On the 22 October 2014 Jonathan Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, in a written question 211600 to the Secretary of State for Health about NHS spending on temporary workers? It was answered by Dr Daniel Poulter on 29 October 2014. Following the Francis report many trusts were required to increase their spend on temporary staffing to meet safe staffing levels. The Department expects trusts to have a strong grip on their finances, and manage their contract and agency staffing spend (including use of locums) responsibly through effective and efficient workforce planning and management and to minimise temporary staffing costs in future years. The amounts spent on agency and contract staff (including locums) in the National Health Service in each year since May 2010 are as follows: NHS Foundation Trusts 2010-11 - £854,700,000 2011-12 - £907,000,000 2012-13 - £1,101,000,000 2013-14 - £1,396,200,000 Total - £4,258,900,000 This means that over a 4 year period from 2010 to 2014 - £4,258,900,000 has been taken directly from the public purse and paid to privately run recruitment agencies for the hiring of contract staff within the NHS without any consideration for the effect this has on the end user. At a time when massive government cuts are being made to spending across the board on all public services, I think this is wholly wrong and quite frankly, obscene. When other public sector establishments such as schools and social care authorities and the exorbitant costs of hiring temporary staff in these places are also taken into account, this means that the only winners in this scenario are the privately run Recruitment Agencies. Similar comparisons can be applied to the Education Sector where schools are spending huge amounts of money on supply staff from private recruitment agencies. In response to the problem, I have developed a blueprint for change entitled ‘Share and Share Alike’ administered through a new social enterprise business called ‘Social Recruitment Solutions Limited’ that will recycle 60% of its Net Profit back into the system on a pro-rata, dividend basis and will also give a further 10% to charity. I want to make my vision a reality by garnering support from like-minded individuals who share my belief, to come together through the spirit of partnership and co-operation in order to make a real difference in the field of Public Sector Recruitment for the benefit of all UK citizens. We cannot affect the lack of council funding but what we can do is change the way recruitment is carried out through my New Social Enterprise Model. This model will save millions of pounds in the cost of temporary and permanent recruitment and at the same time ‘give back’ to the stakeholders who work within these sectors and also to charity. Using the figures provided by the government as mentioned before, £4,258,900,000, my new social enterprise business model will see the NHS get back £391,631,100 and the staff the same amount distributed on a pro-rata, dividend basis. In my area, the new Hexham General Hospital cost £54,000,000 over 3 stages. This means the money given back over the same 4 year period through using my model - 7.25 new hospitals could be built at no extra cost to the tax payer. I firmly believe that the time has come for change. We need to remember that privately run recruitment agencies have their place in the Commercial Sector but not within the Public Sector. Why should a hospital have to pay a £7,500 for offering a supply nurse a permanent contract? Multiply that by 100 (100 nurses) - £750,000. As far as education is concerned, I know that many supply teacher agencies are offering 2 for the price of one? How does that affect the professional status of a teacher? How does that make them feel? It makes them feel like a commodity to be bought and sold like a loaf of bread. These introduction fees that agencies charge for staff to be taken on full-time contracts can be up to 25% of their annual salary. It prevents schools and hospitals being able to offer permanent positions to temporary staff because they simply cannot afford to do so. This is part of the recruitment problem particularly in the NHS. My Social Enterprise model will not charge these introduction fees and as a result schools and hospitals and other public sector establishments will be free to offer permanent contracts to temporary staff if they wish to do so without being penalised by massive temp to perm fees. They will not have to think twice about offering staff contracts because it will cost them nothing. This model can be used by all NHS Foundation Trusts and all Schools and Social Care Establishments run by Local Authorities, across the whole of the UK with no geographical boundaries. It all depends on which local authority has the desire to change, the vision to make a difference and the courage to take the bull by the horns and do something about it.

The Current First Past The Post Voting System Is Out Dated & Doesn't Represent The Choice of the UK Voters Alternative Voting System Removes The Two Party Problem (aka Spoiler Effect), the need for Tactical Voting & gives smaller Political Parties to be represented in Parliament More Information below, "The Alternative Vote Explained" by CGP Grey (Video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3jE3B8HsE Alternative Voting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting

Hundreds of thousands of people (in the UK alone) are affected by, or die from cancer every year. If Mr Smith honestly believes what he has written then I suggest he should speak to people who have suffered/are suffering from this horrible disease, or who have nursed people or loved ones through their illness, what their feelings on continued research into a cure for cancer are. Mr Smith has written a blog, which the BMJ have seen fit to publicise, entitled "cancer is the best death": http://bmj.co/1BqiNFv. How and why he feels about this issue is, I grant, his opinion which he is entitled to. However he doesn't take into account the feelings and emotions of those who have dealt/are dealing with this horrible, debilitating illness either in themselves or in friends or loved ones. If he genuinely believes that research into cures and treatments for this disease are a waste of resources, maybe he should talk to those who are only with us today because of that research? To imply that wishing for a quick death is, essentially, selfish is ridiculous. I lost 3 grandparents suddenly and one slowly to leukaemia and I feel that, having seen the pain and suffering of the slow, debilitating and, ultimately, dehumanising death for the person who died from leukaemia (as well as the suffering of those who loved them and felt so utterly helpless), a short lived or sudden death is much to be preferred for all concerned. If we can't be selfish in death then when can we be? I would also like to point out that only in the final stages of this disease can it be made painless, for most the progress of this disease through the body is far from painless. We call upon the BMJ and Mr Smith to acknowledge the offense this article has caused, apologise for publishing this article, and consider removing it from their website.

