UK Parliament and Government Petitions Service

What it does

Statutory-adjacent petitions platform run jointly by the House of Commons Petitions Committee and the Government. A petition reaching 10,000 signatures receives a written Government response; one reaching 100,000 signatures is considered for a Westminster Hall debate by the Petitions Committee. Petitions are open to British citizens and UK residents. The Committee can also take evidence and hold sessions on petition topics.

Its powers

advise

Honest assessment

Honest assessment: the 10,000-signature Government response is almost always a restatement of existing policy drafted by the department, and is worth little on its own. The 100,000 threshold is different — a Westminster Hall debate creates a Hansard record, forces a minister to the despatch box, and generates press. For AI, no petition has yet moved policy. Its real utility is as a coordination and visibility device that makes a later select-committee submission or media campaign land harder, not as a lever in itself. Low cost, low expected value.

Notes

Petitions close after six months and are rejected if they duplicate an existing petition or fall outside Government/Parliament responsibility.