Current ePetitions

What is a Petition?

A petition is one of several ways that you can bring issues to the attention of the Council and influence local decision-making.

A Petition is any communication signed by at least 10 signatories or petitioners who live, work or study in Northampton. A petition should include: -

• A clear statement of your concerns and what you want the authority to do;
• The name and contact details of the “petition-organiser” or someone to whom you would like any correspondence about the petition to be sent. Contact details may be either a postal address or an email address; and
• The names and addresses of the petitioners.

(Where the petition is in paper form, this must include an actual signature from each petitioner and their name and address. Where the petition is in electronic form, a list of the names of the petitioners together with valid email addresses is required.)

There are some matters which it is not appropriate to raise by petition. A list of these are found in paragraph 1.3 of the Council’s Petitions Scheme: (http://www.northamptonboroughcouncil.com/councillors/mgEPetitionListDisplay.aspx?bcr=1)

How do I submit a Petition?

If you live, work or study in Northampton you can submit a petition. A petition may be in either paper form or electronic.

A paper petition may be presented to the Mayor at a Council meeting, to the Chair of Cabinet or a Committee (subject to the Council’s Guidelines for Open Government. See public access rights for each type of meeting. Note: At a Cabinet or Committee meeting the petition will need to relate to a subject on that agenda.) or alternatively it can be sent to:

The Democratic Services Manager
Northampton Borough Council
The Guildhall
St Giles Square
Northampton
NN1 1DE

E-Petitions can be created and submitted quickly and easily through our website by clicking on ‘submit a petition’ below.

As the petition organiser you will need to provide us with your name, postal address and email address. You will also need to decide how long you would like the petition to be open for signatures. Most petitions run for six months, but it can be shorter or longer, up to a maximum of 12 months.

When you create an e-petition, it may take five working days before it is published online. This is because we have to check that the content of your petition is suitable before it is made available for signature. If we feel we cannot publish your petition for some reason, we will contact you within this time to explain. You will be able to change and resubmit your petition if you wish. If you do not do this within 10 working days, a summary of the petition and the reason why it has not been accepted will be published under the ‘rejected petitions’ section of the website.

How do I sign a petition?

To sign an e-petition you will need to register as a ‘user’ (see below) then you can view the current petitions from a list and, by clicking on any one in particular, can then add your ‘signature’ to it.

What happens to my petition once it is submitted?

In respect of paper petitions that are submitted at a Council meeting or Cabinet or Committee, the Portfolio Holder responsible for the subject matter or Committee Chair will investigate the issue and respond to you as the ‘petition organiser’. It is expected that this would normally happen within 10 working days.

If a paper petition is sent to the Democratic Services Manager or an e-petition has been closed it will be acknowledged within 10 working days, including an indication of what will happen next (and, in the case of a paper petition, it will be published on the Council’s website.)

The Democratic Services Manager will, in the first instance endeavour to resolve the petitioners’ request directly, by asking the relevant Cabinet Member or officer to take appropriate action. Where this can be done, the Democratic Services Manager will ask the petition organiser whether they consider that the matter is resolved.

If the matter cannot be resolved in this manner, the Democratic Services Manager will confirm to whom the petition will be reported for consideration. This will include details of when and where that will take place and invite the petition organiser to attend that meeting and to address the meeting for up to 3 minutes on the issue covered by the petition. The invitation to the petition organiser to address the meeting is in addition to any other public speaking rights at that meeting.

If you want your petition to be reported to and debated at a meeting of the Council it must contain at least 2000 signatories or petitioners. If the issue is localised, affecting a single electoral ward this threshold is reduced to 250 signatories or petitioners.

If you want your petition to be considered at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, where an officer, identified either by name or by post title, will be required to answer questions on the conduct of a particular matter, your petition should contain at least 1000 signatories or petitioners. If the issue is localised affecting a single electoral ward the threshold is reduced to 250 signatories or petitioners. Such petitions can only call the chief Executive, a Director or a Head of Service of the authority to attend a meeting of Overview and Scrutiny.