One of the myths about consultation is that it is a defined one-off event that starts and finishes … and that’s it.

Now some consultation exercises do have those characteristics, but these are comparatively rare. Questions requiring considered input from the general public or technical stakeholders seldom emerge from thin air; there is usually a context and history bringing us to where there is a need for dialogue. That is why we need decision-takers and policy-makers to have a well-developed sense of who’s affected by what they do, and the contacts to ensure that relevant views are gathered.