The future of publishing in Wales and with it ‘a distinctive literature from Wales’ could be under threat if the Welsh Government agrees a proposed 10.6% cut to industry funding. Wales’ small but vibrant and diverse publishing industry produces everything from Costa prize-winning poetry titles to young adult novels, from books about sporting and music legends to Welsh history and art, from prize-winning literature: fiction, biography, travel and memoir, academic titles and Welsh classics, to richly illustrated titles and books for children, in English and Welsh. Its independent publishing companies are spread across the country, providing skilled work for an estimated 1000 plus people, from authors to publishers, freelance editors, designers, illustrators, printers, booksellers and many others, often in areas of high unemployment. After a decade of standstill funding, grants to Welsh publishing in English will have been cut by 21% - £158,050 – in the last three years if these latest plans go through. Sign this petition to protect the future of Welsh literature and the Welsh books industry. Join in the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #WelshBooksMatter

The government is drawing up plans to abolish attendance allowance (AA). Attendance allowance is a benefit payable to people over the age of 65 who have care needs, including difficulties with everyday tasks such as dressing and washing. This money can make all the difference between living and existing. Thanks to attendance allowance, older people with conditions like arthritis can pay for cleaners or someone to help with the shopping. It goes towards extra heating, or running a car. It’s not just about budgeting: they also gain some company from hiring help, and can pay for transport to get them out of the house. Without the benefit, many people will no longer be able to travel for their shopping, so they may be forced to use more expensive shops nearby. It will be harder for them to keep their homes clean. They’ll be faced with greater isolation. And loneliness and social isolation are harmful to our health: research shows that lacking social connections is as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad, 2010). All this may pose a hazard to both their physical and their mental health - and end up creating more of a strain on medical and social services. A 73 year old man I know was diagnosed with throat and larynx cancer and faced increasing immobility. He was unable to walk to local shops just 250 yards away without either stopping for a break every few yards or being taken by a friend. For longer distances, he had to travel by taxi. It was his attendance allowance which allowed him to pay for taxis and get out of the house in spite of his illness. Since then, he has been in hospital undergoing a tracheotomy and laryngectomy. He is considerably weaker than when he was admitted to hospital and will not be able to look after his home in the way that was once able. He will require the services of a cleaner and a carer to help him prepare meals, neither of which he would be able to afford without his Attendance Allowance. The government claims that local authorities will step in to fill the gap in provision created by scrapping attendance allowance. But in the face of sweeping cuts imposed on their budgets, local authorities may find that administering such an allowance is beyond their means. What guarantees will there be that local authorities will have sufficient funds to match the current rates? This is yet another swipe at the most vulnerable in our society, potentially depriving them of a quality of life that Attendance Allowance helps to provide. N.B.: Just to clarify this will not affect current claimants. The changes are planned to affect claimants from 2018 onwards.

Mears helps the elderly to remain in their own homes. Elderly neighbours and relatives have found this service vital when they did not know who else to turn to. The cost is reasonable and the workmen are very good and caring.

