Workshop A: The future of electronic petitions: local, national and European
Chair: Stephen Hilton, Connecting Bristol, Bristol City Council
Tom Steinberg, Director, mySociety
Mary Reid, Councillor, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and e-democracy Consultant
David Lowe, Head of Secretariat, Petitions Committee, European Parliament

From next spring, it will be compulsory for local councils in England and Wales to provide their residents with a facility to lodge electronic petitions, and to respond to such petitions Local authorities will also have to consider holding a debate for any petition which requests it (see http://www.headstar.com/egblive/?p=260).

How will they cope, what technologies should they use, and what changes will need to be made to the offline decision-making and consultation systems to incorporate the new requirement? Join two of the key players in local e-petitioning to assess these and related questions.

Meanwhile, electronic petitions have been underway for some time at 10 Downing Street and in the European Parliament, and we have two of the leading lights of both systems - Tom Steinberg and David Lowe - to join our panel and look at the wider e-petitioning scene, nationally and internationally.