We want to safeguard our public spaces and local wildlife for all generations and encourage biodiversity in our environment by eliminating the use of pesticides in the Wychavon District. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that over 350,000 people die every year from acute pesticide poisoning. Moreover, this figure does not include deaths from cancer or other chronic diseases caused by pesticide exposure. Glyphosphate has been identified and declared by the WHO to 'probably' cause cancer, but it has also been linked to infertility problems, respiratory issues and birth defects. Whilst Glyphosphate has more publicly been subject to scrutiny, in the most recent UK-wide survey, there were a reported 38 different types of pesticide used in the towns and cities of the UK. Pesticides can also easily contaminate the air, ground and water having a devastating effect on our local wildlife (insects, birds, animals and aquatic life) and the environment. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are also suffering severe population losses too. There is a wealth of information and research available from other controlled studies to show that it is possible to control unwanted weeds and pests with pesticide-free methods. One of these adopted by other UK councils is the use of Hot Foam. This has been put into place by Lewes District Council, Wadebridge town, Glastonbury council and Hammersmith and Fulham. So, why not Wychavon, too? We want our children, families, pets and visitors to our local parks and public places to be able to live, work and play in these areas safely without the risk of exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. More information can be found on the Pesticide Actions Network UK website: http://www.pan-uk.org

From 15 May 2019 a pensioner whose partner has not reached State Pension age yet will no longer be able to claim Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. This could affect many ‘mixed age couples’ in Hastings and Rye, which has a higher than average older population and, as we know, is also one of the most deprived places in England. Some mixed age couples could lose up to £7000 a year which would push many below the poverty line. We are asking our local MP, and Work and Pensions Secretary, Amber Rudd, to stand up for pensioners in her constituency and protect them from the Age Gap Tax

Stoborough Nursery has served the community of Stoborough and the surrounding areas for over 30 years. However, recently there has been tension between the Nursery and School regarding the rent of the land and buildings. We understand the need to increase the Nursery’s rent, but the proposed amount of £1750 a term (a 400% increase), coming into effect this September, is not reasonable or fair. This sum does not accurately reflect the Nursery’s use of the building and land, or take into account the financial investment the Nursery has made in improving and maintaining the Nursery building and garden over the last 30 years. The Nursery is a not-for-profit charity and paying this unreasonable sum would not be sustainable. The Nursery would have no option other than to shut its doors to the numerous families currently using its services, unfairly disrupting these children’s education.

Hackney Council is trying to force Margaret into a hostel that is not fit for the needs of her family. Margaret's daughter and mother are both disabled and require 24/7 care, but this move will mean Margaret cannot care for them because of practical issues like rooms being far apart in the hostel. She would find it impossible to give them both the constant care they need. Margaret is in extreme distress. The shared kitchen in the hostel would also be dangerous given Margaret's daughters severe allergies. Margaret has been living in temporary accommodation in Homerton, for more than 3 years. The block of flats is due to be demolished and the council wants it cleared by the end of the month. The move would be extremely distressing for Margaret and her family. Hackney Council must promise not to force Margaret out of Marian Court until they can offer her permanent accommodation that meets her family's needs.

Noise from motorcycles and sports cars have increased in London over the last decade. Leaving your window open on a sunny night is no longer an option for people who don't want to be woken up by someone who has intentionally made their motorbike/car noisier than it needs to be. Motorcyclists with loud exhausts wear especially designed ear plugs to protect their hearing from their own exhaust pipes. But pedestrians, cyclists, children and old people simply have to put up with with it. You may know the feeling, as you walk along the street, suddenly the loud bang of a motorbike or sports-car revs up right behind you from nowhere. That feeling is the stress hormone cortisol being released into your blood stream. Research from universities including Oxford and Imperial College has found that that unnecessary stress from traffic noise has become one of the country's most significant urban health threats, increasing the prevalence of heart disease, stroke and even diabetes. This is all the more frustrating because the motorbikes and cars that are making the most noise were built to regulation with mufflers, and then illegally modified to make them as noisy as possible. This is not just an avoidable problem, it's a problem that has been deliberately created just because a few people like it at the expense of everybody else's mental and physical health.

Tonight there has been a bad car crash on this awful junction. The lack of lights on this junction leads to daily near misses on an incredibly busy cross roads and it is only time before somebody is killed. It is essential pressure is put on the City Council to install these lights and also to ensure that they are not able to claim that they were unaware of the problems on this junction. If they fail to deal with the issues on this junction they need to be aware that local voters will hold them responsible for their failure to keep local people safe.

People who have fallen into debt with council tax payments are usually the poorest and most vulnerable in our population. Sometimes these debts are accrued because of the highly confusing benefits system that links housing tax benefit to other benefit payments. These people are not criminals in any 'normal' use of the term. Prison is a costly form of punishment that is out of all proportion to the offence, and England is the only UK country that still uses such custodial sentences. Time it was ended!

On Friday 12th April the Herald newspaper published an article about the proposed rent increase faced by Stills and the impact this will have on the delivery of our programmes of work. We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support following publication of the article. Thank you! Our lease negotiations are still ongoing and so we have set up this petition to harness your support as we think this will help during the next stages of our talks with the Council. Stills is a registered charity and one of the longest established photography venues in the UK. It is the only dedicated public venue for photography in Edinburgh. For over forty years, Stills has been a venue where all can enjoy, experience and learn about photography. This year we face an almost trebling of our rent, from £16,000 a year to £47,000, which poses a huge threat to our future. If we are unable to renegotiate this lease, staying on Cockburn Street and continuing to deliver our current programme of work will be unsustainable. Our city centre location is crucial to making our work as accessible as possible – people travel from all over Scotland and further afield to access what we do, whether that's our exhibitions programme (which is always free), public-access photography production facilities, creative learning work or artist-led photography courses. Our work is unique and vital to Scotland’s cultural ecology. Stills makes a vital contribution to what makes Edinburgh and Scotland such a great place to live, work and visit.

