The threshold for petitions to be debated at full council will be reduced from 3,000 signatures to 1,000, while the number of residents required to bring a deputation to a full council meeting and raise an issue in person with councillors has been reduced from 20 to 10.
In addition, petitions will only require 750 signatures to call a senior officer to explain the decision-making process at a public meeting, and the signature thresholds for petitions concerning local matters has also been reduced.
After the motion was passed at Full Council on 15 July, Lambeth’s Constitutional Working Group will develop a plan for implementing these resolutions.
Word from the Cabinet
Councillor Natalie Kane, Deputy Leader and Member for Inclusion, Democracy and Culture said: “As promised, this administration is opening the doors of the town hall. Local democracy can only function when the community are empowered to participate in decision making, and enabled to hold the council to account.
“Petitions and deputation are key vehicles for people to have their say, but unreasonably high thresholds have effectively barred residents from these forms of participation.
“This motion removes those barriers and offers residents more opportunities to raise issues that matter to them and ask questions of their elected representatives.
“This is a huge first step towards our commitment to making this the most democratic, transparent and accountable administration in Lambeth’s history.”
