The Isle of Wight Council is reviewing the way it handles petitions following recent issues surrounding a number which have been compiled via online facilities, including a petition against parking proposals for Appley and Puckpool parks in Ryde.
Executive member for corporate governance, Councillor Jonathan Bacon, told a meeting of the Full Council last night that the council’s Constitution Working Party is reviewing the approach. This will include looking at the acceptance of electronic petitions under the constitution and what form of identification for signatories to a petition will be valid.
It is planned that a revised petition scheme will be put before the Full Council meeting for approval in July.
Petitions which meet the criteria under the council’s constitution can prompt a debate at Full Council. However, those which do not satisfy the current rules are still taken account of and considered by the council, but without a debate taking place.
Councillor Bacon said:
“It is hoped a review of this issue will provide us with a more adaptable yet still robust way in which we deal with petitions. This will include how we deal with electronic petitions.
“It is not the case that petitions which do not currently satisfy the rules in the constitution to secure a debate are ignored or not taken account of. Valid expressions of views are always given attention and taken account of.”
Under the existing constitution there is a need to enable the council to verify the numbers of people signing a petition to prevent someone making multiple entries. Currently a written signature is deemed to be the only mechanism that allows this process to take place. Alternatives could include acceptance of an individual person’s email address although this could still mean that a person with several email accounts can sign up to a petition more than once.
Councillor Bacon added:
“We will find a way to deal with these issues in a satisfactory manner which will then allow most, if not all, petitions which attract a sufficient number of signatures to be debated by the Full Council, whether in paper or electronic form.”
