2016: At its first Cabinet meeting after coming to power, the current administration authorised a £1.6m investment in Colston Hall Phase II to enable the preparation and submission of a detailed planning application. 2017: A Cabinet paper was tabled indicating a refurbishment budget of £48.8m 2018: A Cabinet paper delegated authority to officers to appoint the contractor(s) for the redevelopment work, subject to development of the RIBA work packages ensuring that renovation works remained within the total maximum project envelope of £48.8m. This figure was subsequently revised upwards to £52.4m, with the additional amount being met by an increased contribution from the West of England combined authority. 2021: A revised total capital investment budget was set at £106.9m 2022: A Cabinet paper stated the costs had risen to £131.9m. However, a due diligence report indicated costs may increase further and completion could be delayed. Grant Thornton, the external auditor, have said that Bristol City Council "underestimated the complexity and difficulty" of the work and failed to have "effective arrangements" in place. Grant Thornton have since identified managing the risks associated with the Bristol Beacon as a significant Value For Money weakness. An independent review is needed covering the period from 2016, when the current administration authorised funds for the preparation and submission of a detailed planning application, through the various stages at which costs to the Council have escalated, to (hopefully) the completion of the project. It is important that lessons are learned and recommendations made for drafting, monitoring and implementing future contracts. Sources: Appendix A3 - Timeline 2000-2018.pdf (bristol.gov.uk) 05012022 Assurance Report_Rev 01 - Confidential information highlighted (bristol.gov.uk) Bristol Beacon Jan 23 Decision Pathway Report Final.pdf Bristol Beacon refurb cost spirals by another £25 million (thebristolcable.org)

My family's lives have been turned upside-down over the past 12 months after we lost my sister at a relatively young age. Our grief has been exasperated by the person she trusted and chose to be the executor of her estate. Unfortunately this person did not follow her wishes and tried to pocket all monies for their own financial gain. My nephew has been in a legal battle since his Mum's funeral with the person who he thought was a 'father-figure' to him, but has showed him nothing but contempt and disrespect over these past months. We do not want this to happen to another family, so the Probate Laws need to change to stop this type of fraud and work against dishonest and disloyal people.

We all know that picket lines aren't where any teacher wants to be. They want to be in classrooms, teaching our children. But teachers’ pay is falling way behind inflation, school buildings across the country are crumbling, the numbers of qualified teachers is falling, and some teachers are suffering from burnout and leaving the profession in droves. They have no other option. We know teachers across the country haven’t taken this decision lightly. They aren’t to blame for the crisis in education, the Government has caused this mess. And the Government are the only ones who can sort this out. If enough of us throw our weight behind a huge open letter, together we can show that parents, grandparents - all of us - are on the side of teachers. It could be enough to make the Education Secretary, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister get round the table and give teachers the pay deal they deserve, and get the strikes called off.

LGBTQ+ people have suffered unfair discrimination as long as I can remember, it's time for change. Scotland are ahead of the curve on this, especially when it comes to Trans rights legislation. Not only should Westminster stop trying to block Scotland's new legislation on this topic but actually follow their lead. LGBTQ+ people suffer abuse and intolerance every day, it's damaging to their mental health and general wellbeing. The more the government accepts this the less drain it will be on the NHS and the economy in general.

Closing the nursery and children’s centre site on Cannon Rd will: – Force out the popular Explorers Nursery – Deprive over 50 local children of a quality early education – Cut affordable childcare for 28 working parents, who could in turn lose their jobs – Slash 6 nursery places for the lowest-income families – Disrupt crucial support services for vulnerable families such as mother and baby healthcare, and adult education & training. As the nursery manager, I know what a vital service our Explorers team and the children’s centre provide for the whole community. We help families from all backgrounds with children from some of the least-advantaged areas of Ramsgate, as well as supporting working parents too. It’s hard to overstate the importance of early education in giving children the best life chances possible and their parents the time they need to work. Parents always tell me how proud they are of the nursery and what a relief it is to find quality childcare nearby. There is already a serious shortfall of nursery places in Ramsgate – and especially for the hardest-hit families, according to KCC’s own figures. If KCC goes ahead with its plans to shut the children’s centre, it will be a double loss for local families: one, we will have to close the nursery and two, they will lose the wider services of the centre, such as an on-site health visitor. That’s why we’re calling on Roger Gough, Leader of Kent County Council, Rory Love, KCC Member for Education and Skills and all the KCC councillors to re-think these plans in the light of these devastating impacts. I hope you will help us and add your name to the petition before KCC's plans are set to be finalised at the end of March. Thank you so much for your support! It means the world to my team and all the families we work with. Clair Jones, Explorers Nursery Manager PS. Read more about the plans on the Isle of Thanet news website: https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2023/01/18/proposed-closure-of-priory-childrens-centre-in-ramsgate-will-mean-loss-of-popular-explorers-nursery/ PPS. You can also find the full details of KCC’s proposals here: https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/community-services-consultation

