Consultation on epetitions procedures for England

Under recent legislation, councils in England & Wales will have a duty to act, on behalf of local people, to address concerns about under-performing services across the board. As part of a response, petitions with a significant level of support will also trigger a debate of the full council or require a senior officer to have to attend the authority's overview and scrutiny committee to answer questions.  Every council will have to set out clearly how local people can submit both paper and electronic petitions so that people know how they can express their views.

Local authorities have a wide range of powers and influence at their disposal to respond to issues raised in petitions. All councils receive petitions, and some of them deal with them well. However a survey by the LGA found that only 28 per cent of councils guarantee an automatic response to petitions.

The purpose of the petitions provision is to bring the standards of all councils up to those of the best, and these guidelines are intended to embody best practice.

Links

• CLG links: Press release: www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1400317
  
• Consultation Document: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/petitionsresponseconsultation