1. Homelessness Housing Related Support (HRS) is used to prevent a crisis such as homelessness occurring. It provides advice to people on how to manage money and pay bills, and how to adhere to tenancy agreements. HRS covers permanent accommodation based services and floating support services that are utilised when needed. During a MCC executive council meeting on the 13th of February 2015 it was agreed to reduce Housing Related Support by £1,814,000 from an initial amount of £5,722,000. During the same meeting it was decided the Homelessness Prevention Grant would be reduced by £199,188, from an initial amount of £729,188. This vital fund prevents people from becoming homeless by providing services such as debt advice, landlord mediation and help with finding a home. The latest count of rough sleepers in Manchester City centre in 2015 was 70, which is a 63% rise on the 47 counted in 2014. The actual figures are likely to be much worse than this as the way the count is carried out (on one night of the year with in specific city centre locations) is generally regarded to under count the problem. The size of the discrepancy is indicated in a statement by Jenny Osborne Senior Strategy Manager of Public Health Manchester. “Last year the headcount for rough sleepers was 47; we know that from the severe weather protocol we operated last year that 234 separate individuals accessed that provision during the cold weather period.” Across England homelessness is increasing due to the incompetent housing policies and austerity agenda of the current Tory government. In 2014/15 there were 102,200 decisions taken by local authorities declaring households as being Statutory Homeless, a 10% increase from 2010/11. In the second quarter of 2015 the number of households in temporary accommodation was 66,980, a 33% increase on the second quarter of 2010. When levels of homelessness are increasing it is unacceptable to cut services aimed at preventing homelessness. 2. Social rented housing The devolution deal has given the Greater Manchester Combined Authority control of a £300 million housing fund to promote house building. A large proportion of the housing fund has already been loaned to private property developers to build private housing with no provision for social rented housing. There is a severe shortage of social rented housing (council or housing association properties) in England. The total number of social rented properties built in England stands at 9,590 in 2014/15, which is a 75% drop from the figure of 38,950 built in 2010/11. The loss of social rented housing has resulted in huge waiting lists where people have little hope of receiving an offer of accommodation in a reasonable time. At least 50% of the housing fund should be allocated to housing associations or local authorities to allow building of much needed social rented housing. 3. Private rented housing Tenants in the UK not only pay the highest average monthly rents in Europe (902 Euro/month), we also pay the largest percentage of our income (39.1%) to pay the rent. Between 2008-09 and 2012-13 average weekly rents in the private rented sector increased by 7% from £153 to £163, according to the English Housing Survey. The MEN reported in October 2015 that the average rental price of private properties in Greater Manchester has increased by 22.4% over 12 months. The increase in rents is compounded by a drop in real wages of almost 10% for the typical UK worker since 2008. Manchester City Council must take action to alleviate the suffering caused by the housing crisis in Manchester and the wider Greater Manchester Region. This petition offers MCC the opportunity to tackle the housing crisis in the three major areas of homelessness, social rented housing provision and control of private rents; we sincerely hope that upon receiving this petition MCC will seriously consider implementing all proposals suggested. Conrad Bower (38 Degrees Manchester & Unite the Union Grt. Man. Community Branch ) John Clegg (Branch Secretary, Unite the Union Grt. Man. Community Branch) 'Manchester City Council: Act to Alleviate the Housing Crisis' petition sponsored by: Unite the Union Greater Manchester Community Branch 38 Degrees Manchester Manchester & Salford Housing Action Equality Northwest

The EU and US are negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The proposed TTIP could have a detrimental impact on local services, employment, suppliers and democratic decision-making. Supporters say TTIP will provide benefits for consumers and the economy. Opponents say it will weaken EU standards and result in privatisation of public services. NB. This petition has been set up to compliment an existing petition on the Bristol City Council website. The signatures from both petitions are combined on this webpage, and will be sent off together to the Council.

After the recent demolition of half of the Calais Jungle we need you to take immediate action on the International Development Committee’s recommendation to bring 3000 unaccompanied refugee children who are currently residing in refugee camps not only in The Jungle and Grande Synthe, Dunkirk but in the whole of Europe, to the UK - including all minors with family connections in the UK. This is in addition to the current commitment to resettle 20,000 refugees from the region. These children have lost their homes, their education, people who loved them, their friends and their communities. They have seen war and all its cruelties - the last thing we can do is abandon them. This would be the most inhumane form of neglect. Stephen Twigg MP, Chair of the Committee sums up why when he said: "Children are clearly some of the most vulnerable refugees this crisis has created. The Committee heard that close to 80% of Syria's child population already need humanitarian assistance. In December, the UNHCR and International Organisation for Migration estimated that one million refugees and migrants fled to Europe in 2015. Of more than 900,000 people taking the dangerous route across the Mediterranean, one in every two were Syrian. The first refugee casualty of 2016 was a drowned two year old boy pulled from the sea off the Greek coast. Having survived the treacherous journey, there is a grave possibility that unaccompanied children become the victims of people traffickers who force them into prostitution, child labour and the drugs trade. This is an issue of utmost urgency."

