e-Petitions – an update

There are two articles, concerning e-petitions, in the Biggleswade Chronicle today (17^th December 2010).

  

1.Save the Music Service – Apparently this petition was closed five days early, (10^th December instead of 15^th), by CBC because it had been considered at the Executive Council Meeting of 7^th December 2010. This petition received 669 signatures, many more than the 100 needed for it to be considered at Council.

The CBC constitution says:

“When an e-petition has closed for signature, it will be submitted to the next available meeting of the Executive or relevant committee of the Council having regard to the subject matter concerned. The Monitoring Officer will send a written acknowledgement of the petition as provided in paragraph 3. If the petition organiser wishes to present the e-petition to the Council, they shall notify the Monitoring Officer within 10 working days of receipt of the acknowledgement.”

This is paragraph 3 mentioned above:

“The Monitoring Officer will send a written acknowledgment to the petition organiser within 3 clear working days of the date of receipt. The acknowledgement will give information about what the Council proposes to do in response to the petition, including the date and time at which the petition will be considered by the Council, Executive or relevant committee and will advise the petitioners of their rights to speak under the provisions of this procedure.”

Was the written acknowledgement sent, was the petition organiser; given the ten days to decide if they wanted to present the petition to the Council; told the date and time the petition would be considered by the Council?

2.  Petition for continuity of service at Sandy Leisure Centre - this petition runs from 8^th December 2010 to 19^th January 2011, but CBC will be considering the proposals for Sandy Sports Centre at the Executive meeting on January 11^th 2011.

According to the CBC web site, the end date for the following e-petitions, also with over 100 signatures,  was 10^th December 2010, and they were considered at the 7^th December 2010 Executive Meeting :

1. Proposed cut of Mobile Library Service.
2. Stop cuts to the Sensory Impairment Provision for Deaf and Visually    Impaired Children.
3. Stop the closure of Houghton Regis Leisure Centre.