Putting residents first - new rules give greater petition power

Royal Borough residents will have greater power to hold the council responsible for issues of concern in their local areas thanks to new rules on submitting petitions approved by council.

Members on Tuesday approved the new statutory petitions scheme which enhances democracy by enabling residents and petitioners to hold the council to account when submitting petitions calling for action from the council.

The new rules clearly set out how residents should present a petition to council, how the council will handle those petitions and what residents can expect in return - with an on-line petition facility to be set up by the end of the year.

Cllr David Burbage, leader of the council, said: "This is a significant landmark for local residents as it puts much more power in their hands to hold us responsible for things that happen in their area. It is all about enhancing democracy and giving a stronger and more effective voice to local people.

"We value all correspondence from our residents about issues which concern them, and petitions are one very effective way of achieving this. As part of the new petitions scheme we will be introducing on-line petition facilities later in the year which will make the whole process an even more democratic and cost-effective way of registering concerns on issues which matter to our residents."

Under the new scheme the Department for Communities and Local Government has suggested that councils should clearly set out the number of signatures required for each category of petition - and members agreed limits of:
• A minimum of 25 signatures on all ordinary petitions - those which may be submitted directly to a head of service and dealt with by the lead member, ward councillors and the petitioner or presented via a member to full council
• 100 signatures on petitions to hold an officer to account - where a petition is to be considered at an overview and scrutiny panel meeting at which an officer will be required to answer questions
• 1,000 signatures on a petition for debate where petitioners are guaranteed that their petition will be reported to and discussed at a meeting of the full council.

The new petitions scheme takes effect immediately as part of the council's constitution (details on the council's website at www.rbwm.gov.uk) and the rules of procedure for council meetings.

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