Petitions

The petitions process allows members of the public to have direct influence on the political process and to raise concerns that are important to them.

Members of the public can submit petitions on the following

  • Issues relating to the Council's responsibilities
  • Issues which affect the borough of Trafford or its communities, as long as the Council is a position to exercise some degree of influence
  • Anything relating to an improvement in the economic, social or environmental well-being of the borough to which any of the Council's partners could contribute

We will respond to all the petitions we receive. We will be as flexible as we can when handling your petition so that it is considered quickly and in the most appropriate way.

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Types of petitions

There are three types of petitions which are set out. An address from within the Borough, either where the signatory lives, works or studies must support each signature to be counted as valid.

Ordinary petitions

These must be signed by at least 50 people. We will use our discretion where there are fewer than 50 signatories in cases where there is clear local support for action. Such as where the residents of a small community have petitioned for traffic calming measures.

Petitions requiring debate

Petitions which contain 300 signatures or more will be debated by the Executive or the relevant Committee if the petition does not relate to an Executive function.

Petitions which contain 500 signatures or more will be debated by full Council.

Petitions to hold council employees to account

Petitions which call for evidence from a senior council employee and have at least 1,500 signatures will trigger that response.

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Who can submit a petition

Anyone who lives, works or studies in Trafford, including under 18s, can sign or organise a petition.  

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Petitions we can't accept

We believe that the vast majority of petitions we receive will be accepted but in certain circumstances petitions will not be accepted, including:

  • If the petition applies to a planning application, certain licensing matters, is a statutory petition. For example requesting a referendum on having an elected mayor. Or on a matter where there is already an existing right of appeal or a separate complaints process.
  • Any petition which we consider to be vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate. We will explain the reasons for this in our acknowledgement of the petition.
  • Where a person, organisation or someone on their behalf has submitted a petition which is the same or substantially the same as one submitted within the previous 12 months.

If we decide that a petition is not acceptable then we will let the petition organiser know our reasons.

If a petition relates to the responsibilities of one of our partners then, within 10 working days of its receipt, the petition will be forwarded to that authority for them to deal with. Unless the petition relates to an improvement in the economic, social or environmental well-being of the borough. In those cases the petitions will be considered under our scheme.

It may be inappropriate for us to deal with certain petitions during periods when it is subject to restrictions immediately before elections or referendums. In these circumstances, the petition organiser will be informed of the date when the petition will be considered, or when material relating to it will be published on our website.

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How to submit a petition

Before submitting a petition you should first check with your local councillor or with us to see if are already acting on your concerns and that we are the most appropriate body to receive your petition. Sometimes your petition may be more appropriate for another public body. You can check if there is a current e-petition that covers the same concerns as the one you would like to submit.

A petition is defined as a communication in writing which is signed by the appropriate number of qualifying persons or has been created as an e-petition using our website or other petition websites. We will treat something as a petition if it is identified as being a petition, or if it seems to us that it is intended to be a petition. Petitions can be sent or presented to us. 

Submit a new e-petition online

Send petitions to us by:

Digital petitions created on other petition websites will be accepted so long as Democratic Services are informed about the petition by email or post. The petition must be sent by the petition organiser. Democratic Services must be able to verify that the signatories are in accordance with the requirements of the petition scheme. 

If you would like to present your petition to us, or would like your councillor or someone else to present it on your behalf, contact Democratic.Services@trafford.gov.uk at least 10 working days before the meeting and they will advise on the process.

Petitions submitted to us must include a clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state:

  • What action the petitioners wish us to take
  • The name and address and signature of any person supporting the petition. The address can be an address where a signatory lives, works or studies

Petitions should be accompanied by contact details, including an address, for the petition organiser. This is the person we will contact to explain how we will respond to the petition.

The contact details of the petition organiser will not be placed on our website. If the petition does not identify a petition organiser, we will contact the first signatories to the petition to agree who should act as the petition organiser.

Petitions must include a signature and the signatory’s name and address. This can be an address where the signatory lives, works or studies.

Once a petition has been submitted to Democratic Services, we will not accept any updates or additional signatories.  

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What we do when we receive your petition

We will acknowledge the petition within 10 working days of receiving it and let the petition organiser know what we plan to do with the petition and when you can expect to hear from us again.

To ensure that people know what we are doing in response to the petitions we receive the details of all the petitions submitted to us will be published on our website. Whenever possible we will also publish all correspondence relating to the petition but all personal details will be removed.

If the petition needs more investigation, we will tell you the steps we plan to take.

