Introduction
The Council welcomes views from the public. It has robust arrangements in place for managing correspondence. The Council has always welcomed statements, questions, deputations and petitions from the public at its formal meetings and those arrangements are contained in the Council’s Constitution (Procedure Rules). It actively seeks to engage with local people through its overview and scrutiny review process.
The purpose of this Scheme is specifically to set out how Bath & North East Somerset will handle petitions, whether in paper or on-line format. It reflects new legal requirements which have defined different types of petition and how they might be dealt with.
The key purpose of this Scheme is:
- to clarify the different types of petition;
- to ensure people know how to express their views;
- to satisfy petitioners that their views have been listened to;
- to apply and develop the Council’s good practice in managing public communication;
- to apply local discretion in the management of petitions.
The provisions of this Scheme are supplemental to and do not replace the existing arrangements whereby the public may present petitions at meetings of Council bodies.
What is a petition?
Petitions are a way in which the public can let the Council know of their concerns or views. As distinct from other forms of communication, a petition is normally signed by a number of people sharing the same concern or offering the same point of view.
Petitions are accepted in paper form or as an e-petition.
What are the guidelines for submitting a petition?
A petition should include:
- a minimum of 50 signatures;
- a clear and concise statement covering the subject matter of the petition
- an indication of what action the petitioners wish the Council to take – in the case of statutory petitions this may take the form of a recommendation
- the name, address and signature of any person supporting the petition or (in the case of electronic petitions) the name and address only
- the name and full contact details of the lead petitioner/petition organiser (these details will not be placed on the website)
In the period immediately before an election or referendum, the Council may need to deal with a petition differently. If this is the case, the Council will explain the reasons and discuss the revised timescale.
Who may present a petition?
The Council welcomes petitions from anyone who lives, works or studies in the Council area, including those under the age of 18.
Types of Petition Ordinary Petitions
These are petitions that do not come within any of the following specific types. In many cases they will be petitions from local residents seeking some action from the Council or registering a local concern.
The petition will be referred to the relevant decision making body or person for consideration.
Consultation Petitions
These are petitions submitted in response to an invitation from the Council for representations on a particular matter e.g. proposals for parking restrictions.
Consultation petitions received by the relevant response date will be reported to a public meeting of the decision making body where this is relevant. Sometimes the matter will be decided by a Cabinet Member acting under delegated authority. Where this is the case, the petition will be reported to the Cabinet Member.
Statutory Petitions
Particular Acts of Parliament require that certain types of petition, with prescribed minimum numbers, must be reported to the Council and will trigger certain actions. Examples include a petition for a Directly Elected Mayor form of local government or a petition seeking a review of Parish Councils.
When such petitions are received, there will be full public information about the processes that the Council will adopt to deal with the matter.
Petitions for Debate at Council
If a petition (other than a statutory petition or a petition calling an officer to account) contains at least 1,000 signatures it will automatically be referred to the full Council for debate. The petition will be formally presented at the meeting by the lead petitioner. The lead petitioner may nominate a local councillor or some other person to present the petition.
Where the petition relates to a matter upon which the full Council does not have decision making powers, the debate will seek to influence the decision making body or person.
Petitions to hold an Officer to account
The effect of such a petition will be that a senior officer of the Council is to give evidence at a public meeting of an overview and scrutiny committee about something for which the officer is responsible as part of his or her job.
The petition must contain at least 1,000 signatures and must identify by name or post title the officer required to give evidence.
The Officers of the Council who can be called to account in this way are:
The Chief Executive
Strategic Directors
The Monitoring Officer (currently the Council Solicitor)
The Chief Financial Officer (Section 151 Officer)
Response to petitions - general
No matter what type of petition is submitted, the Council will provide the lead petitioner with an acknowledgement within 5 working days of receipt.
This acknowledgement will set out what the Council plans to do with the petition. Among the actions which the Council could choose to take in response to a petition are:
- taking the action required in the petition
- considering the petition at a meeting of the Council
- considering the petition at a meeting of the Cabinet
- referring the petition to a Cabinet Member
- holding an enquiry
- holding a public meeting
- commissioning research
- making a written response to the petition organiser setting out the Authority’s views on the request in the petition
- referring the petition to an overview and scrutiny committee.
If there is no clear lead petitioner, the Council will contact signatories to agree who should act in that role for the purpose of receiving responses.
The Council will treat a communication as a petition if it is identified as such, or if it seems to the Council that it is intended to be a petition.
If the petition is about a matter for which the Council has no direct responsibility (for example a local hospital or railway service) the Council will consider making representations on behalf of the community to the relevant body. The lead petitioner will be informed of the options.
The Council works with a number of partner bodies and where possible it will work with these partners to respond to the petition. If the petition triggers a debate at full Council, a representative of the partner body may be invited to attend the meeting to assist with the debate.
The Council will in due course publish on a petitions website all petitions received and the responses to those petitions.
Responses to Consultation petitions
The lead petitioner will be advised about the special procedures relevant to the consultation issue and how the petition will be processed. This may include information about any formal meetings and the lead petitioner’s rights to address the meeting.
