IlonaM

There is also a petition: https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/keep-ticket-offices-open-petition

Further to my last post: 'New law confirms British citizenship for children of EU citizens born in UK before 2 October 2000 The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Act 2023 came into force on 29 June 2023. It inserts a new section 50B into the British Nationality Act 1981. Section 50B definitively and retrospectively confirms the British nationality status of all children born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 to an EU citizen parent who was exercising free movement in the UK at the time of their child’s birth.' See full update via direct link to article: https://freemovement.org.uk/new-law-confirms-british-citizenship-for-children-of-eu-citizens-born-in-uk-before-2-october-2000/?mc_cid=8f415921c4&mc_eid=bcf851a85d

Useful Independent article today: 'August dates for DWP cost of living payments, benefits and pensions Food inflation lodged at 18.4 per cent, ONS warns, but supermarkets expect prices to begin to fall' https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cost-of-living-payment-august-2023-b2369582.html

A couple of interesting articles in the Saturday Guardian: 1) The Green Doctor - 'Energy bills: how a visit from a ‘green doctor’ can help Britons save: The Groundwork charity gives free advice to households struggling with costs' https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/jul/01/energy-bills-green-doctor-save-groundwork-charity 2) 'Households urged to take meter readings as Ofgem price cap drops: With more expensive rate ending, such a move will avoid energy suppliers making estimation' https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/jun/30/households-urged-to-take-meter-readings-as-ofgem-price-cap-drops

I can't promise the result you're hoping for, but when I was in practice I'd always put in representations to see if we could mitigate situations beyond my clients' control. Given the combination of strikes, illness and chronic delay, hopefully there might be some room for understanding and flexibility.

It is true that there is an accepted deemed receipt in law. However, there has been some discussion regarding where postal strikes/covid, for example, cause delay in receipt causing detriment: see link to potentially helpful article - https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1808201/postal-strikes-delay-important-legal-documents-–-does-hr-need-know which deals with HR issues but similar situations could be argued by analogy. Act promptly to notify the other party/tribunal/court etc of the delayed receipt and get some advice as soon as possible. Getting supporting evidence of chronic problems of local postal service, as Penguin suggests, would also be a good idea. You could try getting email confirmation from Post Office of reasons for recent delay i.e. staff illness etc. I chased a parcel recently and the customer services agent could check the recent service record to confirm that there had been staff illness in the relevant time period. '

New Nationality Bill introduced to protect British citizenship of children of EU citizens 'The government have introduced a new bill confirming people’s British citizenship rights to confirm how British nationality law is applied to people born in the UK to parents who are EU citizens between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000. The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill follows the change in Home Office position which was first announced during a hearing in the High Court in October 2022.' Direct link to Free Movement article: https://freemovement.org.uk/new-nationality-bill-reflects-change-in-position-for-children-of-eu-citizens/?mc_cid=5945b23893&mc_eid=bcf851a85d Direct link to Government factsheet: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/british-nationality-regularisation-of-past-practice-bill-factsheet/british-nationality-regularisation-of-past-practice-bill-factsheet

Just came across this re: Southwark backing down on Dulwich Village LTN: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/southwark-council-dulwich-village-low-traffic-neighbourhood-plans-scrapped-b1082607.html 'Southwark council has been forced to scrap plans to introduce a new low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) following a backlash from residents. Council chiefs had planned to add an LTN in Dulwich Village in a bid to close a busy junction near Turney Road. The Labour authority said the proposal would help make the area the “safest, most accessible space for people walking and using mobility aids, and cyclists” and “create more of a village feel”, The Daily Telegraph reported. However, the council faced a backlash from local disabled groups as blue badge holders and disabled motorists were not due to be exempted. The council has been forced to scrap the idea after residents bombarded them with angry responses. An official survey of 1,242 residents found “limited support for all three objectives” behind the closure, with just 33 per cent showing support. Richard Aldwinckle, co-founder of One Dulwich which helped lead the campaign to oppose the LTN, told the newspaper: “This is a victory for common sense, although Southwark council continue to ignore the wishes of the majority of people in Dulwich who voted for the other side of this junction to be reopened. “It’s time the council stopped telling residents it’s for our own good and, instead, come up with a better and fairer scheme that doesn’t displace traffic, doesn’t discriminate against vulnerable, vehicle-dependent road users, and doesn’t damage local shops and businesses.” ...'

'As the Government’s Public Order Act 2023 comes into force, we explain the new protest offences and new definition of ‘serious disruption’, and what they mean for protesters and organisers.' Direct link: https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/advice_information/public-order-act-new-protest-offences/ 'Disclaimer: this article is for general information. It’s not intended to be used as legal advice. For information on how to get legal advice, please see our page here or find contact details of law firms with protest law expertise on our bust cards. The information on this page was correct as of 11 May 2023. However, additional provisions of the Public Order Act 2023 may be brought into force in the near future. We will monitor these changes and update this page accordingly.'

'Operation Identify Me is a public appeal to identify 22 women, believed to have been murdered in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands, but whose identity was never found. Most are cold cases; women who died 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years ago. Despite extensive police investigations, these women were never identified, and evidence suggests they could have come from other countries. Who they are, where they are from and why they were in these countries is unknown. INTERPOL has published a Black Notice for each victim; these alerts are for police only so they are not public. But here we have shared details of each case, including facial reconstruction images and other potential identifiers, in the hope that someone might recognize them. If you remember a friend, family member or colleague who suddenly disappeared, please take a look and contact the relevant national police team via the form on each page if you have any information about any of them.' Direct link: https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/Operation-Identify-Me Link to video:

I chased up a parcel delivery last week where online tracking stated that they could not 'access property'. According to Customer Services agent this could mean anything from local road closures elsewhere preventing transit to obstruction to actual property. However, in my case he said the Peckham & East Dulwuch DO had reported a lot of sick leave in the last week or so which, combined with bank holidays, probably was the reason why my parcel had not been delivered. He opened a case with expected feedback within 10 days or so, however the parcel arrived within a few days of my phonecall. I have noticed a lot of delays recently.

