Originally published 26 May 2009. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
There are lots of issues emerging right now about the way Government departments and their agencies consult the public ... and many of them are on important matters of policy.
But it is at local level that public engagement really makes a difference, and it is for this reason that the newly-published National Census of local authority councillors in England is so fascinating.
Here are some interesting snippets from the data
? Councillors are getting older, (average age now 58.8!) more likely to be retired (now 43.5%), predominantly male (68%) and white (96.6%!) ? When asked to list the most important things they do, the Top Five were: (2006 in brackets)
o Listen to the views of local people 94.1% (93.5%) o Support the local community 91.4% (85.2%) o Address issues 77.9% (73.7%) o Deal with complaints 72.1% (72.7%) o Council meetings 68.4% (69.9%)
? When asked their views on community advocacy roles, the number considering it to be very important were:
o A devolved discretionary budget for individual councillors to spend on local amenities or initiatives 40.4% o Greater role for Councils in the accountability of key local services like Health & Police 62.5% o Mechanisms such as petitions to force debates on specific local issues onto the council agendas 25.0%
? When asked to comment on their authorities’ commitment to these specific activities, the number stating full commitment were:
o Allowing people to have a role in allocating resources through participatory budgeting 18.4% o Enabling people and communities to have an influence locally through active programmes of engagement 38.3%
? Allowing people to have their say on services provided locally through consultation and feedback 51.2%
There is much else of value in this Census, and it is not the role of these Topics to throw endless statistics at our audience. But these figures speak volumes for the challenge that the Government faces if it is serious about the empowerment agenda, and those who want to see greater public participation have to recognise that many Councillors and many Councils are far from convinced. In particular, they have not been won over in the case of Participatory Budgeting or Petitions, though it should be noted that these questions were asked over six months ago before the Empowerment White Paper and the advent of the Local Democracy Bill.
There are lessons here that go beyond local government. Those who run public bodies, managers in the private sector and voluntary bodies working with public money or in the public realm, mostly buy into the concept of consultation. This is reflected in the views of elected members as shown above. But the truth is that they are only too well aware that they are still learning how to do it! Going beyond consultation and – for academics amongst us – pushing upwards on the Arnstein ladder of participation – is far more challenging.
Those who have the courage to try new ideas like participatory budgeting – especially if they use it to influence mainstream budgets – may have a pleasant surprise, for, when done professionally, it can work. Similarly the Government’s initiative to force Councils to respond to petitions might also unblock a stream of involvement that has been difficult to flow in the past. The trouble is that there are very few one-size-fits-all solutions and we need a focused investment in public engagement skills so that organisations that are uncertain quite what, and how much to do, can rely upon knowledgeable staff to help them.
The Census illustrates the need for change agents like the IDeA, Solace, the Regional Empowerment Partnerships – and their equivalents in Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland – to work hard with elected members on the ground to help them appreciate the merits of greater citizen participation and the contribution it can make to a 21st century democracy
Trigger points
- What opinions might elected members in your Authority have expressed in this survey?
- What are the implications for other public bodies. Is there a commitment to consult stakeholders?
- Consider the Institute’s new 2009 training course New Approaches to Public engagement.
This is the 128th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement