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Petitions

Volume 709: debated on Monday 16 March 2009

Questions

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many petitions the Foreign and Commonwealth Office received in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; what steps the department has taken to publicise them; and whether they will place the text of the petitions received and the number of signatures in the Library of the House. [HL1622]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) receives more than 70,000 pieces of correspondence from members of the public each year, but the current system used for recording does not differentiate between the types of correspondence. It is therefore not possible to ascertain how many petitions were received by Ministerial Support Unit in either 2007 or 2008. There are no plans to place the texts of petitions in the Library of the House.

The Parliamentary Branch of the FCO receives petitions forwarded by MPs on behalf of their constituents. Five were received in 2007, six in 2008. Since October 2007 it has been usual practice for a ministerial response to the petition to be sent to the MP and printed in Hansard.

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has for receiving, acknowledging, dealing with and responding to petitions that it receives from members of the public. [HL1623]

All petitions from members of the public are received by the public correspondence team in Ministerial Support Unit. The petition is noted and a suitable response is prepared by the relevant Foreign and Commonwealth Office department and sent to the petition organisers for publication on their website or distribution to its members.

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many petitions the Department for Children, Schools and Families received in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; what steps the department has taken to publicise them; and whether they will place the text of the petitions received and the number of signatures in the Library of the House. [HL1793]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures the Department for Children, Schools and Families has for receiving, acknowledging, dealing with and responding to petitions that it receives from members of the public. [HL1794]

The number of petitions received by the department in 2007 and 2008 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Petitions received in the department are recorded on its correspondence handling system. As with all items of correspondence, a response to the petition is sent in line with Whitehall standards.

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many petitions the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills received in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; what steps the department has taken to publicise them; and whether they will put the text of the petitions received and the number of signatures in the Library of the House. [HL1900]

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has for receiving, acknowledging, dealing with and responding to petitions that it receives from members of the public. [HL2005]

Petitions received in the department are recorded on its correspondence handling system. As with all items of correspondence a response to the petition is sent in line with Whitehall standards.