Issue - items at meetings - E-Petitions - review of working and update on legislation

Report of the Director of Strategy & Governance (copy attached).

RESOLVED –

(1)         That the Committee agrees and recommends to Council the following:

(a)         That the current e-petitions facility be retained.

(b)         That the changes to the E-Petitions Guidance be approved.

(2)         That the likely changes that will be required to the Council’s petition arrangements when the relevant provisions of the Local Democracy Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (LDEDC) come into force be noted.

(3)         That, given the delay in bringing into force national legislative changes and associated Statutory Guidance, officers bring a further report to the Governance Committee with a draft amended petitions scheme when the LDEDC Act provisions are in force.

81.1         The Committee considered a report of the Director of Strategy & Governance concerning the outcome of the Council’s pilot e-petitions facility and outlining the anticipated changes required by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction (LDEDC) Act 2009.

81.2         The Managing Principal Solicitor with responsibility for the pilot highlighted the main changes proposed to the guidance and advised that a further report would be considered by the Committee when the legislation came into force.

81.3         Councillor Oxley added that the changes would allow the council to see whether signatories lived within Brighton & Hove or outside the city.

81.4         Councillor Taylor supported the continuing operation of the e-petitions facility and reported that he had received good feedback about it. He queried what would be done with the personal information of those who signed an e-petition.

81.5          The Managing Principal Solicitor advised that only names of signatories would be made public and sent to the petition originator; all other personal information would be kept by the council.

81.6         Councillor Mitchell asked that Members be advised of the outcomes in relation to two e-petitions relating to health functions that were not in the remit of the council.

81.7         The Chairman confirmed that the e-petitions had been referred to the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee and instructed officers to circulate details of the outcomes.

81.8         In response to comments made by Councillors Mitchell and Simpson in relation to the threshold for triggering debate of a petition by the Full Council, the Managing Principal Solicitor explained that the threshold had to be achievable and the council would have a duty to review it after a period of time if it had not been met. She added that the council would need to be mindful that certain local issues would not be capable of reaching the threshold and consider how to deal with these issues.

81.9         The Chairman thanked the Democratic Services team for running the e-petitions facility and Councillor Mears, Leader of the Council, added her thanks.

81.10    RESOLVED –

(1)       That the Committee agrees and recommends to Council the following:

(a)         That the current e-petitions facility be retained.

(b)         That the changes to the E-Petitions Guidance be approved.

(2)       That the likely changes that will be required to the Council’s petition arrangements when the relevant provisions of the Local Democracy Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (LDEDC) come into force be noted.

(3)       That, given the delay in bringing into force national legislative changes and associated Statutory Guidance, officers bring a further report to the Governance Committee with a draft amended petitions scheme when the LDEDC Act provisions are in force.