Agenda and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be located at the following link:

http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=484&MId=3175&Ver=4

Please note that if any changes are made to this minute at the point of approval, these will be outlined in the subsequent minute and this document will not ben retrospectively altered.

The Convener welcomed members to the inaugural meeting of the Petitions Committee, and made reference to the fact that Scottish Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats had all pledged in their May 2012 elections manifestos to establish such a committee.

Reference was made to article 11 of the minute of meeting of Council of 21 August 2013, at which time Council had before it a report which, amongst other things, proposed that a Petitions Committee be established.  An appendix to the report set out the proposed arrangements and Orders of Reference for the new Committee, and this appendix had been referred to this meeting for approval.  The Committee had before it on this day, an updated version of that appendix.

The document proposed that the Orders of Reference for the Petitions Committee be agreed as follows “to consider and respond to petitions addressed to Aberdeen City Council in accordance with the Council’s approved petitions procedure”.

The document set out the proposed arrangements for the new Committee as follows:

·         Petitions would only be considered if the criteria outlined in the procedure note had been met.  An information bulletin report detailing any petitions which were received but had not met the criteria would be circulated to members of the Committee.

• The Committee would for each valid petition: (1) take no action and advise the petitioner of the Committee’s reasoning; or (2) agree that the matter be the subject of a report to the relevant committee(s) (petitions could be referred with or without a recommendation); or (3) refer the matter to a relevant organisation with or without a recommendation.
• A petition would require 250 signatures from individuals in Aberdeen City (all signatories must be on the Register of Electors for the Aberdeen City Council area) or ten local businesses (to be on the Valuation Roll), voluntary organisations and/or social enterprise companies and/ or Community Planning Partners and/or other bodies.
• A Petitions Form (available to download from the Council website, or from staff in Democratic Services) would have to be completed and submitted to the clerk ten working days prior to a scheduled meeting of the Petitions Committee.  Petitions would be checked by the staff in Democratic Services, and, if required, the Director responsible for the subject matter of the petition.  If the petition were deemed valid, it would be submitted to the next scheduled meeting of the Petitions Committee.  A valid petition received less than ten working days prior to a scheduled meeting, would be considered at the subsequent scheduled meeting.
• A Petitions Form received and hosted on the Aberdeen City Council website must have at least 250 signatories ten working days prior to a scheduled meeting.  Petitions could be hosted online for a maximum of twelve weeks, with no minimum period.
• A Petitions Form would only require one signature in order to be hosted online.
• Petitions from businesses would not be hosted online.
• A combination of paper and online signatures would be acceptable.
• A petitioner would have to specifically request (via the website) that a petition be hosted on the Aberdeen City Council website – for clarity, paper petitions received would not be hosted online.
• The Council would be unable to consider petitions on the following:

(1)       Matters that are subjudice,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.