The university employer body, Universities UK (UUK), has proposed an end to the defined benefit portion of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), drastically reducing the retirement income and security of affected staff. Independent modelling of what the changes would mean for a typical lecturer found they could lose as much as £10,000 a year in retirement income. USS benefits are already lower than other teaching staff pension schemes. These cuts will only weaken both the position of staff in the scheme and the attraction of working in institutions where USS is offered. That’s why USS members in the University and College Union (UCU) have voted overwhelmingly for sustained strike action to defend their pensions from these damaging changes. Strikes which disrupt students’ learning are always a last resort and we are committed to resolving this dispute by meaningful negotiation if possible, but as no agreement has been reached a wave of national strikes began on 22nd February 2018 and is scheduled to continue until 16th March. We support the UCU members taking strike action and call on UUK to engage meaningfully in negotiation with UCU, submit the USS scheme to independent and transparent valuation and agree to UCU's proposals to maintain the sustainability of the scheme. For more on UCU's proposal see www.ucu.org.uk/article/9364/Further-talks-agreed-in-universities-pensions-dispute?utm_source=lyr-ucu-members&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=members&utm_term=uss-all&utm_content=USS+update

As a college student who drives to college, I fill up my car with petrol around every 7-10 days. I am roughly putting in around £25-£30 every time. I am going to University in September and if I choose to commute (which may be the cheapest option), I will be driving 38.6 miles a day. As a student who is doing a full time course which is very time consuming, finding a way to earn money is crucial to survive. I am aware there is student discount for using public transport, for shops, restaurants etc. but what about reducing the price of fuel? I am a strong believer that this could benefit a lot of students. Petrol is so expensive. Driving my own vehicle will give me the flexibility to work after lectures.

This is absolutely sick and a disgusting trend that has to be stopped as kids are desperate to upload their video to get the most views and likes. The effects on the victims must be horrendous with 100's of comments, views and likes.

Inverclyde commuters have faced annual increases for travelling on the Gourock/Wemyss Bay to Glasgow lines. A yearly season ticket now costs £1796 from Gourock to Glasgow. Despite this high cost and record numbers of passengers on these routes, we have seen modern class 380 trains with comfortable seating, heating, toilets and free WiFi removed to cover "driver training" on other routes and had these carriages replaced with the unreliable, 40-year old class 314 trains with none of the amenities of the newer trains. The Scottish government has now said that these old trains could be running from Inverclyde until 2019. We believe that this is unacceptable and that Inverclyde commuters deserve far better. It is not sufficient for Inverclyde's MSP to ask for the carriages to simply be cleaned, we believe they should be replaced. We call on the Scottish transport minister to use his position to return the newer class 380 trains to Inverclyde immediately.

It makes sense to build at Temple Quarter ( Arena Island) because: 1.It is located next door to Bristol Temple Meads train station, the major transport hub in the region, set to grow its numbers over the coming years and in line for major development from GWR and Network Rail. 2.Local train stations and lines go directly to Temple Meads and visitors from outside the city can already easily travel from their towns, mitigating pollution and congestion. 3.Bus routes from all over the city already go to the area and the new metro bus lines will also enable quicker access to the site. 4.It is in a central position allowing many locals to either walk, cycle, or take public transport to the venue. Historically South Bristol is underserved by access to facilities, work and opportunities mainly located in North Bristol. The Arena Island would enable fairer access. 5.Other successful arenas are built in the centre of cities, don't have lots of car parking and work perfectly well. 6. We believe Buckingham group are ready to start work for a fixed price of £110 million, within the budget set by BCC. 7. The arena would further accelerate the economic development of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, much needed. 8. The arena would be owned by Bristol City Council and profits can be put back in to fund local services. 9. Money has already been spent there - in 2007 £13 million had already been spent to purchase and clear the site. The total cost of the arena, £91 million, will be funded by the council which will provide £38 million and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership funding the remaining £53 million. 10. Identity - an arena building in the centre would become an iconic emblem adding to the city's reputation, feeding the city-scape and helping to bring more international recognition to our great city, a site next to South Glos would not have that same setting or impact. It doesn't make sense to build at Brabazon Hangar in Filton because: 1. An arena at the Brabazon Hangar is car-centric, and given the current lack of travel alternatives, would go against the attempts of the city, local institutions, citizens, businesses and communities to create a more environmentally friendly city and would increase air pollution which is already at illegal levels. 2. It would create further gridlock for roads around Filton and the M4/5 unless significant transport developments are put in place, which would take many years to achieve. 3. Roads across the city will be gridlocked with thousands of people attempting to cross the city from the south, centre, west and east. 3. The likely economic benefits will be passed on to South Glos and surrounding areas in north Bristol, already bestowed with higher than average economic opportunities. 4.The Brabazon is already privately owned by YTL, a Malaysian group. How much of the profits will go back to Bristol's economy? 5. The location doesn't encourage overnight stay, 'the night time economy' or tourism as much as in the centre would. It doesn't have the enormous range of accommodation, eateries and other attractions on it's doorstep that the temple quarter site already has.

