East Suffolk Council Petition Scheme - Full Council petition debates

A petition containing more that 1200 signatures will automatically be referred to Full Council. This means that the petition will be considered at a meeting at which all councillors can attend. The council will then decide how the matter should best be considered.

If the petition has been submitted at least 10 working days prior to a scheduled formal council meeting then it may be considered at that meeting, otherwise it will be referred to the next scheduled Full Council meeting for consideration. Petitions will not be considered at Extraordinary council meetings.

The lead petitioner will be invited to address the council, outlining the reasons for the submission of the petition and what action they would like the council to take. The lead petitioner will be given 5 minutes in which to present this information and the petition will then be discussed by councillors for a maximum of 30 minutes. A ward councillor can, at the request of the lead signatory, present the petition to council on behalf of the relevant petitioners.

Should two petitions be received on the same issue (one in support and one opposing a course of action) then both petitioners would be invited to address council at the same time.

There are several courses of action available to the Full Council regarding the consideration of petitions, including but not limited to:

• Taking the action requested in the petition
• Undertaking research into the matters raised (this could include referring the matter to the relevant Cabinet member or officer of the council)
• Holding a meeting with the petitioners
• Referring the petition to the Scrutiny Committee
• Holding a public meeting
• Holding an inquiry
• Providing a written response to the petition organiser setting out the authority’s views on the request in the petition
• Considering the petition at a future Full Council meeting
• Calling for a referendum
• Undertaking any other course of action open to the authority that is specific to the subject of the petition.

Where possible, the consideration of a petition will be held in public but in exceptional circumstances it may be necessary for an issue to be considered as an ‘exempt’ item under the Local Government Act 1972, the Access to Information Act 1985 and other relevant legislation. In such circumstances the lead petitioner, public and press will be excluded from the meeting (or part of it) but the reasons for their exclusion will be clearly communicated.