Please petition the City of Edinburgh Council to repair our roads which are in many places more suited to a third world country. If you have driven anywhere in Edinburgh, you will be well aware of how dangerously potholed the roads are. For cyclists, it is difficult to avoid potholes without risking life and limb - and for motorists, the damage to vehicles must run into £millions, for most of which the CEC will deny any liability. If you Google "Edinburgh potholes", you will see how ludicrous the situation has become with one woman planting flowers with 35 litres of compost needed to fill the hole. The stories abound, yet the CEC has long insisted there were no potholes waiting to be repaired, hiding behind their definition of a pothole and the sheer brazen complacency that allows such incompetence to be left responsible for our road infrastructure. http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/council-no-potholes-claim-is-laughable-1-3344166 Please help to force CEC to address this situation with urgency.

At the moment the free bus pass is only valid for journeys which start after 9.30am. This seems illogical for a travel benefit which is specifically aimed at "people of working age". Imagine having a stroke in your early twenties, your life slips away to be replaced by dreams. You fight hard to recover, and learn how to walk. You want to volunteer at a local food bank but the bus pass you hold won't allow you to travel there on time. You were hoping that the volunteering might help you get a job. All you needed was a small helping hand instead of a closed door.

Nature needs a helping hand and. This campaign could get communities together help climate and create places for wildlife. To much of our forested land. Is commercial and is poor for nature On highlandsnwe lost our scrub overgrazing again. So when rains the waternos not absorbed therfor runs off floods low lying areas so planting forests in right areas would reduce flooding too

Hands-Free Mobile Phones Unfortunately, in RoSPA's view, this law does not ban the use of hands-free mobile phones. Although the government accepts the evidence that using a hands-free phone while driving distracts the driver and increases the risk of an accident, they do not think a hands-free ban would be enforceable. RoSPA disagrees. Drivers should also note that the existing law requiring drivers to be in proper control of their vehicle, or careless or dangerous driving laws can be applied to driving while using a hands-free phone, if the police believe the nature of the driving warrants it. Despite the law and the dangers, a proportion of drivers persist in using their mobiles while driving. Surveys conducted in 2009 found that 2.9% of car drivers, and 5% of van and lorry drivers, were talking on either a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone. As can be seen in the graphs below, the use of hand-held mobile phones by drivers reduced after the introduction of the law in 2003, then gradually rose gain, before decreasing when the penalty was increased in 2007 (marked with vertical black lines). Unfortunately, the number of drivers using hand-held and hands-free mobile phones has been increasing steadily since mid 2007. 1 Trends in Hand-held and Hands-free Mobile Phone Use by Car, Van & Lorry Drivers (Weekdays) The Definition of Driving Under existing law a person may be regarded as "driving" a vehicle while the engine is running and the vehicle is stationary. The offence applies to all motor vehicles, including motorcycles, but not apply to pedal cycles. Hopefully this will stop people from using there phones etc while driving and it would cut down on accidents and injuries and deaths.Mobile phones are biggest cause of road fatalities DRIVERS admit their concen­tration is disturbed by passengers but the deadliest distraction is the mobile phone. By JOHN INGHAM PUBLISHED: 00:01, Tue, Jul 22, 2014 Department for transport, car crash, car deaths mobile phones, on phone whilst driving, driving with phone, texting whilst driving, phone driving death figures show that mobile phones are biggest accident risk. The biggest in-car cause of fatalities is motorists texting, tweeting and taking calls. An AA poll of 18,000 members found 38 per cent had been distracted by other people, radios, phones and sat-navs in the past 12 months. Of the nearly 7,000 who admitted losing concentration, 548 reported a near-miss and 106 had crashed. Eighteen per cent said adult passengers were most at fault, 14 per cent blamed children, 13 per cent took their eye off the road to twiddle with their sat-nav and 12 per cent their mobile phone. Of the 88 deaths caused by distractions in 2012, 17 were due to mobile use Department for Transport Official figures show mobile phones pose the biggest accident risk to drivers. The Department for Transport said that of 88 deaths caused by distractions in 2012, 17 were due to mobile use – a higher death rate than other in-car causes. Last week Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin hinted the penalty points for using a hand-held phone at the wheel could be doubled to six. Millions of us are breaking the law on texting at wheel of the car, AA president Edmund King, called for “smart” features on in-car devices to block them from use at the wheel, adding: “The higher kill rate for mobile phone-related reported accidents provides a strong wake-up call.”

