• Stop Fracking Censorship
    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has heavily censored the only public version of the Government’s report ‘Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts’. Although the Government has repeatedly said 'the public should be given all the facts’, this report was redacted 63 times, including the section on how fracking could affect house prices. DEFRA claim this was best for ‘public interest’. Within the next couple of weeks MPs will vote on the Infrastructure Bill, which proposes controversial changes to our Trespass Laws that will erode our land rights, and pave the way for fracking. Two Tory MPs have already urged David Cameron to release the report in full. Other MPs have also asked to see the complete report, yet still it remains redacted. It’s crucial that what’s hidden in this report is released before the Infrastructure Bill is finally voted on in Parliament, so that MPs can properly understand impacts that fracking will have on our house prices and our communities. We all deserve to see the censored material in this important document that our government is keeping from us.
    5,455 of 6,000 Signatures
    Created by Talk Fracking
  • Beatles Fans Everywhere, Save The Penny Lane Fireman
    " In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass"...and time is running out. Not only are the UK government cutting funds to the essential Fire and Rescue Services in communities all across the country, the first to go in Liverpool will be one of the most famous and important. The fireman who appears on horseback in the Penny Lane promotional film worked Allerton Fire Station, and the station is directly referenced in the song: "The fire station was a bit of poetic licence; there's a fire station about half a mile down the road, not actually in Penny Lane, but we needed a third verse so we took that and I was very pleased with the line 'It's a clean machine'. I still like that phrase, you occasionally hit a lucky little phrase and it becomes more than a phrase. So the banker and the barber shop and the fire station were all real locations." Paul McCartney (Many Years From Now, B Miles) The Beatles tours that run in the city all take in the fire station as they entertain tourists from every corner of the world. If the station is closed it is very likely that the land will be sold off to private interests and it will be demolished. If and when this happens the city and Beatles fans everywhere will lose an important heritage site. Perhaps worse than this is the wanton disregard for the safety of the people who live here displayed by central government. In a recent consultation about the proposed closure a campaigning fire-fighter who had met with Eric Pickles and Sir Bob Kerslake to try and plead the case for Liverpool's Fire and Rescue Service and this station in particular stated: "..it's quite clear that the people who make these decisions couldn't care less if the people of South Liverpool die in their beds because of delayed response times." This is supposed to be a civilised country waging a war on dangerous extremists in order to keep people safe in their beds. If there is a terror attack, there won't be sufficient emergency services to cope with it. When this issue was raised at the same consultation the chief officer nodded in agreement, and then shrugged his shoulders in a hopeless gesture. It was also stated at the consultation that this will be the first of a number of station closures on Merseyside. Ten stations were closed in the Greater London area last year and this has already cost lives. Let's draw the line here, these are essential services which we've already paid for through our taxes. Please help keep the 'clean machine' running and save lives in the heart of the Beatles home town. Please sign.
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    Created by Richard O'Brien
  • Stop the cruel rationing of hearing aids
    The reason we want the NHS to stop rationing hearing aids and also asking you to sign this petition is because people who are hard of hearing you can experience isolation and that can result in depression. By denying hearing aids you are denying the right of people to become active members of the community and enjoying a good quality of life.. Hearing Aids have been available on the NHS when needed since 1948 and should remain a routine provision. The average cost of a hearing from a private provider is £3000 for a pair of hearing aids this is why 84% of people get their hearing aids via the NHS. The health problems caused by isolation will cost the NHS far more.
    512 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Yvonne Parmenter
  • Northwich 100% clean energy by 2050
    It reflects international aspirations but tells our national and global leaders that our community is ahead of them in our desire to leave fossil fuels in the ground. It is accepted that we cannot burn 70-80% of the fossil fuels we have in known reserves, yet we continue to subsidise the fossil fuel industries. It makes no sense. Future reserves, from fracking for example, would simply add to a pool of fuel we should not and indeed cannot, use.We still burn coal for electricity generation, yet a recent EU report reveals that pollution from this costs the NHS £80 million per annum, let alone the suffering of those affected by the pollution. If our town commits to this, at a time when it is being modernised, it can show itself to be forward looking and to be developing away from its former 19th century self.
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    Created by Paul Mathias
  • Give Londoners first choice on the housing market
    People who live and work in London are being priced out of their own city. Something must be done to give London back to londoners.
    100 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Ivan Seminerio
  • Make the B2177 between Southwick and Boarhunt safe.
    The stretch of road between Southwick and Boarhunt consists of two long, sweeping corners which certain motorists seem to see as an invitation to speed excessively. It is used as a racetrack by so-called "Drifters". Tragically, 3 motorists have lost their lives on this road since December 2013. Enough is enough. It is time to make this area safe for local residents and road users alike.
    225 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Jonathan Aylett
  • Award Honours to mens and womens sports teams equally
    Awarding honours in such a clearly gender specific way does nothing to encourage young women and girls to believe that participating in sport will be considered as worthy and respected as that of male participation. Women's sport receives less funding, coverage and sponsorship than men's, by adjudging the pinnacle of Women's Rugby to be so much less worthy of Honour reinforces the status quo. Any man who believes a girl has as much right as a boy to achieve success in sports and to be recognised for that success should feel the need to sign this petition.
    928 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Paul Phillips
  • Protect the Independent Living Fund in Walsall
    If ILF funding is not ring-fenced, the money could be used to "plug holes" elsewhere in the council's budget. We believe disabled people have the right to the same chances in life as the non-disabled. We don't want to be forced into institutions - we want the support to live full lives in our own homes. This is a small request when you consider all the other things that "life" has already denied the disabled.
