Stoke-on-Trent has the dubious distinction of being called the Monkey Dust capital of the U.K. A blite on the reputation and economy of Stoke-on-Trent. We the undersigned, are disgusted and ashamed that Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Police, rather than tackling the supply and use of drugs and other street crimes, are focusing on the homeless and fining them £100. This proposal is not only sadistic but increases the pressure on the police, courts, probation services as well as council resources, during a time of peak demand and will do nothing to reduce genuine homelesses. We demand that as the Councillor responsible for Communities, you take immediate action to stop the persecution of the most vulnerable people in our city and drop plans to fine the genuinely homeless. This is the second year in a row that Stoke-on-Trent City Council has attempted to victimise the homeless and profit from their misfortune In a move so disgusting that Scrooge himself would be ashamed by it. Homelessness will not end by hiding the problem nor profiting from their misery but by acting with compassion, decency and vision. To be clear, we have no objection to the prosecution of criminals, who feign homelessness to take advantage of the public or aggressively beg for money, however, we seek an acceptance and protection for the genuine homeless.

Under the Equality Act 2010, a house cannot be refused to be let to someone because of disability, gender, race, sexual orientation or religion; these are known as protected characteristics. However - with suitable disabled accommodation being very sparse among social housing - downstairs toilet facilities, first floor apartments, bungalows, etc, are being refused to be let to potential tenants on the basis the potential tenant is in receipt of a government subsidy towards rent. These subsidies are awarded because individuals are unable to work due to disability, yet disabilities are a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act. No matter whether you are willing to provide references, admin fees, bonds, or consent to a credit search. Due to lack of social housing, disabled people are being pushed into the private rental market yet being discriminated against and refused housing there too. No person should be discriminated against for something that is beyond their control; where else are disabled people supposed to live? It’s a daily struggle to live in a house that’s not suitable, I think it’s abhorrent that disabled people are being refused to rent in the private sector because they receive a government subsidy towards rent. Take a look at properties for rent near you and see how many say "no DSS"! Imagine how difficult it would be for someone disabled looking for somewhere to live. It is discriminatory. Please take a moment to sign this petition!

The 1st Musselburgh Senior Section want to end period poverty. We’re calling for free period products for everyone who needs them. We’ve been working on Girlguiding Scotland’s Citizen Girl challenge badge in our unit – which is all about exploring why our voices matter and how we can speak out on the issues that matter to us. This got us thinking about some of the barriers girls our age face and we decided to campaign to end period poverty after seeing how condoms are provided for free at our school but how girls currently have to pay for period supplies like tampons and pads. It’s not fair that girls have to pay for something they have no choice in! We’re really encouraged to see free period products will now be available in Scottish schools but think more needs to be done to end period poverty once and for all. That’s why we’re calling for free products in other public places like Community Centres, Sport Centres and Libraries and for a system to make sure these products are easily accessible and freely available to anyone who needs them. We also want to tackle the stigma around periods and period poverty – so girls and women know this isn’t something they have to hide or be ashamed of. Women worldwide, are incapacitated by an inevitable biological process, not one of their own making. Many women cannot afford this basic necessity, which impacts so heavily on their lives. We would like to ask that Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, and Shona Robinson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, to help end the stigma around periods and make sure period products are freely and easily accessible to anyone who needs them, not just while we’re at school but throughout our lives.

More families in the UK have been reaching out to food banks for sanitary products, as they just can’t afford the ‘luxury’ of buying them. Sanitary towels and tampons aren’t cheap, but they are an essential part of a women’s life. This has resulted in women and girls using toilet paper, old socks, pieces of cloth, newspaper, and other unhygienic items and this could cause serious threats to their health. Without the sufficient and proper protection, which every girl and women deserves, girls have been routinely missing school. Shocking statistics from planUK.org said ‘49 per cent of girls have missed an entire day of school because of their period, of which 59 per cent have made up a lie or an alternate excuse’. A girl’s, and every young persons, education is such a vital and important part of their lives, they should not have to compromise this because of their periods. Blackburn is a deprived area, and looking at the demographics, and the statistics from plan UK, Blackburn could be at a higher risk than the statistic already shown.

Because the comfort, happiness and equality of people matters .

Resolving this issue is one which the government should prioritize as gender inequality is an issue which should not be prevalent in 21st century Britain.

It is inhumane to imprison people indefinitely, without being convicted of a crime, often with no legal representation. As one of the detainees has said "We want the Home Office to listen to us and stop the injustice of indefinite detention..It is the uncertainty that is most difficult, I can deal with imprisonment if I know my sentence. But here, there’s no criminal record, and no clarity about what's going to happen to me. It's a pain that we all bear on a daily basis." (Al Jazeera 28.2.18 - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/women-detained-yarl-wood-hunger-strike-180228195926024.html)

In 2015 BBC and ITV banded together to ensure terrestrial coverage of all Men's Six Nations matches until 2021. However, no commitment has been made for equal coverage for women's matches, which are currently only shown on Sky TV in England and Scotland. We believe the women's matches should be equally accessible to the public.

I signed up to make my GP surgery, the new NHS pilot called GP at Hand. There are adverts for the service all over the tube. As a woman over 25, we need smear tests to prevent cervical cancer. It's a 10 minute test that GP practices offer, often administered by a nurse. 'GP at Hand' only have one nurse for smear tests in the whole of London. They're based in far west London (Fulham), more than an hours' journey for most of us registered on the service. It's outrageous that NHS England have given them a contract when their provision for women is dangerously low. Just last week a woman died from cervical cancer when she was 36 having never had a smear test. Around 3,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK and the simple 10-minute test could save lives. A GP service only offering this service a 2 hour journey away is insane. Please sign the petition demanding NHS England cancel the contract unless GP at Hand add more options for smear tests in London.

There is no viable reason why women cannot race the same duration as men, and the practice is perpetuating problems that cascade through to cycling's national governing bodies and their affiliated race-organising clubs. Women and girls are capable of racing for as long as men and boys, and currently women's races are often shorter, sometimes almost a half of the men's events, depending on the lap distances. If the reason is one of timetable or daylight-availability, then men's races and women's races should both be set to 50 minutes, or similar. There can be no convincing reason for such inequality and cyclocross in particular, along with cycling in general, should be leading the way in setting a sensible standard for gender equality.

Other countries had advanced industrialists, inventors and scientists but did not have the labour to match Britain's economy. In addition, the Irish in Britain played a pivotal role in politics in order to ensure social justice and improving our level of equality! The Irish, also, had a prominent role in the British Trade Union movement and it is the very reason to educate society on the role of Migrant Workers and Refugees within Britain, today! It is, also, important to ensure that the British public has a greater understanding of Irish culture and our own neighbouring country, Ireland. Through education, we can achieve a far greater peaceful relationship at grassroots level for both the isles of Britain and Ireland.

Women & men race over the same distances on the roads and on the track, but in cross-country the women's races are often much shorter, sometimes barely more than half of the men's distance. For example, at the SEAA Main Championships the senior men run 15K while the senior women only run 8K. That is as if the London Marathon was 26.2 miles for men and only 14 for women. This both downgrades the women's event compared to the men's, and sends a message to girls that they are not capable of as much as boys. Sport should be empowering girls and women, not keeping them in their place. It is 33 years since the women's marathon was included in the Olympic Games. The IAAF have equalised the distances run in the World Cross-Country Championships, and Scottish Athletics have done the same for their national championships. It is high time competitions in England followed suit.