Petitions

Processing your petition

Once a petition is received it will be checked to see if it meets the criteria defined in this Scheme and the Appendices. If there are any concerns about the validity of a petition, for example where key information is missing, the council’s Monitoring Officer will be consulted and will determine if the petition is valid. The council will inform you if it considers the petition to be invalid and the reason why.

Following the above, and within 10 working days of receiving the petition, an acknowledgement will be sent to the lead petitioner. Once the petition has been verified and acknowledged no further signatures can be added to the petition.

To ensure that people know what we are doing in response to the petitions we receive, details of petitions submitted to us will be published on the North Northamptonshire Council’s website, except in cases where this would be inappropriate. The name of the petition organiser will be placed on the website but not their contact details.

The key council roles in addressing petitions are:

Democratic Services

Democratic Services will provide advice to lead petitioners regarding the process to be followed and advice on council meeting dates etc.

Monitoring Officer

The council’s Monitoring Officer is responsible for checking the validity of any petition received and acknowledging receipt.

Senior Officer

Any petition received will be allocated to a senior council officer who will co-ordinate a response to the lead petitioner. Where a petition relates to a particular ward or area, the senior officer will keep local ward members up to date on the petitions progress and any response submitted.

Scrutiny Committees

Information on all petitions is shared with the council’s relevant Scrutiny Committee which will focus on whether petitions are being responded to in a timely and sufficiently clear and robust manner. Scrutiny may also use petitions to identify where there may be issues in terms of council policy that they wish to review in more detail as part of their work programme. Scrutiny Committees will have a standing public participation item on their agendas for the acceptance of petitions.

Last updated 02 September 2026