What is public consultation?
People are starting to talk more and more about Public Consultation.
but what is it and why should you get involved?
At its simplest, Public Consultation is an activity that involves the gathering and communication of the public’s feedback on an organisation's set of project proposals.
The public are individuals and/or organisations who are affected directly or indirectly by the project proposals, whether positively or negatively. They may also be people or organisations who simply have an interest in the project or issues under discussion.
The difference between consultation and engagement
You may hear the terms 'Public Consultation' and 'Stakeholder Engagement' used interchangeably, though they are similar in many ways there are a handful of significant differences. Public Consultation has a formal timeframe for the public to respond and a set of materials specifically designed for the feedback process.
Whereas, Stakeholder Engagement is a process of continuous communication between the organisation setting out the proposals.
Examples of Public Consultation
What does this all mean in practice?
Below are a few examples of when Public Consultation is necessary;
1. A private company wants to transform a redundant shopping arcade in a renowned tourist location into a religious institution potentially impacting the area’s tourism
2. Transport for London wants to install a new railway station in a highly congested area, affecting traffic
3. The NHS wants to build a new hospital in a city hub
4. The government wishes to install new traffic lights and pedestrian crossings in a borough, creating recurring construction works and traffic issues
For governments, Consultation can be applied to a range of topics such as draft legislation and rules, budgets, policy development, and spatial planning.
When should the public be consulted?
Good Public Consultation is directed towards decision-making during the planning phase of a project.
This is the case in most industries— both private or public sector. In some cases, there are legal duties for certain government bodies to consult such as the Planning Act 2008, which requires pre-application consultation on nationally significant infrastructure project.
What does good
consultation look like?
Fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness are a priority and as such, a code—now known as the Gunning Principles—was established in 1985 by Stephen Sedley QC, and set as a legal precedent in the Gunning V LB of Brent Case. These four principles are designed to confirm the equality and significance of the activity:
1. That consultation must be at a time when proposals are still at a formative stage;
2. That the proposer must give sufficient reasons for any proposal to permit of intelligent consideration and response;
3. That adequate time is given for consideration and response; and
4. That the product of consultation is conscientiously taken into account when finalising the decision.
