Many people over 65 are members of the 'baby boomer' generation retired with good occupational pensions as well as the state pension, often living in warm comfortable houses which they bought on mortgages much cheaper than they are now. They don't need the £100 to keep warm but there are others less fortunate and often much younger who can't even afford to rent a property never mind own one and some of them are sleeping on the streets in the winter cold. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/one-in-six-pensioners-is-a-millionaire-official-figures-show/ Many retired people, like me, send the money to charity but others never get round to doing it. Many others will just feed it into their frivolous lifestyle without a thought about how it could do more good elsewhere. Perhaps if they were given the option by the DWP to send it to a good cause instead much more of this money could be sent where it could really make a difference. Nudge Theory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_theory) now being used by various government departments could possibly feed millions in this direction. Even better, since if you give to charity yourself with Gift Aid the government adds another 20%, perhaps they should send £120 for each person who selects the option. Obviously it will take some time for the government to set this up if we do persuade them; certainly not before the middle of next year. So if you are reading this and you are a pensioner like me who can easily do without the payment, and you haven't already sent it to a good cause, maybe you could send it to a deserving charity too?

Statistics published by the ONS in July 2016 show that the mortality rate in England and Wales increased by 5.7% in 2015. This was equivalent to an extra 27,000 deaths, the biggest annual rise since 1968. Rates were notably higher at ages 75 and over for both males and females in 2015 compared with 2014. In fact, the death rate has increased year on year since 2011 (with the exception of a 1.1% fall in 2014), indicating the reversal of a long term trend of falling death rates which began in the 1970s. Danny Dorling, an Oxford University professor and an adviser to Public Health England, said: “When we look at 2015, we are not just looking at one bad year. We have seen excessive mortality - especially among women - since 2012 ….. I suspect the largest factor here is cuts to social services - to meals on wheels, to visits to the elderly …” Social services budgets have been badly affected by reduced grants from central government, which have been cut by 36% since 2011. Furthermore, as noted by the Guardian (14th November 2015): “Councils in northern, urban cities and London boroughs with high levels of deprivation predominantly run by Labour have seen their budgets cut by almost 10 times the amount lost by mostly Tory-administered authorities in rural southern England.” The precedent for a UN inquiry into violations of human rights caused by government spending cuts was established in October 2015, when, at a closed hearing in London, the UN launched an investigation into alleged violations of disabled people’s human rights in the UK. The inquiry’s findings will be published in 2017.

An open letter from an 87-year-old lady who uses the centre: Dear people of Bicester, I've lived in Bicester for 50 years. My husband passed away 15 yrs ago. I have no family left and my mobility is not what it used to be. I attend the Bicester Health and wellbeing centre located near the garth park two days a week. This place is my only lifeline. I get to see friends and I get looked after so well that I really don't know where I would be without the place. Oxfordshire County Council are proposing to close this centre and others throughout Oxfordshire! What will I do? I will be stuck looking at four walls every day with no human contact. Who will prepare me a cooked meal, help me with my medications and just check my general health. I'm so upset that this is happening. I won't see my friends again. I will be all alone all day every day. Me and my husband have worked hard all our lives, paid our taxes and this is how vulnerable people are being treated. You are all younger and we need you to fight for us as no one will otherwise. Please think of your elderly relatives and think what would they do if they didn't have you? I don't like being alone and it scares me to think this is now my future, being alone and vulnerable. Please help us in this fight to save the Bicester Wellbeing Health and Wellbeing centre. You or your relatives might need them one day!

28000 low income families have been underpaid in tax credits from 2011-2014. HMRC are refusing to pay monies owed. Caring for a disabled child is a full time job and often compels parents to give up work. Money and time are tight and checking the Government is paying what you are owed is one task too many. The denial of these tax credits has already caused great hardship. To receive it now would make an incredible difference to challenged lives.

Another example of the deficiencies of the regulator essentially shifting blame and their own shortcoming on to these practitioners who very bravely risked their own lives in treating ebola patients. These wonderful nurses and human beings should be honoured and deeply respected not persecuted, its an absolute disgrace. Its about time this injustice was recognised and put right please speak up on their behalf

I care for my elderly father on a full-time basis, the living wage is £7.20 an hour, but the government only pays me an allowance of £62.10 a week for over 35 hours work. That works out as less than £2 an hour. It's really hard to survive on this paltry amount. I’ve worked all my life, but unfortunately last November I had to stop work to care for my 83-year-old father. I care for my father for over 35 hours a week. It’s extremely hard going as I have to do everything for him, his shopping, washing his clothes, giving him his medication and taking him to hospital. As a carer you end up entirely devoting your time to someone else and are all trying our hardest for a paltry - 62.10 a week. The government have introduced a 'living wage' of £7.20 an hour, I want this to be extended to carers so people are paid fairly for the care work they do.

