Public consultations

What are consultations?

Consultations are a way of involving the public in our work. They have become an integral part of our policy making process.

Running a consultation is not simply about more open-government, although that too is important, it is about making policies more effective by listening and taking onboard the views of the public and interested groups.

Benefits of consultation

Listening to the public has a number of specific benefits; it:

• allows government to tap the widest source of information possible and thus improves the quality of the decision reached
• alerts policy makers to any concerns and issues not picked up through existing evidence or research
• helps to monitor existing policy and determine whether changes are needed