People use high street payday loan companies because they are desperate and cannot find alternative ways of raising money when they need it, i.e. for funerals etc. I saw a high street payday loan company proudly advertising an APR of 2000%. This is obscene. We need government introduction of caps these thieves can charge. And we need help to set up credit unions to help needy people. I have worked in a christian debt advice centre and have seen single mothers with credit card debts of £70,000. How was she allowed to run up so much debt?

Failure to undertake appropriate identity checks makes it very easy for criminals to use a stolen identity to obtain goods on credit. Victims of identity fraud now have to report the crime to a central fraud investigation unit who may or may not decide to investigate. This delay can lead to more uses of the stolen identity which can adversely affect the victim's credit rating and lead to tremendous levels of stress as letters arrive demanding money for goods obtained on credit. Common routes used for this type of fraud are mobile phone companies, store cards and catalogues. In theory, the current security checks should minimise criminal opportunities, however many shop and call centre staff do not always check fully at the point of sale. If it were mandatory for a verifiable photo ID such as passport, citizen card or driving license to be part of the application process this would help reduce identity fraud. Shops whose staff do not run the appropriate checks, thus resulting in a fraudulent application succeeding should also have to compensate the victim for the stress caused.

We have all heard about people who become unable to care for themselves in old age, and who have had to sell their homes to pay for accommodation in retirement homes. This is upsetting and unsatisfactory, both for the elderly people and for their relatives, and the quality of care in these places is often dubious. A tax raised specifically to address this situation could be used to ensure proper levels of care in every retirement home, or care in the person's home, all governed by NOS (Health and Social Care National Occupational Standards). The urgency of this need is increasing rapidly, in line with the size of the elderly population in this country. The proposal would solve problems at many levels, as the children and other relatives of the elderly people would be saved much anxiety; also hospital beds would be freed up.

Because women are being told that in this society they are equal, but this law proves they are not. If a women passes the same physical test as a man why should she still not be allowed to join up? When I go on the army website to see what roles I could join up as I see loads of interesting, exiting opportunities yet when I click on all the ones I'm interested in one of the requirements is for me to be male. Well sorry, but thats not going to happen. I want the choice to join up! Many men when questioning feminism (simply gender equality) argue that they are pressured to join up not understanding that women can't. If a women meets the same physical requirements as a man and joins up, how is that any different to a man joining up? Even the US allows women into front line roles! I don't see how some people believe that sexism doesn't exist in the UK...

To encourage wealthy global organisations to be proud of taking an ethical stance and making this part of their branding, taking a lead in changing the world so that every man, woman and child associated with their supply chains can make a living wage.

This will save the average consumer around £180 to £200 per year as many (myself included) only have a fixed phone line service into my house because I have to in order to make it possible for broadband to be delivered. In many cases, the phone service is more expensive than the broadband. There is absolutely no technical reason why this service could not be turned off and as long as there is a copper pair into the property, the broadband will still work as well as it does now. We are effectively being held to ransom by telcos if we want fixed line broadband. This also affects most domestic, so called "fibre optic" broadband as this service is still delivered to the property over the copper wires. Whilst we cannot realistically expect that the provision and maintenance of the copper network can be carried out for free, Ofcom should look at what is fair pricing for the provision of a "naked" copper pair with only broadband provided over it and the removal of the obligation to have a fixed landline telephone service to the home as a large percentage would prefer to remove this option if they were given the choice.

The exhibition is sexist and offensive. It denigrates and depicts women as sex objects.

Recent figures show that the councils are making excessive money; Figures from the RAC revealed councils in England made a combined £667m profit from parking fines last year. In an economic state where: Children are going to school hungry, while some parents are going for days without eating in order to feed them, according to a charity. The Trussell Trust is calling for a public inquiry into the reasons behind a surge in the use of food banks. How can we stay quiet and let the councils attack us, we need to challenge the councils on the following matters: 1) Excessive penalty means no difference of lesson taught 2) Councils using nasty bailiffs and debt collection agencies to extract money 3) Figure to state where the money is being spent 4) The councils must ensure that they are not Breach of contract Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act, 1943 section 3, Misrepresentation Act 1967 section 2, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 5) That they are not breaching Human rights Act Article 5,6,7,8,11,12 6) The council is acting within Taking control of goods, national standards 2014 Paragraph 66 (relates to excessive levy) 7) That all road marking on public highway comply with The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 8) The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 Part 2 Regulation 9 is not being breached We need to unite and regain control while the economy of this country is suffering and while some parents are going without food just to pay rent / mortgage and their bills. The councils are making excessive profits of millions why because we are letting them, by signing this campaign we can start to make a change !

Safety of vulnerable and poorer people of Merseyside. Possible exploitation of those vulnerable Unfair dismissal and silencing of staff and volunteers. We NEED a fire service which helps ALL the people of Merseyside to keep safe, not to place restrictions and make fire safety an issue only for the middle-classes only.