixIt4Free, our campaign calling for free dental repairs for people who have damaged teeth during a seizure.