Petitions
Contents
Petitions
Petitions
All petitions sent or presented to North Northamptonshire Council will receive an acknowledgement within 10 working days of receipt. This will set out what the council plan to do with the petition and when you can expect to hear from us again.
The council will treat something as a petition if it is identified as being a petition, or if it seems to the council that it is intended to be a petition and contains details and signatures of five or more people who live, work or study within North Northamptonshire. However, where a matter may impact significantly beyond the council’s boundary (e.g. neighbouring councils) the council may exercise its discretion to take the views of these stakeholders into account.
The council categorises petitions as below. Further details on these categories are explained in more detail later in the scheme.
| Category | Signatory threshold | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Petition which triggers a debate | 1,500 + | Any petition with 1,500 or more signatures will trigger a debate at Full Council |
| Petition which calls an officer to account | 750* to 1,499 | Any petition with 750 to 1,499 signatures will summon a senior officer of the council to give evidence at a public scrutiny meeting of the council. *This figure is reduced to 500 where the petition relates to a local issue affecting no more than two wards). |
| Standard petition | 5 to 749* | Any petition with 750 to 1,499 signatures will summon a senior officer of the council to give evidence at a public scrutiny meeting of the council. *This figure is reduced to 499 where the petition relates to a local issue affecting no more than two wards. |
Last updated 02 September 2026