WIRRAL could become the first local authority on Merseyside to allow its residents to create online petitions to help influence council policy.
Councillors are expected to approve the introduction of the e-petition facility on its website – as currently done by Downing Street – when the authority’s cabinet meets next week.
An e-petition is started by a member of the public online through the council’s website, and can be in addition to other public consultation carried out by the authority.
Members of the public can then vote for or sign the petition.
A report to the cabinet says an e-petition system is “an addition to the existing means of consulting with interested parties” over and above existing approaches which include surveys, focus groups, public meetings and market research.
The report says new software acquired by the council includes the e-petition function.
Cllr Stuart Kelly, cabinet member for community and customer engagement, said the scheme “will be a bit of a first in this area”.
He said: “More and more people have access to the web and find its easier to interact using it with different agencies.”
He said it would influence decision-making in the authority in a similar way to paper petitions and contact through individual councillors, but added: “There are good ideas out there and it’s a good way for us to tap into them.” It is expected petitions would initially focus on occasionally contentious issues such as planning and roads, but if it catches on would provide a better indication of public concerns.
Cllr Kelly said: “We can reach a lot more people through the internet than any other way.”
E-petitions on the Prime Minister’s 10 Downing Street website have already attracted much public attention.
The proposal was first put to the council by Conservative leader Jeff Green and his deputy Leslie Rennie last year and after being revised was agreed unanimously by the authority.
The notice of motion said: “Such a public initiative procedure will give more people the power to drive forward the issues that they believe are important and would like to see debated in the council chamber.”
It is suggested that restrictions on e-petitions in Wirral should usually mean they are submitted by Wirral residents only, and “should state what action the petitioner requires the council to take and relate to something in which the council has powers or duties”.
The report recommends that “e-petitions must be submitted in good faith and be decent, honest and respectful”.
There would also be restrictions on politically controversial issues in the period before elections.
liammurphy
