In the first place, it advantages folk who are paying far less rent than those who have to rent in the private sector. They should not then be able to buy the houses at a cut price, while reducing the stock of affordable housing. It isn't as if we have an oversupply of such housing and it really isn't fair! People in affordable housing should use their advantage to save a deposit and buy on the open market, like everyone else has to do which would free up their housing association house for those who need it. We need more affordable housing not less. We have families in bed and breakfasts.

Sophie has been a care giver for her grandmother Violet for many years and has still managed to enter a degree level course and achieved amazing grades. Since Sophie is unable to prove that she is an independant learner the NHS bursary are refusing Sophie the money she needs to finish the course. Sophie will be an amazing mental health nurse and I dont think a person sat in front of a computer should have the power to take this away from her. Sophie is not asking for any more money she just wants what she usually gets so she can finish her course and become a NURSE, something that the country is crying out for! Sophie has become a great friend of mine and I hate seeing her so upset please sign this petition so that she can at least get a chance of finishing with her friends.

We are frustrated that calls are not answered, message states busy call volumes - this is not acceptable. We are frustrated that average waiting times are 30 -45 minutes with calls costing 9p a minute this is often more than most people can afford. Advisers seem to struggle understanding the notes on screen, letters sent seem not to make it on to the system, advisers are not able to say what will be paid when or how much -this helps no one. Advisers require further training! " Recently called CTC over 4 days before able to get through when money dropped due to their error - no food for the kids or petrol to get to work -left on hold for 45 minutes- money I couldn't afford but had to choose between food and the call to get the mistake sorted out!" This service is entitled a helpline but this is far from the service experienced, which leaves many in financial hardship and without a clear answer to the initial reason for the call.

I have recently been the victim of an Incoming Premium Rate Text Message scam. Fortunately TalkTalk, my Mobile Phone Provider eMailed me to warn me I had gone over my monthly allowance, and this is how I learned that I was being charged £4.50 for each one of these messages I had received. I had not knowingly subscribed to this. After doing some research I found that this scam is by no means an uncommon incident & is growing all the time. It even seems to have an authority (PhonePayPlus) which is supposed to monitor it. This, in itself, is ridiculous. It is clearly a way of making money under false pretences. All Premium Rate Text Messages are a rip off, but at least when making outgoing ones at least the customer is making the concious decision to throw their money away. These, however, are INCOMING. Most of all I was amazed to learn that this way of covertly taking money by deception is actually legal. This, to anyone with any sense of common decency can see this to be morally outrageous. Incoming Premium Rate Text Messages are theft, plain and simple, making use of some loophole in the law, targeting the most vulnerable. This loophole needs closing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P-z10pKGdc The new Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson MP says the most important part of his job is to offer "disabled people the same opportunities to reach their goals as non-disabled people." Yet on 30 June the government will close the Independent Living Fund (ILF) which provides essential support to disabled people with the highest support needs to live in the community amongst friends and family. The closure of the ILF means that the 17,500 disabled people who are currently able to employ assistants to help with everyday tasks from getting out of bed to going to work, will instead be forced into care homes or effectively imprisoned in their own homes. Last year, a high court ruling about the decision to close the fund referred to "the inevitable and considerable adverse effect" this would have on disabled people and how "independent living might well be put seriously in peril for... most (or a substantial number of) ILF users." This is because the government will give responsibility for the fund to cash strapped local authorities which will not be able to cope as they are already suffering huge cuts of 26% to social care funding with a further £10 billion cuts in the pipeline. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has said it cannot take any further pressure and disability experts agree that the future looks bleak for disabled people. The governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland have committed to create their own versions of the ILF, and the Welsh government has said it will put money aside to help recipients for 9 months. This leaves people currently receiving the ILF in England unprotected. Sometimes it's hard to know what the right thing is. This is not one of those times. Please sign the petition now and tell Prime Minister David Cameron and his new minister Justin Tomlinson MP to keep the Independent Living Fund open, or at least ring fence the money at local authority level. Remind them that the UK is better than this.

The Windmill Road (B452) crossing with the A4 is acknowledged as one of the most poorly-managed, congested and hazardous junctions in Brentford. With up to six vehicles often stacked under the M4 flyover and many other cars waiting to turn right or left in the fast lane of the A4, it is the site of frequent collisions. Frustrated, angry drivers are putting lives at risk, not just other motorists but pedestrians, cyclists and above all the school children who cross the road every day. It must not take a fatality to get TFL and the Local Authority to do something to make this a safer junction for everyone.

