Consultation and Policy Appraisal Code

Key points for effective consultation and policy appraisal.

Build consultation into your regular planning cycle and consult as early as possible
Appraise new policies and procedures, particularly at the developmental stage, identifying as far as possible any implications for the voluntary and community sector at regional and local level
Give consultees enough time to respond and be clear about their purpose
Write documents in simple language and be clear about their purpose
Explain where decisions have already been made – make clear what you can change and what you cannot
Use more than one method of consultation and learn from others examples of Good Pracrtice
Be flexible and sensitive to the needs of those you wish to consult, think about how to reach all of the intended target audience, and take account positively of the specific needs, interests and contributions of those parts of the community which represent women, minority groups and the socially excluded
Encourage those consulted to give honest views, for examples by assuring confidentiality when it is requested
Publicise the consultation and encourage participation by involving membership and infrastructure organisations
Analyse carefully the results of the consultation and report back on the views that were received and what you have done as a result.
Evaluate carefully after consulting, and learn lessons for next time, with the aim of achieving better policy outcomes

Aim:

This Code of Good Practice aims to make a positive impact on the way in which we consult and appraise policy and decision-making
The Code also applies to all participating voluntary, community and statutory sector organisations
Consultation presents an opportunity for communities to bring their knowledge, experience and expertise to bear on policy

Effective consultation:

enables others to contribute to the policy making process
symbolises an organisations commitment to be open and accountable
leads to more realistic and robust policy that better reflects people’s needs and wishes
helps to plan, prioritise and deliver better services
can create a working partnership and mutual understanding with those consulted
identifies problems quickly enabling matters to be put right before they escalate

The value of ongoing dialogue:

Ongoing dialogue between voluntary, community and statutory organisations can help to keep all sides informed about developments and avoid unnecessary surprises. In addition, ongoing dialogue can help improve the development and delivery of programmes based on partnership, where improved mutual understanding can enhance joint working and policy outcomes.

Consultation should be open and meaningful:

Consultation has to be an open and meaningful process if it is to command credibility and make the best use of the time and resources of all those involved.

Those wishing to consult should make clear in the consultation process those matters which are open to change and those on which it has made a firm decision.

Consultation methods:

There are many ways of consulting. There is no right method for any given circumstance. All sorts of conditions influence which methods will provide useful information, and there are no guarantees that just because one method worked well once it will do so again. It is important to choose the right methods. Careful thought should be given to the aim of the consultation, the nature of those being consulted, and the timetable for action. Sometimes talking to people will be as valuable as writing to them, or more so. Or it may be appropriate to use a variety of methods. Good consultation requires careful planning.

The key is to get the best spread of views from those most likely to be affected, and from those with the most to contribute. It can be helpful to seek views from voluntary and community organisations themselves as to how best to carry out a particular consultation exercise. The most important tip is not to rely on just one method. Using more than one method increases the chance of a better response – both in terms of quality and quantity. Different methods can also produce different results.

Written consultation:

Written exercises provide a formal means by which people can be invited to comment on policies and proposals. This helps to make policy-making properly accountable, and ensures that knowledge and experience are shared more widely. There are different types of written consultation, ranging from wide public consultations, for example relating to government Green Papers, to small-scale consultations with specialist groups on minor or technical matters. Guidance on consultation documents is set out below.

Other methods:

Written consultation exercises are just one way to consult. Other ways include opinion surveys (postal and face-to-face); meetings; focus groups; user panels; and the internet. Surveys can give an indication of a weight of views, while qualitative research through, for example, meetings, focus groups or panels can provide an understanding of the range and complexity of views. In organising public meetings care should be taken to ensure that they are fully accessible, and adequate notice should be given to relevant interested bodies.

Consultation documents:

All consultation documents should be concise, clearly laid out and written in simple language that will be understood by the intended audience, avoiding jargon (external testing for plain language is commended). Consideration should be given to making the document available in accessible formats and different languages.

Consultation documents will ideally contain or be accompanied by the following:

a summary (ideally no more than one page); a description of the issue, proposal or problem being addressed
the purpose of the consultation and, if appropriate, the objective which the proposal is intended to deliver
the issues on which views are being sought; wherever possible they should take the form of clear questions and/or fairly argued options and avoid a simple ‘Yes/No’ format
an explanation of what decisions, if any, have already been taken and an explanation of why a particular option is favoured
if relevant, various sources of opinion and information, and factual statements that are properly referenced (for example, from academics or consumer groups)
where appropriate, an explanation of who is likely to be affected, and how, including an assessment or impact statement covering the likely effect of the proposals on the community
where appropriate, an invitation to respondents to submit their own ideas or assessment of how the proposals will impact on the community
the deadline for responses, and wherever possible an outline of the proposed timetable for the rest of the decision-making and implementation processes including a statement of how feedback will be given
the name, address and, wherever possible the telephone number and email address of a person whom respondents can contact if they have further queries
a list of those being consulted; the document might also ask consultees to suggest any other organisations or individuals who should be consulted
a request that those responding should explain who they are and, where relevant, who they represent and specifically who they have further consulted (to help ensure that responses from representative bodies are properly weighted)
a statement that responses will normally be made available unless the respondent has requested that they remain confidential
an explanation of any constraints that may have limited the full application of the guidance contained in this Code of Good Practice
an invitation to provide feedback on the consultation exercise itself and make suggestions for improving consultation in the future

