We are calling on our members and the wider public to support this petition. These cuts will impact service delivery and could result in increased attendance times and reduced resilience, further causing the normal response to be diminished.

We should be investing in our public service not cutting, reducing or dissolving them.  

Dumfries and Galloway is consulting the public on a range of proposals. In the past 16 years, the Council has cut £13 million from its budget and is now seeking to cut a further £35 million in the next three years. Most of these cuts are aimed at the Education Department. Proposals include consultation on the closure of 58 nursery, primary and secondary schools, axing the instrumental music service, and cuts to essential education workers. Years of under-resourcing have already created workload, pupil equity, violence and aggression issues that are unsustainable in schools. Over 40% of learners now have some form of additional support need. The introduction of the presumption of mainstreaming and the failure to appropriately resource this in schools has led to an increase in violence and aggression against teachers and between pupils. If realised, the recent budget cuts would have ramifications for the quality of education in Dumfries and Galloway and will hit some of the poorest children, the hardest. We are seriously concerned about the potential for the widening of the poverty-related attainment gap in Dumfries and Galloway.

Britain’s buses are old, inaccessible and unsafe. Except in London. Why? London buses have two or three sets of doors to make getting on and off really quick, safe, and accessible for everyone. If you’re a disabled user or parent with a buggy, getting on the bus, and finding space to sit, can often be impossible.  We believe buses can be made more accessible with these changes: • two sets of doors for boarding/alighting • Separate dedicated places for wheelchair users and parents with buggies • Eye level displays for wheelchair users and bell buttons within easy access • Seats at bus stops to provide a rest space for passengers who struggle to stand • Automatic boarding ramps and back up manual ramps if not working • Reinstating bus conductors • A permanent board of representative passengers and user groups to co-design all aspects of bus design and the bus reform process with the Mayor London buses aren’t this bad, and neither are buses across the rest of the world. Why are we stuck with such poor quality buses? If London can do it, it’s time we got the first class buses we deserve.

Wales has the largest private sector delivery of care of the devolved nations. The ongoing profiteering from social care is the barrier to the improved care our nation deserves.  Billions of pounds of public money are stripped from Welsh care by private equity groups and property speculation on care homes.  Meanwhile, care workers continue to struggle to make ends meet with low pay and poor conditions, and those needing care are faced with a complex and fragile care system.  Care workers must be properly rewarded if we are to attract the thousands of workers we need to make care work.  And as citizens, we should expect public money to be spent on services and staff, not on lining the pockets of billionaires. Social care should serve people, not profit margins. Sign this petition to support our call on the next Welsh Government to create a National Care Service for Wales to ensure a high-quality, resilient service that prioritises the need of citizens in Wales.  “Does dim lle i elw ym maes gofal cymdeithasol” Pam mae hyn yn bwysig? Cymru sydd â'r ddarpariaeth gofal fwyaf yn y sector preifat o blith yr holl wledydd datganoledig. Y gorelwa ym maes gofal cymdeithasol yw'r rhwystr rhag y gofal gwell y mae ein cenedl yn ei haeddu. Mae biliynau o bunnoedd o arian cyhoeddus yn cael eu tynnu o sector gofal Cymru gan grwpiau ecwiti preifat a hapfuddsoddiadau mewn cartrefi gofal. Yn y cyfamser, mae gweithwyr gofal yn dal i gael trafferth cael dau ben llinyn ynghyd gyda chyflogau isel ac amodau gwael, ac mae'r rhai sydd angen gofal yn wynebu system ofal gymhleth a bregus. Rhaid i weithwyr gofal gael eu talu'n briodol os ydym am ddenu'r miloedd o weithwyr sydd eu hangen arnom i wneud i ofal weithio. Fel dinasyddion, dylem ddisgwyl i arian cyhoeddus gael ei wario ar wasanaethau a staff, nid ar lenwi pocedi biliwnyddion. Dylai gofal cymdeithasol fod yn faes sy’n canolbwyntio ar y bobl, nid ar faint yr elw. Llofnodwch y ddeiseb hon i gefnogi ein galwad ar Lywodraeth nesaf Cymru i greu Gwasanaeth Gofal Cenedlaethol i Gymru er mwyn sicrhau gwasanaeth gwydn o ansawdd uchel sy'n blaenoriaethu anghenion dinasyddion yng Nghymru.

