Petitions

What should be included in a petition
  • A clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioners wish the Council to take. People need to know what they are signing and therefore the petition should state clearly what it is about or what you think is wrong and what you would like to happen. It should be capable of being read in a few moments to enable people signing a petition to read it first. The petition should state that it is directed to Kirklees Council or a partner organisation.
  • The name, address and signature of any person supporting the petition (including under 18's). This is so we can verify that they live, work, or study in the Kirklees area. Signatures from others, for example, tourists, may be considered valid if relevant to the issue of the petition.
  • If your petition has more than 3000 signatures you can request to attend a Full Council meeting (a meeting with all 69 councillors) to present your petition. You must state this at the top of your petition when you submit it to the Council.
What happens next
  • Your petition will be sent to the appropriate service
  • A dedicated petitions officer in that service will contact you to acknowledge your petition and inform you of how we are going to investigate it, within 10 working days
  • The petitions officer will then be in touch to inform you of the outcomes and next steps
  • If your petition has over 3000 signatures you have the option to attend a Full Council meeting (this is a meeting which takes place approx every 6 weeks and is attending by all 69 councillors)
  • If you have stated that you would like to hold an officer to account, you will be invited to attend a Scrutiny meeting. For a full list of these meetings: Scrutiny panels
Other ways to solve a problem
  • You could directly contact the service and inform them of your issue. This could be something that they are already dealing with or it could be something that they are unaware of but are willing to solve without the need for a petition.
  • Contact Kirklees Council and your councillors
Petitions not accepted

A petition will not be accepted if it:

  • is abusive, vexatious, libelous or otherwise inappropriate
  • might lead to the Council acting illegally
  • relates to an identifiable person (except in the case of a petition to call a senior Council officer to account)
  • relates to an issue which is clearly outside the control or reasonable influence of the Council (e.g. petitions on national issues)
  • clearly supports the financial interests of the person submitting the petition
  • refers to a matter which is already the subject of legal proceedings
  • is submitted from employees about terms and conditions of employment or relates to internal management issues
  • duplicates or is substantially similar to a petition received less than 12 months ago, unless there has been a material change in circumstances
  • relates to a planning decision, including about a development plan document or the community infrastructure levy
  • relates to proposed traffic schemes, including proposed parking restrictions, traffic calming, speed limits, etc will not follow the petition process. These will be considered as part of the legal Traffic Regulation Order process
  • relates to an alcohol, gambling or sex establishment licensing decision
  • relates to an individual or entity in respect of which that individual or entity has a right of recourse to a review or right of appeal conferred by or under any enactment

Before you submit a petition

Before you submit a petition to the council please check current and completed petitions to ensure your petition doesn't duplicate or is substantially similar to a petition received in the past 12 months.

Supporting an e-Petition

To support an existing e-Petition choose an e-Petition and add your name, address and email address.

To find out more about the issue, see the supporting information, provided by the lead petitioner, attached to the e-Petition.

Submitting an e-Petition

To submit an e-petition you will need an email address.