• Don't cut ESOL funding
    The government's decision to withdraw the promised funding for ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) will have an impact on the most vulnerable adults and have huge consequences for individuals and local communities. The ESOL decisions really strike at the heart of where education is most needed and also represent a stand against equality, inclusion and integration. As a teacher whose service has just had £34,000 slashed from her ESOL budget with only 2 weeks' notice, on top of the additional 3.9% cut made in the July budget on the Adult Skills budget which was as well as the 24% already announced in March, I find it more difficult and almost beyond my reach to deliver to those who are most vulnerable and in desperate need of English tuition. In July, Cameron said that the 'failures of integration' foster extremism and that the Casey Review "will look at issues like how we can ensure people learn English." Telling people they must integrate whilst removing their access to the language is like locking a bird in a cage then exhorting it to fly. The next day, a letter to the FE sector from the Skills Funding Agency revealed that the body would withdraw funding for ESOL programmes for Jobseeker's Allowance claimants with poor spoken English. This comes on the back of severe prior cuts to ESOL funding since 2011. These hits will have a detrimental impact on these individuals' ability to communicate and integrate within our society and local communities and have dire consequences for our students. We call on Louise Casey to consider the impact of these cuts when writing her review into improving the integration of Britain's minorities.
    2,563 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Rachel Yarwood-Murray
  • Please keep public toilets in Broxtowe
    Are you aware that the public toilets in the new Beeston transport Interchange are temporarily closed, and that Broxtowe Borough Council is reviewing the provision of public toilets in Eastwood, Stapleford, Kimberley, Broadgate and Beeston? One possible outcome of this review is that there may be no public toilets across the Borough as a means of saving money. Local residents, shoppers, travellers and visitors to the Borough, need access to appropriate public toilets in the right location and should not have to rely on private provision. The tram is bringing more people into the Borough and they need access to public toilets.
    881 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Caroline Robinson
  • Stop Halite Gas Storage in Preesall Lancs
    It has never been deemed safe. If it went wrong about 30 thousand people could be seriously injured or worse. The environment will be affected. Compulsory purchase will happen. More heavy traffic on very small roads. It won't create lots of jobs but a lot of rural jobs could be lost. We will be sitting on a time bomb. Protect Wyre Group Facebook page is a good place to find out more in depth information and their website. http://www.pwgroup.org.uk They got together 13 years ago. A public inquiry in 2006 refused the plans. So Halite modified and resubmitted. Locals objected for a number of reasons. ..These are just a few. Unsuitable Geology of Preesall Salt.Risk of underground leaks due to a massive fault which brings saltbed next to sandstone. Potential Well head explosion. Could be a new terrorist target. Ecological damage from discharge of brine. Destruction of countryside and wildlife. ..the danger and list goes on. Please sign this where ever you live. A little update. ..my two older sons live and work on a farm and they have just received their first letter from Halite gas about compulsory purchase. It will effect 3 of their fields and restrict a 4th field. ..and so it begins :(
    839 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Alison Dyche
  • End Breed Specific Legislation in the UK
    Regardless of breed, type or appearance, any dog has the capability to cause serious harm to a human, and since the breed specific legislation came into effect, the number of dog bites in the UK has risen. Thousand of banned type dogs currently live in the UK, exempt or otherwise, and just like any other breed, the majority are family pets who have done nothing wrong, except they are judged for the way they look. In the UK, Pit Bulls are not recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club, and under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, it is illegal to own Pit Bull Terrier type dogs. The Association of Professional Dog Trainers states that any dog can be dangerous, irrelevant of its breed or physical features, and that this is normally caused by a lack of, or incorrect, training. The American Temperament Testing Society consistently ranks American Pit Bull Terriers in the top 5, above Collies and Golden Retrievers, in temperament tests.
    498 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Jordan Ward
  • Stop the UK government killing off the UK solar industry
    The Dept for Energy and Climate Change has just unveiled sweeping plans to slash subsidies to solar power. They are proposing measures that include cutting aid to small-scale solar power installations, and ending subsidies for roof-top panels earlier than expected. Solar and wind energy installations of less than 5MW are supported by feed-in tariffs - schemes that pay producers a subsidy for the electricity they generate, plus a bonus for any electricity exported back to the national grid. Under the new proposals, the amount to be paid from next year will fall to 1.63p per kilowatt hour from a current level of 12.92p for a new residential solar system. This is a hugely short sighted move by the government and is devastating for Britain's solar sector which employs over 35,000 people. The Secretary of State herself has stated that the total cost this year of the solar RO was just £3 per household on energy bills. Ending support for solar power makes no sense at all. The energy market currently has a wide range of subsidies and tax allowances in place, across all the technologies – renewables, nuclear and gas - and not all of these are transparent when it comes to the consumer. They have made these announcements after the House of Commons has risen for the summer recess so proper scrutiny in Parliament will now not be possible until after the consultation deadline. The Welsh government is already concerned, a spokesperson said the plans have the "potential to put jobs and investment under threat by reducing subsidies to projects already in the pipeline". The government is deliberately over-exaggerating the impact of renewable energy on bills and the timing of this move on solar power could not be worse as it is nearly subsidy free. Greenpeace pointed out that the government's maximum additional spend on green technologies by 2018 would be approximately half of what it spends subsidising the coal industry. Other groups called the changes "absurd". "Of course the feed-in tariff should fall as solar becomes cheaper, but the government clearly plans to remove support entirely," said Alasdair Cameron from Friends of the Earth. "This is politically motivated, and will take away power from people and hand it back to big energy firms." “Cutting the subsidies now will see businesses go bust and investment dry up. Jobs will go and emissions will stay higher at a time when policies and funding should be in place to ensure quite the opposite,” said Daisy Sands, head of the energy campaign at Greenpeace. Ray Noble, owner, Solar BIPV Ltd and Solar Power Portal outstanding achievement award winner has commented: "The decision to stop supporting the fastest deploying energy generation technology seems like madness to me. Especially when you consider that we are short of electricity, that solar has the biggest support of the the population; yet at the same time still giving 2 ROCs to other technologies that are creating the largest drain on the budget. Seems like winners are not liked and losers are preferred! “Combined with the cuts to wind subsidies, it looks like the government is gearing up for a full frontal attack on the renewable energy sector in the autumn while still handing out billion-pound tax breaks for oil and gas industry … It’s no good David Cameron saying how important the climate talks in Paris are, if the chancellor simultaneously weakens any shred of credibility of a claim to the UK’s low carbon leadership.” Please sign the petition now to help save jobs in the UK and support our commitment tackling climate change.
