Report to the Council – 19 December 2024
The process by which the Council will determine petitions is a three-stage process.
In 2018, the Council agreed a Petitions policy, which was updated in June 2022 to include the creation of a Petitions Sub-Committee and subsequently reviewed in December 2024 and a new process was agreed:
Procedural flowchart for considering a petition
Please note: this flowchart is not accessible, however contains a visual chart of information detailed within this page.
Stage 1
When the Petition is received by the Council the Chief Officer (Strategic Communication and Engagement) in consultation with the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) will make an assessment as to whether it concerns an issue where the decision-making authority rests with the Council.
If the petition concerns a matter that is the Council's responsibility, then the Community Partnership Team will allocate the petition to the relevant Chief Officer.
If the petition does not concern a matter that is the Council responsibility, the petition will not be considered, and feedback will be provided to the lead petitioner.
Stage 2
The relevant Chief Officer will consider whether the desired outcomes can be actioned by their service.
If yes, they will contact the lead signatory to discuss and deal with the petition. This will conclude the petition process.
If the petition cannot be actioned by their service, the relevant Chief Officer will submit a report to the appropriate Council Committee for consideration. The lead signatory will be advised of the day and time of the Council Committee Meeting. Petitioners can attend the Council Committee to observe but cannot participate.
Stage 3
The appropriate Committee considers the petition and decides accordingly. Feedback will be given by the relevant Chief Officer to the lead petitioner about the outcome of the Committee.
How to submit a petition?
You can send a copy of your petition to communitymatters@northlan.gov.uk
Please note that a copy of the petition may be put into the public domain and, if this is the case, any personal data included in the petition will be removed. This may include names and addresses, contact details, addresses and signatures. If you have included photographs as part of your petition, you should seek consent from any individuals who appear in these prior to sending the petition to the Council.
Petitions submitted as part of a consultation
Where the Council is undertaking a formal consultation, for example on a new school or a planning application, then any petitions received would form part of that consultation process, which in some cases is prescribed by legislation, and the petitions process listed above would not apply.
Petitions objecting to a decision made by the Council
Such petitions will, in most cases, not be considered. The Council is unable to change a decision it has made for a period of six months after the date of the decision. Therefore, consideration of a petition which seeks to overturn a Council decision (regardless of whether this has been made by the Council itself or one of its committees) would be considered as “not competent” under the Council’s Standing Orders (the document which governs how the Council makes decisions through its democratic decision-making bodies).