Private collection agencies are ruthless and add more debt to those who can least afford it.

Fair business practice

My disabled Brother has been waiting for well over a year to be re homed in a suitable property. He has multiple disabilities and has to have oxygen almost all the time. He has not been out of his small flat for over a year (except for emergencies) and despite being unable to walk more than a few feet before being exhausted, he remains housed in a third floor flat which is dirty and dangerous. My brother was born with multiple health problems and was not expected to live much beyond his forties. He is now 54, and his health is increasingly worse. The whole family is worried about his safety and he has few, if any visitors. One of his regular visitors, and oldest friends from schooldays, recently died from Cancer. So he is now even more isolated. He has had to have his bed moved in to his front room as it's too difficult for him to get to the bedroom. He cannot reach the bathroom in the night so has to urinate in bottles which he keeps by his bed. He has undergone many serious operations throughout his life and suffered more than most, from being bullied during our school days right through the emotional problems that his poor health has brought with it. Our Mum has had Parkinson's for over 25 years and has recently had to go in to a nursing home. She now has related dementia but nonetheless is constantly asking after my Brother and is always worried about his well being. Despite repeated conversations with Bexley housing service and their acknowledgement that my Brother should be treated as a priority on the grounds of his ill health, he is in the system with everyone else and has had no luck in his search for a property. He doesn't want much, just a ground floor flat, with disabled access so that, perhaps with the aid of a mobility scooter, he could once again be able to get out once in a while. Please sign my petition, I have already tried contacting his M.P. but this achieved nothing. Thanks to all who sign. Kind regards, Mark Walker

Bob Bowen and his cycle shop have tirelessly campaigned for the completion of the cycle path since 1998 when they first started hiring cycles at Dawlish Warren. It is no exaggeration to say that without his efforts there would be no cycle path as is the situation in Teignmouth. It has always been the intention to move back to the Warren and do so once the cycle path was completed. We therefore started discussions to this end. When the toilets came up for tender it was a natural extension to bid for this. The council in their wisdom has decided to award another business the cycle hire premises at the closed toilets at Dawlish Warren. As Dawlish is now one of – if not 'the', most depressed coastal towns in Devon we feel that enough is enough. Many of our local businesses and traders have gone. It is not hard to see what can be done with the support of the local authority – one only has to look to Teignmouth to understand this. We feel the award of this contract to another business from outside our town is irresponsible and does not take into consideration the needs and feelings of our local community. I am puzzled as to how a local authority can take an idea and give it to someone else! We therefore urge Teignbridge and it’s officers to rethink this decision and award the tender of cycle hire at Dawlish Warren to Bob Bowen and Braking Wind Cycles.

We acknowledge that Stirling's Religion programme, as the only place in Scotland where it is possible to study religion without being a part of a Christian faculty of theology, is recognised worldwide as both innovative and highly interdisciplinary, and thus impacts on multiple sectors. Yet there has been no consultation with stakeholders. This raises serious questions about the robustness of the university’s governance structure and about academic freedom. We express deep concern that students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, both existing and new , now face uncertainty about their degree programme. We therefore urge the University to halt the current proposal, consult meaningfully with staff, students and the representative union, and to reconsider completely their precipitous move to withdraw a programme of critical teaching and research that is becoming increasingly vital in world so wracked by a misunderstanding and debasement of religious thinking. For more information, please visit: http://criticalreligion.org/events/august-2015-religion-at-stirling-under-threat/

