1. Introduction and background
Previously there was a statutory requirement for principal local authorities to adopt a petition scheme with a duty to respond to those petitions.
This duty was subsequently revoked under the Localism Act 2011. However, the Council still receives petitions and this guidance is intended to assist Officers in dealing with petitions through a defined process. In earlier statutory guidance it had been stated;
“Government believe that local authorities should approach their petition scheme from a starting point of responding to all the petitions they receive. Petitions are an important tool for local people to raise concerns with their locally elected representatives and we expect petitions to trigger action where appropriate”.
Further, it was indicated that certain “key principles”, should be followed;
- Ensuring that local people know how to express their views
- Local authorities will take appropriate action to respond to petitions
- Local people know that their views have been listened to
- Keeping prescribed requirements on Councils to a minimum, and
- Building on local authority best practice
2. Receipt of a petition
Petitions submitted to the Authority should ideally include;
- a clear concise statement covering the subject of the petition
- what action the petitioners wish the Authority to take
- the name and address and signature of any person supporting the petition
- the name of the ‘petition organiser’ as a point of contact.
A petition should also relate to a “relevant matter” and which is not in the opinion of the authority, vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate to be dealt with.
A “relevant matter” entails;
- a matter which relates to the functions of the Authority, or
- a matter of legitimate public concern or interest within the Authority’s area.
Among the many possible steps that the Authority may choose to take in response to a petition are the following;
- A written response to the petition organiser setting out the Authority’s views on the request in the petition
- Taking the action requested in the petition
- Considering the petition at a meeting of the authority
3. Vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate petitions
The Authority should approach the petitions they receive in a positive manner. In making their response to a petition organiser the authority will provide reasons of why they consider that they will not be taking action through a petition being vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate.
The Monitoring Officer (or in his/her absence the Deputy Monitoring Officer), in consultation with the Chief Executive will advise whether or not a petition is vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate.
As a starting point, guidance as to whether a petition is vexatious indicates;
“….it is a flexible balancing exercise, taking into account all the circumstances of the case. There is no rigid test or definition, and it will often be easy to recognise. The key question is whether the request is likely to cause distress, disruption or irritation, without any proper or justified cause”.
4. Petition process
A flow chart is appended herewith (Appendix 1) which details how a petition should be dealt with by the Authority. It will be noted that there is a distinction between a matter viewed as being a ‘Ward’ issue or a ‘Town’ issue. Initially a petition should be recorded by the PAs in the relevant Department and an acknowledgement of receipt provided to the ‘petition organiser’. This should be done timely and within the scope of 5 working days. Thereafter the ‘petition’ should be considered by the relevant DMT with any guidance from the Monitoring Officer.
Ward issues
A matter considered as being a ‘Ward’ issue should be raised with the respective Ward Councillors and their views as to the appropriate action to be taken should be sought. A response should ideally be made within 15 working days from the period in which the ‘petition’ was acknowledged.
Borough wide issues
If the matter raised relates to a ‘Town’ wide issue then the views of the relevant Committee Chair, for the service area or function to which the petition relates, should be obtained and a decision made to the appropriate step to be taken. The PAs are requested to collate details of petitions received, so that the process outlined herein can be monitored and reviewed as required.