See https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps 'We’ve added barcodes to all our regular stamps. Regular stamps without a barcode* will no longer be valid after 31 July 2023. This follows the introduction of a 6 month grace period from the initial 31 January deadline. You can either use up your non-barcoded stamps before this new deadline or swap them for the new barcoded ones. Note: Special Stamps with pictures on and Christmas Stamps without a barcode will continue to be valid and don't need to be swapped out. Your non-barcoded stamps can be exchanged for new barcoded versions through our Stamp Swap Out scheme. To swap out your stamps, simply: Pick up or print out a swap out form Complete your form and include your stamps Send free of charge to “Freepost SWAP OUT”'

Concerns raised over policing of latest protest: 'Met accused of ‘siding’ with far-right group in anti-drag act protest Supporters of drag queen lodge complaint over police behaviour during latest ‘culture war’ confrontation' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/07/met-accused-of-siding-with-far-right-group-in-anti-drag-act-protest

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/apr/29/briton-valid-passport-barred-from-flight-brexit-rules-eu '... Prior to Brexit, UK passport holders could travel in and out of the EU as long as they held a valid passport, even one that expired the day after their return. The more onerous rules, which came into effect in 2021, apply to UK passport holders travelling to any EU country (except Ireland), plus the others in the Schengen zone: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican and Switzerland. The “over 10-year” problem came about because, for many years, those renewing their passport before the previous one expired were able to add any remaining time left. Prior to September 2018, you could have up to nine months added to the replacement’s 10-year length – meaning their passport could be valid for as long as 10 years and nine months. Passengers may look at their passport, see that it does not expire until well after their return, and conclude that all is well. However, they need to check the date of issue. If the passport will be more than 10 years old on the day of entry, they will not be allowed in. The change has caught out a great many passengers who were unaware of the change. ... Jo Rhodes, the deputy travel editor at Which?, says: “Recently, some travellers have been caught out by EU passport rules, meaning they haven’t been able to go on holiday as planned. “Your passport must have been issued in the past 10 years at the time of entering the EU. Legally, you’re also required to have at least three months left on your passport at the time you plan on exiting the EU. If you have a holiday planned this summer, check your passport now to make sure it meets all the requirements for your destination, so you don’t risk being turned away at the airport.” She says Which? advises travelling with at least six months’ validity “to be on the safe side”. She adds: “Despite the legal requirement being three months, UK travellers are strongly advised by the European Commission and the UK government to have no less than six months on the end of their passports. This is because some border guards believe that people tend to stay in the EU for longer than they say and so they’re reluctant to grant you entry if you have less than six months.” Countries such as Romania, which is in Europe but outside the Schengen zone, stipulate that UK passport holders are required to have at least six months on their passports to enter the country. It is by no means alone.' '

National Demonstration for Palestine 13th May 2023 https://m.youtube.com/shorts/H4x7QZEdxNA?feature=share&mc_cid=9142c35438&mc_eid=0885409aa9 Demonstration in London UK 13th May 2023. Join us on Saturday 13th May in Central London to protest against 75 years of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine and brutal oppression of the Palestinian people. We will march from the BBC down to Downing Street to demand the UK government impose sanctions on Israel for its 75 year-long crimes. Let's come in our thousands! The more of us that show up, the stronger our message can be: PALESTINE MUST BE FREE! So will you join us in London to show your support for Palestine? Spread the word.

I feel your pain and hope that joyous swings can be restored soon.

Useful article in the Independent last week re energy schemes and payment dates for next COL payments: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dwp-payment-dates-2023-april-b2324009.html

Link to Southwark COL webpage with multiple resources: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/benefits-and-support/cost-of-living-support

The ingredients, raisins, currants and sultanas, also occur in traditional Easter cakes and breads, or maybe you do not eat simnel cake or colomba di pasqua (to name but two which contain dried fruit).

Been going through this myself. Very difficult and very wearing. - Diarise - dates, times start & stop, how it affects you (if affecting your health and well-being make your GP aware). - Ask Housing Association (or council noise team) for a noise box to record exemplar incidents in your home. Generally set up and left in place and you activate it as required to create a picture over the couple of weeks or so that it is with you. Also, potentially, an Independent Witness. - Use facilities of your local council Noise Team (it is accessible to everyone in the borough) - as you are in a studio flat the law relating to statutory nuisance is a strong potential resource for enforcement action. Insist an Enforcement Officer attends. - Advice available: https://noiseabatementsociety.org Also see Shelter England and CAB websites. - Mediation might not bring the resolution you want unless your neighbours are willing to adjust their behaviour. Process and agreement are voluntary and not legally enforceable. Calm Mediation work in the local area and have more information on their website. - Talk to your local SNT for advice as well, particularly relating to threatening behaviour. Drop me a PM if you'd like to for moral support. Best wishes.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/dog-dies-hot-cross-bun-b2316001.html 'Vets Now said it had seen a 262% increase in hot cross bun ingestion cases from last year. Dave Leicester, Vets Now’s head of telehealth, said: “All grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas can be poisonous to dogs. “And potentially poisonous to cats, and the dried versions of the fruits are more frequently associated with severe symptoms. “Recent research has suggested that it may be tartaric acid that causes the toxic effect. "More research is needed before we can confidently provide a toxic dose, not least because the tartaric acid content of grapes and raisins is highly variable.'

The letter that accompanied the sticker has this email contact: [email protected] for Environment, Neighbourhoods & Growth