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 »
The idea of ‘purdah’ is not new, and in a Tuesday Topic earlier this year, we argued that it was being over-interpreted and in danger of stifling debate on important changes in our society. Just as the shops seem to display their Xmas stock earlier and earlier, it seems that public bodies are similarly choosing
Referendums – rightly – have their critics, but as the top-end of the consultation spectrum we can surely look to the events of last week and try to see what lessons can be learnt from the Scottish referendum. There is no shortage of political analysis – but this is an attempt to focus on the
London has witnessed a great deal of controversy in recent months as the Government sought to resolve long-standing financial and associated problems in the NHS in South London. A year ago, it appointed a Trust Special Administrator in an attempt to resolve the issues, but his recommendations sparked off an acrimonious campaign which finally led
Lewisham Hospital – Key messages from the judicial review Read More »
Court cases are very seldom lost on the mechanics of a public consultation. But increasingly, dissatisfied consultees are challenging public bodies by alleging that the consultation is a sham and that decisions have effectively already been taken. It’s called pre-determination, and the advent of two quite separate cases – one on NHS service changes and another
So the consultation is over; the data is analysed; feedback has been published and a final decision has now been taken. For those whose lives are much involved with the processes of consultation and engagement, it may well be time to express a sigh of relief, or maybe move on to the next project. But
We have known for some time that the UK is almost certainly one of the world leaders in public consultation. When Elizabeth Gammell and I spoke at a World Bank conference eighteen months ago, it confirmed much that we already suspected, and scarcely a week now passes in the Institute without further evidence that consultation
When the NHS tries to bring about significant change, it often faces a storm of public protest and frequently becomes a political football as one side or another seeks an electoral advantage from the ensuing debate. As often as not, that debate takes the form of a public consultation – for that is what Parliament
It is so fashionable to denigrate politicians and to counsel them to ‘listen to the people’ that it may appear counter-intuitive to suggest that just for once, we should listen to them. Civil servants and Managers attending Institute training courses, Masterclasses or Roundtables frequently complain that one of the biggest challenges they face is overcoming
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