National Assembly for Wales

Petitions Terms and Conditions

Proposed petitions must satisfy some basic conditions.

To propose a petition, please use the online template to provide:

  • the title or subject of the petition
  • a clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioner wishes the National Assembly for Wales to take. We will liaise with you to edit the wording of your petition if it is unclear what action is being sought
  • the lead petitioners name and contact address (in case we need to contact you about the petition. This will not be placed on the website)
  • a duration for the petition (we recommend between four and eight weeks)

The information in a petition must be submitted in good faith. In order for the petition to be admissible, you must not include:

  • potentially libellous, false, or defamatory statements
  • information which may be protected by an injunction or court order
  • material which is potentially confidential, commercially sensitive, or which may cause personal distress or loss to an individual, or individuals
  • any commercial endorsement, promotion of any product, service or publication
  • the names of individual officials of public bodies, unless they are part of the senior management of those organisations
  • the names of family members of elected representatives or officials of public bodies
  • the names of individuals, or information where they may be identified, in relation to criminal accusations
  • language which is offensive, intemperate, or provocative. This not only includes obvious swear words and insults, but any language to which people reading it could reasonably take offence

We reserve the right to reject:

  • petitions that are similar to and/or overlap with an existing petition that has been considered in the past 12 months
  • petitions which ask for things outside the remit or powers of the National Assembly for Wales
  • statements that amount to advertisements
  • issues for which a petition is not the appropriate channel (for example, correspondence about a personal issue)
  • Freedom of Information requests. This is not the right channel for FOI requests; information about the appropriate procedure can be found on the FOI section.

Petitions that do not follow these guidelines cannot be accepted. In these cases, you will be informed in writing of the reason(s) your petition has been refused. If this happens, we will give you the option of altering and resubmitting the petition so it can be accepted.

Once accepted, petitions will be made available on the National Assembly for Wales website for anyone to sign. Anyone signing the petition must provide their name, address and a verifiable email address. No personal details other than their name will be published on the site. Information about any individual will not be used for any other purpose than in relation to the petition, unless they choose to sign up for other services offered on this website. You can read more on this in our privacy policy.

Your petition will be available on this website until the specified closing date. If, however, during this time it becomes clear that your petition is not being run in accordance with the terms, we reserve the right to withdraw it. If this happens, we will contact you first to allow you to address the concerns we raise and we will only remove the petition as a last resort.

For more information on the process, see the Petitions Process page or contact the Petitions Team at petition@wales.gsi.gov.uk.