East Suffolk Council Petition Scheme - Petition Scheme exclusions

The following matters are specifically excluded under this Petition Scheme and will not be considered:

• Any matter relating to a planning decision, including a development plan document or the community infrastructure levy.
• Any matter relating to a licensing decision, including licensing applications under the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005.
• Any matter for which the Audit, Risk Management and Standards Committee has powers for determining complaints regarding breaches of the Members Code of Conduct.
• Any matter relating to an individual or entity in respect of which that individual has a right of recourse to a review of right of appeal conferred by or under any enactment.
• Any matter which is substantially the same as a petition submitted in the previous 12 months.
• Any matter which is determined by the council’s Monitoring Officer to be vexatious, discriminatory, inappropriate or not reasonable (guidance on which can be found under Petitions - Explanatory notes).
• Any matter which is considered to be ‘exempt’ under the Local Government Act 1972, Access to Information Act 1985, the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environment Information Regulations 2004. This includes but is not restricted to information relating to an individual, information which is commercially sensitive, or which concerns information for which there are implications for the prevention or prosecution of a crime.

If the issue contained within the petition is an excluded matter, the lead petitioner will be informed accordingly, explaining the reasons why the petition cannot be accepted under this scheme and where appropriate, referring the petitioner to the relevant service area and advising them as to how their views can be expressed via alternative means.