    139 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Christine Stringer Picture
  • Keep Open Stafford Railway Station's Ticket Office
    Virgin Trains propose a reduction in staff numbers, replacing people with increased ticket machines. Maintaining existing staff numbers will protect jobs for local people. Ticket machines can not deliver the current level of customer service such as reserving seats for frequent travellers with season tickets or identifying the lowest cost ticket for customers.
    407 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Jane Kennedy
  • Boycott 'Which?' to stop TTIP
    Possible benefits to consumers are the trump card for those supporting TTIP. Despite the organisation's good work in other areas on behalf of UK consumers, 'Which?' is currently giving key support to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The narrow possible consumer benefits of lower prices are minimal compared with the potential broad consumer damage from this so-called 'trade' agreement. The dangers of lowered standards in chemical and food health and safety, the provision for corporations to sue our government for any regulatory changes that hit their future profits, the blocking of any renationalising of public services like the NHS plus expected job losses, are ways that TTIP will profoundly affect consumers beyond a few possible price reductions. 'Which?' is allowing itself to be used to justify this bill of corporate rights. A shift in the position of consumer organisations will potentially kill this deal and 'Which?' is our UK responsibility. We call for a boycott of 'Which?' until it changes its position and ceases to support TTIP.
    475 of 500 Signatures
    Created by linda kaucher
  • Gender neutral toilets
    Why are they needed? Gender is more complex than a simple male/female binary. For trans or androgynous people the simple everyday activity of using the toilet may be stressful. If their physical appearance doesn’t fit gender norms they may be challenged when using gendered toilet facilities, which can be very distressing. Obliging someone to use a designated accessible toilet isn’t acceptable, since it is sends the message that they are not a ‘Genuine’ male or female. It is also best to leave accessible toilets available for use by people with disabilities, some of whom may have an unpredictable and urgent need to use the toilet. .
    71 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Alyson Malach
  • Stop Wasting Money in Public Sector Recruitment
    On the 22 October 2014 Jonathan Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, in a written question 211600 to the Secretary of State for Health about NHS spending on temporary workers? It was answered by Dr Daniel Poulter on 29 October 2014. Following the Francis report many trusts were required to increase their spend on temporary staffing to meet safe staffing levels. The Department expects trusts to have a strong grip on their finances, and manage their contract and agency staffing spend (including use of locums) responsibly through effective and efficient workforce planning and management and to minimise temporary staffing costs in future years. The amounts spent on agency and contract staff (including locums) in the National Health Service in each year since May 2010 are as follows: NHS Foundation Trusts 2010-11 - £854,700,000 2011-12 - £907,000,000 2012-13 - £1,101,000,000 2013-14 - £1,396,200,000 Total - £4,258,900,000 This means that over a 4 year period from 2010 to 2014 - £4,258,900,000 has been taken directly from the public purse and paid to privately run recruitment agencies for the hiring of contract staff within the NHS without any consideration for the effect this has on the end user. At a time when massive government cuts are being made to spending across the board on all public services, I think this is wholly wrong and quite frankly, obscene. When other public sector establishments such as schools and social care authorities and the exorbitant costs of hiring temporary staff in these places are also taken into account, this means that the only winners in this scenario are the privately run Recruitment Agencies. Similar comparisons can be applied to the Education Sector where schools are spending huge amounts of money on supply staff from private recruitment agencies. In response to the problem, I have developed a blueprint for change entitled ‘Share and Share Alike’ administered through a new social enterprise business called ‘Social Recruitment Solutions Limited’ that will recycle 60% of its Net Profit back into the system on a pro-rata, dividend basis and will also give a further 10% to charity. I want to make my vision a reality by garnering support from like-minded individuals who share my belief, to come together through the spirit of partnership and co-operation in order to make a real difference in the field of Public Sector Recruitment for the benefit of all UK citizens. We cannot affect the lack of council funding but what we can do is change the way recruitment is carried out through my New Social Enterprise Model. This model will save millions of pounds in the cost of temporary and permanent recruitment and at the same time ‘give back’ to the stakeholders who work within these sectors and also to charity. Using the figures provided by the government as mentioned before, £4,258,900,000, my new social enterprise business model will see the NHS get back £391,631,100 and the staff the same amount distributed on a pro-rata, dividend basis. In my area, the new Hexham General Hospital cost £54,000,000 over 3 stages. This means the money given back over the same 4 year period through using my model - 7.25 new hospitals could be built at no extra cost to the tax payer. I firmly believe that the time has come for change. We need to remember that privately run recruitment agencies have their place in the Commercial Sector but not within the Public Sector. Why should a hospital have to pay a £7,500 for offering a supply nurse a permanent contract? Multiply that by 100 (100 nurses) - £750,000. As far as education is concerned, I know that many supply teacher agencies are offering 2 for the price of one? How does that affect the professional status of a teacher? How does that make them feel? It makes them feel like a commodity to be bought and sold like a loaf of bread. These introduction fees that agencies charge for staff to be taken on full-time contracts can be up to 25% of their annual salary. It prevents schools and hospitals being able to offer permanent positions to temporary staff because they simply cannot afford to do so. This is part of the recruitment problem particularly in the NHS. My Social Enterprise model will not charge these introduction fees and as a result schools and hospitals and other public sector establishments will be free to offer permanent contracts to temporary staff if they wish to do so without being penalised by massive temp to perm fees. They will not have to think twice about offering staff contracts because it will cost them nothing. This model can be used by all NHS Foundation Trusts and all Schools and Social Care Establishments run by Local Authorities, across the whole of the UK with no geographical boundaries. It all depends on which local authority has the desire to change, the vision to make a difference and the courage to take the bull by the horns and do something about it.
    24 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Peter Moore