Petitions

Petitions will be acknowledged within 10 working days.

Within five working days of acknowledging a petition, the Petitions Officer will publish details of the petition on the Council’s website, setting out the subject matter of the petition, the date of receipt and the number of petitioners. The petition organiser’s name and contact details will be included.

Petition outcomes

The response to a petition will depend on what a petition seeks and how many people have signed it. The range of possible outcomes are:

• taking the action requested
• considering the petition at a Council meeting
• holding an inquiry into the matter
• holding a public meeting
• commissioning research
• referring the petition to an Overview and Scrutiny Committee
• rejecting the petition

That notification will be published on the website unless the Petitions Officer considers that in all the circumstances it would be inappropriate to do so.

If the outcome requested in a petition can be undertaken immediately, the acknowledgement may confirm this and the petition will be closed.

In some cases, the Petitions Officer may seek to resolve the request directly, by getting the relevant Cabinet Member or officer to take appropriate action.

Unless the matter has been resolved immediately, the Petitions Officer will advise the petition organiser setting out how the petition is to be handled. The Petitions Officer will inform Group Leaders and relevant Ward Members (if appropriate) of the petition.