Homeless people could be fined up to £1,000 for sleeping in doorways near popular tourist spots, under new rules launched by a London council. Homelessness charities have condemned the move, saying that it turns rough sleepers - who are often escaping lives of abuse - into criminals. Hackney Council’s Public Space Protection Order bans sleeping in public places - offenders are handed a £100 fixed penalty, which can rise to £1,000 in court.

Because there is too much of this misreporting of people claiming state benefits and it needs to stop

We are frustrated that calls are not answered, message states busy call volumes - this is not acceptable. We are frustrated that average waiting times are 30 -45 minutes with calls costing 9p a minute this is often more than most people can afford. Advisers seem to struggle understanding the notes on screen, letters sent seem not to make it on to the system, advisers are not able to say what will be paid when or how much -this helps no one. Advisers require further training! " Recently called CTC over 4 days before able to get through when money dropped due to their error - no food for the kids or petrol to get to work -left on hold for 45 minutes- money I couldn't afford but had to choose between food and the call to get the mistake sorted out!" This service is entitled a helpline but this is far from the service experienced, which leaves many in financial hardship and without a clear answer to the initial reason for the call.

The use of Food Banks has increased over the last 5 years, and is unlikely to decrease if and when welfare cuts bite. Without access to food banks, more people will, literally, have nothing to eat. As a society can we afford for this to happen? If collection points are available in all the major supermarkets it makes it easier for all of us just to buy a couple of extra items to donate alongside our regular shop. It also raises awareness of food poverty throughout the UK.

To force someone existing on welfare benefit into unpaid Work runs counter to any ideal of a humane society and its government. Whole communities have suffered as a result of ever changing economic fortune, and it falls to government to address wide spread unemployment and offer leadership and example, rather than deflecting responsibility and demonising the unemployed as being some how to blame.

If lifetime occupancy is not granted and Beryl's home as it has been for the past 20 years is removed or destroyed, Beryl will be forced to find alternative accommodation. At the age of 71 it is unacceptable for any Council to put a tax paying pensioner through such stress and suffering.

A group of French MPs has tabled a draft law to make it compulsory for supermarkets to hand over all unsold food still fit for consumption to charity. Many supermarket chains in France already donate unsold produce to charities, but 63 MPs from across the political spectrum would like to see the practice enshrined in law. Late in July, they tabled a draft bill making it compulsory for supermarkets with 1,000 square metres (10,800 sq ft) of floor space to give their “unsold but still consumable food products to at least one food charity”. Belgium became the first European country to introduce a similar a law in May. Given that the UK is facing an ever-more worrying reliance on food banks, shouldn’t we be thinking along these lines too? Under the next 5 years of Conservative government, people will be encouraged to live an ever-more healthy life-style to reduce the pressure on the NHS. What better way to do this than to ensure the most needy have access to fresh fruit and vegetables and other basic essentials they currently can only class as a luxury if on benefits or a very low income? I propose an even more logical solution: Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to afford wonderful groceries delivered to our doorstep could donate an extra £2 per purchase to ensure that fresh fruit and veg and other essential groceries are delivered to someone in need en route to our homes. You might be utterly surprised, David Cameron, just how many of us would be willing to sign up to such a scheme, thus ensuring the sick, disabled and elderly have a much-needed helping hand. Please consider this idea very seriously as it is based upon pure logic and the sharing of resources that are currently simply wasted.

Life for a person who is disabled whether it be a physical or a mental disability is hard enough already. People never chose to be disabled and it can happen to anyone at anytime. There are many many more humane ways to save money and a society who does not care for the less fortunate of it's people is doomed, history teaches us that time and time again. The disabled and sick should have never been demonized in the press, even the disabled peoples doctors are being ignored or seen as in collusion with their patients to"sponge" off of the state, in most cases this is categorically untrue. Most of us know directly or indirectly someone who suffers from a mental or a physical disability can we as a civilized society stand by and watch the most vulnerable in our society being targeted yet again as an easy attempt to claw back money while the bankers and large corporations get away with it again. Do we as civilized people condone this behavior as right or just?