Response to full Council petitions
Where the petition is to be considered by the full Council (that is a meeting at which all councillors are invited) the lead petitioner will be informed of the relevant date and how the meeting will consider the matter. This will include the right of the lead petitioner to address the meeting and for how long. Relevant information about Council procedures can be obtained from the Democratic Services team (Tel. 01225 394360).
It is usual for petitions to be considered at the next available Council meeting but this may not always be the case.
The response will indicate if the matter is one on which only the Cabinet can make the final decision. In this case, the powers of the Council are limited to making a recommendation in order to inform the decision. The lead petitioner will be informed of the decision of the Cabinet (see below).
Response to petitions on Cabinet matters
There are certain decisions that can only be made by the Council’s Cabinet or individually by Cabinet Members. The lead petitioner will be informed of the date of the relevant Cabinet meeting and about how he/she may address the meeting.
Where the petition is to be considered by a Cabinet Member acting under delegated authority, the lead petitioner will be informed of the arrangement for this including an opportunity to make representations to the Cabinet Member about the matter.
Further information about the procedures of the Cabinet may be obtained from the Democratic Services team (Tel. 01225 394942)
Response to petitions for Officer action
Where the petition relates to a matter which is within the delegated power of an officer, the lead petitioner will be informed of the officer’s contact details. The officer will not exercise the delegated power without prior consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member.
Response to petitions calling an Officer to account
Where the petition seeks to call an Officer to account, the lead petitioner will be informed of the date of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel, the name of the councillor who chairs that Panel and the arrangements for conducting the meeting.
Where the officer identified in the petition is not deemed by the Council to be the most appropriate to answer questions on the matter (for example if s/he has changed jobs), the lead petitioner will be informed of the alternative officer summoned to attend.
It may also be appropriate for the Panel to invite the relevant Cabinet Member to attend also. The lead petitioner will be informed if this is the case.
The lead petitioner will also be invited to suggest questions that the Panel might pose to the attending officer.
For further information about overview and scrutiny procedures contact the Democratic Services team (Tel 01225 394456).
E petitions
Anyone who wishes to create an e petition will need to provide the following information to the Council:
- name
- postal address
- e mail address
- the period for which the petition is to remain open for signatures (most run for a period of 6 months but a shorter or longer time frame can be chosen up to a maximum of 12 months.)
- an indication from signatories that they wish to be e mailed with a response message
The Council will require 5 clear days notice to set up an e petition on its website. This will allow the Council to satisfy itself on the content and nature of the petition. If the Council feels it cannot accept a petition, the lead petitioner will be contacted and invited to resubmit it in a different form. If a re-submission is not received within 10 working days, the petition will be recorded in the “rejected petitions” section of the website with reasons.
When an e petition has closed for signatures, it will automatically be submitted to the relevant councillor, officer or body, depending on who has the power to determine the matter. An acknowledgement of this will be sent to the lead petitioner within 5 working days with an invitation to indicate if the lead petitioner wishes to submit the petition personally at a meeting.
An acknowledgement and response will be e mailed to everyone who has indicated they wish to receive this.
The petitions website will contain full details of the progress of each e petition.
Petitions received electronically but not through the e petitions facility, will be dealt with in accordance with the arrangements for paper petitions.
Local Discretion
The above arrangements include in part some statutory requirements for dealing with certain petitions in a certain way. The Council is convinced of the need for local discretion and flexibility in the way it handles petitions. Petitions which trigger certain actions because of their size or nature will of course be dealt with in accordance with legal requirements. There will however be local discretion and flexibility in the way other petitions are dealt with based on the principle of good administration and the Council’s Constitution.
Complaints under this Scheme
Where a lead petitioner is dissatisfied with the Council’s response to his/her petition, he or she has the right to request the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel to review the steps that the Council has taken in response to the petition. The lead petitioner will be invited to prepare a statement of reasons for his/her view.
If the committee determines that the Council has not dealt adequately with the petition, it may exercise its powers in a number of ways including
- instigating a review
- making a recommendation to the Council Executive; or
- arranging for the matter to be discussed at full council.
Once the Overview and Scrutiny Panel has considered whether there is a case to answer, the lead petitioner will be informed of the action it intends to take within 5 working days. The results of the review will be published on the Council’s website.
Review of the Scheme
The Council will review the Scheme from time to time, including the thresholds to trigger certain actions and generally in the light of operational experience.
Exclusions
The Council will not accept what it regards as vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate petitions.
Petitions relating to a planning, licensing or other regulatory applications or decisions or about a development plan document are not covered by this Scheme. This is because there are established procedures for communities to have their say on such matters.
Petitions relating to an individual or entity in respect of which that individual or entity has a right of appeal or a right of recourse to a review conferred by or under any enactment are also excluded.
Petitions relating to the conduct of an elected councillor will be taken as a complaint arising under the provisions of the Local Government Act, 2000 with regard to ethical governance. Accordingly the petition will be referred directly to the Standards Committee of the Council or its relevant sub committee.
The Council will not accept a petition under this Scheme which is, or appears to be, the same as a petition received and dealt with within the previous 6 months. This does not apply to a petition received on a similar matter to a current live petition. In this case both petitions will be dealt with equally.