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.

Michael Gove wants to let developers increase pollution and harm rivers. Right now, planning authorities can only approve developments they’re sure will not damage protected habitats - but if the Housing Secretary gets his way, that rule will be scrapped. The papers are saying that the Government will try and amend the levelling up and regeneration bill. The Bill is currently in the House of Lords, and the Government needs to get support for it soon if they want Michael Gove’s plans to succeed. With our dirty rivers all over the news, will the House of Lords want to support more poo-llution in our water? We need to show the House of Lords that we will not stand for the Government’s plans to put our natural habitats at risk instead of saving them.

A lot of people take going to the toilet and keeping their dignity for granted. Imagine being a parent of a 10 year old disabled child who needs more space than a baby changing table due to child’s weight and height, and your only option is to go through wet changing rooms and hope that the accessible changing room is free so that your child can be changed in comfort and keep their dignity. You also can only use these facilities 9-5 daily, the rest of the time, you’ve got to go back to your apartment, upto 0.7 miles. Would you be happy being in an entertainment venue and having to walk 0.7 miles to use the toilet?