The A596 is a main artery through North Cumbria. For 5 months the Heathfield Railway Bridge has had a single lane light controlled traffic flow resulting with inconvenient delays. With the news report of at least another 2 months of disruption it's time to sign this petition as so that the appropriate departments take action to eleviate this unnecessary inconvenience to residents.

This fine building is the last Educational Building within the Old Meadows,. After loosing Trent Bridge School the Community needs places for people, community/education spaces for all ages and not just more homes. This could become a wonderful Cultural Centre, with Community Kitchen, Cafe, or be returned to Educational use for the local secondary schools who are now desperately in need of more space.

A number of cities, counties, states and countries throughout the world have taken steps to either restrict or ban glyphosate the active ingredient in weed killer (such as Roundup). Glyphosate has been designated as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO). It has also been linked to the decline in populations of the honey bee and other insects. Some of us remember when driving our windscreen would be covered with insects. It is now well documented that we are facing an enormous loss of insect life in the UK, some estimate an 80% loss in the last 30 years. This is due to pollution, loss of habitat, global warming and particularly to the over-use of pesticides/insecticides. The glyphosate used in weed killer has been linked to a decline in insect populations including our pollinators. We understand that on average four times yearly, Reading Borough Council sprays glyphosate weed killer around our park benches and at the base of many of our parkland trees and trees around our town. We, the undersigned would like Reading Borough Council to cease the use of Glyphosate products and allow weeds to grow around the base of trees as have they have for millennia as part of natural biodiversity and to use the money saved by doing this to use alternative methods for cutting back grasses close to park benches.

This affects us all – if a child with additional needs or disabilities is unsupported in a classroom, it can put unreasonable demands on teachers' time, compromising the learning of all children. The numbers of children in Waltham Forest being REFUSED an assessment for an Education, Care and Health Plan (EHCP), which would provide them with ESSENTIAL EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT, has increased 3800%* in the period between 2015 and 2017. Waltham Forest reject more applications for Education Health and Care Plans than any other borough in London (except Southwark). This means hundreds of our children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are being left to struggle alone at school, often with DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES for the child and their whole family. We believe this practice is being carried out covertly to save the borough money in a time of austerity. Even those children "lucky" enough to get an EHCP, less than half (47%) got that delivered in the time period required by law. This delay means our children are being left for extended periods without the support that is vital for them to thrive and succeed in school. This can often lead to school refusal, suspensions and have a detrimental impact on both the child’s education and their mental health. In a time of austerity and education budget cuts, children with additional needs are often the ones who suffer the most. Taking away support that allows them to access an education is denying them their basic legal and human rights. Families of children with additional educational needs and disabilities in Waltham Forest are also routinely ignored by services, such as officials at the Disability Enablement Service. We often find it excessively difficult to get appointments with professionals, such as speech therapists, occupational therapists and paediatricians. Local community child mental health services are still telling parents to come back when their child is self harming or suicidal. Our families are still experiencing practices that were exposed by BBC Panorama last year. Families are made even more fearful for their children’s future by the fact Waltham Forest has a forecasted shortfall of £3.8 million by 31 March 2020 in their high needs education pot. The Education Health and Care Plan processes in Waltham Forest are unclear and inconsistent. They include practices we believe are unlawful under the Children and Families Act 2014. This includes refusing to assess children when there is an indication of need, refusing to name schools on some EHCPs, and the still common belief that schools have to spend £6000 before they can apply for a Plan. It feels like Waltham Forest Council has gone to war with SEND families, making our children a scapegoat for tightening budgets. In Richmond-Upon-Thames, local councillors have launched a campaign to fight back against the cuts. They are working WITH parents, and indeed the whole community, to fight austerity. They have launched petitions, letter writing campaigns and pulled together a coalition of local MPs to raise questions in Parliament. Waltham Forest have remained silent. Our Council's solution to the cuts is to refuse to grant support to our most vulnerable children. Many of us are being forced through distressing court battles with the Council. Although between 80-95% of parents win these cases, it comes with huge emotional fallout for our families, and unnecessary cost to the taxpayer. Many more will not be able to face the stress of going to court, or simply do not have the resources to do so. These children are the ones who are lost to the system completely. Tell Waltham Forest Council to stop fighting us. Call on them to: 1. Hold a scrutiny committee on the policies regarding Education Health and Care Plans to ensure they are fair, equitable and lawful. 2. Significantly improve the numbers of Education Health and Care Plans which are issued within the 20 week deadline 3. Stop refusing vital support for children with a clear need and improve access to vital services 4. Launch a SEND Funding Crisis campaign, which will help the Council access the funds that are so desperately needed to support our children The SEND crisis effects everyone. If your child is in a classroom with an unsupported SEND child, their education is also compromised because the teacher's time is stretched too thinly. Even if you aren't a parent, but a taxpayer, your money is being wasted in costly and unnecessary court cases that the Council mostly loses. It doesn't have to be like this. Instead of blocking vital support and fighting with parents, Waltham Forest Council could join with us to highlight the catastrophic impacts of education cuts and find ways to tackle special educational needs budget deficits. They could emulate councillors in other boroughs who are showing what is possible. We must work together to ensure that the most vulnerable children in Waltham Forest get access to the support they need. * Figures are based on stats from the Department of Education between 2015 - 2017. At time of writing 2018 figures had not been released