PART 3PROMOTING ACCESS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 2PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING BY PRINCIPAL COUNCILS
Principal council's petition scheme
42Duty to make petition scheme
(1)
A principal council must make and publish a scheme (a “petition scheme”) setting out how the council intends to handle and respond to petitions (including electronic petitions).
(2)
A petition scheme must, in particular, set out—
(a)
how a petition may be submitted to the council;
(b)
how and by when the council will acknowledge receipt of a petition;
(c)
the steps the council may take in response to a petition received by it;
(d)
the circumstances (if any) in which the council may take no further action in response to a petition;
(e)
how and by when the council will make available its response to a petition to the person who submitted the petition and to the public.
(3)
A principal council must review its petition scheme from time to time and, if the council considers it appropriate, revise the scheme.
(4)
If a principal council revises or replaces a petition scheme, it must publish the revised or new scheme.
F1(5)
This section applies to a corporate joint committee as it applies to a principal council and references in subsections (1) to (4) to a principal council are to be construed accordingly.