Following the Government advice, all masjids and other faith-building and community centres are closed due to COVID-19 to help stop the spread of the contagion in the community and society at large; to support social distancing for medical reasons; and to make all necessary efforts to safeguard people; flatten the curve and to fight this virus. Most local community masjids and other faith institutions rely on voluntary donations from the regular congregation and attendees to survive and carry on – obviously, that is not possible in the current circumstances. These places help the community regardless of circumstances and challenges but also provide a place of comfort, solace supporting the well-being and welfare of its attendees and others. Under the COVID-19 challenge, these very places of worship are under increasing pressure to support the vulnerable in their locality and beyond. The rent-relief, only for the duration of this pandemic - a national emergency - will help the places of worship, faith and community centres. We urge the Council and decision-makers to support these local places in Tower Hamlets - and ask other local authorities across the country to follow this course of action urgently. We must bring everyone together and do whatever is necessary to support the community, support the vulnerable and fight the COVID-19 virus. Thank you for your time and support.

Poor families and those losing jobs and sliding into debt need to eat! The government can provide a safety net for them from their reserves being called upon for this emergency.

* 2.73 million people are completely offline due to low income * 14.2 million people are limited users because they cannot afford access on a regular basis (source: Digital Nation 2019 - Good Things Foundation) We are hearing stories of the implications for low income families not being able to get online. Stories include people struggling with access to welfare claims and registrations, school learning and being able to connect with family, friends and relatives. See: www.operationwifi.co.uk

Hundreds of British citizens are stranded in Peru. Other countries have organized repatriation flights to bring them home. One flight so far has been sent to Lima to bring a group of people back to the UK. There are still very large numbers of people left in the lurch who have had little or no information from the Foreign Office about what is being done. Many tourists have been cramped into rooms in hostels in desperately difficult conditions and some are running out of vital supplies Furthermore many tourists are scattered throughout the country and there is a curfew. Mr Raab needs to organise for British nationals to have special dispensation for a period of time to travel to an international airport.

The effects of the new economic breakdown are already being felt throughout the country, and students are not exempt from it. As businesses and workplaces are getting shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several students will no longer be able to pay the rents for their stay at the University. Likewise, on behalf of several of my University colleagues, I am asking you to pass a law for Universities to stop charging students living on their campuses for rent until the pandemic crisis ends. There is another petition that demands landlords off campus to stop charging for rent, so this petition is directed at Universities' on-campus accommodation policies. I firmly believe that all categories of society members need help in these difficult times, and that the United Kingdom should follow the example of other countries; particularly the one of France, where all accommodation rents are to be suspended during the crisis. As a Biomedical Science student in his final undergraduate year, I am significantly concerned about the future number of cases throughout the country, and several people will very likely require not just treatment, but also a great amount of psychological and emotional support, as people of all ages have already been exposed to the pathogen. Hence, I kindly ask you for the appropriate support so that students will not be exposed to financial hardships and suffer even more, besides their profound anxiety and uncertainty, not just about the lives of their loved ones, but about their lives as well. Moreover, I'm asking you to pressurize all UK Universities with accommodation campuses to permit students with existing health conditions to break their contracts, as there are many of them who are currently sharing flats with as many as 15 other colleagues. They need to be isolated during the crisis, so that their lives will not be put at risk.

Two years after the Windrush Scandal, the independent report commissioned into the appalling failings that took place has finally been published. But with so much going on, we can’t let the lessons go unnoticed. The Home Office can no longer ignore the true scale of the scandal and its impact on people - from being made homeless or unemployed to being denied access to the NHS or unfairly deported. The Home Office must urgently stop any racial discrimination and to learn from the lessons published, so this never happens again. This includes full implementation of all recommendations - with an action plan to do this quickly, appointing an independent group to review progress, and doing more to support survivors now. You can read the full report here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-lessons-learned-review

It is important because the whole country is in this together and the NHS and key workers are the forefront of the fight to stop the pandemic. They are also people too with families, children, elderly relatives to support. This would show support to them as well as help them at this critical time as the NHS cannot shut its doors, so please be kind.

As of the 19th of March, South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture’s casual workers have been told there’s no more work for them within leisure and culture and those on low hour contracts will have their hours drastically cut as many of them work far beyond their contracted hours. This will mean we may have to go for anywhere up to twelve weeks with no pay, meaning many of us won’t be able to pay our unavoidable bills such as rent and food. This is a disgrace. It shows that the trust shows little to no regard for their staff, who often work long shifts for the benefit of their centre. We have been told that we can work on a casual basis for the NHS and social care during this time, provided we replied to an email within a time frame that was less than a day, however we have not been informed as to whether those with underlying health conditions will be able to carry out this work or what will happen to those who miss the deadline. While we would be more than happy to help our communities in this way, we will be switching us from one precarious situation to another. We have not been told how often we will be able to work, nor whether we will have to pay for any additional travel ourselves. On top of this not all casual staff received the email notifying them of the opportunity to support our NHS.

We are students living at the University of London residence halls. Under the current pressure of COVID-19, the University of London is now considering to consolidate all remaining residents into one of the Intercollegiate Halls, so that the University can continue to provide core services. This request is against the UK Government's advice about reducing all but essential travel. It will put all resident's health at risk for the sake of continuing to provide so-called "core services." No one can guarantee every resident is healthy. Especially for COVID-19, the asymptomatic infection cases have been reported all over the world. Also, a crowded environment will accelerate the speed ​​of infection, as indicated in the case of Diamond Princess in Japan. It's every student's right to stay where he/she wishes to be in the face of this unprecedented global crisis. And the University should be here to support us rather than making new troubles. We consider the University's sudden advice about consolidating students together as irresponsibility and can't see any respect from the University towards the tenant agreements we sign with them. We urge the University of London stopping the consolidating action at once!!!

It has been an ongoing issue for some time that the MusicLicence (PRS/PPL) charging basis for charitable village halls is unfair, because it is calculated on the gross income of the charity, even though most village halls only have music occasionally (e.g. dance classes or a wedding hire). The fee basis is understandable for music venues or theatre, but not for village halls, where it represents a disproportionate amount of their total expenses . With many village halls badly affected by cancelled hirings because of the coronavirus problem, the Government should come to the aid of village halls by asking PRS/PPL to waive the fee immediately, while they sort out a fairer fee basis for the future.

In the very near future, thousands of private renters across Northern Ireland will face huge reductions in their income and be unable to pay their rent. Being evicted during the Covid-19 crisis will mean being unable to stay safe and healthy - and not spread the virus. The government has announced "mortgage holidays" for landlords and home-owners and cities in the US including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have already taken action to stop evictions. Now it's time to give renters in Northern Ireland the protections they need to keep their homes during the coronavirus crisis.

People are unable to work due to COVID-19. Pregnant women, asthmatics and the elderly are being asked to self isolate for 12 weeks. This is going to cause major debt and homelessness nationally. If landlords cant afford mortgages how are tenants supposed to be able to afford rent, which is at a higher cost than the mortgage?