As people's budgets are getting more and more squeezed, more and more people are going without their vital medication. According to the Prescription Charges Coalition, 1 in 3 people with a long-term condition has been unable to pick up their medication, adding more costs to the NHS. As England is the only part of the UK which has prescription charges, it's time to do away with them once and for all!

Currently Cheltenham, Tewkesbury or Gloucester do not have facilities accessible to citizens who have requirements of a more substantial nature than is achievable in even a standard accessible bathroom. This means we are limiting our counties resident’s ability to become “active citizens”, a Conservative Government initiative launched by David Cameron, in our largest civic centres. Facilities are available elsewhere in the county but only within the Forest of Dean and Stroud valleys area. Our main shopping and social destinations are unable to meet the most basic needs of some of our residents and instead revenue and experiences that could be consumed in the City are currently being delivered in Bristol and the surrounding retail spaces. This means families friends and carers are being excluded from our City and its culture. We would like to see Gloucester set an example for the larger towns in the County to follow and ensure that our citizens and economy benefits from the inclusion of all. It is estimated there are 230,000 people in the country who would have facilities adapted to assist them in their homes. There is a real requirement for inclusion outside of that environment. A rough estimate would have Gloucestershire with about 3500 people who require resources available to them in our City Centre to be able to plan a visit to our shops, theatres, or communal spaces for more than a couple of hours at a time. Several other councils across the country have installed and endorsed the fitting of these facilities, with The City of York being one of 5 Conservative led councils to commission them. We believe that there is a case to be answered by the council for the incorporation of a Changing Places toilet in the new developments within Gloucester. Louise Ellis, one of our cities parents whom has adopted children with special needs, is experiencing the effects of this lack of incorporation when travelling with her two children. Both her 9 year old daughter Chloe and her twin brother Jack suffer with Cerebral Palsy, with her son Jack requiring more robust assistance than his sister. Changing a child on the cold floor of a car to prolong a trip into the city center is not unusual and indeed Bristol is the preferred destination for Louise's trips out. Many people suffer with illnesses and disabilities that require facilities that are better equipped than standard disabled toilets. These requirements, such as a changing table capable of supporting an adult, hoist equipment to lift someone safely from chair to toilet or space around the facilities to allow two people to assist, are not uncommon. Tables are placed in baby changing facilities as parents need more than a bare floor to change their child's nappy, yet this is what we expect parents and carers to do with their children and loved ones. The lack of a suitable facility is not the only problem with Gloucester for Louise and her children. The disabled toilets which are available, whilst wholly inadequate, are still their best option. In our City however they are often located on a floor below or above ground, Debenhams is located on the first floor whilst M&S is in their basement, placing another obstacle in their path. The cost of a toilet to be included into a new build is approximately 15k. Conservative councils have led the way in terms of ratification for the CP scheme, backing the organisation more than another other individual party in terms of case studies. This is largely due to the inclusion of these spaces doing a lot to help councils meet the goals of the Active Citizens program and it has been seen as favourable when the City of Culture awards are evaluated. If Gloucester is serious about their bid for City of Culture 2025 then we would like Gloucester to adhere to the principals of the “Active Citizen” initiative and help us deliver a city accessible to all. There are a number of new developments planned -in the new bus station for example- that would have been accessible to shoppers and travellers and as yet do not have plans for a 'changing place' toilet in.

It is important because disabled people deserve more access to the world the same as everyone else.

We are all calling on the Chancellor to ring-fence mental health spend in his Autumn Budget. The government has announced additional funding for mental health - £1.4 billion over five years to deliver the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and £1.25 billion for the Future In Mind programme for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. This money is a step forward but is only a fraction of what mental health services need to meet growing demands. Across England, for the second year in a row, over half of Clinical Commissioning Groups – the bodies that decide how money is spent locally - say they plan to reduce the proportion of their budget spend on mental health. This is unacceptable. The money needed to transform mental health services and save lives is just not reaching the front line. Waiting times are too long, people are not receiving the best care in the community and people are having to travel too far for in-patient services. On November 22, in his Budget, the Chancellor Philip Hammond can make a difference and ring-fence mental health budgets to make sure that the promised money actually reaches local mental health services. Please sign this petition today to urge the Chancellor to ring-fence mental health spending on November 22 and ask your friends and family to sign too. Together, we can make a difference. #mentalhealthmatters https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/public38/images/mp.gif

Xplore are proposing two alternative routes to the 32/33 bus which would cut out Forfar Road. Their consultation highlights that the route could also stay as it is. You can see the proposed two route changes at this link http://nxbus.co.uk/files/NXDundee/misc/FintryRouteReview-PublicConsultationDocument.pdf This re-routing would severely restrict people's ability for travel: • make it harder for people with disabilities and older people with mobility problems to catch a bus and get out of the house, potentially leading to loneliness and social isolation • safety concerns of having to work through a scheme to get to/and from the bus • get to and from work • visit friends and relatives • access education and training • access to hospitals, doctors, dentists and other medical services • access to leisure activities including town and countryside locations Fewer buses on the road will mean more traffic congestion and delays which affects all of us.