Arts and culture have an important role to play in the life of a capital city such as Cardiff. The ambition that has been laid out for Cardiff in the current 10-year strategy, Cardiff Proud Capital, wants the city to be a great place to live, work and play. Arts festivals, venues and organisations make a valuable contribution to the delivery of this vision, not just by providing leisure activities, but also by supporting community cohesion, health and wellbeing outcomes, and educational attainment. What would our city and our nation look like without this provision? Investment in the arts often more than doubles in the return to the economy. Three of the arts festivals that are under threat of cuts bring visitors to Cardiff from across the world to see the world class visual arts and music they produce. Tourism is a key part of Cardiff’s economy and the proposed cuts also seeks an increase in tourism income. Surely, in light of this, the cuts are a false economy. Many of the arts organisations and venues that Cardiff Council are proposing to cut are working with some of the most vulnerable residents in Cardiff to improve their quality of life. These venues and organisations are willing partners who will work the Council to develop this provision the funding is sustained. The right to culture is a basic human right. We want Cardiff Council to ensure that Cardiff is the Capital City Wales deserves and needs, and that culture remains alive and vibrant in the city. We don't want a #cardiffwithoutculture. Mae'r celfyddydau a diwylliant yn chwarae rhan bwysig ym mywyd prifddinas fel Caerdydd. Mae'r uchelgais sydd wedi ei gosod allan ar gyfer Caerdydd yn y strategaeth gyfredol, Prifddinas Falch Caerdydd, eisiau i'r ddinas fod yn le gwych i fyw, gweithio a chwarae. Mae gwyliau celfyddydol, lleoliadau a sefydliadau yn gwneud cyfraniad gwerthfawr at gyflawni'r weledigaeth hon, nid yn unig drwy ddarparu gweithgareddau hamdden, ond hefyd drwy gefnogi cydlyniant cymunedol, iechyd a lles, a chyrhaeddiad addysgol. Sut le fyddai ein dinas a'n cenedl, heb y ddarpariaeth hon? Mae buddsoddi yn y celfyddydau yn aml yn fwy na dyblu'r budd i'r economi. Mae tri o'r gwyliau celfyddydol sydd o dan fygythiad o doriadau yn dod ag ymwelwyr i Gaerdydd o bob cwr o'r byd i weld y gorau yn y byd o ran y celfyddydau gweledol a cherddoriaeth. Mae twristiaeth yn rhan allweddol o economi Caerdydd ac mae'r toriadau arfaethedig hefyd yn ceisio sicrhau cynnydd mewn incwm twristiaeth. Yn sicr, o ran hyn, mae'r toriadau yn economi ffug. Mae nifer o'r sefydliadau a'r lleoliadau celfyddydol y mae Cyngor Caerdydd yn bwriadu eu torri yn gweithio gyda rhai o'r trigolion mwyaf bregus yng Nghaerdydd i wella ansawdd eu bywydau. Mae'r rhain yn lleoliadau a sefydliadau fydda'i yn bartneriaid parod i weithio gyda'r Cyngor i ddatblygu'r ddarpariaeth hon os yw'r cyllid yn parhau i fod ar gael. Mae'r hawl i ddiwylliant yn hawl dynol sylfaenol. Rydym eisiau i Gyngor Caerdydd sicrhau bod Caerdydd yn brifddinas y mae Cymru ei haeddu a'i hangen, a bod diwylliant yn parhau i fod yn fyw ac yn ffynnu yn y ddinas. Nid ydym eisiau gweld #caerdyddhebddiwylliant.

A year ago my adult sons lost their transport when Salford's mayor decided they did not fit their criteria to keep it. Both my sons are totally dependent for all their needs and now we have to transport them ourselves. This has taken its toll on our health, and now the same mayor is looking to stop children's coaches to get them to their schools. This really cannot happen again. Our children need this service - it's vital to give them a better future. It is also needed for parents, to give them that little bit extra respite so that they can relax and know that their children are in safe hands on the way to and from school. So I am asking all the people who read this: please sign and don't let this happen again. Our children deserve the best.

The policies of your government are causing, the deaths, homelessness, increased poverty and child poverty, among your subjects, with people taking their own lives because they can no longer cope with the way they are being treated by your government, due to welfare cuts,and unfair sanctions, and the spare room subsidy (bedroom tax) increased risk of flooding due to cuts in funding to flood relief. All being done in the name of austerity. But with all the money the cuts are saving them why is this country getting further and further into debt.Where is all the money from these cuts going.your subjects are suffering and dying needlessly as most financial experts agree that austerity doesn't work. This government needs to be stopped before more people die or are made homeless needlessly. This government needs to be stopped before this country has been destroyed beyond repair, they are selling off one of our greatest institutions the NHS, do you really want to be the queen of a country that sees the return of workhorses for the poor because they have completely dismantled the welfare state, a country where the poorest and most vulnerable, and the disabled, can not afford healthcare, because they have sold of the NHS, This was once a great country but it is fast becoming a laughing stock around the world, when a rich country like ours is being investigated by the UN for the treatment of disabled and for child poverty. Please help to defend your subjects from the excesses of your government.

