This farm has become an integral and important part of East Birmingham life. It has been visited by hundreds of thousands of families since opening many years ago. It offers an opportunity for children, many of who are from an underprivileged background, an opportunity to see farm animals at very close quarters. They are able to engage with the animals and ask questions of the friendly staff. It is a local institution. The farm also offers a magnificent opportunity for local young adults with a variety of special needs and challenging backgrounds to volunteer as "workers" on the farm. They give their time freely, their only reward being the personal progress they make in terms of independence and interaction with society. It would be a disgraceful reflection on all of Birmingham's Council Tax payers and Councillors for these vulnerable young adults to see all of their hard work dashed and their achievements (both in terms of the farm and their personal development) destroyed.

These job centres are in some of the hardest hit communities in the country, and in some cases will mean local services moving several miles away. This will make it more difficult for those seeking work to access the job centre, and will have a detrimental impact on those already struggling with extremely low incomes and also those with disabilities.

Lost beds in Derbyshire could mean that people are sent home to recover from illnesses rather than being kept under observation. Let’s make sure that our NHS doctors can make decisions they think are best for patients. Our NHS is already being starved of funds. The percentage of Government spending on healthcare in 2015-16 was 6.6%. It used to be close to 10%. We are now spending about the same as Slovenia and Iceland and behind Greece and Belgium. While there is a need to join-up care in Derbyshire this is being done in the context of £22 billions cuts in the NHS and may well result in loss of nearly a third of hospital beds in Derbyshire. How can we afford to lose more beds? This continued degradation of the NHS will foster the call for further break-up of the NHS and selling off to the private sector. Created on behalf of the Derbyshire NHS SOS Campaign

This MP has demonstrated the highest level of integrity and bravery we should demand from our representatives. Denial of the SNP party whip is now an embarrassment and should be rectified as a matter of urgency.

Gas and Electricity are fundamental to our daily lives and the economy. Control of distribution should remain within the control of the UK, not with a consortium of foreign interests that includes countries with a poor record of human rights.

The figures released 16th November by the British Lung Foundation to mark World COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Day, showed people living in Bradford are more than 50 per cent likely to die from life-limiting lung disease COPD than the UK average. Quote: Telegraph and Argus - 11 Nov 2016 / Claire Wilde, HEALTH bosses are setting up a crack team to tackle the district’s growing obesity epidemic. Two-thirds of the district’s adults and a third of 11-year-olds are now overweight or obese, according to health figures, leading to an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, type two diabetes and other potentially fatal illnesses. Back in May, the district was also revealed as the third “fattest” in England, with 1,907 hospital admissions linked to obesity in a year. The new team, which will meet for the first time on November 29, will be asked to set out a system-wide action plan for battling the problem. However, the proposals have been set out to cut £1m from the Health Improvement budget - key areas of work obesity - which impacts on copd, cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Expected outcomes of such a cut: • The VCS provide over and above what they are funded to deliver, recruiting and training volunteers in to support them with this work - this would end • Whilst delivering this work people are encouraged to join other health improvement activities and services. There is a higher uptake of people accessing new initiatives by people who have already used a service and built trust with the workers • VCS groups bring other funds into Bradford through writing funding bids to e.g. the Lottery and Trusts. As VCS overheads are covered in the work they undertake for the Health Improvement Team - these 'added value' funds would cease, as VCS groups close • Disadvantage communities have seen the closure of many support agencies across Bradford and these cuts would add to this list - impacting on the health and wellbeing of whole communities • VCS groups have built trust in these communities, having operated for many years. They engage with local people using a bottom up approach, delivering valuable services in ways that the Council cannot • Work that is currently being built on will be lost – years of evaluations, processes, planning and delivery – with lessons learned and expertise built on This is short sighted and in the long term will cost the Authority dearly, as the health of these communities quickly deteriorate further.

The global grass roots Fair Trade movement is under threat and we need to act now to dispel the myth that the Fair Trade global movement is coming to an end. In light of the Fairtrade Foundation's announcement that they are proud to be partnering with Cadbury, to expand their cocoa sourcing program - Cocoa Life - which will include a FAIRTRADE Mark on a product that does not contain FAIRTRADE cocoa. We the undersigned call on the UK and European Fair Trade movement to unite in expressing our grave concern that this is a further watering down of the Fair Trade Principles that underpin the global Fair Trade movement. Gaining access and winning over the big players of the market was never the intention of Fair Trade. We call on ALL the Fair Trade players, in the UK and Europe, to resist the downgrading of Fair Trade by the dominant players, to a market driven charity! We call on all Fair Trade stakeholders, in the UK, including the Fairtrade Foundation, to unite under one banner to form a constituted National Platform, representing the voice of the whole UK movement. A platform that empowers the producer to set the price - a bottom up approach that is based on a social and environmentally responsible economy. A special place where producers set their price and engage in a sustainable mutually rewarding relationship with their customers and which encourages responsible consumers.

