It is well reported that foodbank use in the UK has seen an unprecedented rise in use. They rely solely on public donations to feed people. Because it is government policy that has caused this rise, they must intervene now. Foodbanks are running out daily and face the awful task of turning people away. Health and wellbeing is at severe risk. These charities are doing the government's work free of charge. This must change.

Blantyre Skatepark Community is looking to raise awareness for the work needed to maintain our public Skatepark in Blantyre. Due to lack of funds from South Lanarkshire Council within our skatepark, we are not seeing the necessary repairs being completed by our local authority. Our Skatepark is used by many of all ages from around Lanarkshire and Glasgow. Skateboarders, Bmx, Scootering and Roller Blading are all accommodated for at The Blantyre Skatepark. We hope we can improve the standards of Skatepark by petitioning South Lanarkshire Council and also apply to charities for help. We will be working alongside other community groups within Blantyre with the hope we can raise enough awareness to have the necessary work completed. The Blantyre skatepark provide a physical activity for kids not interested in traditional team sports. Community skateparks provide a safe and challenging place for skaters of all levels to develop as athletes. ... Public skateparks provide healthy activity for kids and helps eliminate boredom.

Increased supply and quality comes from competition and incentives, not from over regulation or divisive taxation policies. There's a hole in the bucket and it's not being refilled quickly enough. Private landlords are selling up in droves, thus reducing the pool of better quality homes available to rent. Private investment into much needed rental housing is being strangled, and this MUST STOP! National and Local Government policies are discouraging private investment into rental accommodation, especially in recent years. This is already negatively impacting housing development and the wider economy. If the supply of private rental accommodation continues to contract, demand will cause rents to increase and ordinary people will find it even harder to find flexible and affordable housing. Taxing suppliers, whether directly or by stealth, is always passed on to consumers. In this case, that means upward pressure on rents. There have been several forms of stealth taxes and indirect taxation applied to private housing providers. These include; the taxation of finance costs, increased Stamp Duty Land Tax, banning tenant fees and Selective Licencing. Government and Local Councils need to stop milking private housing providers like cash cows and reverse all such policies before further suffering is caused. Badly informed campaigning could also undo all the good things the Housing Act 1988 achieved. We urge Government to be mindful of this.

There is a 750 square meter building in Selsey which has no hope of being rented as office space but there is a public demand for a Health Complex. Chichester District Council in their wisdom thought it correct to force this building to remain empty and marketed for 18 months to see if a large company wanted to move into Selsey and rent it as office space.. Business are moving out of Selsey, not in. Just 8 months ago this was a brown field with zero employment. If Kevin Byrne wasn’t prepared to invest the money it would still be a brown unused field. Today it has the potential of providing jobs and a considerable asset to Selsey. CDC said NO to this Health Complex despite: • other land designated for office space in Selsey remains undeveloped and buildings vacant • communication from Flude Commercial saying it’s very unlikely we’ll find a tenant for office space • letters from the largest employers in Selsey saying they don’t want the building as office space • £1.7m being invested into Selsey on this project • two of the largest employers in Selsey saying they wanted to use the gym for their staff • survey via Facebook in Selsey where 236 people said they wanted this complex • 35 registering support of this c Health Complex on the CDC planning website • this Health Complex not being in competition with any other of this type in Selsey • CDC’s very own Economic Development Services stating the Complex would bring employment and help other local business keep their staff • having more than enough parking to service the complex • having a local gym company already wanting this space and run a gym • having a local beauty company wanting this space and run a company • the poor economics in Selsey and the desperate need for more jobs • the fact we would have employed people straight away • CDC councillor John Connor issuing a Red Card to fight for the approval. CDC refused this change of use on the grounds that office space would generate more than a Health Complex. Please help us force CDC to change there mind and allow this change of use to a Health Complex.

Schools in Tendring need to add plenty of water and beach safety lessons and have the lifeboat crew in to give talks. every schoolchild in an assembly could show a video safety not just for the sea but rivers as well.