Access to Work has provided a lot of disabled people with the independence to work. Without access to work, disabled people will not be able to do their jobs fully or not at all. Since this petition was started the day after the general election we have over 8,000 signatures. This shows how many of you take this petition to heart. I thank you for all your support and we still need more signatures. Once we have reached over 10,000 this petition will be taken to Lindsay Hoyle MP. Many thanks for your support. We also need to educate the public about Access to Work - what is it? The general public are mostly unaware and if we make them aware we will get more support. I will be updating this petition soon with more info on A2W and what it is to help a better understanding for everyone. Please keep circling this petition without your support we would have not got this far. We need more signatures. Share. We also need to hear from you. How has it effected you? If you have not joined the FB group yet. Please do so and share your story. We need to educate people why we need support in our employment. How do we feel without support? Inferior? More here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/hours-after-the-election-the-dwp-says-it-is-looking-to-cut-a-disabled-access-to-work-scheme-10237191.html

If this country is going to be economically successful then it is vital to ensure that people who need it, have a support system in place to take care of them at their greatest time of need. People do not choose to be ill or disabled, therefore it makes no sense to penalise these people, either morally or economically. During the election campaign the Prime Minister spoke a great deal about his disabled son, who is now, very sadly no longer with us, therefore, I cannot believe that such a person adopts policies which takes vital support money away from this group of people. To any sensible economist this flies in the face of what normal conventional wisdom tells you should be done when an economy is in trouble. Having studied micro macro and global economics, I am aware that conventional wisdom, and common sense dictates that you adopt a spending policy in order to help the country to recover. After all one mans spending money is another man's wages. Another reason this system must be abolished now is that there are more than one million appeal cases pending. The success rate of these appeals indicates that by far the majority of the people who claim these benefits are people who are in genuine need. Finally, I think it is an absolute disgrace that the hardworking doctors, nurses and GP's are having their diagnosis and medical notes questioned in this way, which is very disrespectful and shows a lack of gratitude for the fantastic work they do, without which none of us would be here. This action represents privatisation of the Benefit system and the NHS back the back door as the result of employing a profit making American company, whose employees are paid bonuses for achieving their target figures of refusing or denying the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country access to money which they need just to fulfill their basic needs, and meet their most basic human rights of having enough money to feed themselves and any family they may have, warmth and shelter. Therefore, for the sake of the recovery of the economy, and the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country, I would implore you to abolish this unworkable system immediately.

Malcolm Burge set fire to himself in Cheddar Gorge, after being told he was subject to court action for £800 by Newham Borough Council, after his Housing Benefit was cut in half. Malcolm had written often to Newham Borough Council to tell them that he couldn't pay, he had never had that amount of money, and that he was suicidal. Also, David Clapson, who died after his benefits were stopped. He then had no money for food, had no money for electric to keep the fridge going that had his insulin in. The coroner stated that David had no food in his stomach and £3.44 in the bank. Esther McVey (The previous Employment Minister) stated to MPs that there is no link between the deaths and the sanctioning policy and that 'we ensured that all of our processes correctly'. If there is no link between the stopping of benefits and the deaths of 49 benefit recipients, why won't the DWP release the reviews? The sanctioning policy needs to reviewed when used in relation to vulnerable people, not used as a blanket policy.

This plan is ridiculous, degrading and a breach of our human rights. Not allowing us to have any cash at all is an unwise and unworkable idea, because some things do require cash, e.g. travelling on the bus, buying fresh vegetables and fruit from a farmer's market, using vending machines, using a trolley at the supermarket, buying second-hand clothes from a car boot sale. The poor often buy second-hand goods in charity shops, car boot sales and Ebay. Many buy books and worksheets for their children, plus toys and Christmas presents, and benefit cards would take all of that away from them. Many parents are desperate for work but cannot find any. Some are so severely unwell or disabled that they are unlikely to ever work at all, even though they want to. Some are financially ruined in family courts while getting divorced. Anyone can fall into it. Almost 80% of middle class families are greatly helped by their parents and/or grandparents, but not everyone is so lucky. If, for instance, you were to tell a person who has worked all of their life, but has recently become unemployed through no fault of their own (e.g. redundancy), that they can't even buy a magazine or go for a coffee with a friend, it would be ridiculous, and being told what to do like a naughty child would be degrading. It would also be ridiculous, and degrading, for them to be dictated to by the government and be told "You can't have any cash, you can only spend money in these shops, you can have this but you can't have that, because we say so." Iain Duncan-Smith, whose idea it is, has not said exactly when he intends to push his plans through, and what worries me the most is how far he and the rest of the government intend to dictate to benefit claimants what they can and cannot spend their money on. Just what else, exactly, will the government define as irresponsible spending? Will they tell us that we can't buy a laptop, a t-shirt, an item of stationery or pet food, for instance? The bottom line is, benefit claimants do not deserve to be treated like criminals or naughty children, especially if they are sick or disabled and/or are doing everything the DWP ask of them. The whole idea needs a lot more thinking through before the government even think about rolling it out, so that benefit claimants can continue to live their lives in peace and dignity. All of the stereotypes you hear about in the media are rubbish - they are designed to blinker, divide and sway people. Being unemployed is not a crime, therefore we shouldn't be punished for it - we are no less deserving of human rights than those who are lucky enough to have a job. You can read more about the proposals here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/30/tories-prepaid-benefit-cards-welfare-poverty