The Camberwell Cemeteries are rich in biodiversity. Over 10 acres of rare designated Grade 1 SINC woodland are immediately under threat in Camberwell Old Cemetery. These woods are full of flora, fauna and protected species, as well as Ancient and Veteran Oaks and Hawthorns. Southwark council also want to fell a virgin native broadleaf wooded hilltop in Camberwell New Cemetery, another rare landscape for London. Over 9,000 people have signed a petition online and on paper to declare the Camberwell Cemeteries Nature Reserves. These biodiverse areas of Metropolitan Open Land on the Green Chain Walk are hugely valuable social and environmental assets - for mental and physical health and wellbeing, access to wild nature, cleaning the air, absorbing storm water, cooling the city, and providing beautiful, historical places to be in nature. Southwark's proposals will cause enormous negative impacts to nature and people. They have done no Environmental Impact Assessment, no Public Consultation, no CAVAT or I-Tree assessment, no Cost Benefit Analysis or financial, social or environmental comparison with alternatives put forward by the community. Many other vital pieces of information are either being withheld or are unavailable. These woodlands and graveyards should be valued and protected as Memorial Park Nature Reserves, and treated with the sensitivity and respect they deserve for future generations - not destroyed for a few years of inner city burial not accessible to all faiths. Help us save these woods and create natures reserves for all of London. For more information and means to object: www.savesouthwarkwoods.org.uk

The iconic copper beech in St. John's churchyard is scheduled to be felled ASAP. Recent survey work has found increasing levels of decay, and Mendip District Council health and safety have decided they would rather fell the tree to avoid liability, than manage it properly. There are several options which could be considered, including further crown reductions, excluding access to prevent soil compaction, and applying mulches to improve root growth. Hollow trees are very common. As trees become older, hollows or cavities can form due to a variety of factors - often through the work of fungi. This is a natural part of the life of a tree. Hollow trees can continue to live for a long time despite having large central cavities, and this does not usually cause them to become dangerous. This report from the Woodland Trust has lots of useful information about hollow trees. http://goo.gl/FTSF4E The report states: "Hollowing trees are also not necessarily structurally unsound, indeed the great storm of 1987 showed hollow trees may be as strong, if not stronger, than younger solid trees because they are more flexible." Hollow trees provide a fantastic and declining habitat for wildlife species including bats, birds and invertebrates. These important ecosystems are becoming more and more rare, partly because of the over-cautious felling of trees as they reach this life stage and begin to show evidence of decay. This iconic tree is a landmark feature of Frome. Though surveys have found the decay in the trunk is significant, the tree appears outwardly healthy and is in a sheltered location. Felling the tree now would be over-cautious, and would be a tragedy for Frome.

The Infant Feeding Team (IFT) Support breastfeeding families through support groups or one to one appointments in hospital and community settings. Breastfeeding facilitators are highly skilled staff and they also give guidance to formula feeding mothers who need help and give advice on infant weaning. The breastfeeding facilitators are being drastically cut in number and we are wanting to save their posts in order for families to receive crucial support. The IFT help parents to: Recognise if their baby is getting enough milk. Ensure feeding is a comfortable experience for mum and baby. Identify where more help is needed. They also address medical issues such as tongue tie to help babies to feed. Increase the social capital of mothers through facilitating group and peer support networks. Since IFT (or Mum2Mum as they were previously known) was founded, breastfeeding rates in the City have risen exponentially but we are still significantly less than the national average and more support is needed to encourage breastfeeding. So budget cuts to the service seem to be particularly inappropriate. A UNICEF study found that in addition to saving the NHS £40m a year, increasing breastfeeding rates could reduce the risk of a host of childhood diseases including gastroenteritis, bronchiolitis, ear infections as well as reducing the risk of breast cancer for the mother. Stoke On Trent Council has confirmed the benefits of breastfeeding in their own report dated June 2015, stating "Evidence shows that babies are five times more likely to be admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis and more likely to be overweight or obese in later life if not breastfed." Breastfeeding also helps to tackle infant poverty and goes some way to address health and social inequalities. With present government cuts to families support in reducing family expenditure through breastfeeding is needed. Without IFT new and existing mums will struggle and are likely to cease breastfeeding their babies which will create an increase in health and socio-economic issues for babies, mothers, families, the council and the NHS. Please Sign and share to help us Save Our Infant Feeding Team #SaveOurIFT

Please protect protect the UK public's long term investment in both great serving British institutions and sustain the collaborative, innovative partnership into the future. The Met Office is a trusted and respected world-wide leader in forecasting accuracy. The BBC is making a huge mistake in ending the current contract. It has provided the data used for BBC forecasts since the corporation's first radio weather bulletin on 14 November 1922. The BBC said it had to use licence payers/tax payers money efficiently, so had to use the 'market'. But do we want to continue with the experts in the field, albeit at a higher cost, or do we want to cut corners and give the contract to a foreign company just because they can come in with a cheaper tender? This decision is being made for short term gain rather than long term public infrastructure benefit.

