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Late consultation output analysis by Government – is this the worst yet?

You launch a public consultation on 26th October 2015.

You are in a hurry, so you only allow 33 days rather than the customary 12 weeks to hear people’s views.

A grand total of 32 organisations reply, but you dismiss 6 of them because they did not directly answer the questions. So the analysis task was not exactly gargantuan.

Consultees were serious organisations. They included the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors and the Road Haulage Association; bodies accustomed to being treated with courtesy and listened to professionally.

The consultor finally publishes the analysis of the consultation – what we call the output – on 19th February 2018. – 816 days after the closing date.

Is this a record?

So which banana republic is this from?

Seriously, this is the United Kingdom which observes rules embodied in a document called the Government’s Consultation Principles.

Principle J obliges departments to …

“Publish responses within 12 weeks of the consultation or provide an explanation why this is not possible. Where consultation concerns a statutory instrument publish responses before or at the same time as the instrument is laid, except in very exceptional circumstances (and even then publish responses as soon as possible). Allow appropriate time between closing the consultation and implementing policy or legislation.”

And what is the offending part of Government?  The Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy …

And the subject of the offending consultation?  Policy re Late payments !

So hilarious, we could not possibly have made it up!  And is it the worst?  Probably not?

Last time we looked there were 15 or more 2016 consultations without feedback.

Enough said?

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