The reason that this is an important issue is because there are many community’s that rely on bus services in Herefordshire. The importance of this is compounded by the reality that most people who use buses are those who are the most vulnerable in society who do not have access to private transport such as those who are retired and/or on low incomes. This issue is particularly significant in Herefordshire as its bus services have been one of the most affected by cutbacks in the whole of the UK. The extent of this is shown by the fact that since 2010 there has been a 49% cut in funding resulting in 13 routes being cut and the reduction of 31 services. Finally, on a personal note this is something that is very important to me as I have relied on bus during my time in education and still do in order to have a social life.

Swindon Council plan to Decommission the following five children’s centres currently provided by 4Children service to achieve a reduction in the budget for this service  Drove  Moredon  Gorse Hill  Pinehurst & Penhill  Parks & Walcot East Instead, create a new family support service running from Penhill Sure Start Centre offering targeted help for families with vulnerable children Utilise the remaining four children’s centre buildings for early years’ education and wider community-based services The two family centres at Butterflies in Abbey Meads and West Swindon Family Centre are not affected by these proposals and continue to be funded in 2016/17 as part of the two year funding commitment made in 2015. This will also apply to the Ladybird Centre, Highworth Please also complete the consultation www.swindon.gov.uk/childrenscentres

Nursing degrees involve much more work, and fewer holidays than most degree courses. Most qualified nurses will work at a band five and will not earn sufficient money to repay the loan. Most nurses already find their salary difficult to survive on, especially in the south of England where rent is high. Considerable research evidence indicates that the better educated nurses are, the lower the patient mortality rates. It is a matter of patient safety that student nurses should be concentrating on their studies, and not be trying to work alongside their studies. There is already a shortage of nurses, and removal of NHS bursaries will reduce the number of candidates for nurse training, and increase the drop out rate on courses. Then of course the government will say the NHS is not working and needs to be scrapped. I would urge everyone who values the NHS to sign this petition, and pass it onto others.

Parents should continue to have the freedom to choose from a variety of local childcare providers: council, schools and private. Closing all the council-run nurseries will deny parents this choice. Some nurseries which are run by local schools do not open during the school holidays so this might not be a viable option for many parents, who would then be forced to move their children to privately-run nurseries. Furthermore, the council's current proposals will cause a significant amount of disruption, confusion and anxiety for a lot of pre-school children. UPDATE (18.12.15): (1) If you have already signed our paper petition, please don't sign this online petition as well! (2) North Tyneside Council will only accept petition signatures from people who live, work or study in the borough. If you don't have a North Tyneside postcode for one of these activities, please don't sign this petition. (3) Thank you for your support! There is more information about this campaign on the Facebook page "Save North Tyneside Children's Centre Nursery".

ALL SUBSIDISED bus routes in the county are set to lose their funding from Oxfordshire County Council under proposals approved in November 2015 by the Council. The subsidies are paid to bus companies and community groups so they can run 118 bus routes, mainly in rural areas, that would otherwise not be commercially viable. The bus network is vital to the health of local communities and especially important to vulnerable members of the community who use the network to access support and care and avoid social isolation. These cuts are totally unacceptable and a false economy as they will have hidden costs in terms of additional social care and health spending to support those who currently use the bus service to access support and life opportunities. The cuts also make a mockery of the County Council’s integrated transport plan and environmental targets. We are calling on the Leader of the County Council Council and the Prime Minister, who is MP for Winey and who has in correspondence questioned whether the cuts to front line council services are necessary in Oxfordshire, to resolve their disagreement about council funding and withdraw these cuts proposals before the new County Council budget is agreed in February. Deadline for completion January 12th (to be presented to the Council’s Transport Advisory Panel on the 14th January).

By the Government's own definition (31st May 1995, Committee on Standards in Public Life) the 7 Principles of Public Office are "the basis of the ethical standards expected of public office holders". By this we take to mean that all politicians in Her Majesty's Government are expected to abide by the ethical standards set out in this document; and are therefore accountable both to the public and to the members of parliament if they can be seen to have failed in doing so. In the light of large bodies of evidence which can be presented to highlight the fact that the Prime Minister has failed to uphold the 7 Principles of Public Office, I would like the the Leader of the Opposition to personally raise the issue with him, in parliament, in order to hear his response.