Bolton Council's petition scheme
As a resident, or someone who works or studies in the Bolton area, you may raise a petition under the Council's Petition Scheme in a number of different ways;
Ordinary petitions
You can hand it to the Mayor at a council meeting which will then be the subject of a report to the relevant Cabinet Member (usually a minimum number of 25 signatures is required) or
Petitions debated at Council
If yous petition contains 4,000 or more signatures it will normally be debated by Council if deemed appropriate
The Borough Solicitor is authorised to reject petitions which she considers to be vexatious, abusive, otherwise inappropriate or exempted under the Council's scheme.
E-petitions
The Council welcomes e-petitions which are created and submitted via the council's e-petition scheme. E-petitions must follow the same guidelines as paper petitions. The petition organiser will need to provide us with their name, postal address and e-mail address (only the name of the petition organiser and anyone signing will appear on the website excluding contact details). You will also need to decide how long you would like your petition to be open for signatories. Most petitions run for six months, but you can choose a shorter or longer time frame up to a maximum of one year.
You will also need to stipulate the number of signatories that will trigger the closure of the petition (please see above) as this will alert the petition administrator to contact you and inform you of the next stage in the process and the possible action to be taken.
Process
When you create an e-petition it may take a number of days before it's published on line. This is because we have to check that the contents of your petition are suitable before it is made available for signature. It is also possible to add paper petitions on the same subject to the online petition; please contact the administrator.
If we feel we cannot publish your petition for some reason, we will contact you within this time to explain. You will be able to change and re-submit your petition if you wish. If you do not do this within 14 working days, a summary of the petition and the reasons why it was not being accepted will be published under the “rejected petitions section of the website”.
When an e-petition has closed for signature you will receive an acknowledgement within five working days. Your petition will then be dealt with by the council in the same way as a paper petition. A petition acknowledgement and response will be e-mailed to everyone who has signed the petition. The acknowledgement and response will also published on this website.
How do I sign an e-petition?
When you sign an e-petition you will be asked to provide your name, address and valid email address. People visiting the e-petition will be able to see your name in the list of those who have signed it, but your contact details will not be visible.
To submit an e-petition please follow the link on the right hand side of the page.