Lancashire County Council are proposing to cut break time services that will affect children with special educational needs! Lancashire Break Time Services are short breaks given to a guardian or parent, whilst their child or young person takes part in a fun activity! There are many children/younger adults who attend the essential Break Time funded services after school and in the school holidays. These activities are safe, and allow children to participate in invaluable social interactions and play activities in a safe and supported environment. Without this they would be isolated and it would have a significant negative impact on their ongoing personal and social development. This would also have a major impact on the wider responsibilities of many parents, many of whom work full time. One mum in the Lancaster Guardian said, “My son has been to the clubs since he was four years-old... It’s already a struggle to get appropriate care and funding for SEN children, why are they targeting cuts at the most vulnerable?” Lancashire county council want to know what the public think right now, if hundreds of us sign the petition we can show them how important these services are to parents across Lancashire. Please sign my petition to help protect the essential funding that these people so desperately need!

My Granddaughter has nut and sesame allergies and carries an epi pen at all times. She has a choice of whether to go into a restaurant or eat from takeaway food outlets and can use her own judgement about her choices. However, it mandatory to attend school, but schools can be deadly places for children with serious allergies.

It will impact on peoples jobs, incomes and sets communities against one another

Young people and Adults with special educational needs and a lifelong disability cannot self-advocate, nor can we rely upon the system to protect them. Advocates and social workers come & go, we need to address the shortage of social workers in the SEND system. These genuinely disabled and terminally ill people are not  work shy, they are being told that despite evidence to the contrary they must work, or that they don't qualify. They cannot defend themselves and quite frankly, our government should be doing its level best to protect them, instead poorly qualified assessors employed by US companies, who are profit driven are in charge of assessment. Assuming everyone is a criminal & treating genuinely disabled & terminally ill people like this is unacceptable! Terminally ill people need to be fast tracked as soon as they are diagnosed!

There have been fatal collisions between pedestrians and vehicles on this particular stretch of road in the past. Just this month (April 2019) a car came off the A38 onto the pedestrian walkway. There are frequent car accidents along this stretch of road as evidence by the additional collision on 17.04.2019. It is a regularly used footpath for both pedestrians, cyclists and school children. The footpath is extremely narrow in places. There are particular areas of the footpath which are extremely close to fast moving traffic (70mph) with no protective barrier should cars diverge off the road or bicycles slip into oncoming traffic. The slip road from Lee Mill onto the A38 in the Exeter direction is of particular concern as if traffic is unable to filter onto the often heavily congested A38 there is a risk they will drive onto the pedestrian footpath as there is no protective barrier in situ. The footpath is pitch black at night time making it unsafe for pedestrian walking. This stretch of road has a bus stop which requires passengers to disembark along it.

This is the 200th anniversary of the canal, which is to be celebrated this year. The bridge needs to be repaired for this, but steps need to be taken to prevent this damage happening again.

Music bring so many benefits to so many people and the ability to learn an instrument at school is critical in protecting our cultural heritage. Music should not just be for those that can afford it. Get It Right For Every Child

Better Births, the report of the National Maternity Review, set out a vision for maternity services in England which are safe and personalised. It puts the needs of the women, their babies and their families at the heart of care, with staff who are supported to deliver high quality care which is continuously improving. At the heart of this vision is the idea that women should have continuity of the person looking after them before, during and after the birth, as evidence shows that this leads to safer outcomes for mothers and babies (cf references below). This Continuity of Care and relationship between care giver and receiver has also been proven to offer a more positive and personal experience and was the single most commonly requested change to the maternity services by women during the National Maternity Review. Research such as the Lancet series* has demonstrated that with Continuity of Carer models, women are less likely to experience preterm birth, and fewer babies die before birth (miscarry or are stillborn). Over time, Continuity of Carer models show a cost saving to the NHS as fewer women and babies need to be treated for physical and mental injuries caused by more traditional care models. Better Births found that some women were receiving this Continuity of Carer model, and recommended that NHS England should roll out this model to a minimum of 20% of women by March 2019, and the majority of women by 2021**. Despite this strong evidence, most CCGs have not commissioned the pioneering midwifery practices offering this model of care, preferring to stick with the less safe status quo. Where Continuity of Carer has been commissioned, commissioners have not ensured that the structure around the commission is robust to support the service’s sustainability, and uncompetitive opposition to these pathfinder services by existing Trust services is common. This petition stands in solidarity with Neighbourhood Midwives, the pioneering midwifery practice which was forced to close, and the over 300 women who are suddenly without their known and trusted midwife and are having to transfer their care to an already pressured service. How can we promise Continuity of Carer to women across the country, before, during and after birth, (which delivers the outcomes the NHS declares it wants to see), when we shut the door to a service such as Neighbourhood Midwives which has shown exemplary outcomes for both mother and baby, and the similar service offered by One to One Midwifery faces a constant barrage of opposition from within the NHS? This is not acceptable. We want real change. And so we sign this petition. References: *The Lancet Series: https://www.thelancet.com/series/midwifery **Better Births’ Continuity of Carer information: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/women-to-have-dedicated-midwives-throughout-pregnancy-and-birth

Yes Clackmannanshire and other local groups have been campaigning to highlight the injustices of UC and the increase in poverty created by this policy. To date our local MP will not meet with his constituents, we want to be able to have an open and public dialogue with him about why he should be challenging this Policy and sticking up for his constituents needs in London. We have been excluded from meetings, had no response to our emails and been dismissed by him in the local press. We need to make our case more robust and seek the support of the general public to pressurise him into coming out the shadows and facing the people of Clackmannanshire in a neutral public forum. IE A local public meeting with a neutral Chair.

The promised new park offers an exceptional and unique opportunity to provide something new and different for younger people in our community. At present, there are facilities for many groups in the surrounding area including a variety of playparks for the very young and walking, running and cycling options for people and dogs in both parks and at the beach. People in their teenage years and young adults have fewer outdoor options than most groups but are just as deserving of facilities to meet their needs. We need to stop and consider what is most important for our growing population, to respond to their needs and to ensure that Council-made promises are kept to demonstrate good faith and to make social inclusion a reality.

By 2050 our oceans will contain more plastic than fish. We can create a change and our daily actions are a vital part of reducing this devastating plastic pollution. However, for many of us students, this is a continual battle. Due to a lack of facilities on campus we are sometimes faced with no alternatives but to use single-use plastics. We believe that businesses, charities and large organisations have a larger impact than one individual. These organisations should be taking this responsibility on board too and prioritising it. We want our SU to listen to this strong student voice, deliver the change we want and phase out all single use plastic by 2020.

SAVE OUR LOCAL X-RAY UNIT: PLEASE SIGN BELOW The RSCH Trust that manages community services had decided to close the X-Ray unit at Milford Hospital at the end of March. Patients were to be referred to a new unit at Cranleigh instead. There was no consultation with any interested parties. Following a vigorous protest by the League of Friends, those proposals have been put on hold pending wider discussions. The LoF wants full public consultation and is recommending that the Milford unit not only stays but is open longer hours (currently 3hrs/day) and that the Cranleigh unit should be in addition to, not at the expense of, the much valued unit at Milford. Over 5000 patients a year ( both in and out patients) use the X-Ray unit at Milford (at the current 3 hours a day opening hours), giving an indication of the great need for this X-Ray unit to remain open.