Petition power is ready to bite

NEW powers to push local councils to tackle issues which matter to them were unveiled yesterday by Communities Secretary John Denham.

He published plans to beef-up public petitions by forcing local councils to respond to concerns rather than ignoring them.

Under proposed new guidance, which will be subject to consultation, local authorities will be expected to answer petitions and tell residents what action is going to be taken to address their concerns.

Councils will no longer be able to leave a petition on the shelf because it raises a difficult or challenging issue.

It is hoped that giving “real teeth” to petitions will force councils to take action on issues like anti-social drinking, under-performing schools and hospitals and nuisance behaviour.

Mr Denham said: “As their elected representatives, councillors are there to fight the corner for local residents and make sure services meet their needs.

“Petitions are an important way for citizens to tell councils their concerns and to get action taken on the issues that matter most to them.

“For the first time, councils will be expected to respond to petitions and let people know what they’re going to do to address worries about underperforming local services.

“We are giving petition power real teeth so people know it’s worth taking the time to make their point and get things done.”

Under the new guidance, if residents were to submit a petition to the council complaining about anti-social behaviour the authority would have a duty to consider using the “wide range” of powers available to it and to work with police to set response times for complaints about noise or neighbours.

Petitions with a “significant level” of support would also trigger a debate of the full council or require a senior officer to have to attend an overview and scrutiny committee to answer questions.