So, when writing your petition you need to include within it a call for a policy action or change, rather than just a petition about a named minister. It is well-worth reading the Rules/Help page to see what can and cannot be included.
This is the reply from the Petitions Committee re a recent petition:
"The Petitions Committee decided not to debate the petition you signed – "Vote no confidence in David Cameron"
"The House of Commons Petitions Committee has decided not to schedule a debate on this petition, because the Committee does not have the power to schedule debates on motions of no confidence, and the petition does not contain a specific request for action on policy.
"It is usually more effective to start a petition calling for a specific change to government policy or the law, rather than a petition about an individual Minister.
"It is still open to MPs to seek time for a debate on this petition in the main House of Commons Chamber, if they wish to do so. However, debates on motions of no confidence are fairly rare. "So, the moral of the story is, if you want your petition to get discussed, attack the policy not the person!
It still raises the question why, if the petition raised a question outside of the scope of the Petitions Committee, it did not rule the petition out under their standards checking procedure when it was first filed? Would it be cynical to suggest that the petition may have been viewed as an indicator of the popularity of the minister named?
