If we have already received a petition on exactly the same council service matter and a decision on the way forward has been made, we will not accept another petition on the same issue for 6 months.
What action will the council take?
If the issue that you want to be looked at is something that the council can do something about, there are a range of things that we could do - these include:
- take the action requested in the petition (if possible)
- hold a meeting to discuss the issue further or carry out a site visit
- research the issue
- carry out a further local consultation
- suggest other actions we could take that may deal with the issue raised in the petition.
If we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, (with a valid petition) you have a right to have your petition heard at a petition hearing with the relevant Cabinet Member.
Petition hearings
A petition hearing is a public meeting (chaired by the relevant Cabinet Member) where the lead petitioner (or a representative they select) has the opportunity to speak directly to the Cabinet Member for up to 5 minutes and put forward their views on the petition, before a formal decision is made on the matter. Lead petitioners are welcome to invite fellow residents to the petition hearing to listen. Local ward councillors will also get to speak for up to 3 minutes each.
Petition hearings are usually held on a monthly basis, and we will aim to get your petition to one of these meetings as soon as is practicable.
These meetings are relatively informal events for those attending, but they are designed to make official decisions on matters by the council, so we can be as responsive as possible to the issues you have raised.
We receive hundreds of petitions each year from local residents and the timeframe of taking it to a petition hearing depends upon the type of issue raised; more complex petitions will take longer.
We aim to contact the lead petitioner about 3 weeks before any petition hearing to make arrangements.
Petitioners are welcome to contact us at any time on the status of their petition by emailing democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk.