Petition scheme
What happens at meetings
If a petition contains enough signatures, and you have requested that it is debated by a particular meeting; the issue will be discussed at the next available meeting, wherever possible.
At the meeting, the petition organiser will be given five minutes to present the petition. The petition will then be discussed by councillors for a maximum of 15 minutes.
The councillors 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
- to commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee
Where the issue is one on which the council's cabinet is required to make the final decision, the councillors will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision.
The petition organiser will receive written confirmation of this decision.
For more information about presenting a petition to the council please refer to the Southwark Council's petition scheme document.
Page last updated: 11 October 2023