The current design of Universal Credit is one of the evils of our age. The design of Universal Credit was supposed to make it easier for people on benefits to move into employment. A key feature is that it is paid monthly and wraps all benefits into one payment including rent. There is a huge problem with paying benefits monthly. Because of the often chaotic nature of the finances of people on benefits, most poor people run out of money long before the month end. The result is that children go hungry for days, even weeks at a time and food banks proliferate. Moreover paying claimants the money needed for their rent, which they are supposed to pass on is folly. 73% of Universal Credit claimants are now in arrears on their rent, this is causing real strain on housing associations. Basically housing associations and landlords have become the lender of last resort to those on Universal Credit. But there is a sensible quick fix that will make Universal Credit work. It is repackaging an old idea. Pass a law that anyone in employment paid under £20,000 pa has the right to be paid weekly. Admittedly that will cause a short term cash flow issue for many employers. But that could easily be overcome if the Government lent every employer the right amount of money to move people to weekly pay. They already know all this information due to the HMRC real time submissions that employers are obliged to make to HMRC any time any payment is made to any employee. It would be dead simple to work out exactly the cash flow shortfall an employer would face, this could be advanced as a Tax and NI Credit and it could be repaid over an agreed period again by an adjustment to the amount of Tax and NI an employer has to make. Then simply, pay Universal Credit weekly and pay any rent element direct to the housing association or landlord. Then insist that ATMs and point of sale equipment in the supermarkets use fingerprint recognition technology and give access to benefit accounts using the ID God has given us all. At a stoke of legislation this would reduce the problem of running out of money for too long. Basically claimants are likely to be able to budget better on a weekly basis and if they make a mistake like drinking too much it only impacts their family for a week and not a whole month. So join me in asking Parliament to pass legislation to achieve this. It is so simple and sensible that it is quite remarkable that it has never been suggested. Adrian Hill

The future of Citizens Advice in Suffolk is under threat because Suffolk County Council is proposing to halve and then completely withdraw its funding to the charities. The Citizens Advice network helped 22,000 people in Suffolk with more than 75,000 issues last year. The volunteer advisers provide quality assured advice on a wide range of issues such as debt, disability benefits, housing, employment and relationships. Cuts would lead to a significantly reduced service for people in Suffolk. The number of staff and volunteers available to give advice would have to be drastically reduced. If you have a story to tell about how we have helped you or your family then please share it in the reason for signing.

Open letter to the people of Birmingham Mohammed JJ Khan is well-known to all in the Stirchley community as the proud owner of the distinctive £7,500 statue of a begging gorilla that sits above JJ’s Flooring Services. We, the families of Emperor Court, also live above JJ’s Flooring Services. We want the people of Birmingham to know that as the owner of the building that we live in, JJ is the one with his hand out, happy to collect rent money, and turning his back on us by refusing to discuss urgent health and safety issues. The building has let in the rain for years, and as a result our flats are damp and mouldy. Like Scrooge, unwilling to spend, JJ has resisted all efforts so far to get him to properly fix this problem. Some of our neighbours have had to move out as their children have been made ill. Unable to bear these shameful conditions any longer, we have joined the renters’ union ACORN, who now represent all families in Emperor Court. JJ has brought in a block management company to look after the building, Bright Willis. Both he and the block management company refuse to speak with ACORN, saying they will only talk to our individual landlords. Our asks are absolutely reasonable. As the people having to live in these wet conditions, speaking with one voice, we demand that JJ and Bright Willis recognise our union ACORN and meet with us regularly to ensure that our homes are maintained according to his legal obligation as freeholder. If you agree with us, then please sign our online letter of support, or why not tell JJ directly what you think? Thank you!

Only two years after the last round of devastating cuts to our children's centres, many children in Lambeth are in danger of losing out on essential early years support. The Council have announced plans for a borough-wide restructure, which threatens five centres with closure. Another seven centres will have their provision cut in half under these proposals, and many staff are faced with losing their jobs. Children's Centres are a vital service for parents and their children in our local area. They combat isolation and loneliness which many of us experience when on maternity leave or looking after early years children. They provide support and guidance from professionals as well as a chance to mix with a range of families you didn't know before.