Homeless people could be fined up to £1,000 for sleeping in doorways near popular tourist spots, under new rules launched by a London council, and this is not the first or only council to invoke this ruling. It’s not clear how destitute rough sleepers are expected to pay. Hackney Council’s Public Space Protection Order bans sleeping in public places – offenders are handed a £100 fixed penalty, which can rise to £1,000 in court. Homelessness charities have condemned the move, saying that it turns rough sleepers – who are often escaping lives of abuse – into criminals. Rough sleepers deserve better than to be treated as a nuisance. Those who sleep on the streets are extremely vulnerable and often do not know where to turn for help.

The new traffic routes for Fishergate, Preston introduced on October 31st are causing huge traffic congestion. There is now only one route out of Preston's city centre between 11am and 6pm everyday and as a result there is traffic chaos, especially during peak times. It is damaging the city's appeal for business and visitors. Please reverse this decision as soon as possible.

A UK Cross Country network requires that passengers and potential passengers have to make as few changes en route as possible. If Aberden passengers and passengers between Aberden and Edinburgh have to chage trains at Edinburgh Waverley rail travel is no longer attractive. Connections will be missed. It wil be difficult for passengers with a lot of luggage, children, or are disabled or infirm to move across Edinburgh Waverley to find a so called connecting train or in many cases impossible for people to use the trains if they have to change trains. Chaining trains is not attractive to passengers.

A short while ago I had a nusance neighbour and was asked to provide information to the police by a housing association every time the neighbour caused a disturbance on the 101 service It wasn't until I got my bill that I found out that was charged every time I had called. Ordinarily a one off charge once in a blue moon but on one occasion I had phoned in 7 -8 times a day This soon adds up. Luckily for me it was only for a few weeks. The person was later charged and moved to a different location. And my family was thanked for their help. The crux is that if I called 999 every time I wouldn't have been charged. As yet I do not know if the other networks charge for connecting to the 101 service or even the 111 service

Just because of skewed statistics for the benefit of insurance companies and sub standard driver training in the 90's should we suffer a loss of skills? No, today the development of UK independent business is what is helping our country climb out the mess big banks left behind. The young generation, those born in the nineties, we are the ones investing our time, passions and future into independent business and sustainable development. Many of us are finding much resistance and obstacles to gaining the skills and legal certificates to make our growing businesses viable and recognised. These obstacles are surprisingly the effect of polices that have only been implemented in the last 20 years, therefore effecting our generation severely. I have been running and managing mobile catering at outdoor events for the last three years, and now I am ready to expand and develop but I can't drive and tow the vehicles to make this jump; i have access to these tools, but I can't use them. Yet those only 10 years older than me can, by default. To me this feels like discrimination, despite understanding that according to statistics our generation are higher risk. Yet if you look at the same reality with some common sense in tow and holistic view: The syllabus for UK driving licenses is far more rigorous than it was; before 1996 there wasn't even a theory test, and now there is the Hazard Perception Test as well (Introduced in 2002). Not only is our generation more qualified than previous years, but we have also have grow-up with and learnt on far more hectic and crowded roads, between 2000 and 2016 the number or cars on the road has increased by more than 4 million. Last but not least; the stats that our Government uses to support the changes to our driving licenses and other related policies effecting young drivers actually falls quite short; the Guardian in 2013 reviewed some stats from Transport Research Laboratory to be used to support a Goverment policy increasing the age at which you could apply for provisional license to 18. When considering the raw data only 2 of 100 of drivers between 17 - 19 yrs old are involved. Also the academic support for conclusions of TRL were majority form a 44 year paper! If our Government, and its trusted stats providers are skewing the data then, where is the support for the 1997 change to the driving license limitations and legalities? Not to mention the extortionate insurance premiums that have become the norm for all young drivers. Please Help me make it easier for young people to expand and develop their opportunities in business and work by levelling the playing (or driving!) field. On top of property prices, student debt and unpaid internships, we don't deserve to be constrained by any more age specific policies.