The young people are bored, there is absolutely nothing for them to do for fun. We need to show them all the things that they can do, they don’t know what talents they have or what they love because they haven’t gotten the chance to. Some people have never left this town or maybe can’t afford to so they have never experienced fun and activities outside of school or college. They need to be stimulated, educated and taken care of by this town and it’s doing a terrible job of it.

Elderly self funders in care homes, especially those with dementia, often lack mental capacity. They are highly vulnerable, and unable to discern good or safe care from bad, unsafe or abusive care. They are therefore NOT customers, which is how they're currently treated. They can't choose their care, and family advocates, especially in this pandemic, are too often unaware, or excluded, unable to support or protect their loved ones. If the Quality Assurance team is solely for social services funded people, its name should reflect its purpose, which is revenue protection.

The words of the Met Police Commissioner in calling for more police powers over demonstrations are chillingly frank about the target of such proposed legislation. Protest is fundamental to democracy in that it allows citizens to gather together to air issues, generate support for them and publicise the strength of feeling about those issues to policy-makers, who cannot, or will not, facilitate proper debate about these issues amongst the citizenry itself and not just within a parliament dragooned into following party leadership instructions. Protest is inevitably ‘inconvenient’ but it is often only when our lives are disrupted that we sit up and take notice of what is happening to us and around us. We know from experience how restrictions designed, purportedly, to cover a very specific ‘concern’ have an uncanny habit of being rolled over into all sorts of circumstances. “Ever since the first large-scale Extinction Rebellion protest in April last year I have been talking publicly and with the government about the potential for change to powers and to legislation that would enable the police to deal better with protests in general given that the act that we work to – the Public Order Act – is now very old, [dating to] 1986 But specifically to deal with protests where people are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly but, as in this instance, had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt and were prepared to use the methods we all know they did to do that.” Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick

Make it easier to buy food with less impact on the environment.

Young single parent families are up to £66.13 worse off per month under Universal Credit compared with the legacy system - a drop of 20%. This is because rules have been changed so that single parents under 25s no longer receive the same rate as over 25s. People under 25 are entitled to a lower allowance of benefits than people aged 25 and over, but before Universal Credit was introduced there was an exemption for single parents in recognition of the cost of caring for a child alone. Now, that exemption has been removed. For parents receiving benefits this means a drop in their family budget when they move to Universal Credit – often through no choice of their own, and with little or no warning. Children in single parent families (92% of which are headed by women) are already twice as likely to be living in poverty than other children. We all want all children to have the best start in life – but this isn’t possible when there is inequality built into the safety net which is meant to be there to keep families afloat when times are hard. Denying young single parents the same level of social security penalises children on the basis of their parent’s age and pushes young families into poverty. We, and many parents we work with, think this is unfair, unjustified, and needs to be reversed as a matter of urgency. Find out more about the campaign and why it's important to young single parents and their children here: https://opfs.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/campaigns/end-the-young-parent-penalty/

Traditionally SE Cornwall and Plymouth have lower affluence and salaries than contemporary areas yet logistics operators small business owners and private commuters have to pay to travel to economic, education, employment and health services due to bridge toll. This is a section of trunk highway A38 from Bodmin to Mansfield and the operational costs of the bridge SHOULD be born from National transport taxation not local tolls

The Local Government Boundary Commission is proposing changes to the ward boundaries across Lambeth borough. The Commission recommends the creation of a much smaller ward for our area, creating a “Streatham Common Ward”, which will include the Streatham Lodge Community area. This will then become the smallest ward in the borough of Lambeth. Importantly this would result in losing our current 3 councillor status and moving to representation by just one councillor, we would be the only ward in the entire borough to have just one councillor representation. For many years the three councillor system has proved very effective and a great deal has been achieved. We believe that this proposal is unacceptable for a variety of reasons and not least that a single councillor would be stretched beyond their limits. A single councillor will present many practical difficulties without the cover of a second councillor. The problem is particularly acute in addressing the many problems associated with the use of the Common, which, at times, need urgent and immediate attention. Further, many councillors also serve roles in the council (such as a Council’s cabinet member) in addition to their normal councillor duties. It will be almost impossible for a single councillor to take up such multiple roles. This will significantly reduce our representation at the council’s executive level. It would also sever ties we have currently with the wider ward. Streatham Lodge is a residential area. However, our children go to schools outside our area; we shop, use leisure facilities and workship in places in adjoining areas. By isolating us in a small ward, our single councillor will have little or no influence on decisions made for these establishment outside of our ward, in the adjoining areas. We need to be part of a bigger ward to have an effective voice and are able to play a part in decisions and matters that are important to our daily life and to the future of the area’s character. Severing the ties with our traditional “neighbours”. For many decades, we have been part of the Streatham South culture sharing many commonalities with our neighbours in the adjoining areas. By confining us into a small ward away from the Streatham South culture, it will sever our cultural link with our traditional neighbours and the ability to jointly develop this attractive culture further. It is therefore important that you sign this petition, so together we can ask the Commission to understand the importance of the issues outined above and to incorporate Streatham Lodge Community into a bigger ward in Streatham South. https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/have-your-say/21383