The more people sign the more awareness and momentum this petition will create, this could possibly lead to a general election being held before one has been organised. Giving us the people chance to halt the rot which is setting into the government

The reality is that we all need love, support, a place to call home, and people we can trust to help us navigate life and share these lived experiences with. The right to family is fundamental to our emotional well-being and is among our most important legal rights. Families give us strength, identity, and belonging. The reasons that adult adoption can be done are for legal status or inheritance purposes but the reality is that everyone, no matter their age, needs a family.

Gabon is one of the remaining bastions of forest elephant with 85% of the forest elephant population . Poor financial compensation and grants support are a significant cause of poverty and migration in cities from rural areas. In turn this leads to native people being unable to sustain their way of life and keep their families together Villagers are abandoning theirs traditions, their cultures and their way of life. This is a huge loss for native Gabonese.

The 575 provides a vital service, connecting Horwich to Bolton Town Centre and to the rest of Chorley New Road. Between Diamond Bus and Arriva Bus, the service currently runs 6 times an hour, giving locals plenty of opportunity to get to and from Bolton. With the removal of the Diamond service, the frequency halves to once every 20 minutes. Diamond Bus were the only service running along Lever Park Avenue, connecting the far end of Horwich to the rest of Horwich and Bolton. With the removal of the Diamond Bus service, there will be no bus connecting the Lever Park area of Horwich to Bolton. The removal of this service will leave countless Horwich residents isolated and unable to get to where they need to go.

There have recently been a high number of accusations resulting in convictions of police brutality, racism, assault, battery, rape and sexual assaults. Help us all feel safer by knowing all interactions with any PC is recorded at any time and anywhere and evidence is recorded and handed in to a nominated officer at return to stations who can ensure all evidence is protected. This would help to protect us all from those who abuse their positions and use it to harm, manipulate and cause fear. A switched on bodycam can and will record everything from the minute an officer leaves the station until their return and not switched off at any point. Help protect us from those who choose to use their positions to do harm. Instead every interaction will be heard and recorded and will stand in a court of law and help protect us from those who choose to abuse their positions.

When you became the Duke of Cornwall, you inherited a vast landed estate. Sadly, much of this land contains damaged habitats and is lacking the rich biodiversity it could have. A huge amount of Duchy land falls within Britain’s ecologically significant ‘rainforest zone’. The lost potential of this land can be seen in the awe-inspiring fragments at Wistman’s Wood and Black Tor Copse (areas festooned with lichens and soaked in mythology). We urge you to allow these fragments to regenerate and spread. Rewilding our rainforests - letting trees regrow and reintroducing lost species - is also a brilliant way to fight the climate crisis because this land absorbs and stores carbon from our atmosphere, helping to lower global temperatures. As well as NGOs like the Wildlife Trust, farmers, landowners, and communities across Devon are already starting work to restore temperate rainforests and, around the country, millions of nature loving Brits are doing whatever they can for wildlife. Will you join them and help bring back Britain's rainforests? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wild Card is a grassroots campaign calling on the UK's biggest landowners to rewild. To find out more go to www.wildcard.land

The people of Leeds have been let down yet again by this government, who have failed to award any of the £2 billion Levelling Up Funding to the city - the second biggest local authority area in the country. This is not good enough, and must be reconsidered urgently. Leeds City Council submitted six excellent bids to Round 2 of the government’s Levelling Up Fund, which covered every constituency in Leeds not already in receipt of government funds. These bids covered some of the most deprived communities in the country and they have all been rejected. The bids focused on breathing new life into parks, transport infrastructure and local economies right across the council area through inner city areas and suburbs to former mining villages. The decision to not allocate a penny to Leeds sends a message to the people of our city that that the Government do not think we are worth anything. We demand that the government stops overlooking Leeds, and comes back with a new offer, giving Leeds its fair share from this £2billion pot.