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DRAFT SECTION ON CONSULTATION, INFORMATION, PARTICIPATION

There are a number of reasons why statutory agencies and community and voluntary sector organisations will want to communicate with each other.

These include:

  • Information giving,
  • Information gathering,
  • To consult about matters which are open to change, and
  • To hold ongoing discussions about a range of issues and developments.

Before starting any communication with external bodies/public, agencies will clearly identify:

  • The purpose of the communication - what is to be achieved?
  • Who do we talk to and why?
  • How best to communicate with those targeted so it is appropriate?

Information, and consultation activities will be targeted to ensure smaller groups and those most affected have good access to them, with appropriate methods to reach those most likely to be excluded by traditional communication methods. Consultation will require a range of methods to engage different groups of people and communities.

 

Agencies will plan communication in advance and contact others to find out if it is possible to bring different consultation processes together - especially where these are to be locally held.

In the past we have not always been clear about the reason we are communicating, calling a range of activity "consultation" regardless of whether what's being discussed is open to change or not. This can lead to confusion. It may even lead to anger and resentment among those who join in to give a view and make changes to proposals and plans that find they are simply receiving information.

 

In future, those signing this Compact will give a clear explanation of the purpose of communicating in relation to:

 

Information Giving. Information will be clear, concise, and in plain English. It will be made available in different formats and languages as appropriate.

 

Information Gathering. Agencies will gather general and specific information to give an informed base to planning services, usually before any consultation or ongoing evaluation purposes.

 

Consultation. Only processes allowing those specific matters open to genuine change that reflect expressed views will be described as consultation.

 

There are many ways to consult, and these are described more fully in the implementation guidance. However, for written consultations it should be a matter of good practice to allow 12 weeks for replies in order to accommodate the work cycles of community and voluntary organisations and political/organisational processes in statutory agencies.

 

Dialogue. For some issues statutory agencies, community groups and voluntary organisations will find it useful to have ongoing discussions for planning and development purposes. Such dialogue may not have set deadlines, and may take a number of forms. Some of these are described in the implementation guidance.

 

Costs of Participation. Statutory Agencies recognise that participation in their consultation programmes and ongoing dialogue about plans and developments requires resources. These include time and costs of travel and childcare, personal assistance, and interpreters.