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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

This is an important point and we should certainly look at how local authorities running petition schemes are dealing with issues of abuse. The No. 10 Downing Street website requires a postcode to be submitted, which is something else that could be done. I must apologise to my noble friend for not replying to his question about trade unions. The answer is yes, because if the petition organiser knows that those signing the petition live, work or study in the local authority area—and they most likely will—they could well include trade unionists acting on behalf of their union within the scope of the issue being raised. Nothing here would disqualify trade unionists.