The communities secretary has launched plans to make councils respond to petitions submitted by local people. Hazel Blears said there was currently no requirement for councils to respond to petitions, irrespective of how many people signed them. Under the proposals, if a council ignores a petition, then local people can ask their councillor to trigger a ‘select committee'-style hearing to ensure the issue is raised. Ms Blears said: ‘We have a rich history of writing and signing petitions – 60% of us do so each year – but do we have a rich enough history of answering and responding to them?'