In this time of austerity, getting a job is tough enough as it is. For a chain like Las Iguanas, forcing their staff to pay to work - and profiting from it - is grossly unfair and entirely unnecessary. We have to stop it. I've eaten at Las Iguanas in Brighton countless times and it's disgusted me to know that money I left to the waiters and waitresses has been taken by the company. Simply put, this ridiculous policy is forcing staff to Pay to Work at Las Iguanas. If enough of us stand up to these disgusting practices, boycott Las Iguanas - and tell our friends to do likewise - they will have to change their ways. We will be handing this petition to Las Iguanas executives along with stories from their staff, so please sign this vital petition today. This is the way it works: Las Iguanas require staff to pay back 3% of their total sales for the night (5.5% in London) - in cash - to the management at the end of each shift. The money is meant to be paid by waiters from their pot of tips but, because it bears no relation to how much a waiter actually takes in tips, it can wipe out his or her entire income from gratuities in a busy night. Here's what one ex-staff member tweeted about the policy yesterday: https://s.bsd.net/38degrees/main/page/-/CBY/iguanas-tweet.jpg If a waiter processes an entirely normal £1,000 in a night then they will be required to pay the managers £30; staff have suggested this occurs even if they received no tips at all. One employee has said: “Over five shifts in a week is a substantial loss of my tips. Sometimes it works out as if I am paying to work, as for a five-hour shift I am paid £32.50 before tax.” The company claim this policy is to fund staff development and reward schemes for all staff, though Las Iguanas can take £34,000 a week from their staff using this little earner. Source: The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/23/restaurant-tipping-policy-forces-waiters-to-pay-to-work, [accessed 24.08.15]

In 2011 the management of National Museums Scotland broke an existing ACAS agreement and arbitrarily and unilaterally imposed a two-tier wage structure upon its lowest-paid workers (principally Cleaners, Visitor Services Assistants, Housemen, Security) without consultation or negotiation with the recognised Trade Unions. Staff employed since 1st January 2011 are on reduced terms and conditions without a weekend working allowance which is paid to compensate for having to work anti-social hours. Many of this lowest paid group only get one full weekend off once every seven weeks, which has a detrimental impact on family and social life. The consequence is that low-paid workers on the same shifts, doing the same work, are being paid up to £3,000 less than their colleagues. These workers make the National Museums Scotland the top rate attraction it is, and it is only fair that they get paid properly for their hard work. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation states that those earning under £17,100 a year are being paid a Poverty Wage, and many of our members earn well below that. Senior Scottish Politicians, in opposition against Westminster, have recently been calling for recognition of weekend working payments for those who give up valuable family and social time. These payments make up a large part of low-paid workers’ take home pay. PCS totally agree with safeguarding weekend working rights, and believe that if it is good enough for other workers, then National Museums Scotland staff deserve this too. Both Museum management and the Scottish Government need to embrace the principle of recompensing weekend work and accept PCS proposals to settle this long- running dispute. We do not believe that low-paid culture workers deserve to suffer at the hands of austerity, especially when heritage and culture contribute so much to the Scottish economy. The Museum’s own figures show that it contributes £65million to the economy. PCS Members at the National Museums of Scotland have been taking part in discontinuous strike action for over 2 years. Despite repeated requests to come to a negotiated settlement with management, this has not happened.

Stroud's current 'temporary' bus station does not have the facilities a bus station should. Proper shelter, waiting room and cafe are examples. A potentially viable alternative site is London Road car park. Bus stops will remain at the current site, while the new site will become the station proper. If this possibility is to be further explored, support is needed from Stroud residents. This petition gives you the opportunity to lend your support to a cause which could benefit Stroud.