• Child Tax Credit Helpline - Not fit for purpose!
    We are frustrated that calls are not answered, message states busy call volumes - this is not acceptable. We are frustrated that average waiting times are 30 -45 minutes with calls costing 9p a minute this is often more than most people can afford. Advisers seem to struggle understanding the notes on screen, letters sent seem not to make it on to the system, advisers are not able to say what will be paid when or how much -this helps no one. Advisers require further training! " Recently called CTC over 4 days before able to get through when money dropped due to their error - no food for the kids or petrol to get to work -left on hold for 45 minutes- money I couldn't afford but had to choose between food and the call to get the mistake sorted out!" This service is entitled a helpline but this is far from the service experienced, which leaves many in financial hardship and without a clear answer to the initial reason for the call.
    50 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Marina Humphreys
  • Ban Incoming Premium Text Messsages
    I have recently been the victim of an Incoming Premium Rate Text Message scam. Fortunately TalkTalk, my Mobile Phone Provider eMailed me to warn me I had gone over my monthly allowance, and this is how I learned that I was being charged £4.50 for each one of these messages I had received. I had not knowingly subscribed to this. After doing some research I found that this scam is by no means an uncommon incident & is growing all the time. It even seems to have an authority (PhonePayPlus) which is supposed to monitor it. This, in itself, is ridiculous. It is clearly a way of making money under false pretences. All Premium Rate Text Messages are a rip off, but at least when making outgoing ones at least the customer is making the concious decision to throw their money away. These, however, are INCOMING. Most of all I was amazed to learn that this way of covertly taking money by deception is actually legal. This, to anyone with any sense of common decency can see this to be morally outrageous. Incoming Premium Rate Text Messages are theft, plain and simple, making use of some loophole in the law, targeting the most vulnerable. This loophole needs closing.
    141 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Jerry Gamble
  • Defend disabled people's right to independent living
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P-z10pKGdc The new Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson MP says the most important part of his job is to offer "disabled people the same opportunities to reach their goals as non-disabled people." Yet on 30 June the government will close the Independent Living Fund (ILF) which provides essential support to disabled people with the highest support needs to live in the community amongst friends and family. The closure of the ILF means that the 17,500 disabled people who are currently able to employ assistants to help with everyday tasks from getting out of bed to going to work, will instead be forced into care homes or effectively imprisoned in their own homes. Last year, a high court ruling about the decision to close the fund referred to "the inevitable and considerable adverse effect" this would have on disabled people and how "independent living might well be put seriously in peril for... most (or a substantial number of) ILF users." This is because the government will give responsibility for the fund to cash strapped local authorities which will not be able to cope as they are already suffering huge cuts of 26% to social care funding with a further £10 billion cuts in the pipeline. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has said it cannot take any further pressure and disability experts agree that the future looks bleak for disabled people. The governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland have committed to create their own versions of the ILF, and the Welsh government has said it will put money aside to help recipients for 9 months. This leaves people currently receiving the ILF in England unprotected. Sometimes it's hard to know what the right thing is. This is not one of those times. Please sign the petition now and tell Prime Minister David Cameron and his new minister Justin Tomlinson MP to keep the Independent Living Fund open, or at least ring fence the money at local authority level. Remind them that the UK is better than this.
    30,660 of 35,000 Signatures
    Created by Ellen Clifford
  • MAKE WINDMILL ROAD CROSSING SAFE
    The Windmill Road (B452) crossing with the A4 is acknowledged as one of the most poorly-managed, congested and hazardous junctions in Brentford. With up to six vehicles often stacked under the M4 flyover and many other cars waiting to turn right or left in the fast lane of the A4, it is the site of frequent collisions. Frustrated, angry drivers are putting lives at risk, not just other motorists but pedestrians, cyclists and above all the school children who cross the road every day. It must not take a fatality to get TFL and the Local Authority to do something to make this a safer junction for everyone.
    764 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Antoinette O'Hanlon
  • People of Hemel against Fox Hunting
    Our voice is not being heard by our MP and we'd like to change that!
    952 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Kelly Pedlar
  • More affordable homes not housing association right to buy
    The number of people living in social housing in this country is in decline. As waiting lists continue to grow, more and more people are being forced into private rented housing instead. This is leaving thousands of families and vulnerable households without a suitable home. There are more than 1.8 million households waiting for a social home – an increase of 81% since 1997. Two thirds of households on the waiting list have been waiting for more than a year. Nearly 41,000 households with dependent children were living in temporary accommodation at the end of December 2012. (Information from Shelter - England) A secure, affordable home is essential to all aspects of well being - economic, social, health (both physical and psychological) and especially for those who are vulnerable because of age, disabilities or other challenges. A wealthy country like the UK can benefit from building social and affordable homes and move away from focusing on home ownership for the few and profit for private landlords.