Jean is 68 years old and lives in Edinburgh. She was born with arthrogryposis, a condition which affects the joints and muscles and prevents development/growth in the legs. Jean is 4 foot 5 inches and wears heavy callipers and surgical boots weighing 3kgs. Each step is a challenge and for the past 20 years Jean has relied exclusively on her specially adapted Motability car to lead an independent life. Recently due to new guidelines for Personal Independence Payments, she has been told that she is no longer entitled to a car. This is unacceptable. Everything Jean undertakes is adapted, adjusted and limited by her physical handicap. Her balance is poor due to no ankle or knee flexion, she struggles with cobbles, uneven ground, steps, kerbs and slopes. If one of her callipers breaks, she is 100% immobile. Public transport is not an option. Boarding a bus requires the use of both arms, leaving no option for carrying any shopping. The height of the seats leaves her legs dangling unsupported, causing swelling and pain. It is of the utmost importance that Jean is permitted to maintain her independence through the provision of a specially adapted car. Her condition will never improve. Taking her car away will leave Jean housebound and reliant on the help of others. To deprive Jean of her car after 20 years, at the time of her life that she needs it most, is cruel and unnecessary. Under the new PIP guidelines Jean’s mobility was reassessed and she was deemed to walk with a “good gait”. The assessment was conducted by target-driven private contractors employed by the DWP. Given her medical condition and profound disability this assessment is evidently deeply flawed. Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine said that assessments were often “box ticking exercises with no understanding of peoples’ situations”. This certainly rings true for Jean. There is no doubt that Jean should qualify for the enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP. Please help us persuade Sarah Newton to support Jean’s case by signing and sharing this petition.

I’m a mother, but no one has ever called me mummy. I’ve resuscitated my child, but I’ve never put a plaster on his knee. I’ve not been fined for taking my child out of school for a holiday, but I’ve been fighting to get him into school for almost four years. I’ve gone for months at a time with little sleep - but not with a baby, with a child who stops breathing. There are no family days out, because there’s nowhere to change my immobile and incontinent teenager. For four years, I have to sedate my child to travel because his wheelchair doesn’t fit and causes him pain. I’ve said goodbye more times than I can count - not for a school trip, but because I was told he would die. Our first community nurse told me to visit a morgue so I could get used to the idea of seeing my son in a freezer. I was told by a care company manager that if I complained about her staff, she’d ensure my son was put in a home. They were asleep when he wasn’t breathing, they overdosed his medications and they forcibly strapped him down to his own bed to stop them needing to move him. I’ve had to plan and write down all of the details of my child’s funeral. We have lost our home, jobs and self esteem - sponging from society, because care and education has not been sufficiently funded to allow us to work - to support our own family. I was a teacher, I fought for the children of others, I loved my job. Now, I have to fight for my son and his rights, to be his ICU nurse, to try to find time to be his mum when I’m so tired and so sad. My husband cared for people with MND or dementia, supporting them and their families until the end of their lives. Now he can only support us. Our lives revolve around keeping our son alive, well and comfortable.

In September Thetford Academy are cutting funding to Lewis Coaches so that they no longer run the bus service for our children to get to school. I have no other way of getting my 12 year old to and from school. And many other parents are in the same position. Please don't compromise the safety or education of our children.

Under the Equality Act 2010, a house cannot be refused to be let to someone because of disability, gender, race, sexual orientation or religion; these are known as protected characteristics. However - with suitable disabled accommodation being very sparse among social housing - downstairs toilet facilities, first floor apartments, bungalows, etc, are being refused to be let to potential tenants on the basis the potential tenant is in receipt of a government subsidy towards rent. These subsidies are awarded because individuals are unable to work due to disability, yet disabilities are a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act. No matter whether you are willing to provide references, admin fees, bonds, or consent to a credit search. Due to lack of social housing, disabled people are being pushed into the private rental market yet being discriminated against and refused housing there too. No person should be discriminated against for something that is beyond their control; where else are disabled people supposed to live? It’s a daily struggle to live in a house that’s not suitable, I think it’s abhorrent that disabled people are being refused to rent in the private sector because they receive a government subsidy towards rent. Take a look at properties for rent near you and see how many say "no DSS"! Imagine how difficult it would be for someone disabled looking for somewhere to live. It is discriminatory. Please take a moment to sign this petition!

This is a vital service for many people across Renfrewshire. Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau took on almost 3000 new cases in 2016-17. Demand for their services is growing as welfare reform continues to impact the poorest communities; as the number of people who privately rent property rises and as the scurge of precarious employment shows no sign of going away. Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau offers a comprehensive service to people that no other organisation does. If Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau is not funded properly or fairly for the work that it does, it will see desperate people with no where else to turn to, become even more desperate.

We deeply regret that, despite strong arguments against it, you and your Cabinet colleagues decided on 28th June to press ahead with a tendering exercise to outsource the County’s library service. Given recent national experience, we are convinced that this is misguided. There is no material evidence that outsourcing libraries in Herefordshire would be cheaper or deliver a better service – we know of no contractor with a successful track record of running a library service in a rural setting comparable to Herefordshire. The current management and staff of Herefordshire libraries are doing a fine job under strained circumstances.

Family home since 1982, i moved back in to help my father from illness and to stop my depression, my father passed away suddenly and the council want me and 15 year old son out of the house, my youngest son comes every weekend, has adhd and will not accept change into a new house, explained this to the council but they will not listen, tried to pay the rent but they will not accept it from me.