This is a totally unnecessary decision and shows the Government does not value hard working nurses and health care support workers and are relying on their good nature and dedication to just accept it. A recent pay review body recommendation to increase MP’s salaries was accepted but then it was MP’s voting for their own pay increase! Please sign up to our petition so the Government knows how bitter a pill they are trying to make us swallow.

The public have no come-back, especially in rural areas, as it's not written down in law that they have to provide them. It is a public health issue as people will use other sites if necessary. This is a basic human right, which has more impact on women and disabled people, as well as workers in rural areas such as van drivers and bus drivers.

Your Choice Barnet, that provides services for adults with learning and physical disabilities. Your Choice Barnet Ltd (YCB) began operating as a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) in February 2012 and 100% owned by Barnet Council. In February 2013 a year after its creation Your Choice Barnet, was in serious financial difficulties and as a result, it looked to make savings by cutting staff terms and conditions and reduce staffing levels in some of the social care settings. It also received a £1 million bail out from Barnet Homes requiring a 6% interest repayment. A significant number of loyal hard working care staff were made redundant last year as a result of this cut which has led to an increase in agency staff delivering services. In January 2014, Your Choice Barnet were still in a financial crisis and stated they needed to cut the staff bill by a further £400,000. It is obvious to everyone that the ongoing attack on the terms & conditions of care staff will ultimately lead to: • fewer stimulating activities in a safe environment for adults with disabilities in Barnet. • fewer staff to work with adults with vulnerable disabilities in Barnet. • less supervision of, training and support for remaining skilled staff. • loss of professional staff and lower morale and motivation among remaining staff. • negative impact on staff health and well-being, with a knock-on impact on service quality. Both the Francis Inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and the Winterbourne View abuse scandal highlighted the shocking results of employing unskilled and unsupervised staff. I note in a recent article http://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2014/03/maude-praises-the-barnet-formula.html you have been extolling the virtues of mass outsourcing “Our approach is already paying dividends, by allowing us to cut Council Tax bills to all residents next year.” Surely you must concede that instead of making a gesture of funding a tax cut, which will save a Band D taxpayer all of 26p a week; the money would have been better spent on ensuring safe and quality services for adults with disabilities. In another article http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/barnet_can_make_future_council_tax_cuts_due_to_one_barnet_outsourcing_says_westminster_finance_chief_1_3429038 you are quoted as saying: “We’ve made enough savings via the One Barnet programme so that we can meet our budget and distribute the money saved, back to the community.” In which case why are you not ensuring the savings you are referring to are redirected to Your Choice Barnet?

People are finding it hard to make ends meet and some times have to choose between eating and having medication. People with Parkinson's, asthma and other life changing illnesses are finding this difficult to deal with. Ministers claim that it is not possible for England to abolish the charges because it would leave the NHS with debts of £450million a year. However The BMA chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum said that the Government should abolish charges and that many of the exemptions were unfair Still England is the only one paying . Read this for more information http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1372063/Prescriptions-From-today-English-pay-prescriptions-thats-April-Fools-joke.html#ixzz2vlx3a4IH

Currently Mental health patients can have to wait for more than a year for treatment or therapy and are not guaranteed the most appropriate therapy for their condition. I feel this unacceptable and a wait that can be too long for people that are in very difficult and what can be dangerous circumstances. Shorter waiting lists will help reduce the impact on other departments and teams within the NHS that deal with patients in crisis, often reoccurring due to lack of support and treatment. Surely a prevention of the crisis is better than having to deal with the crisis? Link to Early day motion 1063: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/1063 For more information: http://www.bacp.co.uk/policy/edm1063/

We are supposed to live in a caring country where our health needs are looked after, irrespective of our financial position, free of charge from the cradle to the grave. Perusing the internet for nursing care for elderly people will uncover many examples of people not receiving the funding from the NHS for their health care that they have every legal right to expect. Many people have had to resort to expensive court action to force the National Health Service to fulfill its statutory obligations. This is not acceptable and is a national disgrace which needs to be addressed at the earliest opportunity. Please have a look at this useful website, it is crammed full of information and can provide help. http://www.caretobedifferent.co.uk/

We have a brand new, gleaming hospital which people cannot reach because it is not on a bus route. Many of the services based there: physiotherapy, falls prevention, community dieticians, are geared towards people who are frail and cannot walk long distances. 500m might not seem a long distance for most people, but on a zimmer frame or crutches it is forever. Parts of the hospital are empty because local GPs do not want to move to a building which their patients cannot access. The plans for this building always included a bus stop, but what we need now is a bus which will actually stop outside the hospital door. There is a cross party consensus that this needs to happen urgently. Please add your voice so the Mayor of London understands how important this is. Thanks.

