Councils required to respond to citizen petitions

Local people will be able to demand their councils to take action on under-performing schools and hospitals, alcohol disorder, anti-social behaviour and other concerns under new proposals to give real teeth to local petitions, announced Communities Secretary John Denham today.

For the first time councils will be expected to respond to petitions and tell residents what action is going to be taken to address their concerns. No council will be able to ignore a petition or leave it on the shelf because it raises a difficult or challenging issue in the local area. Today's proposals are the next steps in the Government's drive to ensure problems are solved and residents receive the high quality local services they are entitled to.

New guidance published today for consultation sets out how councils should respond to all petitions, especially on four key areas.

Read the consultation document at the Department for Communities site.........