Early Assurance.
An independent read on your plans before you start talking to the public.
Most consultations that run into trouble were already in trouble before they launched. We look at your draft plans while there is still time to change them, and tell you plainly where the risk sits and what to do about it.
What we look at
We read the parts of a consultation that decide whether it holds together, the ones a scrutiny committee, a lawyer, or a frustrated member of the public will reach for first.
Governance
Decision-making & sign-off“Who actually decides, and can they show how?”
Who signs the decision off, how it is recorded, and whether that will stand up when someone asks.
Timeline
Sequencing & deadlines“Was there ever time to change your mind?”
Whether you have left real time to consult, read the responses, and think about them before deciding.
Draft materials
Clarity & accessibility“Could an ordinary reader follow this?”
Whether your documents are clear enough for the public to understand the proposal and respond to it.
Equality
Public Sector Equality Duty“Who is most affected – and were they reached?”
How the plan accounts for the people most affected, and the duties that come with that.
The options
Scope & fairness“Are these real choices, fairly put?”
Whether the choices you mean to put forward are genuine, and described without a thumb on the scale.
Gunning Principles
The four legal tests“Would this survive a challenge?”
Whether the process meets the four established tests of a fair and lawful consultation.
No two changes are the same.
There is usually a moment when it becomes clear an outside view would help. It tends to look like one of these.
A proposal is sensitive, and you want it tested before it becomes public.
Your own team can’t agree on the approach, and an outside read would settle it.
You are not yet sure whether a formal consultation is even required.
Lawyers or scrutiny members have already begun asking pointed questions.
A past consultation was challenged, and you have no appetite for a repeat.
Shaped around your timeline.
There is no fixed package. We work in whichever of these ways fits the stage you are at and the time you have.
We read your plans
You send the draft documents, timeline and governance, and we review them against what good practice and the courts expect.
We sit in where it helps
Where it is useful, we join a planning session to hear the thinking and ask the questions a challenger eventually would.
We advise at the right moments
You get practical input at the points that matter, not a report that lands after the decisions are already made.
The Assurance Note.
A written record of what we reviewed and what we advised. It goes straight into your governance file and gives a scrutiny committee something concrete to point to: independent eyes were on this, early.
Early Assurance is the lightest of our assurance services.
If the project grows or gets more contested, the same team can extend it into full Quality Assurance, oversight that runs through to the final review, with no need to start again or brief someone new.
Questions we get asked
Before you commitWhy bother this early?
The earliest decisions about scope, governance and transparency are the ones that decide how defensible the whole consultation turns out to be. They are also the cheapest to change.
Does it replace legal advice?
No. We look at the process, not the legal substance of your proposals. Where you need a lawyer, we will point to where.
What if you find problems?
You get clear, practical recommendations. The point is not to mark your homework, it is to give you time to fix things before they cost you.
Do we always need it?
No. It earns its place when a project is politically sensitive, reputationally exposed, or when you aren’t sure consultation is required.
How do scrutiny bodies see it?
Well. The Assurance Note shows committees, Healthwatch and elected members that independent checks were done and proper care was taken.
Can it grow with the project?
Yes. If things change, Early Assurance extends into full Quality Assurance, with the same team carrying oversight through to the final review.
The best time to call is before you start.
Tell us where the project is and what is worrying you. We will tell you plainly whether Early Assurance is the right fit.