Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

Noble Lords have raised some pragmatic and sensible issues on which I hope I can reassure them. Certainly this is an area we could discuss further. Clause 12 provides that valid petitions must be addressed to the authority that the petitioner requests to take action. Amendment 91A would change this so that valid petitions must be addressed or presented to the authority. I am reliably informed that the term ““addressed”” should not be taken literally as an address written on an envelope, as the noble Lord said, but rather in the sense of ““aimed at””. As such, the act of presenting a petition to an authority clearly comes under the expression ““addressed””; therefore the aim of the amendment is achieved.