EIS members at Lenzie Academy have identified serious health and safety concerns in the school, presenting a risk to pupils and staff.  These include: • Major roof leaks and water ingress • Water near electrics • Asbestos-related risks • Mould and damp • Heating failures (rooms too cold / too hot) • Broken fire doors • A non-working secure entry system • Damaged flooring causing trip hazards • General disrepair A new school is planned — but not until at least 2029. Pupils need a safe building now. What teaching staff want • Make the building safe • Fix urgent risks quickly • Share clear timelines • Keep staff and pupils protected EIS members at Lenzie Academy are in dispute with East Dunbartonshire Council over their employer's failure to meaningfully consult with union representatives regarding serious health and safety concerns. In a recent consultative ballot, EIS members at Lenzie Academy voted 95% Yes to taking industrial action in pursuit of improved safety.

This is about whether people live or die when the worst happens. These plans would slash Oxfordshire’s guaranteed night-time fire cover from seven to five fire engines, close local stations, remove a specialist rescue vehicle and force firefighters onto unsafe 12-hour shifts. That means slower response times, weaker back-up – and more lives, homes and businesses lost.   The cuts hit the people who most need protecting: children, older people, disabled people, low-income families in flats and HMOs, and rural towns and villages already a long way from help. Night-time fires, road traffic collisions and floods are exactly when you need more cover, not less – but this plan strips it away and hides the damage behind county-wide averages.    If we don’t stop this, Oxfordshire will be left with a brittle, hollowed-out fire and rescue service: exhausted crews on overlong shifts, families in Kidlington losing their homes, retained stations closed instead of supported, and experienced firefighters leaving for good. Once stations, fire engines and skills are gone, they are incredibly hard and expensive to get back.

Treatment of striking NHS staff This helps to explain the treatment of NHS workers on strike in Gloucestershire in recent months.  A small but mighty group of workers have been on strike since March, fighting for fair pay. Phlebotomists, specialists in collecting blood samples, are currently paid at the lowest band in the NHS: just 30p over minimum wage. The all-female group are asking for a correction to their pay band to help them weather the cost of living crisis. The phlebotomists have now hit the highest number of days of any NHS strike in history. After 200 days on strike, Kevin McNamara is still refusing to resolve this fairly and pay the phlebotomists what they deserve. Why have over £100,000 of NHS funds been wasted on defending bullying instead of paying frontline staff fairly?

Without a commitment to backpay, we will be forced to take action. We do not take strike action lightly. But after years of being ignored, we have been left with no choice.

Background In 2018 Airedale NHS Foundation Trust created a wholly owned subsidiary, AGH Solutions (AGHS). Since AGHS was set-up all new starters were set on lower NHS pay, terms and conditions.  In 2021, GMB members successfully campaigned to end the race to the bottom, securing alignment with NHS pay bands, significant improvements in NHS annual leave, the introduction and alignment of weekend and night enhancements and more.  The success in 2021 came on the back of industrial action announcements and intervention from the Airedale NHS Trust Board directing AGHS to reach a meaningful agreement with GMB.  Today Now GMB members are back demanding full alignment on all the remaining terms and conditions, including standard NHS pensions, sick pay, annual leave entitlements and enhanced Sunday pay rates. Again, AGHS is refusing to meet GMB demands. Only the Trust can help settle this by intervening to end the dispute. Tell 'Foluke Ajayi that AGHS is the responsibility of the Airedale NHS Trust and that NHS workers deserve NHS terms and conditions. 

By signing the petition we can show  South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust that they should be re-banding our lone working community staff 

Libraries do so much more than lend books! We are one of the last vestiges of public civic life, accessible to all, located at the heart of your community. We provide: • A safe space, open to everyone, cool in summer and warm in winter • A wealth of information, free at the point of delivery • Services such as printing and room hire are far below the commercial rate • IT assistance for the digitally excluded • Free community groups, clubs and societies for you to join • Free crafts, activities and workshops for your children • Partnership programmes with local schools to reinforce learning • Learning and development programmes and classes • A public platform for organisations to liaise with the community in person … and a lot more besides.