Petitions
- What is a petition?
- What can a petition be about?
- Who should I send the petition to?
- Can I present the petition to Council in person?
- Will there be a debate on the petition?
- Will the petitioners be told of the outcome?
- Are there any issues which the Council will not consider in a petition?
- What sort of headings should the petition include?
- What information should be included about the people who sign the petition?
- Will all the people who signed the petitions be informed?
- How can I find out more information about the Council's services?
- Is there a template available for use when organising a petition?
A petition is a written request for Nottinghamshire County Council to consider a particular matter or to take a course of action. A petition can lend weight to a particular viewpoint and demonstrate that a view is shared by others. Petitions can be co-ordinated by individuals or by local organisations.
A petition must relate to something that the Council does or for which it has a responsibility. Alternatively, it should be relevant to some matter of major significance or general concern affecting the County.
Presenting the petition - Who should I send the petition to?
You should contact your local County Councillor to act as your representative to present the petition to a meeting of Council. Alternatively your County Councillor will forward it directly to the appropriate Corporate Director (if the next meeting of Council is some time away so as not to hold up any investigation needed).
If you prefer you can send it to the Chief Executive at County Hall, who will ensure it is directed to the most appropriate Corporate Director for consideration. Receipt of the petition will be acknowledged by the Chief Executive’s Office. This will be to the name and address of the Organiser or the first signatory if the lead petitioner is not stated.
The outcome of all petitions received will be reported to a meeting of full Council.
They are also available to view in PDF form:-
Can I present the petition to Council in person?
No. Currently petitions can only be presented at full Council by a County Councillor but you are welcome to be present to observe the meeting of the Council.
Will there be a debate on the petition?
No. Once the petition has been presented and the Councillor presenting has spoken for no more than 1 minute it is passed to the Chief Executive to process the petition and refer the petition to the relevant Cabinet Member and Corporate Director for action.
Feedback - Will the petitioners be told of the outcome?
Yes. A letter will be sent by an officer from the department responsible for the service. A report will be presented to the next meeting of the Council updating members of the action taken (or proposed if the petition needs further consideration).
Are there any issues which the Council will not consider in a petition?
Yes. The Council will not accept a petition which:
- is abusive or libellous;
- relates to an identifiable person;
- might lead to the Council acting illegally;
- clearly supports the financial interests of the person submitting the petition;
- contains matters associated with political parties or organisations;
- refers to a matter which is already the subject of legal proceedings;
Petitions relating to operational matters (such as the way in which the Council provides its services) will be referred to the Corporate Director responsible for that service.
What sort of headings should the petition include?
People need to know what they are signing. The petition should state clearly what it is about or what you think is wrong and what you would like to happen. It should also be capable of being read in a few moments to enable people signing the petition to read it first. The petition should state that it is directed to Nottinghamshire County Council.
What information should be included about the people who sign the petition?
Ideally, the petition should include the name (in BLOCK capitals), address and signature of each person who signed it. The name and address should be in a legible format and the petition should indicate which of the people signing it is to present it.
Will all the people who signed the petitions be informed?
No. It would be too costly to send individual letters. One letter will be sent to the organiser of the petition, or if this person is not known, to the first signatory on the petition.
How can I find out more information about the Council's services?
View information about:
Is there a template available for use when organising a petition?
A template is available in both Word and PDF:
