Petitions

Information on Petitions and E-Petitions Petition Scheme The Council recognises petitions as one way that people can tell us about their concerns or priorities. Our Petition Scheme was developed…

Information on Petitions and E-Petitions

Petition Scheme

The Council recognises petitions as one way that people can tell us about their concerns or priorities.

Our Petition Scheme was developed in accordance with the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. However in November 2011 the Localism Act removed the earlier requirement for the Council to publish a scheme for the handling of petitions, and to accept petitions in electronic form. Consequently the Council has withdrawn its online e-petitions facility as part of ongoing cost-saving measures. While the existing Petition Scheme remains available as a guide for petitioners, all reference to e-petitions in that document should be ignored.

Barrow Borough Council continues to accept petitions submitted in paper format and the general guidance contained in the Petitions Scheme still applies to most petitions submitted to the Council. (Details about the kind of petitions it does not apply to are given in the Petition Scheme.) Petitioners should note however that the Council no longer has a statutory duty to comply with the Scheme and it remains available for guidance only.

View the Council's Petition Scheme (pdf 221kb)

Paper petitions can be sent to:

Democratic Services
Barrow Borough Council
Town Hall
Duke Street
Barrow-in-Furness
LA14 2LD

Petitions submitted to the Council must include:

  • a clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioners wish the Council to take; and
  • the name and address and signature of any person supporting the petition.

Petitions must be accompanied by contact details, including a postal address, for the petition organiser. The petition organiser can be anyone who lives, works or studies in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. This is the person the Council will contact to explain how we will respond to the petition.

How we respond to petitions

Our response to a petition will depend on what a petition asks for and how many people have signed it, but may include one or more of the following:

  • taking the action requested in the petition;
  • debating the petition at a meeting of Elected Members;
  • undertaking research into the issue;
  • holding a public meeting or undertaking other consultation;
  • holding a meeting with petitioners;
  • referring the issue for consideration by the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
  • calling a Referendum; or
  • making a written response to the petition setting out our response.

Local Ward Councillors will usually be informed of any valid petitions received for their area and will be consulted on the appropriate response.

Where further consideration of the issue is needed the way we consider a response will be dependent on how many people have signed the petition. The table below summarises how the Council might choose to respond to petitions with a given number of signatures:

Number of signatories (Approx)

Response

less than 50

Response from Officer.

(Petition treated as standard correspondence).

50 – 499

Response from a Senior Manager.

(Following consultation with the Local Ward Councillor(s) as described at paragraph 27).

500 – 999

Referred for consideration by Executive Committee

and/or

Officer(s) called to provide evidence at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (see section 7), where such action is requested in the petition.

At least 1,000

Debated at a meeting of the full Council (see page 5).

More information and other ways to contact us

For more information about creating and signing petitions and about how we will respond to them please read the Petition Scheme (above).

Apart from petitions, there are many ways in which you can contact the Council and tell us what you think about the local area and services.

You can also contact your local Councillor with any questions or concerns. Details of your local Councillor and how to contact them can be found on our website.