The public services ombudsman has found CAPITA's work on the Personal Independence Payment in Northern Ireland to amount to 'systemic maladministration'. Capita continually failed to obtain medical evidence from GPs as required, and used systems which had the potential to inhibit the appropriate use of further evidence in making assessments Despite this, the Minister for Justice Naomi Long is awarding a contract to Capita to deliver a Medical Assessment Service to victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57583138

According to the Highway Code, reducing the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph reduces stopping distance by almost half, from 75ft to 40ft and if a driver stops in time, a lower speed will reduce the force of impact. There is a 2.5% chance of a collision being fatal at 20mph, compared to 20% at 30mph (sourced from www.driving.co.uk We all know of someone who has been affected by speeding cars in our local area: from car crashes to people (and animals) being run over to high noise levels of speeding vehicles in the evenings. We are working hard to teach people in our school and community about how to carefully cross roads but we feel drivers need to also take some responsibility of people's safety. Across the country, the number of 20mph roads has increased in the past decade and we hope to achieve the same in our area. We want to: *Stop speeding *Protect the people of Ormsgill *Save lives

We have asked for it to place 2 or 3 of our pods, the first one is ready to place, these are single story 20ft x 8ft they will sit on stilts so do no damage to the ground, we will not be taking trees down or digging mass foundations. The area is used a fly tip and is often full of rubbish as it was on the day we visited. Our idea is to blend in and join a community, we hope the community engages with us. None of our clients require parking spaces. Our tenants will be selected to match this project and the rents set low will allow them to start work build up savings and move on to a bigger home. It is so important for us to get this project running and it has to be central. Please show your support and sign this petition. By 2022 there will be an estimated 250,00 homeless in England. They will be living in Temp, Emergency and the Streets. Our project is a first home and a genuine plan to lead people back into the community and away from being homeless. All we can do is be there give support and hopefully see a change. If these changes do not work a recent study shows by 2030 we could have as many as 2 million Homeless. We believe the community hold the solution.

Young single parent families are up to £66.13 worse off per month under Universal Credit compared with the legacy system - a drop of 20%. This is because rules have been changed so that single parents under 25s no longer receive the same rate as over 25s. People under 25 are entitled to a lower allowance of benefits than people aged 25 and over, but before Universal Credit was introduced there was an exemption for single parents in recognition of the cost of caring for a child alone. Now, that exemption has been removed. For parents receiving benefits this means a drop in their family budget when they move to Universal Credit – often through no choice of their own, and with little or no warning. Children in single parent families (92% of which are headed by women) are already twice as likely to be living in poverty than other children. We all want all children to have the best start in life – but this isn’t possible when there is inequality built into the safety net which is meant to be there to keep families afloat when times are hard. Denying young single parents the same level of social security penalises children on the basis of their parent’s age and pushes young families into poverty. We, and many parents we work with, think this is unfair, unjustified, and needs to be reversed as a matter of urgency. Find out more about the campaign and why it's important to young single parents and their children here: https://opfs.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/campaigns/end-the-young-parent-penalty/

The lanes and roads of the adjoined villages are dangerous for pedestrians and school children as there are few pavements and little street lighting. The Primary school is situated on a narrow lane between the two villages and due to the lack of pavements, people, prams and mobility aides all have to use the roads. Reducing the speed limit to 20mph will make the villages safer for everyone.

It’s almost impossible to believe, but once again the government has opened up a new free school meals fiasco. Headteachers in England have been told not to provide free school meals for the children who need them over the half-term holiday next month. Instead they want councils to trial a new scheme especially for half term, which creates huge confusion and risks leaving children hungry. Children can’t learn on empty stomachs. Huge public pressure has meant that the government has already U-turned on their decision not to provide free school meals vouchers during the holidays. And just yesterday they U-turned on their decision to send out inadequate food parcels, and instead agreed to send out vouchers in term time again. If thousands of us sign this petition, it could be enough to force them to do the right thing again.

The government has replaced free school meals vouchers with food parcels, which are being provided by a private company. Parents are posting pictures all over social media of the shocking contents in these parcels and the ingredients provided are worth only a fraction of the original £30 free school meals voucher. This is a massive disrespect to families across the country and to parents trying to feed their children at home. Back in November, parents up and down the country told the government about the struggle to feed their children throughout this pandemic. But families with children feel like they’re back to square one again. This is unacceptable. A petition signed by thousands of people like you and me would send a clear message to the government: free school meal vouchers cannot be replaced with food parcels.

