Whether a petition has been presented informally or formally, the journey it takes afterwards is the same:
- the petition will be printed in the next day’s Hansard, and sent to the relevant department
- the department will normally issue a response (known as an ‘observation’) within two months, but this might take longer if there’s been a recess
- the response is printed in Hansard and a copy is sent to you and the Petitions Committee
- the Petitions Committee will consider the response and can recommend further action: for example, it might recommend a debate in Westminster Hall (although this is rare), or send the petition to the relevant select committee