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Asda fines disabled customersOnce a month, I take my blind amputee brother to Asda supermarket in Perth. During our last visit to the store, we were appalled at our treatment following the use of a disabled parking space. I discovered a fine which had been imposed on the grounds that my brother (who has lived in a care home for many years and cannot drive for obvious reasons) does not have a blue badge to display. Why should a genuinely disabled person be fined in an Asda car park for not displaying a blue badge? Blue Badge Scotland clearly state on their website: "The Blue Badge scheme is for drivers or passengers with severe mobility problems. The scheme provides a range of on-street parking concessions enabling Blue Badge holders to park closer to where they need to go. The scheme does not apply to off-street car parking, for example in privately operated car parks at supermarkets or airports." I immediately contested this fine with the store management and was shocked to discover that Asda have no power to waive these fines under any circumstances. This is because Asda allow a private company - Smart Parking - to run many of their car parks across the country. This company exploits the blue badge system under their "contract" agreement and employ their own staff to cowardly affix parking fines to windshields without care or consideration for who could be using this space. By allowing such a company to run their parking areas, Asda are complicit in this greedy money making exercise. Following my formal complaint, I had a call from an Asda corporate employee who claims to be among the highest echelons of customer service representatives. This individual showed no understanding or compassion whatsoever, responding to my issue with cold bureaucracy. This employee showed (as with any other member of Asda management that i have discussed this issue with) utter incompetence in understanding the difference between criminal law and contract law. I have been persistently shamed as having “broken the law”, which is absolutely not the case. Perhaps the most shocking revelation during this call is that Asda have confirmed they DO NOT provide their own spaces for disabled people who do not have (perhaps have forgotten or never had the need for) a blue badge. Their best suggestion was that I use the drop off point at the front door. This shows an incredible lack of understanding as they expect me to leave my blind, wheelchair bound brother unattended while I find a regular space. My brother is effectively barred from Asda as there are no suitable spaces to allow safe access to their stores. This amounts to discrimination against disabled customers, as confirmed in my correspondence with Citizens Advice Scotland. They have suggested that there is a strong argument here for the discrimination against the disabled and they have notified trading standards with regards to this issue. I am grateful to have guidance and support of local mps and msps on this matter in addition to a local newspaper that intends to run our story. PLEASE SIGN this petition to help prevent other people from suffering this discrimination, humiliation and indignity while visiting their local Asda store. N.B. Tesco have confirmed that they do not treat their disabled customers in this way and are equally shocked by the conduct of Asda.74 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Bill Cuthbert
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Stop financially penalising disabled peopleMy daughter has a life long incurable disability. She did not choose to be so disadvantaged. She was born with the condition and her fiance has the same impairment. Both have autism, are highly intelligent, and like 90% of other people on the autistic spectrum are unemployed. The DWP placed them both in the 'support' group. This is a curious name as neither actually receive any extra assistance, financially or practically. It basically means they are 'unemployable', which is not great for self esteem. Neither chose to be out of work, on benefits and to live in poverty. What stops them, like others with disabilities, getting a job is employer attitudes, an individual's health, lack of experience and job opportunities, a review by the house of lords found in 2015. They were planning to get married this year and we were all looking forward to the day. It would have been a small family occasion, but something to celebrate. Even this small piece of happiness has been smashed by the latest revelations in the Guardian. Under the Tory welfare 'reforms' - I think the word 'changes' is more appropriate - if they marry, they will be moved over onto universal credits, which are less generous than the tax credits and ESA they currently receive. So much for the Tory endorsement of strong families. They have very little money now. Married, that would be even less. The hypocrisy amazes me. Iain Duncan Smith's speech in the summer of 2015 made the point that if the government wants to reduce the employment gap for those with disabilities, then support and financial investment are vital. Instead, these cuts are driving some of the poorest households into further poverty and penalising people who are too disabled, or sick, to work.87 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Ann Moore
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Keep concessionary charges for disabled people in CambridgeshireThis is important because this will stop disabled people from accessing the library in the way they do at the moment. The decision was made with no consultation. Due to the nature of some disabilities some people cannot read books, but benefit from literature in different ways. The charges will mean people will start having to pay to use a service that is available free for people without disabilities in the form of books.6 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Timothy Sykes
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Better mental health provision in the UKI lost my husband to mental health just before Christmas. This has ripped apart and devastated our family. As a family we were failed. We were given very little support and information. Basically left to cope on our own. More needs to be done. Mental illness can be a killer like cancer and heart disease but it has a very low profile and funding. This needs to change and it needs to change NOW! More and more people are suffering. Mental health wards are full yet run on minimal staff. Patient care is lacking and community follow up is so stretched that the support just isn't there. We need to change this for now and future generations. As a nation we need to do something. Stand together and fight for more help. Everyone knows someone affected. Please sign and support me in this campaign so we can hopefully change the lives of those suffering. Its what my husband would want us to do...he wasn't happy with the care he had.578 of 600 SignaturesCreated by Cath Fletcher
