Linda Gilroy MP (P6)
Thank you for the e-mail about e-petitions.
I am grateful to the Committee for their work on this as it is
an important area for us to get right.
My only observation would be that any petition
must include a postal address as well as an e-mail address. This
makes it easier to spot "multiple" signings and also
means that MPs can identify their constituencies, and the petitioners
can demonstrate which constituencies are affected by the issue
they are raising.
I know that this might seem cumbersome but most
online petitions do have compulsory fields and a postal address
(even as little as post code and house number/name) should be
part of the agreed e-petition format.
It would also be important for the petitioners
to include permission for their e-mail addresses to be stored
and used by their MP for future contact on the issue they were
petitioning about.
November 2007
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