The Dover Soup Kitchen was founded by Steph Perrow in 1991, and their mission statement is that it is a resource for the homeless, vulnerable, elderly, lonely, and the needy. It provides free meals, hot drinks, clothes and bedding, and creates a sense of belonging and community. This soup kitchen helps many people every day without judgement or stigma it is a safe haven for many of the vulnerable in our town. It would be tragic if Dover lost this precious service especially in this age of austerity where more and more people are struggling, more people are losing their homes and many end up on the streets through no fault of their own. Please pledge your name to this petition so we can let DDC know that we will not stand for their actions and let's fight for those vulnerable people who cannot always make their voices heard. Thank you for reading.

Disabled people face many challenges daily. They face the reduction of support, training, employment opportunities. Daily they face discrimination, and now another reduction in ESA, which will have another negative impact on their daily lives. STOP this attack now!!!

I am a student at Blackburn University Centre I have created a project linking with the LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexuals and Transgender plus) Community. I think there is a lack of support out there. There was support sessions in place but due to funding cuts the help diminished so I want to re-instate that to the public. So I want to have support sessions in place offered by trained staff in all schools, colleges and Universities. I feel that there is a need of this campaign due to a lack of understanding of the meanings and clarification of the LGBT+ Community. SO I want YOUR HELP!! Some facts - 58% did not feel that their school was a safe and welcoming place for lesbian, gay or bisexual pupils, also 13% said that reporting bullying actually resulted in anything being done about it. 50% of lesbian and bisexual women under the age of 20 have self-harmed in the past year, compared to 1 in 15 generally. (Stonewall: 2008) and finally LGB people are twice as likely as heterosexual people to have suicidal thoughts or to make suicide attempts. Also another shocking fact - Lesbian, Gay and Bisexuals people are two to three times more likely than heterosexual people to suffer from depression. I want your help so please sign this petition - I will appreciate it!

It speaks to the people of this country this disunited Kingdom and indeed the world at large and it says here is a government that cares for the rich at the expense of the poor. I believe that this is important and as a nation it is up to us to speak out a challenge this cruelty.

These plans stem from REFORM and the Green Paper https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/work-health-and-disability-improving-lives/work-health-and-disability-green-paper-improving-lives You can further object to these plans here https://consultations.dh.gov.uk/workandhealth/consult/ The consultation ends February 2017.It is not clear what the Government's timetable for rolling out these changes are.I have heard reports that some disabled people are already being assigned to work coaches.The government has announced plans to employ a further 500 advisors( to work as work coaches).Trials are intended to go ahead next year when a certain number of claimants of the support group will be asked to attend work coach sessions. We have information that charities are being invited to work for the DWP.The mental health charity MIND have expressed an interest. http://mentalhealthresistance.org/ The government proposes to reduce the benefits of the severely disabled and to subject them to a punitive regime whereby they are forced to aim towards finding work whether they are able to or not. They will be forced to be subject to conditionality whereby they get paid benefits on condition that they attend work coach sessions ,if they do attend their benefits will be cut to JSA levels and governments propose that they can then be subject to sanctions like many unemployed people who are not ill suffer under already. This will affect seriously ill and disabled people,some of whom already are being found wrongly fit for work and have committed suicide. This is inhumane and violent treatment and abuse of incapacitated people. We cannot allow this nor allow the government to dress these proposals up as support for the disabled or any form of empowerment. It is designed to reduce the welfare budget by 12 billion and is part of government strategy to dismantle the welfare state. It is extreme far right policy not Conservatism. Please object to this and get all your friends to object to it. I am one of those affected by these changes, I am physically and mentally disabled having many chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypothyroidism and a mental illness and a spinal misalignment, I am also currently being investigated for possible uterine cancer. I cannot survive on JSA or work and any employer would consider me unemployable. Here is a link to a short video where Charlotte Pickles unveils the plans to attack disabled people and cut their financial support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6iBqsuiyk

It impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of so many claimants who have long term illness, disabilities or mental health issues. Article 3 of the Human Rights Act states that it is illegal to subject people to inhumane or degrading treatment. Althoughno causal link between Work capability assessments, deaths and suicides can be categorically proven , there is evidence of hundreds of deaths for people subject to benefit sanctions made after these assessments . Endthis inhumane practice now! Call upon the PM to abolish these degradinginhumane assessments now