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Understanding the benefits of getting disabled people into workDuring Channel 4’s leaders’ debate, a member of the audience asked what the Conservatives plan to do to get more disabled people into work. David Cameron replied that the culture of employers needs to change. I could not agree more. I am a visually impaired qualified business administrator who has also studied business studies seeking a new job in the administrative or marketing profession. I have been asked questions during interviews that would never be asked of a non-disabled candidate – such as how I use the telephone – despite evidence of my competencies and ability to do the job. According to the Labour Force Survey, disabled people remain significantly less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people. It is not enough to comply with disability discrimination legislation or to offer “guaranteed interviews” to disabled applicants. Employers fear that disabled employees will be a burden and so reject these candidates – on grounds such as lack of experience in an area of work not essential for the job – even when they perform well at interview. This is important to me as I am a disabled young individual who is desperate to find work, but to barriers which employers put I place, cannot get a job. This is very frustrating for me, as I want to give something back to the community as wellraising awareness that disabled people can work and are just as qualified as able bodied people7 of 100 SignaturesCreated by isobel calladine
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What the Frack! Regular referendums. Let the UK public vote for their future.Members of the public find it difficult to support a political party 100%. Our system is out of date, our MPs out of touch, the public go unheard. We agree with points made by the Lib Dems, the Conservatives, Labour, the Green Party, the SNP etc and sometimes we disagree with them all. Either way we can't communicate with the government effectively. The system needs to work for us all but instead it's dusty, nobody really understands it or cares to sort it out with any long term vision. We need to start again. Simplify. Direct questions, direct answers. If regular referendums were to take place, the public are truly part of the process, allowing us to demonstrate what we care about, that we're united and want to invest in the future of this land and it's people. Less moaning and more doing, having a proactive and fair say, feeling satisfied that the decisions are being made and supported by the majority of the UK. Let the UK public vote for their future. This Kingdom can then begin to feel proud and respected, and most importantly, united.27 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Tezia Perret
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Stop the ministry of defense discrimating against people with austismI feel this is important as people with autism are just as capable of serving their country as their neurotypical counterparts (even more in some cases)3 of 100 SignaturesCreated by lewis smith
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Re-opening the independent living fund for disabled peopleThis petition is important as it will widely help disabled people live their life independently and efficiently. 18,000 people with high support needs relied on the fund and said it "transformed their life". The fund has recently been closed resulting in changing peoples lives greatly in a negative way. This petition may contribute towards re-opening the independent living fund even if it is a small difference. Please take a couple of minutes out of your time to sign up for this campaign. It will be greatly appreciated :)31 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Sonia Haider
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Extra Third Trimester Scan to Prevent Premature and IUGR BirthsThis is important to me as my first daughter was born IUGR and we were not aware , when I became pregnant with my second daughter we were given am extra third trimester Doppler scan which detected the IUGR and Reverse chord flow, which led to a better planned pregnancy and early delivery. My Girls are in my photo Rubie was born at 32/40 @ 2lb 7oz delivered via EMCS due to IUGR and severe pre-eclampsia .. Rubie is now a happy average 5 year old at the same level as other children her age with no learning disabilities. Scarlet was born 30/40 @ 1lb 8oz due to severe early onset IUGR and reverse chord flow via EMCS only detected because of an extra Doppler scan. Scarlet is now a happy average 1 year old hitting all her milestones with no disabilities. Although both are tiny for their age.7 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Kirsty Broadfield
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Compel The DWP to investigate the effects of benefit cuts on mental healthDepartment for Work and Pensions minister Priti Patel claimed any examination of temporary sanctions' effects would be "misleading" in isolation and should not be investigated. This is a cop out. They know that their cuts are causing wide scale mental health problems but also know that if they are forced to face up to this they will have to admit that their policies are wrong.51 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Robin Stokes
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Disabled Concessionary Card Holders Should Get Free Travel Uk WideWhy should we pay fares to travel if going out of our area like we can travel in and around Scotland free on buses and certain coach companys but we cant travel free in the rest of the uk. one rule for one and one rule for another. please please abolish how far we can travel. think of people in wheelchairs crutches and other disabled people who cant afford to travel further afield to visit familys or seaside resorts for a holiday, or our wounded ex veterans who served there country17 of 100 SignaturesCreated by dee leslie
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ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR DISABLEDMy partner is a double below knee amputee and is currently having to live on the settee in our two storey property while we wait to be rehoused into a level access property eg a bungalow. However due to the current housing stock being so low we cannot be rehoused until at least 2017 and even that is a big maybe. He has no access to washing facilities and this is degrading as well as unhygienic and puts him at risk of infection and illness. Due to the size of the property and the struggle to navigate a wheelchair around tiny doorways and hallways he has had to resort to using his knees to crawl or transfer from his chair which massively increases the risk of needing to have his knees amputated also which would add years to rehabilitation. We also have three young children who are seeing their father suffer every day which in turn is affecting the families well being due to the continuous daily stresses we are experiencing. I'm sure we are not the only ones in this predicament which is part of a wider issue that there needs to be a major rethink in the property allocation process to ensure those in the greatest need are adequately housed.30 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Sophie Marsollier
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