Petition Scheme Additional Information
2. What are the guidelines for submitting a petition?
If your petition has received 1,000 signatures or more, it will automatically be referred to a meeting of full Council for a full and proper debate. If this is the case, we will let you know when this will happen.
Petitions submitted to the Council must include:
- a clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioners wish the Council to take. Each page of a paper petition must also include this information
- the name, address and signature of any person supporting the petition
Petitions should be accompanied by contact details, including an address, for the petition organiser. This is the person we will contact to explain how we will respond to the petition. The contact details of the petition organiser will not be placed on the website. If the petition does not identify a petition organiser, we will contact signatories to the petition to agree who should act as the petition organiser.
E-petitions must follow the same guidelines as paper petitions.
The Council will only accept e-petitions that are created and submitted through our website. You are required to live, work or study in the Borough to sign an e-petition.
The petition organiser will need to provide the Council with their name, postal address and email address. Unless otherwise agreed following discussions with the petition organiser, an e-petition will remain open for signatures for a period of 180 days.
When an e-petition is created, it may take up to 10 working days before it is published online. This is because checks will need to be made on the suitability of the content matter before it is made available for signatures. If the petition falls outside the scheme, you will be advised and are welcome to submit a revised version. If the petition does not fall within the scheme, it will not be published on the Council's website.
When an e-petition has closed for signatures, it will be considered as part of this petitions scheme.
Petitions which are considered to be vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate will not be accepted. In the period immediately before an election or referendum, we may need to deal with your petition differently. If this is the case, we will explain the reasons and discuss the revised timescale which will apply. If a petition does not follow the guidelines set out above, the Council may decide not to do anything further with it. In that case, we will write to you to explain the reasons.
Joint petitions
Petitions can be made up of both paper and electronic, and must follow the rules for both types of petition. The submission of signatures on paper must take place prior to the closing date of the e-petition. The petition organiser must state on both the paper petition and e-petition that it is a joint petition.
How do I sign an e-petition?
When you sign a Council e-petition, you will be asked for your name, postcode and a valid email address. When you have submitted this information, you will be sent an email with a link that you must click in order to validate your email address and petition signature.
