How the petition will be dealt with
The petition will normally be acknowledged in writing within 5 working days of receipt although there may be a delay if it is not clear from the petition who the lead petitioner is.
The lead petitioner will need to confirm how he/she would prefer the petition to be dealt with and assistance will be provided by Democratic Services to help the lead petitioner decide which is the most appropriate route. Petitions will be progressed in one of the following ways:
Officer (relevant Strategic Director)
On receipt the petition will be forwarded to the relevant Strategic Director who has responsibility for the subject matter of the petition. The Strategic Director will nominate a Named Senior Officer to deal with the petition and the Named Senior Officer will contact the lead petitioner within 3 weeks to inform them of what action will be taken on the petition. As a lead petitioner you will be informed within the 3 week period if action has already been taken on the matter before the petition was received, or is in the process of being taken.
The Named Senior Officer will consult with the councillor who is the Member of the Cabinet holding the relevant portfolio for the service area, and if the subject matter of the petition is concerned with a particular locality, the ward councillors, to determine the action to be taken. The lead petitioner will be notified of the outcome in writing. However, it may be appropriate for the Named Senior Officer to take a report to a meeting of the Cabinet or another council committee. The lead petitioner and local ward councillors will be informed of the date of the meeting with an invitation to attend. After the meeting the Named Senior Officer will confirm the outcome to the lead petitioner, local ward councillors and any other relevant Member in writing within 10 working days.
Meetings of Full Council
Petitions can be presented to a meeting of Council. All Councillors on the Metropolitan Borough Council of Rotherham are Members of Council, so attending one of these meetings will provide the opportunity for the views in the petition to reach all Councillors.
The ordinary meetings of Council are held approximately every six weeks, and as a limit of 5 petitions are considered at each meeting, the lead petitioner should contact Democratic Services at the earliest opportunity. If there are more than 5 petitions then it will be necessary to consider the petitions that were received latest at the next meeting. At the Council meeting, a representative of the petitioners may speak on the subject matter of the petition for 5 minutes after presenting their petition to the Mayor. Council will not debate the petition but can refer the petition to the appropriate committee, panel or officer for response.
Full Council debates
If a petition contains more than 2,000 signatures it will be debated at a meeting of Council. Normally the petition will be considered at the next ordinary meeting of the Council, although on some occasions this may not be possible, and consideration will then take place at the following meeting. A representative of the petitioners will be given 5 minutes to present the petition at the meeting and the petition will then be discussed by councillors for a maximum of 15 minutes. The Council will then decide how to respond to the petition at this meeting. They may decide to take the action the petition requests, not to take the action requested for the reasons put forward in the debate, or to commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee. Where the issue is one on which the Council’s Cabinet is required to make the final decision, the Council will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision. The petition organiser will be sent written confirmation of this decision within 10 working days. This confirmation will also be published on the Council’s website.
Consideration by Overview and Scrutiny Management Board
If the petition contains at least 600 signatures, the call for action will considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board. The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board may decide to call a relevant councillor to attend the meeting such as the member of the Cabinet who holds the portfolio for the service mentioned in the petition.
A report will be presented to a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board setting out the background to the matter. The lead petitioner will be able to attend the meeting to present the petition for up to 5 minutes. At the meeting the relevant councillor and/or senior officer will be questioned by the Committee members. If the public is to be excluded during any part of the meeting under the provisions of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 this will be set out in the attendance notification to the lead petitioner. The Committee will then make recommendations in accordance with the Council’s Constitution to the relevant decision-making body. It may be necessary for the Committee to defer making the recommendations to a future meeting, for instance, if further information is requested. When the Committee has finalised, its recommendations written notification will be sent to the lead petitioner within 10 working days and be published on the Council’s website.