I suffer from a long lists of medical conditions of which I suffer daily chronic pain. This limits my ability to get out at times. Having a dog for support and emotional comfort has at times been the 1 thing that has kept me going. It has been proven that a pet can be of enormous benefit to someone's well being. Also it can make that person go out as they have to consider their pets well being as well.

Homelessness in Maidstone continues to rise under the Tory government. The period from 2010 to the end of quarter three 2015 saw a more than tenfold increase in the number of households defined as homeless, from 12 to 157. This rise in recognised cases, along with the sevenfold increase in applications for help, shows a growing issue and a need for determined action to combat the situation. Despite these concerning statistics, the Council have undertaken a consultation, which closed on January 25th 2016, on a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). This would effectively criminalise homelessness, by making it illegal to sleep rough within areas of Maidstone town centre. Meanwhile planned developments to build new homes continue to move forward, but only 15-30% of new homes will form ‘affordable’ housing. Affordable rent can be classified anywhere up to 80% of the market value of the property. The average private rent for two bedrooms in Maidstone in 2014/2015 was £745 a month. As it is widely accepted that rent should take no more than 30% of your monthly income a two person household requires a joint income of £2000 per month, the equivalent of £32,000 per year, to meet 80% of this cost. Projects such as the Winter Shelter, run by local churches and charities, are helping to alleviate the symptoms of this increasingly desperate situation. However, more must be done at a local government and national level to deliver on the causes of escalating private rents, and a lack of council owned social housing.

It is a simple fact of economics that if demand increases without a corresponding increase in supply then market forces will drive up prices. Our countries inability to build enough homes for the growing population is well documented. What is not so well documented is that the governments various schemes to help first time buyers onto the housing ladder simply exacerbate the problem of high house prices. The schemes may be welcomed by those in or near a position to buy their first home, but in the long run all the schemes do is drive house prices higher. Exorbitant house prices force a growing percentage of the population into private rental. As house prices increase private rental costs also increase, which in turn makes it far more difficult for those renting to build the deposit required to own a home. Those renting are forced to save a far larger percentage of their disposable income in order to build their deposit; and this of course relies on there being any disposable income left to save. Reports this week suggest that the average first-time buyer will have already spent £50000 on rent. With all this money being saved by those looking to build a deposit, there is less and less money being put back into the economy. The growing percentage of the country who are building a deposit will be eating out less, limiting their purchase of luxury goods and generally saving money wherever possible. There is a concept known as the velocity of money that effectively states that the faster money moves around the faster the economy grows; money sat in savings accounts is stagnant and does very little for the economy. The upshot of this is that growth of the economy is limited, which in turn limits the number of jobs paying a decent wage, which in turn forces more of the population to rely on taxpayer funded benefits. Less taxpayers money would be required to fund benefits if there were more jobs paying a living salary. The money made available by the reduced reliance on benefits could be used to increase funding for the NHS, reduce the tax burden on the population, make higher education free again, and many other causes. In short, it is my opinion that a large number of the problems facing this country could be resolved if the government truly committed to investing in a long-term infrastructure and house building program rather than wasting taxpayer money driving up the cost of already exorbitant house prices. This is a policy that would fairly benefit the whole country rather than just a few.

In 2013 the homeless population in Stockport was around 124; a year later this increased rapidly and as of 2014 there are now over 340 (according to Manchester evening news). Homelessness can happen to anyone; it is important that in hard times such as these that we remember those which are less fortunate than ourselves. We need to remember that there are 340+ people, in our own town, who may be going without a warm meal or a safe place to spend the night. Imagine spending a night in an ally way, an underpass or even a cave... Maybe you wouldn't mind for a night but a month? A year? This is the harsh reality that people have to deal with. Currently there are charities in Stockport that aim to help the homeless, however these depend solely on public donations. The sad truth is that this is simply not enough... This is where this campaign comes in, if together we can get enough votes to raise awareness of this issue perhaps we may be able to get government funding for some of these charities.

By upgrading the mostly unused tower blocks this would increase the social and key worker housing stock. The Carpenters Estate has a Tower Block and houses left empty for year in an area with no key workers homes or social housing. The Tower Block was considered unsafe but was used by the BBC during the Olympics and is still empty now. Newham Council's motto is " live work stay" but the reality is quite different We need homes for the people of newham not just empty tower blocks sold to overseas investors.

Members of the public find it difficult to support a political party 100%. Our system is out of date, our MPs out of touch, the public go unheard. We agree with points made by the Lib Dems, the Conservatives, Labour, the Green Party, the SNP etc and sometimes we disagree with them all. Either way we can't communicate with the government effectively. The system needs to work for us all but instead it's dusty, nobody really understands it or cares to sort it out with any long term vision. We need to start again. Simplify. Direct questions, direct answers. If regular referendums were to take place, the public are truly part of the process, allowing us to demonstrate what we care about, that we're united and want to invest in the future of this land and it's people. Less moaning and more doing, having a proactive and fair say, feeling satisfied that the decisions are being made and supported by the majority of the UK. Let the UK public vote for their future. This Kingdom can then begin to feel proud and respected, and most importantly, united.

This redundant Anglican church is empty and not used for religious ceremonies. In the face of continuing "austerity" more and more people are facing a cold winter on the streets. The Church can afford to open this church in an act of Christian goodwill over the winter months. Please help to get the Churches Conservation Trust to open their doors.

To plead to the Council to open its empty buildings to the homeless in winter. I cannot imagine sleeping rough in driving, biting winds, snow, ice and winter rain. It's inhumane. It's also inexcusable when we have so many empty buildings.

Hundreds of thousands of Tenants across the United Kingdom who pay their rent on time and without arrears are being indirectly discriminated against by the credit reference agencies who do not treat tenants rental payments the same as mortgage payments made by the landlords and those who own their own homes. This means that Tenants who later would like to get onto the property ladder often find themselves with a much lower credit score than someone who has paid exactly the same in mortgage payments over the same period of time which puts them at a disadvantage when applying for credit with a bank or building society.

To plead to the Council to open its empty buildings to the homeless in winter. I cannot imagine sleeping rough in driving, biting winds, snow, ice and winter rain. It's inhumane. It's also inexcusable when we have so many empty buildings.

I have been homeless for a few years myself, I have suffered along with many other homeless people in the city and as a Brightonian myself should not be in position where I could potentially be on the streets by Christmas. The are vulnerable people out there on the streets a nightly basis, suffering from mental illness, substance abuse and poor health, we walk past these on a daily basis along western road, but we need to help them and myself. Having a stable home with a secure tenancy will help to change peoples lives, we can save money on public services by rehabilitating people and start to put right the wrongs of the past. There obviously has to be a master plan for housing, on average since 1991 the council have only built 100 homes a year, this is unacceptable. If you live the in the City you will understand, rents are too high, wages aren't enough to keep up with ever increasing living costs its just not right. The council will have money on housing benefit payments paid to private landlords. Please help the cities homeless by signing the petition today. Thank you

To plead to the Council to open its empty buildings to the homeless in winter. I cannot imagine sleeping rough in driving, biting winds, snow, ice and winter rain. It's inhumane. It's also inexcusable when we have so many empty buildings.