Current ePetitions

The Council has implemented a new Petition Scheme, which sets
out the procedures for submitting written and e-Petitions to the
Council. This scheme can be found in the Council’s
Constitution.

An e-Petition is a petition which collects signatures online.
This allows petitions and supporting information to be made
available to a potentially much wider audience than a traditional
paper based petition.

Anyone who lives, works or studies in Northampton can submit or
sign an e-Petition.

E-Petitions are part of Northampton Borough Council’s ongoing
commitment to listening to and acting on the views of the
public.

Select an earlier date range below to find completed
e-Petitions and responses from the Council.

No ePetitions are recorded for this period

What is a Petition?

A petition is one of several ways that you can bring issues to
the attention of the Council and influence local
decision-making.

A Petition is any communication signed by at least 10
signatories or petitioners who live, work or study in Northampton.
A petition should include: –

(Where the petition is in paper form, this must include an
actual signature from each petitioner and their name and address.
Where the petition is in electronic form, a list of the names of
the petitioners together with valid email addresses is
required.)

There are some matters which it is not appropriate to raise by
petition. A list of these are found in paragraph 1.3 of the
Council’s Petitions Scheme: (http://www.northamptonboroughcouncil.com/councillors/mgEPetitionListDisplay.aspx?bcr=1)

How do I submit a Petition?

If you live, work or study in Northampton you can submit a
petition. A petition may be in either paper form or electronic.

A paper petition may be presented to the Mayor at a Council
meeting, to the Chair of Cabinet or a Committee (subject to the
Council’s Guidelines for Open Government. See public access
rights for each type of meeting. Note: At a Cabinet or Committee
meeting the petition will need to relate to a subject on that
agenda.) or alternatively it can be sent to:

The Democratic Services Manager
Northampton Borough Council
The Guildhall
St Giles Square
Northampton
NN1 1DE

E-Petitions can be created and submitted quickly and easily
through our website by clicking on ‘submit a petition’
below.

As the petition organiser you will need to provide us with your
name, postal address and email address. You will also need to
decide how long you would like the petition to be open for
signatures. Most petitions run for six months, but it can be
shorter or longer, up to a maximum of 12 months.

When you create an e-petition, it may take five working days
before it is published online. This is because we have to check
that the content of your petition is suitable before it is made
available for signature. If we feel we cannot publish your petition
for some reason, we will contact you within this time to explain.
You will be able to change and resubmit your petition if you wish.
If you do not do this within 10 working days, a summary of the
petition and the reason why it has not been accepted will be
published under the ‘rejected petitions’ section of the
website.

How do I sign a petition?

To sign an e-petition you will need to register as a
‘user’ (see below) then you can view the current
petitions from a list and, by clicking on any one in particular,
can then add your ‘signature’ to it.

What happens to my petition once it is submitted?

In respect of paper petitions that are submitted at a Council
meeting or Cabinet or Committee, the Portfolio Holder responsible
for the subject matter or Committee Chair will investigate the
issue and respond to you as the ‘petition organiser’.
It is expected that this would normally happen within 10 working
days.

If a paper petition is sent to the Democratic Services Manager
or an e-petition has been closed it will be acknowledged within 10
working days, including an indication of what will happen next
(and, in the case of a paper petition, it will be published on the
Council’s website.)

The Democratic Services Manager will, in the first instance
endeavour to resolve the petitioners’ request directly, by
asking the relevant Cabinet Member or officer to take appropriate
action. Where this can be done, the Democratic Services Manager
will ask the petition organiser whether they consider that the
matter is resolved.

If the matter cannot be resolved in this manner, the Democratic
Services Manager will confirm to whom the petition will be reported
for consideration. This will include details of when and where that
will take place and invite the petition organiser to attend that
meeting and to address the meeting for up to 3 minutes on the issue
covered by the petition. The invitation to the petition organiser
to address the meeting is in addition to any other public speaking
rights at that meeting.

If you want your petition to be reported to and debated at a
meeting of the Council it must contain at least 2000 signatories or
petitioners. If the issue is localised, affecting a single
electoral ward this threshold is reduced to 250 signatories or
petitioners.

If you want your petition to be considered at a meeting of the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee, where an officer, identified
either by name or by post title, will be required to answer
questions on the conduct of a particular matter, your petition
should contain at least 1000 signatories or petitioners. If the
issue is localised affecting a single electoral ward the threshold
is reduced to 250 signatories or petitioners. Such petitions can
only call the chief Executive, a Director or a Head of Service of
the authority to attend a meeting of Overview and Scrutiny.

(Note: in the case of Statutory Petitions required by a
particular Acts of Parliament; the Council is required to consider
certain petitions, for example, a petition for a review of Parish
Councils,

Email:
enquiries@northampton.gov.uk

Telephone: 01604 837837

Use our
feedback form or find key
contact details and numbers.

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