Making consultation material available in accessible formats:

Where necessary, consultation materials should be provided in accessible formats, for example, Braille, large print or audio formats (further advice on this can be obtained from the Royal National Institute for the Blind), and languages other than English. Be ready to deal sympathetically with requests for materials to be made available in such formats. If necessary, consider other ways of consulting these groups, for example through face to face discussions.

If the consultation applies to the people of Wales, remember that it will probably need to be published in English and Welsh in line with the requirements of the Welsh Language Act.

How to decide who to consult?

Consultation should not be limited to those in receipt of anothers funding, but should include those with which regular contact is made or which are likely to have views on the issue in question. Organisations should be encouraged to register their interest in forthcoming consultations (for example, by way of inter-active websites that invite users to register their interest in particular policy areas). Membership organisations in the voluntary and community sector will also be able to provide advice on who to consult.

The consultation exercise should be appropriately publicised (for example, through an appropriately targeted press release), through voluntary and community sector intermediary bodies (such as the Council for Voluntary Service) and other organisations and networks.

How long to allow for consultation?

For written consultations, wherever possible 12 weeks should be allowed for replies, in order to accommodate the work cycles of organisations working with voluntary management committees and to reach the local level or member organisations, (eight weeks for replies will be the minimum). Where less than 12 weeks is allowed the document should specify the reason why a shorter response time has been set. For consultations with clearly defined meetings or focus groups, shorter consultation periods may suffice, depending on the nature of the subject and the scale of the exercise. Other considerations, such as urgency, can result in a need for more immediate consultation. In such circumstances it is preferable for some consultation to be undertaken rather than none at all. Prior to the consultation beginning, consideration should also be given to how to deal with requests for the deadline for comments to be extended.

Acknowledgement of receipt of responses:

Acknowledgements should be sent to those replying to the consultation giving information about the next stages of the process, where this is known. However, it is accepted that it will not generally be possible to respond directly to points made in individual responses.

Confidentiality:

Where respondents request confidentiality for their comments, their wishes will be respected in accordance with the existing Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and, in due course, in accordance with legislation on Freedom of Information.

After the consultation period:

Analysis and feedback:

The results of all consultation exercises should be carefully analysed and views should be adequately weighted. Particular attention should be paid to the views of representative bodies and those most affected by the proposals.

Care should be taken to ensure that appraisal does not place undue weight on responses from larger organisations or marginalise the views of smaller organisations.

Once a decision has been made on the way forward, respondents should be notified promptly how the work will proceed (for example, through a press release, a letter from officials, use of a website). This should explain: the consultation process followed; how the decision reflects the results of the consultation (for example, by including an indication of the level of support for the various options canvassed); and include any modified assessment of the impact of the proposals. Where circumstances permit, a summary of views should be produced and made available (unless they are confidential) together with other information collected from the consultation exercise. Where respondents ask why their views have been rejected, effort should be made to give a prompt and full explanation.

Why evaluate?

Evaluating the success of consultation is vital, and should not be left to the end of the process. It will be much easier to do if this is included it in the initial planning, for example, by deciding at the outset to actively seek feedback on the consultation process from the communities or organisations involved. Effective evaluation tells you what worked and what did not (and why). It helps to make sure that best value for money from efforts and time is acheived. If one particular method does not work, efforts should be made to establish why. Problems are always much clearer with hindsight. Evaluation can help avoid pitfalls next time. Equally, if something works well, assessment as to "why" will enable developments for next time.

Points to think about.

Objectives:

Set clear objectives from the start of the consultation.
Why is the consultation being carried out?
What is it trying to find out?
Who is going to be consulted?
How is it going to be carried out?
What will happen to the results?
As with all objectives, they should be:- SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound). At the end, a consultation should measure whether:

objectives were clear

they were relevant to the consultation itself and linked to the wider planning process

they were explained to, and understood by, all relevant staff, and those consulted.

Effect of the consultation:

The key question is whether anything changed as a result of the consultation. A good consultation measures whether:

the views attained are useful
the views are actually used
the consultation has led to some identifiable change in policy or service
the consultation has changed the relationship between those consulted, users and others

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