We are concerned as local councillors, that 2 important bus routes have been withdrawn from our area, without an adequate replacement service. X26/X27 – Leeds – Thorpe Park (via York Road) These routes serve our social and economic centres and are important to our local community. All sorts of people living in East Leeds used these buses to get to and from town, to the hospital, to work and to visit family, as well as to use the leisure facilities at The Springs. We have therefore written to the Managing Director of First Group and asked for this decision to be reconsidered. Other local routes have been withdrawn but replaced by other services. This is not the case with the X26/X27. We will continue to campaign for better bus services across our area. Bus services should be affordable, accessible and make good connections - with the profits being put back into the service, rather than skimmed off the top for shareholders while services are reduced!

My handsome son Zak died because the health authorities and other institutions that were supposed to be caring for him, failed him miserably. A coroner has deemed the following: Healthcare failings in obtaining information so that a patient reveives their medication. Failings to provide patient discharge information relating to diagnosis, prescription and care plan details. Concerns relating to a lack of clarity over the meaning of the word "urgent" when a patient referral is made to the access and assessment team. Concerns that current healthcare guidelines, (in relation to patients that may be disengaging or non concorordant) are lacking and need perfecting. Zak's death was regarded as a Serious Incident by the trust that failed him. Zak was seen by a GP whilst under a trusts care, (6 weeks before he took his own life).The GP had serious concerns that Zak was paranoid, lacking capacity and dehydrated. Nothing was done and incredibly no notes seem to be available, to show if anything was done or what they did to help and support Zak. A different GP saw Zak again 18 days before he passed away. The GP made an urgent psychiatric referral but they did not have a clue about Zak's current medication or treatment plan because they had NO NOTES from the previous care provider. They had a legal duty of care to get Zak help and treatment. As it currently stands health authorities and other institutions where care is provided can say they have not got a patients notes or they cannot find them. There is a massive loophole in the current law which allows this to happen. The institutions and health authorities are allowed to say and I quote: " The notes may have been done or they may not have been done", as an excuse for not providing a patients notes. How can this be either morally or ethically right in 2022 when notes have been computerised to try to stop this from happening. How can they be allowed to get away with saying: " We do not have the notes, we had no access to that computer system or we cannot find the notes or they may have been done or they may not have been done". Please please stop this from happening any more. God forbid it happens to your loved one. Jo Farmer

Since the start of government imposed austerity 12 years ago, the council has lost £110m of central government funding while demand for services has soared. Over ten years of pay freezes our workers have lost an average of £4-8000 a year in pay, while house prices and rents have soared. We need to keep our key workers and young families in the city for it to thrive, but we can’t do that if we can’t pay them properly. Across the country councils are struggling to retain workers - from social workers to care workers, teaching assistants and planners - thousands are leaving public service for better paid jobs in the private sector. This is a potential disaster for our councils and our services. Government needs to act now to avert a crisis, yet the autumn budget statement had nothing to offer local councils other than more stagnation and a greater council tax burden on already struggling residents. As millions in the country are bracing themselves to have to choose between heating and eating and mass poverty is becoming normalised, councils across the country are going to have to choose between jobs or services. As our residents face one of the toughest winters in living memory, they must not again be expected to pay for mistakes they did not make. They need to know their local councils are getting the support they need from government, not watch them be slowly starved of cash and resources while the government pursues policies that make the rich richer. It’s often the case that trade unions and employers disagree. It is also often the case that different political parties disagree. But these are extraordinary times, times where no-one in our city is free from the anxiety and pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. Times where it is essential that we focus on what unites us, and to work together to protect our vital public services and those that rely on them. Brighton and Hove UNISON, the Green Administration and Labour Councillors at Brighton & Hove City Council are coming together in solidarity with other local trade unions, organisations, charities and businesses, to demand that central government properly fund local public services and public service workers. We are united in the need for well-funded public services and united in the need for a workforce that is decently paid. Corinna Edwards-Colledge, Joint Branch Secretary, Brighton and Hove UNISON; Cllr Phelim Mac Cafferty, Leader, Brighton and Hove City Council and Green Group; Cllr John Allcock and Cllr Carmen Appich, Joint Leaders, Labour Group. Also supported by GMB Sussex Branch and Brighton & Hove NEU.

