Stockbrokers used to say Sell in May and go away. Ministers just publish White Papers, Consultations or Guidelines, leaving those who need to understand and implement them with some weighty holiday reading.

In the case of the Empowerment White Paper – Communities in Control – we are meant to believe that the “journey” towards greater public participation is far more important than any of the detailed initiatives of themselves. Yet this journey is itself controversial. At last week’s Neil Stewart Conference, an entertaining but pedantic academic argued that representative and participative democracy were incompatible, whereas those who enthuse about empowerment agree that it is a messy cocktail of techniques with (as yet) little overall coherence.

Yet some of what’s proposed is quite significant, and may involve public authorities in a number of serious changes to the way they do business. It goes way beyond the traditional tick-box consultations which too many have, half-heartedly undertaken by junior staff and seldom acted upon. From now on, the Audit Commission’s eagle-eyes are going to be much more focused on the extent to which Councils are engaging with their public. And not just Councils – Audit Commission Chairman, Michael O’Higgins has confirmed that he intends to monitor closely how all the partners to a Local Area Agreement engage with those they serve.