Fracking gets a lot of attention and rightly so. THere are the environmental aspects of the government striving to grow the burning of fossil fuels of which 'Frackgas' is one of them. The pollution aspect is even more painful with metals such as; arsenic, mercury, cadmium being brought to the surface for clean up. The cost to the communities will be through a massive cost to the Water companies who will pass these additional costs on to their customers. Millions of tonnes of chemical impregnated water will be used in the 'frackgas' operation and it will all need to be treated. Where will the cleaned pollutant residue end up? We have yet to gain an answer to this. Let us look at the visual impact. Stoke on Trent could end up with some 30 derricks blotting the landscape. We know that we have miles upon miles of coal bed methane trapped under our city and towns. There is this licence for 'Frackgas' or the dangerous technique of fracking coal bed methane. This is your country: Protect It

Would you like to attend the funeral of one of your loved ones only to hear the sounds of a neighbouring barbecue or a loud stereo? Would you like to live next door to a constant funeral procession, with all the associated sounds coming through your windows daily? The Scottish Government is proposing to allow crematoriums to be built and operated directly next to your house in their new Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill. The Local Government and Regeneration Committee will meet on January 6th to review their proposals. The Scottish Government have made a huge oversight in their new Cremations and Burials Bill: they have removed the requirement for any minimum distance to be upheld between crematoriums and homes. This is a vital protection for the privacy of mourners and home-owners and a minimum distance must be upheld in law. In the Government's own consultation paper on the bill (which they put out to industry experts to pass comment on their plans) 75% of respondents recommended to keep a minimum distance of 200 yards (see Q11 in this document: https://goo.gl/8PlZ93). The Consultation Report states: "Respondents were strongly in favour of retaining a significant minimum distance. Many who commented considered that the most important factor for retaining a minimum distance was to ensure privacy and dignity for both home owners and mourners. A substantial distance would also ensure adequate provision for memorial gardens and car parking." This petition asks the Local Government and Regeneration Committee to ensure the 200 yard minimum distance is upheld in the new Bill. Already in Haddington, East Lothian, the local planning authority has granted permission for a crematorium to be built in anticipation of the new law - construction has not begun yet but it will soon if the Bill is passed by the Committee this petition is addressed to. For the crematorium in question; there are several neighbouring properties, including a dairy farm. The closest home is only 45 yards away and has bedroom windows below the level of the proposed chimneys in line with the prevailing wind! The proposed car park for the crematorium is directly next to the garden meaning that both the home owners and mourners would have a huge lack of privacy. Imagine walking to your loved-one's funeral and hearing children playing or people laughing? Imagine trying to relax in your garden whilst mourners walk by. Also, emissions from crematoriums are still not entirely understood - particularly and most worryingly in the case of mercury which is present in tooth fillings and is extremely toxic to humans and animals. The Scottish Government hope that by removing the requirement for any minimum distance to be upheld between a crematorium and a home that local planning authorities will make the correct decisions on a case-by-case basis. However, the above development is a case in point that this does not work: East Lothian council owns the building in which the proposed crematorium is to be built and they have wanted to sell it for a number of years. They have agreed a deal with a crematorium developer to sell the building and therefore have a vested interest in ensuring everything goes smoothly in the panning process and, as such, have ignored local businesses and home-owners concerns and ignored all of the numerous negative impacts the development might have. They have abandoned due diligence in the pursuit of profit. If the Scottish Government allows this Bill to pass without upholding the minimum distance of 200 yards which is recommended by it's own consultation then it is condemning not only the people of Haddington but also countless others in future to have their homes and businesses - never mind the funerals all over the country - severely affected. The Government's job is to create legislation to protect people in all aspects life and if this Bill is passed into law without upholding any minimum distance between a crematorium and homes/businesses then the Government will fail in it's duty to the people of Scotland. It is clear that Local Planning Authorities are subject to prejudice and therefore fail to protect the people of Scotland given what has occurred in Haddington, East Lothian in anticipation of the new law being passed. Please uphold the minimum distance of 200 yards!

One of the 47 people beheaded was a Shia cleric. His execution has provoked outrage in Iran and Bahrain and threatens to further destabilise the Middle East and thereby threaten world peace. The 47 executions should be condemned by the entire international community.

ALDI customers - who are vegetarians should be able to obtain quality QUORN products from their shop and not have to settle for the sub-standard tasteless product that you have replaced it with.

Only a very small % of receipts are required by consumers, the vast majority are thrown straight in the bin either by the cashier or the consumer. This is a huge waste of paper not to mention all the other resources that are required for production and distribution of these receipt rolls. Requiring a simple prompt to find out whether the consumer wants a receipt printed is a common sense way to reduce our collective waste.