Cabinet debates
If a petition contains more than 500 signatures it will be debated by a meeting of the cabinet. It will be placed on the agenda of the next suitable cabinet meeting. Following receipt of such a petition the relevant chief officer will be asked to prepare a report on the subject of the petition which shall be circulated with the agenda of the cabinet meeting, together with a copy of the petition.
The cabinet will decide how to respond to the petition at this meeting. They may decide to take the action the petition requests, not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate, or to commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee. The petition organiser will receive written confirmation of this decision. This confirmation will also be published on our website.
The option to present the petition at Full Council will also be available. In this case after the cabinet discussion, either before or after the Full Council meeting, depending on dates.