I am a wheelchair user myself and my vehicle is 3.5 ton and lately I have had a lot of rubbish and I have needed to go to the recycling centre but as the rules are in Shropshire, I cannot because my vehicle is over the weight limit. I have recently had a phone call with Telford and Wrekin Council and I was trying to prove the point that it is discriminating against disabled people to not allow them into the recycling centres when most disabled people’s vehicles are over 3.5ton. There is such thing as an equality act, and so I believe, that means everything is meant to be equal, clearly in this case it is not equal and it is not fair that disabled people are not allowed to go to the recycling centres due to the weight of their vehicles. The weight of the vehicles is also heavily added to due to adaptations for most people due to lifts or ramps and other equipment. As we all know disabled people such as myself would not choose to have the conditions we have, and live our lives this way. The government and local councils do not understand how hard it is for disabled people to be as independent as possible and by taking our rubbish to a recycling centre we are able to support ourselves. So please, please may you all support this campaign and sign this petition because like most disabled people, I need to get to the recycling plants to get rid of my rubbish.

Our successful charity shop is the only visible support in the Swanley area for the elderly and sells really useful clothes and goods at low prices to help those in need in our community. We also have a 5-day a week walk in advice and information service and we help in tackling isolation and loneliness for the elderly in our community. It has also helped older volunteers gain the confidence to get back into other employment. The shop is profitable so us volunteers are at a complete loss as to why the trustees are closing it and want them to reverse their decision to fulfil their remit as trustees and in the best interests of the elderly in our area.

On 30 October 2017, NHS Lanarkshire voted to close Douglas Ward at Udston Hospital. This decision was made without proper public or patient consultation. The ward provides crucial lifeline care to patients with complex health needs. Many of the patients have lived there for over ten years and now consider this their home, as do the relatives who visit. Its closure means that its patients will move further away from family and friends, and have less contact from loved ones and the additional support they desperately need.

Our daughter attends a speech and language base, she has been there for almost two years, in this time not only has her speech come on (she hardly spoke when first attended) but her confidence has grown too. All the staff are brilliant and have built up a lovely relationship with her. She struggles when she goes into mainstream class in the afternoon with the amount of children and noise. She really wouldn't be where she is today if it wasn't for 'the base' at her school so please please help to try and stop the closure of other bases. Our daughter is one of many children with special educational needs that really need the help, care and support these bases offer. This will have an impact on the surrounding schools and bases for all these children with special educational needs. Why should they be the ones who suffer!!!! Please sign the petition Thank you

The Government want to get 1 million disabled people back in to work, but we as a community face bullying and harassment that is routinely covered up and victims gagged. I was bullied repeatedly and then bullied again to take the deal - threatened with no reference if I don't. I need to work, want to work and am very capable. British businesses have been negligent in my case and have paid me more than £100k to not go to tribunal. With no reference and a family to support, I had no choice but to take the deal, and nothing has changed. Settlement agreements have their place in business, but should not be used to gag victims of a crime. Employment tribunals should be available to hear these case and 'educate' businesses as best they can. NDA's are a cover-up, a way for a business to protect it's image and limit the damage. The human impact for me is so much greater, money can't fix it for me.

People are having to fly hundreds of miles for an mri scan. Many people have suffered injuries and should not have to travel so far, especially as there are 2 mri machines in Raigmore hospital. Some people are not allowed to fly because of insurance purposes and a 9 hour journey by ferry then car/public transport is long. From my own experience I was told I wouldn’t be allowed on the plane as I could not bend my knee so my only other option was the ferry. I was really struggling with pain and there was no way I could spend that amount of time in a car, especially as I was struggling with really bad pain after being in the car for 20 minutes. It is unfair to ask patients to travel so far for a diagnosis. Some of the poorest countries in the world have far more advanced technology than the uk which doesn’t seem right. The cost of nhswi paying for flights for patients is ridiculous too, I know people go away for other things but surely having their own mri scanner would save them money in the long term.

People are dying enough said please sign