Council makes it tougher to submit petitions

Hull Council has increased the number of signatures required to form a petition it will accept, raising the threshold to 50 signatures from 20.

But critics say the measure will alienate some residents and stop those with concerns about the most local issues from being heard.

Petitioners must also now include more detailed background about the issue they are raising.

The council said: “A further change to the scheme is that increased history around the issue is now required, including any previous action that has been requested and any related outcomes.

“A Background Information pro-forma has been produced to help with this.”

Those satisfying the new conditions will have their petition discussed by an area committee. There is no change to the 1,500-signature threshold required to trigger a debate at a meeting of the full council.

Serji Singh, who runs a newsagents and Post Office in Chamberlain Road and has organised several petitions against the development of a local sports field, said: “I think it’s a backwards step and it’s going to make it more difficult. We are in an age where neighbours don’t talk to neighbours and people haven’t got the confidence to knock on someone’s door.

“It means somebody has to knock on more doors and you don’t have the time. What if it’s an issue affecting a cul-de-sac or an area with eight or nine people?”

Andrew Allison, national grassroots co-ordinator at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Petitions are an important way for local people to raise awareness of issues that matter to them and their community. The harder the council makes it for people to start a petition, the fewer they will receive. This is bad for democracy.”

Coun Mike Ross, deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group at the Labour-led authority, also said he had concerns.

“I think it’s fair to say we do have concerns about it, not least the fact there are some issues that might only affect a small number of people.

“There are ways and means for these issues to be addressed elsewhere, but it does seem this limits the ability of local people to get petitions through.”

The council said it had decided to make the changes after considering its petitions scheme against those of other authorities.

“The results suggested how much more significant a petition would be if the signatures threshold was increased,” it added.

Coun John Hewitt, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and communities, said: “Our petitions scheme is something that is really important to us in hearing our residents’ views.

“We hope this change will help us to deal with our residents’ issues more effectively and efficiently in the future.”

Petitioners must live, work or study in the city.

The changes were agreed at a full council meeting and will be reviewed after a year.