Because Universal Credit is driving up demand for foodbanks ---- This petition is being run by a Member of Parliament - 38 Degrees is independent of all political parties.

Kent County Council are planning to cut the opening hours at 99 libraries. Libraries are a vital source of learning and education. They are a vital public good we cannot do without. People of all ages can enjoy borrowing and reading books, DVDs and CDs, using the internet, reading newspapers and speaking and spending time with others. The plans could mean large numbers of libraries opening for less time. Library chiefs have already drawn up suggested opening hours and some could see big reductions. For more information on the libraries facing cut in opening hours across Kent, see this article: All the Kent libraries facing a cut in their opening hours in cost-cutting move: https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-libraries-facing-cut-opening-2260765#r3z-addoor

Tony has Downs syndrome and is partially sighted with no sense of direction. Our mother Margaret passed away recently. He has lived in the house all his life, and he has the support of the local community to keep him safe. Our Mother was his carer; I am now going to fill the large hole left by her passing and take care of him. I have offered to give up my tenancy in the same borough to move in and provide care for my brother. Due to the house having three bedrooms (Not large) one of which is used as his dependency room. We are being told that we can not stay at the property as it would be under-occupied by one room. The upheaval and loss would be detrimental to his health and well being.

Essex County Council have announced plans to close 25 libraries and to turn a further 19 over to be run by local communities to save money. My local library, in West Mersea, employs 2 people for 21 hours a week. Not only will they lose their jobs if these closures go ahead, but so will all the staff at the threatened 44 libraries. My library is thriving. It is always busy with people of all ages reading newspapers and periodicals, borrowing books, DVDs and CDs, accessing the internet, researching their family ancestry and speaking to others. Libraries are fantastic assets to the community and need to be saved. No libraries in Essex should be closed or downgraded to being run by volunteers The elderly population of Essex need these libraries. Many do not have computers and some of them may not speak to anyone else in their day. We need local libraries in local communities which can be accessed on foot or bike, by all sections of society. Please think again before implementing these closures.

Cole Thomson is only 6 years old and has uncontrolled focal epilepsy of which he has now become drug resistant. He has tried 16 different types of medication and had his first brain surgery when he was only 2 years old. To date nothing has been able to stop his seizures. Unfortunately there has been a steady decline in his health since May this year. Coles speech, vision, movement and memory are all continuing to deplete and he has also developed Todd Paralysis, which is extremely distressing for his 9 year old brother Dylan when he takes an attack as well as his parents, grandparents, other family members and especially 6 year old Cole himself. Currently the next step in Scotland is invasive testing, which for Cole would potentially be in the first quarter of 2019. He has a 1 in 100 chance of not surviving the operation, to see if he is a suitable candidate for further exploratory brain surgery. We are looking for your help to enable a step in between which could negate the need for surgery by allowing him legal access to cannabis based medicine. After speaking to Coles mum we became increasingly concerned at the amount of unlicensed, untested products being offered to her on the black market to apparently “help Cole”. Coles parents are unwilling to take the risk with any of these products. This does not take away from the fact that they’ve been offered unlicensed products by numerous different sellers and shows that currently there is a market feeding off of the fears of vulnerable families, who are desperately looking for answers to improve their children’s quality of life or indeed save it. We are looking to support the family by putting a campaign forward to you The Scottish Government to enable Cole to gain legal access to prescription cannabis based medicine. This would be the step before invasive surgery which would give him the opportunity to try a more natural drug which has a very high success rate for children like Cole all over the world. Please support our campaign to Save Cole Thomson by allowing him to get prescription cannabis based medicine.

School Streets are roads next to schools where traffic is restricted during the times of the day when children are arriving or leaving school. Sheffield has 25 schools in areas of high, sometimes illegal, air pollution. High air pollution levels exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma and recent studies have shown that children exposed to high pollution levels have reduced lung capacity that can affect them for the rest of their lives. Sheffield has a clean air strategy that already recognises the need to take action on poor air quality, especially around schools. 20mph and anti-idling initiatives are great but will not make enough of a difference. Edinburgh, Southwark, Hackney and Solihull have already implemented School Streets to protect children from traffic and traffic related pollution at the school gate. School Streets encourages active travel, improves air quality in the classroom, and reduces traffic congestion for everyone.