    32,296 of 35,000 Signatures
    Created by R V
  • Give supporters a genuine say in how their clubs are run
    Football supporters are unlike many other consumers and football clubs unlike most other businesses. A club is a vital community asset on many levels. It is therefore unsatisfactory that supporters of many teams have to live for long periods with owners and regimes which they see as actively damaging to the clubs they support. In short, supporters need recourse to football authorities. Supporters are driven to direct action or away from their passion and in any number of cases have seen their clubs taken to the brink of extinction before being able to assert a degree of control over the running of their club. It's high time the government and FA gave supporters real whistle blowing powers and backed this up with tough independent investigation and sanctions, (including the removal of the golden share or the right to own and run the business) against those running football clubs in a self interested or incompetent manner.
    1 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Matthew Jones
  • Resignation of Harriet Harman
    We need to have a Party that fights for working class people. Not a party that capitulates to the Tories. An opposition party needs to be just that, Opposition.
    167 of 200 Signatures
    Created by matthew nicholas
  • SAVE WOODSTOCK! Say no to 1200 more houses
    Ref. Planning Application 14/02004 Hybrid Amended. Planning consultation is under way for the Pye-Blenheim Consortium to build a huge housing development at the edge of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. This development would effectively double the size of this historic town through a single planning application! It would destroy this beautiful and historic market town, ruin the surrounding countryside and devastate the local community. Join us now by signing this petition to show your objection to this super-sized development. Say no to the Pye-Blenheim Consortium and say yes to preserving the beautiful town of Woodstock! For more information please see: www.savewoodstock.org
    316 of 400 Signatures
    Created by Woodstock Residents Picture
  • No confidence in Coventry Council
    It is important that in a democratic country the voice of the electorate should be heard and listened to The council think that the reason for this petition is 'Its Summer' Councilors sign off £36m without reading a report
    1,136 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Robin Elms
  • Make the SNP the Official Opposition.
    It is not inevitable that the second largest party should form the Opposition, any more than the largest single party should form the Government. It is the normal state of affairs, but many combinations are arithmetically possible and from time to time special circumstances may apply. This is one of those times. The interim leader of the Labour Party has stated that having lost the General Election, it cannot and should not vote against Bills brought forward by the Government. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the parliamentary process at Westminster, and brings the whole House into disrepute. Adversarial politics requires a strong Opposition to hold the Government to account, by force of argument and by attempting to defeat it in divisions. An Opposition party that will not do so abdicates its constitutional role. In fairness, not all Labour MPs agree with the leader's position, and if there were so much as an even split it might be legitimate to leave the matter alone. But the 48 Labour members who voted against the Government's recent Welfare Bill constitute barely a quarter of the delegation, and are in themselves a smaller parliamentary group than the Scottish National Party. The official Opposition should be the largest party which actually opposes the Government. At present, that is the SNP, not Labour. There may be a case for reexamining the issue in September, depending on the result of the Labour leadership election and the policies it pursues thereafter, but that should not stay your hand now.
    47 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Will Pickering
  • Make it Accessible
    I am physically challenged and use an electric wheelchair, I find it increasingly frustrating when I ask why a building is not accessible only to hear that nothing can be done because the building is listed. I completely understand that we need to preserve history and beautiful buildings, but how on earth can I enjoy these buildings if I can't gain access, which is surely a BASIC human right? But here's the thing, its not only for leisure that its affecting me, its affecting me in my work. Not so long ago I had to work in a venue that wasn't accessible because it was listed, even the staff were so frustrated at the situation as it affected not only wheelchair users but also elderly, parents with push chairs and suppliers getting supplies in to the building. Its not fair, the law needs changing and can be changed.
    143 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Asta Philpot
  • Save College - No to Cuts
    Staff at Salford City College, the area’s leading provider for young people, have been presented with a Business Transformation Plan (BTP) which aims to cut vital services at the college in order to fund a forecast £1.5m surplus per annum in future years. This is despite already having cash reserves of £6m. Although it is appreciated that the College needs to find some funds for buildings and equipment, the scale of the cuts to services is too harsh and may lead to a drastic reduction in the quality of service that Salford City College has to offer young people and other learners in the area. Some areas that will be cut are as follows: · Vital mentoring and counselling support, essential for students with mental health and emotional needs · The sale of land at the Walkden Centre, which will cut provision and ultimately affect access to education for learners in the wider deprived areas around Salford · Cuts to teaching staff where it is forecast they will be replaced with E-Learning, where students will have less time in a formal classroom environment There are also serious concerns that the BTP will conflict with the new OFSTED requirements published in June 2015, which will ultimately lead to a greater level of accountability for teachers and a possible downgrading of the college.
    85 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Tom McCauley