Right now the FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar. Before the tournament kicked off it was surrounded by controversy, but now the games are underway, controversy remains. Players have been banned from showing support for campaigns championing tolerance and diversity, and FIFA, despite campaigns from all over the world, have still refused to commit to a compensation scheme for migrants and migrant families who have been affected by the Qatar World Cup. Football Associations in the nations that make up the UK could have a huge influence on FIFA - if they chose to wield it. Far more than ordinary football fans do. FIFA needs radical change and electing Infantino to stand for another 4 years is not the way to do it. That’s why the Home Nations Football Associations along with Football Associations from around the world have to come together and demand urgent action and a complete overhaul of FIFA.

When permission was granted by the Welsh Government in 2005, the local community in Merthyr Tydfil, who had fought the proposal fiercely, were promised that mining would end after 15 years, on 6th September 2022 and that restoration of the land would be complete a few years later. Yet it’s reported that coal mining hasn’t stopped, ruining the long-awaited peace for the local community who can see and hear the coal mine from their homes. And now the mining company has applied to expand the coal mine by 9 months, and has said it will apply for a further 3 years of coal mining, (and who knows what beyond that...?). This will not only fuel climate change by nearly 6 million tonnes of CO2 and 16,000 tonnes of methane, but inflict further explosive blasting, noise and dust pollution on nearby residents. On top of this, the long-awaited restoration of the land, will be pushed back by years, with concerns that it will never happen. *********************** Pam mae hyn yn bwysig? Pan roddwyd caniatâd gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn 2005, cafodd y gymuned leol ym Merthyr Tudful, a oedd wedi brwydro’n ffyrnig yn erbyn y cynnig, addewid y byddai mwyngloddio’n dod i ben ar ôl 15 mlynedd, ar 6ed Medi 2022 ac y byddai’r gwaith o adfer y tir wedi’i gwblhau ychydig flynyddoedd yn ddiweddarach. Ond adroddir nad yw mwyngloddio glo wedi dod i ben, gan ddifetha’r heddwch hir-ddisgwyliedig i’r gymuned leol sy’n gallu gweld a chlywed y pwll glo o’u cartrefi. Ac yn awr mae'r cwmni mwyngloddio wedi gwneud cais i ehangu'r pwll glo am 9 mis, ac wedi dweud y bydd yn ceisio am 3 blynedd arall o gloddio am lo, (a phwy a ŵyr beth y tu hwnt i hynny...?). Bydd hyn nid yn unig yn hybu newid yn yr hinsawdd gan bron i 6 miliwn tunnell o CO2 a 16,000 tunnell o fethan, ond hefyd yn achosi dioddefaint i’r trigolion cyfagos trwy’r ffrwydradau pellach, llygredd sŵn a llwch. Ar ben hyn, bydd y gwaith adfer hir-ddisgwyliedig ar y tir yn cael ei wthio yn ôl gan flynyddoedd, gyda phryderon na fydd byth yn digwydd.

There are lots of elderly people who need Post office services, its an important service for all

None of these actions would require significant investment, in fact these are very simple and cost effective steps for the University to undertake. They would however deliver a big return in value. The University's now defunct Sustainability Strategy states: "Even in this urban setting we can make a real difference in terms of biodiversity. And this can also reap benefits – improved health and wellbeing, education, volunteering opportunities, a reduction in flooding and an enhanced image can all be realised through a thriving natural environment". A positive change for wildlife will make the campus a beautiful and inspiring place to work and study. Doing more for nature on campus would be a win-win scenario for wildlife, staff and students. We call on the Vice Chancellor, Simone Buitendijk, and the University of Leeds to take action now. The world is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. 70 of our British bird species are red listed. Numbers of pollinators and other flying invertebrates are crashing. The University of Leeds' own research has documented this and raised the alarm. Yet despite having a biodiversity plan, the main University campus remains a hostile environment for wildlife. The University's token efforts to support biodiversity are well meaning but effectively amount to little more than institutional green washing. Here are 4 concrete examples of the University's failure to take biodiversity seriously: Wild Peregrine Falcons have been present since 2015 and have nested successfully several times on the Parkinson Tower. Yet anti-pigeon netting was only partially removed when a social media storm about Falcons trapped under the netting forced the University to take action. The Peregrine Falcon is a Schedule 1 species, meaning it has the highest degree of protection in law. 3 dead Peregrine Falcons were found under the nets. A remaining piece of netting has not been removed despite promises made in June. An Ecology student studying at the University of Leeds found possible Pyramidal Orchids growing on a small area of grass on campus. He notified Estates and the Sustainability Department. Despite this, the Orchids were strimmed. In Spring 2021 the University gardeners were seen cutting down all the bushes and scrub in St George's Fields on campus. The University's Biodiversity Action Plan congratulates itself (100% score) for "planting of native tree and shrub species" and "improve the biodiversity value of hedgerows on campus" yet existing scrub has regularly been removed - even in the nesting season. The Roger Stevens pond was "rewilded" in a fantastic effort to turn this concrete pond into a place for wildlife. But a member of the Estates team has been regularly adding non-native fish - a guaranteed way of removing natural invertebrates and destroying the wildlife. The dragonflies touted in a message from the University on social media, are rarely present. The University Biodiversity Action Plan reveals a score of 0% for "Protect areas important to local or campus biodiversity". In a single statement this reveals that the University is almost completely failing in its commitment to nature. The Sustainability Department have an array of green initiatives but without serious support from the rest of the University, their well intentioned efforts amount to little more than institutional green washing. It is unacceptable for the University to use these token steps for wildlife as a box ticking exercise to avoid taking genuine action.

