Currently, all e-bikes have a restricted speed limit of 15.5mph. This means that, once the user travels at a speed greater than 15.5mph, the electric motor cuts out and ceases to assist the user. We say that increasing the limit to 20mph would have the following positive effects: - journeys (typically for commuting) would be cut shorter - e-bikes would become a more attractive alternative mode of transport (as opposed to using public transport or private vehicles) - the purchasing of e-bikes would be more worthwhile. 20 is plenty. It remains a safe speed to travel and cuts journeys shorter. It would massively aid the e-bike revolution in the UK, as a healthier and more sustainable alternative to increased use of public transport (the cost of which increases every year). Many employers operate Cycle to Work schemes, but several are deterred by the current 15.5mph limit and sheer cost of the bike. Raising the limit by just 4.5mph would make the purchase of such products more attractive and deliver better value for money. Please click on this link to find out more: https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/the-ebike-revolution-needs-speed-to-succeed-a4142851.html Let's make a success of the e-bike revolution. Thank you for considering this petition.

Because deaf and hard of hearing people rely on lip reading

All other members are scientists, chosen for their relevant scientific expertise. We believe that Cummings and Warner have no legitimate place on this committee or at its meetings. Cummings in particular is a controversial, divisive figure with no scientific background. Their presence can only undermine the committee’s authority, and dangerously reduce public confidence in its advice.

The most vulnerable people in our community are unable to access paid for delivery services and Foodbank locations and are unable to feed themselves and their families. The restrictions of the Coronavirus outbreak and loss of income , benefits delays and self isolation led to The 1010 Trust setting up a service to deliver meals and food hampers to those in need. Since the start of the outbreak they have fed 20000 people . A key part of this has been local council funding and support from key workers who have been outstanding. Today South Ayrshire Council withdrew that funding and support jeopardising this vital service and risking thousands of people in South Ayrshire’s access to food

Every day, 300 babies are admitted to neonatal care either because they were born premature or because they were born full-term but sick. Some of these babies will need life-saving care for weeks and sadly, some will never make it home at all. When parents can provide hands-on care, babies have the very best long-term developmental outcomes and parents’ wellbeing is also improved. But because of COVID-19, parents’ ability to be with their babies in neonatal care is being limited by changes to access onto neonatal units and the effects of the lockdown. The emotional toll of this on families is huge. One father who is no longer allowed to see his baby told us: ‘I feel like I’ve had a bit of my heart taken out’. A mother who is seeing her baby on alternative days so her partner can also be with him said: ‘It’s hard leaving your son at all, never mind not being able to go up when you want to see him. And I’ve got the underlying worry on top of all that about whether he’s going to have any long-term health problems.’ Current Parental Leave policies are already not fit for purpose for parents with a baby in neonatal care. Bliss was delighted when the UK Government announced they would introduce Neonatal Leave and Pay. But this won’t be available until 2023.Many parents have been furloughed on 80% pay, and self-employed parents will have to wait until June for Government help towards their loss of income. The UK Government must introduce a version of Neonatal Leave and Pay now to support parents in this unprecedented situation – and ensure it covers those who are self-employed or in insecure work. Previous research by Bliss found that the average cost of having a baby on a neonatal unit was £282 per week – due to daily travel, parking food and drink at the hospital, accommodation and childcare for older children. These costs are even more difficult to manage during COVID-19. Parents without a car are being asked to avoid public transport, making them reliant on costly taxis or on lifts. Many food establishments at hospitals have closed, limiting choices and parent accommodation is increasingly unavailable on hospital sites due to infection control reasons. Nationally coordinated funds, and access to free parking at NHS sites, are essential to enable parents to be with their baby at this time. Having a baby in neonatal care is a traumatic experience at any time, but, for many parents, their anxiety and stress is heightened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To minimise the spread of the virus, neonatal units across the UK have made difficult decisions to restrict who can come onto the unit – with most now only allowing one parent onto a neonatal unit at a time. Understandably, parents suspected to have COVID-19 are not allowed onto neonatal units at all, leading them to be separated from their baby for up to two weeks. To prevent prolonged unnecessary separation, parents of babies in neonatal care should be prioritised for rapid testing if they are suspected to have COVID-19.

This is the final year for hundreds of students at Cardiff University, a critical time for any student, not least in a pandemic where libraries are closed and normal support and resources unavailable. The University claims to have made provisions in light of the Covid-19 crisis including extending the dissertation deadline until May 12th, however the exam schedule for the School of History, Archeology and Religion (SHARE) released on April 22nd shows that exams have been scheduled very close to this date, making this extension essentially meaningless. Many students are now facing having to complete their dissertations and sit an exam on the same day. We don't believe this is fair, and ask the University to reconsider their close scheduling to help us to be able to achieve the grades we are can.

