Different types of petitions

Requirements

The petition must have more than 1,500 valid signatures

OR

150 valid signatures and, in the opinion of the Petitions Officer:-

(i) relate to an issue that affects two wards or fewer; and/or
(ii) it would help the council to carry out its business effectively if it was included on the agenda for the meeting.

BUT note that petitions that request an officer to be held to account will be dealt with under that process even if, due to the number of valid signatures, they would normally be debated at a full council meeting.

Which meeting?

The next ordinary meeting of council wherever possible. The Petitions Officer will need to see a copy of the petition, to decide if it is valid, at least 10 working days before a council meeting.

We will tell the petition organiser the date, time and venue of the meeting the petition will be debated at.

What will happen at the council meeting?

The petition organiser will have up to three minutes to introduce the petition and formally submit the petition. Members of the council may then have up to three minutes each to ask the petition organiser any questions of clarification. Members of the council will then debate the petition.

The council can agree to either:-

• take the action requested by the petition;
• not take the action; or
• ask for further investigation into the matter, for example by the relevant Scrutiny Committee or Area Partnership Board.

If the matter falls within the responsibility of a body other than full council, for example the Cabinet or a partner organisation, the council can decide whether it wants to make recommendations about the matter to that body.

What happens?

We will write to the petition organiser within five working days after the meeting. The letter will set out the decision the council made. This information will be included in the petition register on the council’s website.

Requirements

The senior officer must hold one of the posts set out in Part 7 of the council’s Constitution and be responsible for the issue set out in the petition.

The petition must have at least 750 valid signatures.

(NB petitions that request an officer to be held to account will be dealt with under this process even if, due to the number of valid signatures, they would normally be debated at a full council meeting.)

Which meeting?

The officer will be invited to attend the next scheduled meeting of the relevant Scrutiny Committee to give evidence in public. The petition will need to have been received at least ten working days before the relevant meeting. We will tell the petition organiser the date, time and venue of the meeting where this will happen.

The petition organiser, and other people who have signed the petition, may attend the meeting and watch the debate but will not be allowed to join in the discussion. However, the petition organiser and other people who have signed the petition may submit suggested lines of questioning to the Committee Chairman, by sending them to the Petitions Officer. This must be done in writing at least three working days before the meeting.

(NB The Scrutiny Committee may call another officer to give evidence, rather than the one named in the petition, if it decides that it is more appropriate.)

What will happen at the council meeting?

Once it has looked at all of the evidence provided at the meeting, the Scrutiny Committee will decide if it wishes to make recommendations to the relevant council decision-maker or partner organisation.

What happens afterwards?

We will write to the petition organiser after the meeting, setting out what the Committee has decided. This information will be included in the petition register on the council’s website.