UK cinemas are responsible for hundreds of thousands of plastic straws being thrown away every week. They make a huge amount of profit on selling fizzy drinks and last year there were 170 million tickets sold to cinemas in the UK. If all those drinks were served with paper straws it'd make a massive difference to the plastic ending up in our seas.* 'The marine Conservation society estimates the UK uses up to 8.5 billion plastic straws every year which are among the top 10 items found in beach clean ups'. Plastic straws should be considered a serious problem to marine species survival: I've done recent beach clear-ups myself and can testify they are a common, harmful type of sea pollution. Plastic straws can travel long distances throughout the world's oceans, getting ingested by marine animals- taking up vital space in their stomachs that takes up increasing space for digesting food to eventually starve and kill them. Straws get tangled in seaweed beds in coastal waters where they will continue to accumulate like an off-shore rubbish dump if the supply isn't stopped for good. The EU is considering banning them this year, and asking Environment Minister, Michael Gove to align with EU member states in this- but Gove has been cautious and not clearly affirmed this- yet. A large lobby and petition to ban plastic straw sale and manufacture in the UK could decide the matter this year, to see a change in UK law to make them obsolete. * We recommend that cinemas keep a small number of plastic straws behind the counter for customers with medical conditions or disabilities who require one.

Our public parks and open spaces are much loved and used with an estimated 2.6 billion visitors each year but they are also suffering from severe cuts to parks services made by local authorities as they seek to balance their books. To make this worse the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) now want to abandon their hugely successful Parks for People programme that invested millions of peoples lottery money into improving parks and local facilities. Heritage Lottery Fund are currently consulting on this change in funding so help us to convince them to rethink and keep this precious funding so our parks can be protected and continue to be enjoyed by everyone. We'll be handing in the petition to the consultation before it closes on March 22nd. The link to the Heritage Lottery Fund consultation is: https://g4-emea.yougov.com/vFqMLPG37gDzPL

The pollution and noise from a rotating stock of 12 busses would dramatically reduce the quality of life of people that live and work around Old Haymarket, an oasis in the centre of Liverpool. The car park currently averages over £100,000 a year in takings and we as a city blighted by Government cuts cannot afford that. Two mature trees would be removed. LCC claims that more new trees will be planted but they have a proven track record of not fulfilling similar promises. Old Haymarket/Manchester St used to be derelict and dangerous - it is now a thriving community because residents and businesses moved there. This oasis in the city will be destroyed. Eight businesses, including a hotel, and hundreds of residents will now be expected to share a loading space for two vehicles. People will lose their jobs and property prices will be affected. The car park is part of the curtilage of a Grade II listed building, the fantastic Queensway Tunnel entrance. Not appropriate for vehicles weighing up to 80,000 kilograms (176,370 lb) to be driving around and polluting and certainly not in keeping with the surroundings of the structure or that of the UNESCO World Heritage Site it sits in.

I grew up on Edgeside, many residents of the valley will know about its difficult history. In 2002 Rossendale Borough Council was ranked as one of the worst in the country for local authority homes after previous administrations had left the properties to decay. Recently, there have been concerns raised about regeneration schemes, empty homes, homelessness, and planning decisions made in the area. However, these have been ongoing issues for the area for decades and have been challenging for parties of all colours. Previous empty homes initiatives haven't worked, including recent attempts and earlier ones, such as the Pathfinder initiative. Several changes of Council haven't lead to these issues being fully addressed either, but I believe that a change of how the council structures their work would make a real difference. A scrutiny committee is a missing constant and there are many issues around housing which need to be looked into in depth. Over the past year, 5 out of 10 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings have considered housing issues. This takes away from the chance to discuss non-housing matters, without giving housing the focus that it warrants. I believe these challenges deserve a scrutiny committee of their own which brings together a range of services. The Government have cut funding to councils over the past few years. This leaves many councils under-funded and over-stretched. Ours is no different. While initiatives in Edgeside have seen the area transformed, this has only been possible by working in partnership with the local community (including community groups like the White Horse Project). Yet, several challenges continue in other areas of the valley and policy. A scrutiny committee, which is open to the public, would allow the council to work more closely with its residents. Together we could glean some insight into what might be the most effective changes, focus our efforts on bringing them into fruition, and solve some of the issues facing our friends and neighbors.

Detention is an inhumane and unfair system that tears families and communities apart. Right now, people can be held indefinitely with no release date and can wait for months or even years for a decision. It destroys people's lives - people are forced to put their lives on hold, and the uncertainty of when they might get out makes it incredibly tough to get through each day. This is part of the government's attempts to create a "hostile environment" for undocumented people, refugees and immigrants in the UK. So people in Yarl's Wood are on hunger (and labour) strike to push for their demands.

The Health Secretary's plans to replace the NHS with Affordable Care Organisations are unwanted by taxpayers, Doctors, Nurses & Patients. We believe The NHS should be free at the point of access and all Health & Social Care provision should be based on need, not ability to pay.

The Lansdowne Monument has stood tall and proud on the skyline overlooking Cherhill since 1845 and is a Grade II* listed monument. Now designated a monument at risk. For the last EIGHT years it has been hidden under scaffolding. The monument is in the ‘care’ of the National Trust, who agreed to conduct a condition survey in February 2018. Although the National Trust agreed to the survey they have stated that they do not have the funds to restore the monument without Fund Matching. (Estimated cost of repair is £1.2 to £1.5 million). Yet within the past eight years no fund matching has commenced. The National Trust do not support independent fund raising. We have tried to engage with the National Trust for the past two years, and have offered to assist in raising funds, but they have ignored us. Unless we start making a fuss, our monument will not be restored. It is not a priority to the National Trust as it is not an income generator. But we must make it a priority for us to ensure that the monument is restored to its former glory! It is an iconic feature of our landscape and part of our heritage. The monument celebrates it's 175th birthday in 2020 and we want our monument restored by this date.