No one has ever done what he has done for us all with help from his volunteers x

The UK Government is providing a necessary and welcome package of financial measures to workers and business through the Covid-19 crisis – not least via the furlough job retention scheme. However, should financial bailouts be agreed for distinct business sectors, we believe that this should be conditional on a series of responsible tax conduct commitments. Such conditions would further embed responsible tax practices and help maintain a level playing field for business. Across the world, some £400 billion of global corporate profits are shifted annually to tax havens. In the UK, this manifests itself as an annual corporation tax shortfall of some £7 billion. We, the public, call on the UK Government to insist that businesses requesting a tax-payer funded bailout commit to a set of fair tax conditions, as put forward by the Fair Tax Mark in their ‘Fair Tax Lockdown’: 1. Publish a binding tax policy that explicitly shuns tax avoidance and the artificial use of tax havens, and commits to the declaration of profits in the place where their economic substance arises (i.e., no profit-shifting). This policy should be the subject of an annual compliance audit, and be “owned” by a designated board director.  2. Ensure that the consolidated annual profit & loss of the parent company is publicly available, together with details of associated corporation tax payments (total, current and deferred tax). Multinational enterprise should disclose this on a Country-by-Country basis. A current tax reconciliation should be provided, together with a narrative to explain any deviations from the headline tax rate(s). 3. Make clear who the ultimate beneficial owners of the business are, and those with significant control. We believe that these measures are fair, material and proportionate. If a business is not actively involved in tax avoidance, these conditions can quickly and easily be committed to. To find out more about the Fair Tax Lockdown call to action you could visit the Fair Tax Mark website https://fairtaxmark.net/ or follow them at https://twitter.com/FairTaxMark and https://www.facebook.com/FairTaxMark/

This is very important because majority public do not have salaries and are jobless at the moment and have no income coming in but still have to spend on their day to day groceries and daily essentials. A majority of which are paid on credit cards. Millions of house holds rely on the credit card payments for all necessary items on a daily basis. Charging interest on their every day essential SPEND is crippling and unethical during this economically trying time. Majority of the house holds are struggling financially at the moment. If interest is levied this would help each individual financially to repay back with no interest charged on their credit cards. At the moment the credit card agencies are giving staggered payment facility BUT CHARGING interest on ALL outstanding balances. Government has imposed this on high street banks for all BANK CHARGES and similarly this should be done to credit card agencies.

The Air Traffic Management Bill is designed to accommodate the projected DOUBLING of civil aviation traffic over the next 30 years. Places previously immune to aircraft intrusion, like National Parks and AONBs, will be faced with unacceptable noise levels. We discovered that there is very little in Statute to defend AONBs, so drafted a Private Members Bill outlining the main areas for reform. (The bill wasn't selected)

Over 100 years ago, after the First World War one of the first actions of Lloyd George’s government was to promise to provide ‘homes fit for heroes’. A century later we have still failed to deliver on that promise. 30 years later, after the Second World War, with Government debt nearly two and a half times GDP, we as a country decided that everyone should have a right to Healthcare, Education and a Pension, but for some reason didn’t include homes, one of the most basic necessities of life. Still, for the next 20 years we behaved as if we were still including homes in the things people were entitled to as a right, between 1947 and 1967 Local Authorities built three million homes. Then they stopped, and in 1980 almost all those homes we’d built were sold off. Now almost all building of homes is done by private builders. Private builders will build homes fit for heroes, as long as those heroes can pay. How many of today’s heroes can afford one of those homes. Unfortunately tens of thousands of people will lose their lives in the UK because of Covid-19. Of those that survive hundreds of thousands of people, maybe millions, will lose their livelihoods, and they almost all risk losing their homes as a result. It doesn’t have to be that way. Right now we spend £10,000 a year per household, every year, on Healthcare, Education and Pensions (£320 billion, close to the £350 billion Rishi Sunak pledged to protect business). We can build a home for £30,000. I know, I’ve helped do it. Three years of the money we spend on Health, Education and Pensions and everyone could have a home for life. A home that may last a hundred years. Never need to pay rent again, never need to pay a mortgage again. How much would that transform people’s lives? We don’t even need to build a home for everyone, most of the homes we need are already built, we just need to build enough more, and come up with a new form of possession. We should all have security of tenure in our own homes. £100 billion, the amount we spend every year on Health, Education and Pensions would build a million homes at £100,000 each. We could build enough homes for everyone. If we want to. Why should we have to pay for a home all our life? Why should we not have a right to a home for life? Why should we risk losing our homes whenever something else goes wrong in our lives? We should return to building enough homes for everyone to have one, the right sort of homes, in the right places, and give people security in their homes.

On behalf of Olive Morris House Residents: Lambeth Council, through Muse developments, has this morning (Monday 20th April 2020) begun demolition work on the council building Olive Morris House on Brixton Hill. Local residents were told on Friday 17th April, giving us just 2 days-notice. The demolition was supposed to happen two years ago, and is part of the council’s ongoing ‘New Town Hall’ project - it is not essential safety work. Whilst the demolition will happen at some point, we feel pressing ahead with it during the unprecedented Covid-19 global pandemic is reckless. Lambeth has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in London and the country. Continuing with the works at this time risks the health, well-being and quality of life of us as local residents, but also of the whole borough and of the demolition workers. Residents have no choice but to stay at home in line with the government guidelines during lockdown with demolition works on our doorstep. Many of us are older and in the high-risk category for Covid-19 risk: noise and dust from this major demolition project will be unsettling. Many of us are already unable to leave our houses, but now we may also be unable to open our windows or for those of us that have them, use our gardens. The impact on mental health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable residents is an extreme concern. There will be no option for respite or escape from the demolition as we can't leave our homes under lockdown. Many of us are working from home and schooling our children and these works add unnecessary pressure and stress. When the New Town Hall development was in earlier stages, the developer supported people to work elsewhere when the build was taking place. This is not possible in lockdown. It is not right for these works to proceed when everyone is being reminded of their duty to think about others, stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives. Economic concerns are being put in front of the health, well-being and lives of Lambeth residents – we need this to change.