Our response to a petition will depend on what a petition asks for and how many people have signed it, but may include one or more of the following:

  • Taking the action requested in the petition
  • Considering the petition at a council meeting
  • Holding an inquiry into the matter
  • Undertaking research into the matter
  • Holding a public meeting
  • Carrying out consultation
  • Holding a meeting with the petitioners
  • Referring the petition for consideration by our overview and scrutiny committee
  • Writing to the petition organiser setting out our views about the request in the petition

In addition to these steps, we will consider all the specific actions it can potentially take on the issues highlighted in a petition.

Your petition may be submitted to one of our formal member meetings if it has the relevant amount of signatures where elected councillors will decide how to respond to the petition. These meetings will be held in public and petitioners are welcome to attend the meeting to observe the proceedings. The petition organiser will be entitled briefly to address the meeting. 

Depending on the subject matter your petition may be submitted to us, the Executive, or one of our Overview and Scrutiny Committees*.

There are two exceptions to this:

  • If your petition contains more than 500 signatures then it must be debated by the Council.
  • If your petition is asking for a senior council employee to give evidence at a public meeting then it will be considered by one of our Overview and Scrutiny Committees, provided it contains at least 1,500 signatures.

*Overview and scrutiny committees are committees of councillors who are responsible for scrutinising the work of the council – in other words, the overview and scrutiny committee has the power to hold our decision makers to account.

If your petition is about something over which we have no direct control for example the local railway or hospital we will consider making representations on behalf of the community to the relevant body. We work with a large number of local partners and where possible will work with these partners to respond to your petition.

If we are not able to do this for any reason for example if what the petition calls for conflicts with council policy, then we will set out the reasons for this to you.

If your petition is about something that a different council is responsible for we will give consideration to what the best method is for responding to it. It might consist of simply forwarding the petition to the other council, but could involve other steps. In any event we will always notify you of the action we have taken.

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Debating Petitions

If a petition contains more than 300 signatures it will be debated by the Executive or the relevant Committee if the petition does not relate to an Executive function.

Petitions which contain 500 signatures or more will be debated by full Council, which means the issue raised in the petition will be discussed at a meeting which all Councillors can attend.

A petition containing at least 1,500 signatures asking for a senior council employee to give evidence at a public meeting will be debated at an Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. The council will endeavour to consider the petition at its next meeting, although on some occasions this may not be possible and consideration will then take place at the following meeting.

The petition organiser will be given five minutes to present the petition at the meeting and the petition will then be discussed by councillors for a maximum of 15 minutes. We will decide how to respond to the petition at this meeting. We may decide to,

  • Take the action the petition requests
  • Not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate
  • Refer the issue to the Executive if considered at a meeting other than the Executive
  • To commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee

The petition organiser will receive written confirmation of this decision which will also be published on our website.

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Evidence from senior council employees

Your petition may ask for a senior council employee to give evidence at a public meeting about something for which they are responsible as part of their job. For example, your petition may ask a senior council employee to explain progress on an issue, or to explain the advice given to elected members to enable them to make a particular decision. The petition must relate to the employee's job, it cannot relate to their personal circumstances or character.

If your petition contains at least 1,500 signatures, the relevant employee will give evidence at a public meeting of one of our overview and scrutiny committee. This will happen within 30 days of the petition being accepted.

Only the following senior employees of the Council can be called to give evidence:

  • Chief Executive
  • Corporate Director Place
  • Director of Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer
  • Corporate Director Strategy and Resources
  • Corporate Director Children’s Services
  • Corporate Director Adult’s Services
  • Director Finance and Systems

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee may decide that it would be more appropriate for another member of staff to give evidence instead of any person named in the petition, for instance if the person has changed jobs.

The Committee may also decide to call the relevant councillor to attend the meeting. Committee members will ask the questions at this meeting, but you will be able to suggest questions to the chair of the committee by contacting the Director of Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer up to three working days before the meeting.

After the meeting, the Committee will submit a report to the Executive which will be considered at the next available meeting of the Executive. The petition organiser will receive a copy of this report.

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What you can do if you feel your petition has not been dealt with properly

If you feel that we have not dealt with your petition properly, the petition organiser has the right to request that the Scrutiny Committee (one of our overview and scrutiny committee) review the steps that we have taken in response to your petition.

The Scrutiny Committee will consider your request at its next meeting, although on some occasions this may not be possible and consideration will take place at the following meeting. Should the Committee feel we have not dealt with your petition adequately, it may use any of its powers to deal with the matter. These powers include instigating an investigation, making recommendations to the Executive or arranging for the matter to be considered at a meeting of the full Council.

Once the appeal has been considered the petition organiser will be informed of the results within seven days. The results of the review will also be published on our website.

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What else you can do to have your say 

As a Council we try to identify and solve problems at an early stage. We are committed to receiving feedback as this helps us to develop and review services. We recognise that petitions are just one way in which people can let us know about their concerns. There are a number of other ways in which you can have your say including: