Right now people claiming disability benefits are having payments cut or withheld because of unfair and strict rules, called sanctions. It means money Disabled people need to pay for food or bills is taken away, for something as small as being late to an appointment. Imagine living in constant worry about having enough money to put food on the table, or being left in the dark about when you will receive payments again. And right now, week by week more news is breaking about the scale of this crisis. The government is under growing pressure to scrap the policy to make sure no-one claiming disability benefits ever has this vital support cut off. But right now their are dragging their feet. If thousands of us add our name to this petition today, together we could force them to listen and end disability benefits sanctions for good.

From 1st April 2020, Wilko are set to scrap sick pay for 21,000 workers across the country. This means that Wilko will not issue sick pay for all workers after their first absence. The rules effectively mean if you're ill more than once in a year - you will not be paid for it beyond statutory minimum. The maximum statutory sick pay is only £94.25 a week The new policy will increase the likelihood of people going to work when they are unwell and contagious because they could not afford to miss out on much needed wages. Wilko should scrap the policy and make sure their employees are looked after correctly with acceptable sick pay.

Responsible dance teachers and parents have become concerned by various social media posts whereby children are being exposed to dangerous practices including (but not limited to) children stretching box splits with one foot on a chair and the other on the floor with comment from the teacher about 'pain and tears, children as young as two years old being celebrated for taking part in acro/'strength' classes wearing ankle weights, teachers boasting about children training for hours on end and more. We know that the dance training industry is not regulated, and we know that teachers who are guilty of dangerous practices may or may not be qualified or registered. We also know that some of the schools who partake in this sort of activity are also highly successful at large, financially rewarding competitions including international ones such as representing the UK at the Dance World Cup, and have a lot of media exposure including being scouted for tv shows such as Britains Got Talent, The Greatest Dancer etc. It appears that parents are willing to put their children in harmful situations for this level of ‘success’ and reward and while ultimately parents are responsible for their children, we as responsible dance teachers believe that more should be done to help educate and inform parents of the dangers involved with heavy training loads, extreme overstretching and other pressures. If all teachers were reminded yearly of the need to consider the safety, health and happiness of their students this would go a long way to helping.

The government promised during the election to raise the minimum wage to £10.50 by 2024. Now they’re backtracking, and saying it will only be raised if “economic conditions allow.” That’s not good enough for the thousands of people in work who are struggling to make ends meet on the current £8.21 minimum wage. It’s not enough to cover rent, bills, or feeding their kids. We need to make sure that the Government fulfills their promise and raises the minimum wage.

Social care in the UK is in crisis. The cost of care is so high that over 400 people a week have to sell their homes to pay for their social care. It’s a scandal. For years the government's promises to fix our broken social care system have turned out to be empty words. Let's make sure the government finally sticks to its promise that no one should ever have to sell their home to pay for social care.

Homelessness has risen by 128%. There are 6,182 potential beds available. 55 deaths in December on average. Therefore if less than 1% of students choose to opt in these deaths would be wholly avoidable. It will provide a warm bed during the coldest, bleakest months. You could save a life by ticking a box

The current rate for carers who provide AT LEAST 35 hours of care a week for their loved ones is £66.15 per week. If the carer works for any significant number of hours, this is reduced. But for many carers, the care they provide is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with little or no option to go to work, as who would then care for their loved one? The government provides less than quarter of the minimum wage a week, leaving many carers and their families in a very difficult position financially, when they are already often under extreme stress due to the challenges of providing full time care. But if the state were to look after the person in need of care, in a Care home or similar institution, it would cost several thousand pounds a month and possibly more. Most people would prefer to live at home with their loved ones, not in a care home, so let's make that a properly financed option. I started this petition as I'm a full time carer for a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease. In an ideal world everyone would be paid the real living wage, but currently the fact that carers don't even get the government minimum wage is appalling. Let's get this into the manifesto of all parties for the upcoming election!

Extremely vulnerable and broken people are being treated as though they’re consumer products by non qualified assessors. Its unfair and the harm being caused could cost lives. Survivors have been through hell and they are faced with having to go back their again with these inconsiderate, unprofessional and non consistent interviews - the fallout could easily tip someone over the edge - i know because it nearly did me. People could take their own lives having to go through this unfair hell !!

