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It only came into force in April 2009; no-one can say for definite whether it has made any difference. Yet there is quite an argument as to whether Mr Pickles’ […]

For a process that essentially exists to minimise the risk of mistakes by public bodies or large organisations, the practice of consultation is itself prone to many errors. There are

The huge variety of consultations makes it difficult to prescribe hard and fast rules for all aspects of the process, and there is always a debate as to whether or

Here’s a conversation we are having increasingly frequently. No doubt it’s partly prompted by the launch of our Registered Facilitator Scheme, but it’s been a consistent theme in recent months.

When Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary & Health Ombudsman introduced her latest Report last week, the media gave it massive exposure. And rightly so; it detailed how ten older patients suffered

As the media struggles to come to terms with the messy results offered by the British public, consultation professionals will reflect that data is frequently inconclusive and that interpreting what

Most Governments enter office with a pretty clear idea of what they intend to do. The devil may always be in the detail but, on fundamentals, the policy is decided

Just as we are all scratching our heads about the ‘Big Society’ two short Reports from the National Audit Office should make us sit up and take notice. One is

So Localism it is! In every speech; every press release; every Ministerial statement. They all express the same mantra and the message – to give the Coalition Government its due

A public sector organisation recently showed us its plan to take a sensitive and controversial decision. There had been extensive consultation and a distinct majority of respondents had a clear