Huge and illegal volumes of sewage continue to blight Whitburn. 760,000 tonnes of untreated sewage were discharged into the sea at Whitburn in 2019. Sewage pollution is a contributor to climate change. 10th January 2026 Update. Since I started this petition I have continued to ask relevant bodies for data for Sewage Pollution at Whitburn. My requests for data have been previously refused on grounds that I believed were unlawful. In 2024 I had to resort to taking the Information Commissioner's Office and Northumbrian Water Limited to the High Court to force Northumbrian Water to release data regarding sewage spills at Whitburn. The court found in my favour and the Information Commissioner's Office were obliged to change their stance. See here. Northumbrian Water were required to release the data I requested and I could see why they had tried to hide it. In 2023 the total of untreated sewage discharged via Whitburn Long Sea Outfall into the environment amounted to 1,006,680 tonnes. That's over 1 million tonnes of sewage. In 2024 the total of untreated sewage discharged via Whitburn Long Sea Outfall into the environment amounted to 944,673 tonnes. Almost 1 million tonnes of sewage. The situation has got worse. Background Our sea life at Whitburn is being destroyed by Sewage; the rock pools at Whitburn beach once teemed with wildlife but are now barren. The dolphins that are sighted daily swimming near the sewage overflow are forced to make their way through a soup of sewage when discharges are taking place.   The seagrass meadows in the nearby River Tyne estuary have been devastated by sewage flowing from nearby Combined Sewer Overflows. https://bit.ly/3bHG7db   Seagrasses can absorb more carbon up to 40 faster than terrestrial forests and these ecosystems become sources of CO2 emissions when they are degraded or destroyed. A major driver of seagrass decline is nutrient pollution from sewage.  Discharge levels of wastewater (sewage) into the North Sea at Whitburn, South Tyneside, are controlled by an environmental permit (245/1207) which was authorised by the Secretary of State after a public inquiry into the local sewage system was held in October 2001. It is a bespoke permit with strict conditions aimed at limiting the levels of sewage discharges. Despite these conditions, the sewage system at Whitburn (in a landmark ruling) was found by a court (ECJ) in 2012 to be not in compliance with the Urban Waste Water Directive. Too much sewage continues to be discharged into the environment at Whitburn without the required treatment.  In 2015 a new sewer was built which directs new flows to the Whitburn system and no application was made to vary the permit to allow for these new flows. These new flows contravene the conditions of the permit 245/1207. Huge volumes of sewage are discharged during light to moderate rainfall - normal seasonal and climatic conditions.  The system remains in breach of environmental law as the discharges are only allowed in 'exceptional circumstances'.  The application to vary permit 245/1207 will retrospectively permit new flows to enter the system.  Extra flows to the sewage system increase the volumes of sewage discharged through the Long Sea Outfall at Whitburn and so increases sewage pollution in our coastal waters.  This sewage pollution harms the environment and risks the health of recreational users of the sea at the popular resorts along the North East coast. The application by Northumbrian Water Limited to vary the permit has been required by the Environment Agency to be made (5 years after the new sewer was constructed) only after a complaint was made.  The application is being considered presently without any public consultation.  Public consultation lets people and organisations take part in the Environment Agency's decision making. (Image is courtesy of John Short)

Economy and the prevention of waste.

This is important because too many people, friends and family are not getting the help they need when they call a crisis team, there needs to be a better infrastructure in place to guide people back from the edge and put things in place to get them the correct therapies and medications to help them recover.

To allow local children and local community to cross the road safely.

When cars and lorries are waiting at schools or level crossings with their engines on, also known as engine idling, studies show that it can have an adverse affect on children's health. That's why Stowmarket Eco Future Group decided to come together to ask Suffolk Country Council to take action on air pollution caused by engine idling. Every bit of carbon emission that can be saved is not only vitally important for the planet, but also for the health of our children and young people who breathe in these damaging fumes. That is why we are asking Suffolk County Council to pass a Bylaw which prohibits engine idling outside schools. With over 260 schools and colleges in Suffolk, this would make a significant difference to the health of people and the planet.