Up to 30 individuals are still sleeping rough every night across Northampton. The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol which gets them indoors overnight is meant to be activated when the temperature is predicted to drop below 0 for 3 consecutive nights by the Met. Office. This has been the case and is getting worse but nothing has yet been done. Northampton SWEP is notoriously late and slow in opening every year, which is simply not good enough, people are at the risk of severe illness, even death while others sit in the warm discussing options. Winter didn't sneak up on us and take us by surprise, so why unlike other areas is Northampton never prepared? Activate SWEP before we loose lives to the cold.

The government has already raised Universal Credit and working tax credit payments by £20 a week for 12 months, but those on benefits that have not yet been replaced by Universal have not received the same help. Recipients of legacy benefits are often amongst our most vulnerable, including disabled people, carers and people with young families. It is unacceptable that these people have been left facing hardship, just because they happen, through no fault of their own, to be claiming the ‘wrong’ kind of benefit.” Government focus is on appeasing the unprecedented numbers of new claimants for Universal Credit. But in the background, people on legacy benefits have slipped down the list of priorities and been forgotten. This cannot be allowed to continue.

We have seen over the last 12 - 18 months West Lothian Council begin to roll out a policy where vulnerable, sick or special needs adults are being means tested and some ultimately having to contribute to their care packages. My sister has a host of special needs including autism and learning difficulties, she attends a day centre two days a week which is the highlight of her week. It is the only time she gets to meet people outside her caring circle, so for her it's the only time she gets to meet friends and feel a sense of independence. The other 5 days a week she is pretty much housebound. These services provide our family, particularly my mother (my sisters primary carer) respite from caring duties which are a 24hr day job. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, these day centres were closed in West Lothian and didn't re-open again until September. Then in November West Lothian Council made a decision that my sister should start making a financial contribution to her care package services. After a little digging, I found that some people in West Lothian are having to contribute financially to the services they are provided. Some people are struggling to pay these fees, some have struggled so much that they have had to stop attending or using these lifeline services. People using Non-Residential Care Services aren't people who can work a little more to make up the difference, they are people who are living on state pensions or benefits and are struggling already. We as the Community of West Lothian should demand our elected officials and Local Authority do more to support our neighbours who are the most vulnerable in West Lothian. Imagine you were: Someone who has special needs and live on your own with no support. An Elderly parent caring for a son / daughter with disabilities. A retired couple and your spouse has a life limiting condition. Now imagine WLC sending you a letter, telling you that you need to contribute to your care package. They will be sending you an invoice for a contribution of between £20 - £180 per week, How would you feel? This is a choice! WLC are choosing to recoup money for crucial services from some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, all of this whilst investing large quantities of money in other projects. Resources are finite, however our priorities speak volumes for who we are and what we stand for. Do you agree with me that these services should be free for all?

Just a few months ago, Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised that he'd do 'whatever it takes' to support jobs and livelihoods across the UK. The reality is that millions of self-employed workers and freelancers have been left out in the cold, ineligible for support due to reasons like being newly self-employed, having a new business or being on maternity/paternity leave. There are so many other reasons why self-employed workers are ineligible for government support: almost 3 million workers are unable to access it as a result of an exhaustive list of requirements. [1] These requirements are leaving people worrying about whether they can put food on the table or get through the winter. The pandemic and lockdown massively impacted thousands of businesses, with many workers being forced to live off their savings. And millions of self-employed workers face the same reality once again. It's time the government stepped up and provided support to the millions of self-employed workers who are falling through the cracks of support. A huge petition signed by thousands can help reverse this harsh reality for millions of people across the UK. [1] Excluded UK: https://www.excludeduk.org/about

I took the decision to become self-employed in October 2019 when I set up my own recruitment business. I didn't take a salary until recently as I wanted to keep the money I invested in my business, in the business. When the coronavirus hit, the fact that I hadn't taken a salary meant I was not eligible for government coronavirus support packages that helped many self-employed workers survive during the pandemic. There are many other reasons why self-employed workers can not be eligible for government support: 2.9 million of us cannot access it! [1] The pandemic and lockdown massively impacted my business and I've had no option but to live off my savings. It's time the government stepped up and provided support to the millions of self-employed workers like me who are falling through the cracks of support. [1] Excluded UK: https://www.excludeduk.org/about