With public consultations, the Lady Macbeth principle generally applies. “If … when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well, if were done quickly” (Act 1; scene 7) There are many reasons for this. Not only should public bodies act decisively and minimise the disruption and uncertainties when significant policy or practice changes are in the offing. But […]
The case for consultation is largely made and won. True, there are progressive voices claiming that it does not go far enough and calling for shared decision-making, though at least some of this is hugely optimistic given the continuing reluctance of those in office to relinquish much of their power. But consultation still has one
The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee is probably not the best-known body in Parliament. But it is the one group of Parliamentarians collectively tackling some of the issues arising from the Government’s peremptory changes to the Consultation Code of Practice in 2012. Just to refresh memories, the 2008 Code of Practice, widely regarded
Picture the scene! We spend a couple of days in a restored thirteenth century barn that’s now part of a hotel in Bedford. Assembled are almost twenty of the Institute’s Associates for an annual update in our New Year Conference – an important opportunity to consider recent developments and the ever-changing world of public engagement.
Proposals for change in our public services are often misunderstood by consultees. They are seen as single one-off initiatives – whereas the reality is that they are the latest iteration of a sequence of decisions. In other words, the choice in one consultation has often been largely influenced by something that has gone on before.
It is now ten years since we developed the Consultation Charter. In that time, there has been only one significant change, when the Principle of Confidentiality was replaced by a Principle of Transparency. The change was occasioned by the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and the move towards openness and transparency becoming the
The way the law should work – it is a self-learning system. Once a decision has ruled effectively on a certain set of situations or arguments, everyone should follow suit, knowing that if they broke the rules, they would be taken to court, and judgment against them would follow. Simples! Why, therefore do we still
When the Supreme Court rules on an important question of law, the general expectation is that it should provide a definitive settlement of disputed arguments – the last word on the current state of the law, if we like. So when on October 29th, the highest Court in the land published its first-ever judgment on
The Supreme Court & the law of consultation options Read More »
At various times in the last fifty years, Governments have responded to pressure to handle complaints of various kinds by setting up a range of Ombudsmen. Including the devolved administrations, there are now about a dozen separate organisations using the Swedish terminology that has now been adopted worldwide.3
What’s needed to make our creaking system work better? The Institute’s 2014 Conference theme is The Power of the People. Its potential is truly awesome. In North Africa, or in the Ukraine, it has been shown to have the power to destroy. Nearer to home, the power to decide seems to have galvanised the population
Conference Topic: In defence of representative decision-making… Read More »
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