The petitions system is currently in a public beta test. This means that users are welcome to sign and create petitions, but we will be changing the site frequently over the next few weeks in response to feedback. If you'd like to tell us any improvements we could make to the functioning of the petitions system, please contact [email protected].
Update from No10, 21/11/2006: The e-petitions beta test phase is continuing and several improvements have been made to the site following suggestions from users, such as the addition of a search facility. A particular issue we are considering is what to do about petitions which are identical or very similar to petitions already on the site. So far we have not rejected most very similar petitions, in order to allow users to express their views in their own words. However, the increasing number of petitions which are very similar congests the site and probably dilutes the voice of some petitioners. We are considering ways to adapt the site to deal with this. Meanwhile we would encourage users, before creating a new petition, to use the search box to see if they would like to sign an existing one instead.