Does Reorganisation Reset Your Consultation Duties?
New unitary authorities inherit their predecessors’ consultation obligations. Reorganisation is not a legal clean slate.
Does Reorganisation Reset Your Consultation Duties? Read More »
Article
SEND budget cuts: why councils face judicial review
SEND budget cuts: why councils face judicial review
SEND budget cuts: why councils face judicial review Read More »
Bus franchising consultation: lessons from Greater Manchester
The Greater Manchester case confirmed what lawful bus franchising consultation looks like. Here is what every transport authority needs to know..
Bus franchising consultation: lessons from Greater Manchester Read More »
Stakeholder mapping for public consultation: the 4 steps most teams miss
Completing a stakeholder map feels like progress. It is, but only as a first step. The map tells you who has an interest in your consultation. It says nothing about how to reach them, what they need from you, or how you will know whether your engagement has worked. This article sets out the steps
Stakeholder mapping for public consultation: the 4 steps most teams miss Read More »
Public Consultation and Legal Risk: 5 Warning Signs
Public consultations rarely fail because the organisation intended to get the process wrong. They fail because a series of individually manageable decisions about timing, evidence, reach, and response combine to create a process no court will uphold. This article identifies five warning signs that a consultation has crossed from defensible to legally exposed, and what
Public Consultation and Legal Risk: 5 Warning Signs Read More »
Emergency change: does it suspend equality and consultation?
Emergency change does not switch off public law. Whether the organisation is a council, an NHS body or a fire and rescue authority, pressure and urgency may justify moving quickly, but they do not justify weak equality analysis, vague reasons, or treating a temporary measure as if it never needs proper scrutiny. The legal test
Emergency change: does it suspend equality and consultation? Read More »
When consultation actually changes the decision: the Oxfordshire fire service case
Oxfordshire County Council is set to consider revised fire and rescue proposals after a consultation that produced significant changes: no station closures, the Thame proposal withdrawn, and the north Oxford plan paused. For consultation practitioners, the question is not whether the politics worked out. It is whether the process remained genuinely capable of changing the
When consultation actually changes the decision: the Oxfordshire fire service case Read More »
Planning Consultation Requirements: Are Councils Ready?
England’s planning reforms are not just about speeding up decisions. They are changing who is accountable for how consultation is conducted, how representations are handled, and how that evidence withstands scrutiny. Three specific changes create immediate legal and governance exposure for local planning authorities that have not updated their processes. The reform direction across development
Planning Consultation Requirements: Are Councils Ready? Read More »
Coffee Mornings Return: What are the Topics (Season 1)
We’re relaunching our Thursday morning sessions from February, and we want to know what you’d like to explore Good news: our coffee mornings are coming back. We ran these back in the early 2020s and they were really valuable, so we’re bringing them back from February. We’d love to hear what topics you’d like us
Coffee Mornings Return: What are the Topics (Season 1) Read More »
Legitimate Expectation: When a Promise to Consult Creates a Legal Duty
Public bodies sometimes promise to consult. Sometimes they have always consulted in the past. Does either of those facts create a legal obligation to consult again? The doctrine of legitimate expectation says it can, but the courts set the bar high, and the gap between what practitioners assume will count and what actually does is
Legitimate Expectation: When a Promise to Consult Creates a Legal Duty Read More »
