Petitions how many signatures

You get 5 people to support your petition. We check your petition, then publish it. British citizens and UK residents can then sign your petition — and can only sign a petition once.

The Petitions Committee reviews all petitions we publish. They select petitions of interest to find out more about the issues raised. They have the power to press for action from government or Parliament. At 10, signatures your petition on the UK Government and Parliament site gets a response from the government. At , signatures your petition on the UK Government and Parliament site will be considered for a debate in Parliament.

Debates Petitions which reach , signatures are almost always debated. MPs might consider your petition for a debate before it reaches , signatures. The Petitions Committee The Petitions Committee can: write to you for more information invite you to talk to the Committee in person about your petition — this could be in Parliament or somewhere else in the UK ask for evidence from the Government or other relevant people or organisations press the government for action ask another parliamentary committee to look into the topic raised by a petition put forward a petition for debate The Petitions Committee is set up by the House of Commons.

It accuses an identifiable person or organisation of wrongdoing, such as committing a crime It names individual officials of public bodies, unless they are senior managers It names family members of elected representatives, eg MPs, or of officials of public bodies It asks for someone to be given an honour, or have an honour taken away.

Recall petitions If an MP has been convicted of certain criminal offences or suspended from the House of Commons for at least 10 sitting days, they may be subject to a recall petition. If you have any other questions, please get in touch. The Petitions Committee would still be responsible for overseeing the timely consideration of the petition. It might also decide to jointly consider the petition with the select committee it is referred to. The Petitions Committee may also choose to refer the petition directly to a Minister to respond to.

The Minister must publish and present a response to the petition within 60 working days. When the committee has finished considering your petition, it will summarise its findings in a report to the House. The committee's report will be publicly available on the website. The committee's report usually contains a summary of its investigation of the issues raised by your petition. In some cases the report will include recommendations to the Government about actions or steps the committee wants taken in response to the petition.

In other cases, a committee may present a report with no recommendations. When a committee has presented a report that contains recommendations to the Government, the Government has 60 working days to respond.

The Government's response is published in a paper to the House. Petitions Committee staff will contact you when the committee has finished considering your petition. They will email you the link to the committee's report on the website.

The committee will also publish evidence and responses that it received in relation to your petition. Petitions Committee staff can direct you to this evidence too, so you can see how the committee's conclusions were informed. If you have any questions about a petition, our FAQs might answer them.

Or feel free to get in touch with Petitions Committee staff. You can email us on petitions parliament. Search Advanced Search Search. Search Search. For more information about tours and visiting Parliament, click here.

The House next meets on Tuesday, 16 November Listen There is no current live audio feed. Originally published: 1 March Contents Can I petition Parliament? Before you start a petition, you should check: Is this an issue that Parliament can take action on? In some cases, a petition's concerns can be more appropriately resolved through other avenues, like the courts or a complaints authority or local council.

In other cases, Parliament might not have the power to fulfill your petition's request. Do you have other legal options? If you have other legal options, like going to an Ombudsman or to a court or tribunal, your petition will not be accepted.

Is it a new matter for Parliament? If your petition is about the same subject as one that has already been reported on in the current Parliament, it usually will not be accepted.

It might be accepted if it presents significant new evidence. Is my petition serious in intent? A petition will not be accepted if it is frivolous in nature. Creating a petition is a serious undertaking that will require you to engage with members of Parliament at various points throughout the process.

Completed petitions will also form part of the official parliamentary record. Benefits of starting a petition can include: raising awareness about an issue shifting or consolidating public thinking around an issue initiating or building momentum toward a change in policy or in how services are delivered proposing a new law or influencing one that's being considered initiating a public inquiry obtaining redress for personal or public grievances compelling public bodies to provide evidence and answer questions about actions they have taken or how they implement policy.

Getting a petition "in order" Every petition needs to be checked to make sure it follows the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, which are Parliament's rules of procedure. Creating a petition - what you need to know Before you begin a petition you should read this page carefully. Once you've chosen what type of petition you want to create, follow these steps: To create a paper petition: To create an electronic petition: To create a hybrid petition: Include a cover sheet with: Your name this will be published to the Parliament website Your contact details these will not be published but will be used by committee staff to update you on the petition's progress Your request to the House of Representatives A title that describes the petition's request Your signature You may include a reason, explaining more about the petition's request Click here to start an electronic petition Fill out the form with: Your name this will be published to the Parliament website.

Your contact details these will not be published but will be used by committee staff to update you on the petition's progress Your request to the House of Representatives A title that describes the petition's request You may include a reason, explaining more about the petition's request. Select a closing date for the collection of signatures for your petition. Your petition can remain open for signatures as long as you want.

Follow the steps above to create both a paper petition and an electronic petition. Both your paper and electronic petition must: comply with the requirements for each type of petition contain the same petitioner details and contact information contain the same request to the House of Representatives contain the same reason, if you have provided one.

Collecting signatures It is up to you whether you collect signatures for your petition. However, if you want to collect signatures to show public support for your petition, remember: For paper-based petitions , every page with signatures must have the full text of the request on it and the reason for the petition if you have provided a reason.

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