    235 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Clare Ibberson-John
  • Stop TV Censorship
    The Queen's Speech includes an 'Extremism Bill' that will “strengthen the role of Ofcom so that tough measures can be taken against channels that broadcast extremist content”. According to a leaked letter from Cabinet member and former Culture Secretary Sajid Javid these measures involve “a fundamental shift in the way UK broadcasting is regulated” and would move Ofcom from being an independent regulator “into the role of a censor”. The Government should not be allowed to dictate what we can or can't watch on TV. Please sign and share this petition to stop this unacceptable clamp down on freedom of speech.
    741 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Media Reform Coalition
  • Banking Reform
    As we suffer the daily rigors of Austerity, The City of London & The Banks are draining our Real Economy with fraud, asset stripping, the privatisation of sovereign assets. Combined with The Corporations accounting fraud & their failure to pay taxes, the UK Economy has been left heavily in debt. We should not silently put up with this illegal behavior by Criminal Banks. We need Bank Reform to be undertaken by this government in this year. Please write to your local high street banks to let them know how you feel. Also The Bank of England governor Mark Carney, The Accountants; KPMG, PWC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young(EY) The Attorney General, The Rt Hon Jeremy Wright QC Your Local Crime Commissioner And your local Chief Constable. You can send them this: http://www.realnewsuk.com/print/Banking_Reform.pdf
    116 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Vernon Moat Picture
  • Cradle to Grave
    Toxins in the soil and water supply as a consequence to profiteering companies is irresponsible. Exporting old fridges and computers is equally irresponsible. Even the plastic bag comes under review. The world's resources are limited, why needlessly pollute the world?
    504 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Lucy Oldfield
  • Welfare Cuts: Live on it before you cut it
    The human cost of welfare cuts is huge, with levels of stress, depression, physical ill health and family breakdown likely to increase as the cuts hit. Welfare cuts are about so much more than simply reducing the deficit for so many people. It's not possible for our politicians to experience fully what it is to be on a low income long-term, but we call on them to make this effort to engage with the human cost of their policies.
    161 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Mary White
  • Make Cats Deaths by Traffic Accountable for
    A cats death is not accountable for, meaning they are not important. A cat that is hit by a vehicle can be left on the road, alive, and with broken limbs, not to mention internal injuries. Why are they left to die in agony??. The driver of the vehicle just drives on. The devastation that every animal goes through is the same for cats as dogs and any other animal that is hit. We cannot always follow wild animals, who are hurt, but the outcome is just the same. Pure agony and no one to help them, because they are not important enough, to protect with a Law against Hit and Run incidents, for our poor cats and wild furries. My sisters cat Tiko lived until he was 18 but it wasnt his age that killed him, it was a hit and run driver who finished him off. Jessie another cat, ran out into the road and was thrown into the air, the driver never even got out of his car, he just sped off. She was put to sleep because of internal injuries and broken limbs. Most vets will euthanise an animal, who is so injured that there is no hope, free of charge, there is no vet worth his/her salt would not do this for the poor animal concerned.
    770 of 800 Signatures
    Created by JOAN PORTER
  • Vulnerable children deserve an education too!
    'Education Other Than At Schools' (EOTAS) provides a service which is in very high demand. In addition, there are so many more children still on the waiting list, due to the limited amount of teachers that they have at the moment. The Council is intent on cutting the tuition team further (from 12.6 to 4 full time equivalent teachers ). That’s not enough! It’s going to mean a great deal of children like me are not going to get the education they need and deserve. Under the new proposals, children with mental health issues will no longer be eligible for home tuition and the Key Stage Four Pupil Referral Unit, a provision for pupils for whom school is not suitable, will be shut down. For two and a half years I received home tuition. I was so ill that I couldn't even get out of bed and there wasn't really a question about whether or not I could get into school. I had two wonderful home tutors who not only were my teachers but became great friends. They made my lessons not only manageable but also fun and made me eager to learn. They got me through my GCSE's, helping me achieve an A, two B's and two C's, where most people including myself thought I might not pass any of my exams. I know so many kids personally that are really very ill/disabled and are in receipt of home tuition or have received it in the past. Over and over I have heard of the invaluable support, teaching and guidance that these teachers have given. I'm now far better, my condition has stabilised and I have just had my 17th birthday. I am my studying my A-levels in college, looking at universities and considering a career in politics and art. None of this would be possible without my fantastic home tutors. Without Home Tuition, I would just have been another NEET statistic (Not in education or in employment training). Most of time the kinds of children that are in need of home tuition are the ones who will need to rely on their education most in future. The team are highly skilled, highly qualified and experienced teachers. This is not just about keeping their jobs. It’s about looking out for all the vulnerable children that need an education! Once this service is gone, it's gone. There’s no getting this service or these teachers back. What if your child in the future is unable to attend school? What if for some reason you or your child develop symptoms that make going to school difficult if not impossible? Save our services! You never know when you ‘re going to need help! Thanks
    473 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Sorcha Jewell