We all, no matter who we are, need NHS Staff from various disciplines, to support us to live sustainable lives. Support All Staff and help with child care.

Belfast is one of the best places in the UK and Ireland to watch a starling murmuration. But starlings are a red-listed species, meaning they are of high conservation concern having declined by two-thirds across the UK since the mid 1970s. All government departments have a statutory duty to further biodiversity. The light pollution at Albert Bridge must be removed to ensure the starling murmurations can return.

National Energy Action (NEA) NI research is showing that 80% of households here have already cut down on their central heating, and most worryingly more than 1 in 10 households have had to forego meals to meet the rising energy costs. NI householders have received significantly less help in the energy crisis than those in England Scotland and Wales. They did not benefit from the £150 council tax rebate and nor do they benefit from Household Support Fund. Furthermore, NI homes are not part of the Warm Homes discount scheme meaning vulnerable households miss out on an additional £150 every winter. There is a clear need to ensure the £400 per household support reaches people in Northern Ireland as quickly as possible, to protect vulnerable households form the worst impacts of living in a cold home, including needless deaths and morbidity along with increased pressure on our healthcare services in the months ahead. We ask that you approach this issue with the urgency it requires and commit to ensuring the emergency payments are allocated to households as quickly as possible.

Around 66% of us in Northern Ireland use oil heating compared to 4% in the rest of the UK. But Liz Truss's government is allocating only a measly £100 to those of us who use oil heating. It won't even touch the sides. She’s saying that gas prices have increased more dramatically than oil. But the price of oil is over one and a half times what it was last year, and this is literally a drop in the ocean of what is needed to prevent people not being able to heat their homes this winter.

Liz Truss is promising to act quickly on energy prices, but because the energy market in Northern Ireland is so different it’s far from certain what that will mean for us. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has predicted that Northern Ireland could experience a 67% increase in extreme poverty, the highest in the UK by far. And with 66% of homes here using home-heating oil as their fuel source, as opposed to 5% in England, Scotland and Wales, we’re going to need a solution tailored to our needs.

An Overdose Prevention facility is a designated place for people to take drugs under the supervision of trained staff, who provide drug treatment, mental health services, wound care and blood testing. There are 200 facilities in the US, Canada and about a dozen European countries, but none in the UK.

Northern Ireland's waiting lists are the worst in the UK - with almost one in four of the population waiting for admission or a first outpatient appointment. And no matter who we are or where we come from, getting medical attention when we need it most is vital to us all. The waiting list crisis has been years in the making, and it won’t be solved overnight. But a Department of Health plan has been published, and solutions from organisations like the Nuffield Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons are being put forward. Now we need political will to make it happen.

Northern Ireland's waiting lists are the worst in the UK - with almost one in four of the population waiting for admission or a first outpatient appointment. And no matter who we are or where we come from, getting medical attention when we need it most is vital to us all. The waiting list crisis has been years in the making, and it won’t be solved overnight. But a Department of Health plan has been published, and solutions from organisations like the Nuffield Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons are being put forward. Now we need political will to make it happen.

Gold-mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It pollutes our water and land with chemicals, endangering the health of people and destroying our beautiful countryside. Almost 20 tonnes of waste is produced to make one gold wedding ring, and the majority of gold produced is either for jewellery or sits in the vaults of banks.

Many parents and families in Northern Ireland are coming under unbearable financial pressure due to the arbitrary and expensive school uniform requirements. In addition to a school uniform, many schools also insist on bespoke, branded sportswear for PE lessons, particular emblems, or have contracts for branded items with specific uniform suppliers. The recent temporary 20% uplift in the school uniform grant is not enough. Many parents and children are put under stress and pushed into debt trying to meet these unnecessary costs. England and Wales have brought in legislation that ensures schools uniform requirements are affordable. The same is needed in Northern Ireland. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57733760

We know our members working in school catering do incredible work and we want to ensure they are both recognised and valued for the work they do. Sign our petition calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to support and properly fund the provision of universal free school meals for all children.

At least 1 in 10 women are impacted by mental health issues in the perinatal period, from pregnancy until their child is 2 years old. Specialist perinatal mental health services are desperately needed, comprising specialist clinical teams in every health trust, community support services, peer support, education and a specialist inpatient mother and baby unit. Campaigners and perinatal mental health experts have been working together for years calling for these vital services to be put in place but Northern Ireland remains far behind the rest of the UK as the only region with no mother and baby unit and extremely limited specialist service providers. The Health Minister has committed to establish new perinatal services as part of the 2020 Mental Health Action Plan but has not published any details about what will be included and states in the action plan that "[i]t is likely that creating this service will take some time." The Minister has still not agreed to meet the urgent need for a mother and baby unit so that women suffering from acute perinatal mental illness can be treated without being separated from their babies. Meanwhile, women in Northern Ireland have lost their lives and many more have suffered the consequences of being unable to access services. The devastating impact of covid-19 on women who have been allowed limited support from partners and family during their birthing experience and reduced access to health visiting services at home has made the situation even worse. We urgently need the Minister to fund these services and allow the professionals who are ready to deliver them to get on with this important work. Mums and babies cannot wait any longer.