Right now MPs who are under investigation for sexual assault or misconduct are not required to be banned from Parliament - instead they can only be asked not to attend. Earlier this year, an MP who was arrested on suspicion of rape was just simply asked to “please stay away”. And reports suggest more than 50 MPs are being investigated for sexual misconduct. But a group of influential MPs recently met to discuss the possibility of MPs being banned from Parliament if they are accused of sexual assault. It could be unpopular with some in Westminster so it's up to us, the public, to convince them to do the right thing.

The Brixham Chamber of Trade, is reported to have concerns including (but not exclusively) the following: "The closure of this road for even one week would be extremely difficult for our town. The route down towards Goodrington will be gridlocked for much of the day. Emergency services will struggle to get through. Tourists will turn around and abandon their plans to visit Brixham or Dartmouth. “Children will be unable to get to school. Nurses will be unable to get between home and Torbay hospital. Staff will be unable to commute into our members’ businesses" [Devon Live online 14 November 2022]

The nearly £25 million of Towns Fund which has been allocated to Long Eaton represents significant change for Long Eaton. Please sign this petition and make sure local people have an informed say about these changes.

Like many people living in London, I've had to change my plans and delay life decisions in response to the obscene prices in the capital’s rental market. I’m so outraged by how much letting agents are charging, one of my tweets about it became a story in the Times. [1] But for one chain of estate agents, apparently even excessive rents are not enough. After looking at some of Foxtons’ adverts, I noticed that just to rub salt in the wound, they are also charging some tenants fees of £250 per person that were supposed to have been banned three years ago. [2] In 2019 the Tenant Fees Act banned landlords and letting agents from charging almost all fees to private renters. The only permitted payments are rent, refundable deposits and fees incurred due to the tenant’s actions, such as losing keys, paying rent late, or ending the tenancy early. Foxtons claims that it charges the £250 fee when the tenancy is a “short let”. [3] On 14 November, Foxtons was advertising 614 of these in London. However, unless short lets are specifically for holidays, they are classed as assured shorthold tenancies in the Housing Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 9) and are therefore subject to the letting fees ban. [4] Foxtons describes short lets on its website as "from a few weeks to a few months". [5] By claiming they are not assured shorthold tenancies, the company is abusing the Tenant Fees Act – legislation renters fought hard to secure. Foxtons are profiteering from these illegal fees. And by keeping homes in the short term market and out of the longer term market, there are fewer homes for the people who need them most, and higher rents on the homes that do become available. Foxtons needs to stop ripping off renters and be clear that these illegal fees are unacceptable and will not be charged. [1] https://twitter.com/feedthedrummer/status/1587785056545918977 [2] https://www.foxtons.co.uk/let/fees_and_terms [3] https://twitter.com/foxtons/status/1585569745750970369 [4] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922896/Tenancy_Fees_Act_-_Statutory_guidance_for_enforcement_authorities.pdf [5] https://www.foxtons.co.uk/landlord/short-lets

National Energy Action (NEA) NI research is showing that 80% of households here have already cut down on their central heating, and most worryingly more than 1 in 10 households have had to forego meals to meet the rising energy costs. NI householders have received significantly less help in the energy crisis than those in England Scotland and Wales. They did not benefit from the £150 council tax rebate and nor do they benefit from Household Support Fund. Furthermore, NI homes are not part of the Warm Homes discount scheme meaning vulnerable households miss out on an additional £150 every winter. There is a clear need to ensure the £400 per household support reaches people in Northern Ireland ahead of this winter, to protect vulnerable households form the worst impacts of living in a cold home, including needless deaths and morbidity along with increased pressure on our healthcare services in the months ahead. We ask that you approach this issue with the urgency it requires and commit to ensuring the emergency payments are allocated to households as soon as possible.