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For those of you that have been involved in running a public consultation you may be aware that it is not very fault-tolerant. Even with the best planned exercise and excellent execution, things can still go wrong. Providing solutions for the growing needs of a modern population combined with tighter budgets for spending, means tough […]

Just before Christmas, DEFRA published its long-awaited mega-strategy for the sustainable use of resources and the management of waste. It was obviously the season of goodwill for it attracted almost universal acclaim for finally addressing long-standing ‘wicked issues’ that previous Governments had chosen to avoid. No wonder Michael Gove was purring with self-satisfaction. Such criticism

It is probably too early to tell if Government whips will try to remove Tory defector, Sarah Wollaston from being chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee. She is also chair of the powerful Liaison Committee. Becoming one of the Independent MPs will not necessarily lower her profile, but may of course diminish

They can be among your fiercest critics. Or worse. They can appear hell bent on disrupting the consultation you have painstakingly organised. Opponents of proposals contained in public consultations vary enormously. At one end of the spectrum they can be well-resourced, seasoned pressure groups, well-aware of the do’s and don’ts of campaigning. At the other

14 January was the deadline for responses to the Government’s consultation on its policy paper Planning reform: supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes, which proposes to increase the Permitted Development Rights allowing change of use, and in doing so removes public consultation from decisions affecting the regeneration of town centres.