I want to highlight the sparsity of resources in the NHS for treating patients with eating disorders. This is a national issue but it has to begin somewhere. I mention anorexia in particular because it came into our family, but the same points apply to all eating disorders. The eating disorder charity BEAT states: "Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, from medical complications associated with the illness as well as suicide." So where is the funding? Where are the specialists? The Royal College of Psychiatrists report: “We are seeing waits of up to 16 months for non-urgent referrals. It is really worrying, because we know that the more quickly people start receiving treatment the quicker they are to respond to it.” Anorexia is an illness. Despite what some people might think, no-one chooses to be anorexic in the same way that no-one chooses cancer. It is a physical illness and it is a mental illness but it is also a neglected illness as far as the NHS is concerned. In the East Riding of Yorkshire, until recently, there was no provision for eating disorders. This year, CAMHS has established an Eating Disorder Service. What about those patients who are not children? Those patients like my own loved one. Four years ago, a beautiful, talented, artistic young lady whom I love with all my heart fell prey to anorexia and I watched in impotence as she shrank before my eyes. She was 16 and resisted medical treatment for the best part of a year. Once she accepted help, her GP was wonderful at keeping an eye on her and referring her to a general mental health therapist but there were no specialists in eating disorders or any specialist treatment. Early in 2017, when my loved one became so ill that she weighed 5 stone and had a BMI of 12, she was admitted to a gastroenterology ward at the general hospital. The doctors and nurses were marvellous but they were not experts in the treatment of eating disorders. However, they found her a place at a residential ED Clinic in Grimsby, 54 miles and a drive of an hour and a half away. Grimsby is not in East Yorkshire; it’s in Lincolnshire. Still, we were lucky. Did you see the programme, ‘Wasting Away: The Truth about Anorexia’, which told the story of news reader Mark Austin’s daughter? I watched in tears as their story unfolded in an almost carbon copy of our own. Now if someone in the public eye, with a doctor for a wife, had no clue what to do, and if help wasn’t readily available to them, then what chance did we have? Mark Austin's research taught him that there are only 200 beds for ED patients in Britain and his programme revealed a young woman from Nottingham who was sent to Edinburgh for treatment. Her mum had to make a 600 mile round trip to visit her. UK eating disorder statistics • 1.6 million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder • 11% of the 1.6 million people struggling with an eating disorder are male • Eating disorders are more common in individuals between the ages of 14 and 25 years old • There are up to 18 new diagnoses of bulimia nervosa, per 100,000 people, per year • 1 in 100 women aged between 15 and 30, are affected by anorexia nervosa • 10% of people affected by an eating disorder suffer from anorexia nervosa • 40% of people affected by an eating disorder suffer from bulimia nervosa • The rest of sufferers fall into the BED (binge eating disorder) or OSFED (other specified feeding or eating disorder) categories of eating disorders • Research suggests that the earlier that eating disorder treatment is sought, the better the sufferer’s chance of recovery These UK eating disorder statistics are derived from data published by Beat and Mind. For the sake of the futures of our young people, we need to hold the government to account, locally and nationally, to keep their promises and to ensure that there is money in every local authority for ED Services.

It takes 7 mins to cross as a pedestrian with the lights, so people take risks running across. There's no safe cycle route, but it could be much safer with a few dropped kerbs and some paint. It is monstrous that the proposed Highways England scheme does not take this into account. We need a regular combined pedestrian/cyclist phase over this dangerous junction. Also, eg: - pavement alteration for bikes by derelict hairdresser and opposite for bikes. - crossing point is needed from station across to Athelstan Rd - over just Bitterne Rd West instead of multiple crossings. - traffic calming needed by the concrete blocks on Bullar Rd, as the crossing is often ignored by vehicles. Please join us on 18th Nov: https://www.facebook.com/events/266846273945353/ (or contact us via http://www.southamptoncyclingcampaign.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/ )