This field is a sanctuary for a diversity of many small animals, moles, hedgehogs, birds and bees, but is also one of the top 10 sites in the County for its listed varieties of dung beetles. If the machines come on the field to bore the holes through the old landfill base of the field they may also release and spread methane and toxins of many sorts into the air and the old branch of the river Thames which runs along it. Because of the cost of clearing the landfill, any houses built here would be very expensive, not the affordable houses we need. Maintaining an easily accessible green belt is essential for people's mental health. #saveRedbridgeMeadow

I think this is so obvious that it is a bit insulting to say. Hunger is hunger. Malnutrition is malnutrition. No kid deserves this. There is increasing evidence that poor kids go hungry in the summer holidays because they don't get their school dinners. This is a disgrace. We are the sixth richest country in the world. I imagine the best way to do this is to give emergency money to local government and voluntary organisations but if it takes putting the army on the streets running soup kitchens then let's do it.

The recent BBC investigation into sexual harassment has put Essex has highlighted a system that is seriously failing students. It is totally unacceptable that complaints of sexual harassment can take several months to be investigated, leaving students that have been directly affected to suffer enormously. The toll this has taken on the students affected cannot be overestimated and cannot be undone. We owe it to every student that has ever been affected by sexual harassment to take this moment seriously. So on behalf of our 16,000 Students’ Union members, today we’re demanding that the University of Essex introduces the following urgent and fundamental changes: 1. INTRODUCE PROPER SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE 'REPORT AND SUPPORT' PROCESS Students must no longer be left unsupported or uninformed at any part of the process 2. URGENTLY UNDERTAKE A DETAILED REVIEW OF THE EXPERIENCE OF STUDENTS AFFECTED BY SEXUAL HARASSMENT As a Students’ Union we called for this action to be taken in May this year – now demand that this must be acted upon urgently 3. ALL INVESTIGATIONS INTO SEXUAL HARASSMENT MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 60 DAYS Currently only 80% of complaints are resolved within the timescale recommended by the Independent Adjudicator – this needs to be 100% 4. INTRODUCE TRANSPARENT REPORTING OF ACTION TAKEN IN RESPONSE TO REPORTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT The University must report regularly to students on the number of cases, the length of time these have taken and summaries of actions taken 5. INTRODUCE COMPULSORY CONSENT AND BYSTANDER TRAINING FOR ALL UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX STUDENTS Online training modules are not enough. These sessions have to be in person and must happen in the first week of the new academic year 6. INTRODUCE COMPULSORY SEXUAL HARASSMENT RESPONSE TRAINING FOR ALL FRONTLINE STAFF AND PERSONAL TUTORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX Before the start of the new academic year, all members of staff in student-facing positions must be properly trained on how to respond to reports of sexual harassment and provide support to students in these circumstances 7. ALL OF THE SERVICES THAT OFFER REPORTING OR SUPPORT RELATING TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT MUST BE PROPERLY COMMUNICATED TO STUDENTS From the start of the new academic year, support services such as Student Support or SU Advice can no longer be hidden away or not clearly visible to students that need to access them 8. ESTABLISH A SINGLE PROCESS BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND THE STUDENTS' UNION FOR MANAGING INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT Immediate changes are needed as the current two-tier system is disjointed and confused and leaves students lost and unsupported 9. PRIORITISE CASES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OVER MINOR CONDUCT OR ACADEMIC ISSUES The University owes it to those affected to prioritise cases of sexual harassment over minor conduct or academic issues 10. RECOGNISE THAT THE UNI IS GROWING QUICKLY AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS NEEDS TO GROW WITH IT Additional support cannot afford to be a short-term fix: it must continue to grow in order to keep pace with Essex’s growing student population It is critical that all of the above actions must be applied equally to all three University of Essex campuses in Colchester, Southend and Loughton – this is an issue that affects all students equally and no campus should be unfairly prioritised. HOW YOU CAN HELP: We believe strongly that we have to act now to address the issue of sexual harassment at Essex and we’re committed to working on all of the above actions. You can show your support and help us demonstrate how many of our members care about this issue by signing our petition calling for urgent action to be taken.

From 15 May 2019 a pensioner whose partner has not reached State Pension age yet will no longer be able to claim Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. This could affect many ‘mixed age couples’ in Hastings and Rye, which has a higher than average older population and, as we know, is also one of the most deprived places in England. Some mixed age couples could lose up to £7000 a year which would push many below the poverty line. We are asking our local MP, and Work and Pensions Secretary, Amber Rudd, to stand up for pensioners in her constituency and protect them from the Age Gap Tax