Our voice is not being heard by our MP and we'd like to change that!

The number of people living in social housing in this country is in decline. As waiting lists continue to grow, more and more people are being forced into private rented housing instead. This is leaving thousands of families and vulnerable households without a suitable home. There are more than 1.8 million households waiting for a social home – an increase of 81% since 1997. Two thirds of households on the waiting list have been waiting for more than a year. Nearly 41,000 households with dependent children were living in temporary accommodation at the end of December 2012. (Information from Shelter - England) A secure, affordable home is essential to all aspects of well being - economic, social, health (both physical and psychological) and especially for those who are vulnerable because of age, disabilities or other challenges. A wealthy country like the UK can benefit from building social and affordable homes and move away from focusing on home ownership for the few and profit for private landlords.

The Queen's Speech includes an 'Extremism Bill' that will “strengthen the role of Ofcom so that tough measures can be taken against channels that broadcast extremist content”. According to a leaked letter from Cabinet member and former Culture Secretary Sajid Javid these measures involve “a fundamental shift in the way UK broadcasting is regulated” and would move Ofcom from being an independent regulator “into the role of a censor”. The Government should not be allowed to dictate what we can or can't watch on TV. Please sign and share this petition to stop this unacceptable clamp down on freedom of speech.

As we suffer the daily rigors of Austerity, The City of London & The Banks are draining our Real Economy with fraud, asset stripping, the privatisation of sovereign assets. Combined with The Corporations accounting fraud & their failure to pay taxes, the UK Economy has been left heavily in debt. We should not silently put up with this illegal behavior by Criminal Banks. We need Bank Reform to be undertaken by this government in this year. Please write to your local high street banks to let them know how you feel. Also The Bank of England governor Mark Carney, The Accountants; KPMG, PWC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young(EY) The Attorney General, The Rt Hon Jeremy Wright QC Your Local Crime Commissioner And your local Chief Constable. You can send them this: http://www.realnewsuk.com/print/Banking_Reform.pdf

In an age of fear inducing, xenophobic, biased media, retractions, edits and apologies have become far too commonplace in many media outlets. Many newspapers have become a voice of fear and oppression, making claims, particularly about benefits claimants and immigrants, which is spreading fear, discontent and creating hostilities, only for these 'stories' to be found out as lies, or 'bent truths', with retractions and apologies published in tiny, tiny squares in the corner of pages, unseen by most, and by that time, the damage is already done. So this petition would suggest that, like students in universities are forced to, that all media outlets must provide valid, reliable and accessible sources for all of their information. This would mean: *Where they got the information, i.e. a person (and how they verified this person, with links to another verifiable source, unless it presents an obvious risk to the person involved, and that risk can be 100% proved), which website they used (for statistics), links to studies used, etc. *How they verified and cross referenced all information before processing it into an article. *Having accessible links to all sources used, where reasonably practicable. This petition would also like to suggest that when/if an error is made by publishers, the retraction/apology is printed on the front page of their publication. The public gain all news knowledge from the media, and when an article is posted which stirs emotions such as anger, fear, hatred, etc and could be seen to promote xenophobia, racism, etc, it is important that the publishers take responsibility for that and inform the public of the truth. This idea could be the foundation for legislation to keep the media unbiased, truthful, informative and in the public interest. For too long, people have been hurt, shamed, stereotyped and damaged by slanderous and false media reporting, as well as discontent introduced by certain publications who insist on inflammatory headlines stating that we as Britons are being 'stolen' from by immigrants, while running adverts for anti-poverty charities on the same pages. The media needs regulation for public interest, and a public forum should be opened for everyone to express their views, so genuine, positive legislation can be formed to protect the public from being fed falsities and tearing our multi-cultural society apart because of misinformation and fear. Thank you for your time.

Sky sports are ruining the beautiful game for the sake of money. Empty grounds, dwindling support and being limited to short highlights on terrestrial television is slowly undermining a great British tradition. We urge Helen Grant to step in and see to it that all sports of "National interests" be given to the masses and not just those who can afford to pay Sky Sports extortionate monthly charges.