Like most large towns we have an ever increasing number of homeless people.This is not the answer, the money would be far better used addressing the problem of the homeless.

For several years Stratford Shopping Centre have stayed open 24hrs a day allowing for those whom are homeless to have somewhere dry and secure to shelter/sleep during the night. However as of today (29/01/2018) they have handed orders to all those currently staying in the centre, ordering them to leave with immediate effect. This means the homeless people are being forced out on to the streets in these extreme weathers, some of these people don’t even own a sleeping bag or adequate warm clothing which means they are at high risk of falling extremely ill. We are petitioning for Stratford Centre/Newham Council to rethink their decision and to continue allowing for our homeless friends to continuing using Stratford as a secure place for them to be during the night as many of them are highly vulnerable and some are also very elderly. Newham Council urgently need to support these homeless people with their housing/accommodation as these people cannot continue living on the streets.

Under current proposals Leicestershire County Council want to close 24 Children's Centres and one family centre and merge their services with all other family and young people’s services. These would be Supporting Leicestershire Families (SLF) scheme, Early Help Information Support and Assessment (EHISA) and the Youth Offending service (YOS).* Vulnerable families and children in need will be forced to make extended (and in some cases prohibitively expensive) journeys to the remaining centres. In addition they may feel stigmatised for going to a building that also houses Youth Offending. It will undoubtedly be children of the most vulnerable families who will be the ones least likely to attend the new centres. In addition to the council's own services many other agencies operate out almost exclusively out of Children' Centres, for example Health Visiting services, Breastfeeding Support, Child Health Events and many volunteer led groups such as Breastfeeding groups, Parent Carer Well-being, Sling (babywearing), Multiple-birth (twins etc) support groups, Childminder groups, singing and music groups. Finally the centres are also well used by the council's own GO LEARN service providing valuable education programs for parents in need. This will shift a sizable financial burden on to the NHS, while other services will often not be able to afford the rent on alternative accommodation and most of the groups will close. The Children's Centres and other buildings under threat of closure are: • Cobden, Loughborough, • Shelthorpe, Loughborough • Warren Hills in Coalville, • Mountsorrel • Barwell • Desford • Hinckley Westfield • Hinckley West • The Cove, Melton • The Edge, Melton • Ashby • Ibstock • Moira • Thringstone • Braunstone Town • Countesthorpe • South Wigston • Anstey • Broughton Astley • Fleckney • Bushby • Bagworth • Vale of Belvoir • Fairmead • Market Harborough Young People's Centre Finally the council's own report, Early Help Review, details the risk of Capital Clawback under this proposal, meaning that the council may have to pay back up to £5.8 Million in previously awarded grant money if the closed centres are not used as per the wording of the grant award. Children's Centres (formerly known as Surestart Centres) have transformed the lives of young children and their parents across Leicestershire. The important role that children’s centres play in providing effective multi-agency working is widely recognised both locally and nationally. Children's Centres are a lifeline to these families and others, providing support and services to those in need. We cannot allow these services to be cut from the lives of the most vulnerable and we must defend the jobs of the people who have dedicated their careers to assisting our most vulnerable young children. . . . . . *The consultation details can be found here https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/earlyhelp please read the report and complete the on line survey. You can also email the consultation with any additional information that you couldn't get in the survey. Email - [email protected] or you can give your views over the telephone on 0116 305 3416 The consultation closes at midnight on Sunday 22nd April.

Firstly the numbers if victims of these crimes is rising year on year and charities set up to support and work with them are oversubscribed and short of resources. By allocating the Presidents Club funds towards addressing some of the damage done through their activities this will send a strong signal that they knowingly breached charity regulations and equality laws.

We are fully supportive of the initiatives that are in place to help homeless people and would welcome these being publicised in a positive way so that the public are aware as to what they can do to help the homeless. However these posters do little more than attack the individual liberty of city residents and demonise one of the most vulnerable groups in our city. Streetlink is an important organisation but its advertised in small print at the bottom of the page. The current campaign is based on negativity and not the right way to go about things.

The BBC recently published a review of its religious programming however despite getting the views from a range of religious leaders, no Pagans were consulted. Thought for the Day (T4tD) goes out on Radio 4 and despite it being multi-faith it has no Pagan voices on it. According to the 2011 Census, Pagans make up 0.2% of all people in the UK expressing a religion (this will be understated given our natural reluctance to make ourselves know!). By comparison 0.6% identified as Buddhists but had 3% of T4tD broadcasts and 0.7% identified as Jewish with 5% of T4tD broadcasts. It is clear we are being discriminated against. Nature based religions have never had more relevance than now with climate change hurting the world and plastic soup killing our oceans. Human animals are failing to honour Nature despite us being part of her. Having voices in the media that have a different regard to the world of which we are part is more necessary now than ever.

Very few people are intentionally homeless. Many people have mental health problems. We need to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Housing is the responsibility of the Council so they must work with other agencies so that people do not need to be homeless.

The Act makes it illegal to sleep rough and/or beg. Whilst I do not wish anybody to have to sleep rough or beg, the people who are forced to do so should not be persecuted in any fashion, let alone from a legal stance. The Act was written at a time when wealth defined whether you were a criminal or not, thus segregating the poor from the rich, as a wealthy person would never find themselves in that position. The Vagrancy Act is out of date common law and needs to be vanquished so that Councillors cannot try and force Police to enforce such legislation when they are on a power trip, such as in the case of https://news.sky.com/story/outrage-as-council-leader-asks-police-to-clear-homeless-before-royal-wedding-11194599

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.

Rough sleeping has almost doubled in the last year, but, the number of supported beds for homeless people has plummeted. There is also not enough affordable accommodation for people to move on to, making matters worse. As a result, despite the goal of no second night out, rough sleepers are waiting an average of 12 weeks before some form of accommodation is provided. We therefore urge BHCC to fund resources to expand the amount of support accommodation available for homeless people all year round, not just when temperatures hit 0c and ensure that the existing budget available is spent. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION BEFORE WEDNESDAY 31ST JAN 2018 so that we can take the signatures to the council at their next meeting. Please share this with family, friends, work colleagues, school mates, members of your clubs etc - it really does have an impact.* *My first petition to BHCC received 4,111 signatures. On the 6th April 2017 the Housing Committee passed the petition with 100% of the vote, which was then carried to the resources committee - who reserved £135,000 for night shelters. This funding has gone to finance a night shelter which the council opened on the 10th Dec 2017 in the Brighton Centre. Many thanks to all those who signed up, you made a big difference to some of the Brighton and Hove rough sleepers!

It is so tough being homeless. But the worst is during the Winter. At night you are fighting for your life. So we urge all City Councils to provide appropriate accommodation. This does not need to be a struggle, but for many it currently is. By signing this, you could save a life. A basic human right is the right to life. So why wait. Please, for the good of all. Thank you

I have just seen yet another post on social media of a child very badly injured after these drawers have fallen on them. Luckily the child escaped this time, however how many more children need to be injured or even to loose their life, before these dangerous drawers are recalled worldwide!