I am disabled and it caused me a great deal of unnecessary stress and physical discomfort to have to go though a very complex form answering the same questions again and again when the DWP have already had the reasons for my claim. All they need to do is ask a patients GP or consultant to do a simple patient report that can be printed out from their computer to answer all the questions that are required. I am one of millions of people who have to do this and I am sure there are worse people than myself who will find this both distressing and painful. The reason l say distressing is because you realize what you are living and trying to cope with everyday. I was in so much physical pain after filling in this form again l was sobbing with the pain. Doctors don't put patients on morphine with a cocktail of painkillers for nothing. It is just common sense and it is about time someone said enough is enough. We are claiming DLA/PIP because we need to not because we want to.

The closure of respite care and transfers for after care from hospital to Winifred Kettle home in Westhoughton is very important to our community Many people have used the facilities of this wonderful care home over many years. The services of dedicated staff from cleaners, domestics, carers and managers is exemplary. We all may need the services in the future. The elderly population is increasing, but more homes are closing. Many carers are elderly themselves and circumstances do not allow them to look after loved ones. We must rally round together to put pressure on Bolton councillors to change their minds.

Children with ASD usually suffer with anxiety, but this can be increased massively due to not handling or coping with the children correctly. Increased anxiety in ASD children can then cause a "meltdown" or tantrum to occur which can last a long period of time and the effects of this usually result in the said child being excluded from School as they are now labeled violent and a Health & Safety risk. We are increasingly hearing of children being labeled and treated as "Naughty" by teachers simply because they do not have the ability to recognise or understand ASD and the impact that this has on the child. This is not the child’s fault but the way the situation is handled. We are seeing and hearing of an increasing number of children being penalised by mainstream schools for having a disability. They do not receive the correct level of help and support whilst in school due to the lack of teacher training. If all teachers received the appropriate level of training and support then all parties involved and most importantly the child, would benefit. Children are often left demoralised and anxious and feel picked on by their teachers. This is due to their teachers not getting the required training to help them cope more effectively with the challenging concept of handling these unique personalities. More importantly, parents are left fighting for understanding and help against budget cuts and the bureaucracy of Government departments and LEAs. Whilst this continues both the child and parents feel bullied by the LEA's and the Government’s lack of understanding of ASD which results in stress for parents and children and the officials getting defensive instead of dealing with what should be the common goal… the child’s welfare and education. This then causes years of struggles between the parents, schools and LEA's to try and get the correct level of support for the children themselves with the children and parents often made to feel like criminals. If a child has a physical disability such as being in a wheel chair, provisions are made for their disability to ensure they receive the appropriate level of education and core skills that can only be learned as a child. Why should it be any different for a disability that you can’t see? Why should it take so long for the professionals we trust our children with each day to recognise and understand the educational and developmental requirements of our beloved children? This shameful treatment of our ASD children who have to fight for the right to be understood, to have someone who understands what they are going through and is able to nurture not misunderstand when they are going through difficult stressful times that create sometimes violent outbursts. This can be changed by the government and LEAs who set the curriculum and have both the means and the power to ensure all children no matter whether black or white, physically disabled, able bodied or indeed mentally disabled, have the appropriately trained teachers and staff to help them develop to the best they can be. Give these children a chance by giving teachers the appropriate training to recognise, understand and help these children. They are neither naughty nor stupid, they are simply misunderstood. Help our teachers to help our children! This is appalling treatment of our children. Please help to put an end to it.

GP surgeries could lose up to 15 per cent of their income from April if some services they currently offer such as spirometry, ECG and 24-hour blood pressure are given to private providers. This financial loss could harm the overall work of the surgeries, while patients would have to travel further to access the privatised services. The threat of privatisation of LES services arises from the Government's unleashing of competition law on the NHS. But Stockport CCG should stand up to the pressure, as some other CCGs have done - we need to tell them this urgently, at their February 12 meeting.

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, ‘fracking’, is a way of extracting oil and/or gas. Water, sand and toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into underground rocks to shatter them. This releases the gas/oil which can be collected. Investing in carbon-intensive fossil fuels is a distraction from the need to decarbonise our electricity supply. And it's hazardous. Studies show that fracking pollutes water supplies (with arsenic and lead), causes earthquakes, and spoils local communities. And there are nightmare stories coming form the States. Like in the town of Dimock, PA, residents have reported their water turning so brown that it stains crockery. Their water was later found to contain methane, and a host of toxic chemicals. But it gets worse. "My son had sores up and down his legs from the water." " My daughter... would have to get out the of the shower and lay on the floor." Those are the words from Greg Saunter, a local resident, whose water supply was shut off for his own good. He cannot shower in his own home. Or drink water out of his taps. Fracking has ruined his life. It cannot happen here. We call on the council to preserve the quality of life of its residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.