CONSULTATION CO-ORDINATORS

Every department has, or should have, a consultation co-ordinator. They are able to give advice on the Code of Practice on Consultation and should be contacted at the beginning of the process.

Consultation co-ordinators also collate information about all of their department’s consultations and provide this information to the Cabinet Office in the form of an annual return.

If you do not know who the consultation co-ordinator is for your department please contact our helpline on 020 7276 6275. We will be able to give you their details.

Information required by the Cabinet Office

Annual Departmental Reports

From this year, departments will be asked to provide information on departmental progress on the better regulation agenda in their Annual Departmental Reports. (For more information about departmental reports please see http://www.hm-treasury.gsi.gov.uk/psd/

pes_papers/pespaper/pespaper_2002/pes0229.htm (This link is only intended for those with access to Government Secure Intranet.)

This should include information regarding the number of consultations that have been carried out, and the number which have lasted at least 12 weeks. In addition it would be good to provide information about consultation exercises which have been particularly effective, for example those where previously unconsidered issues were highlighted by consultees, and those which may have used alternative methods of consultation to reach a wider audience. This is your chance to publicise your successes.

Annual Cabinet Office Return

Cabinet Office will also require the information listed below on an annual basis so that we can carry out analysis of l consultation performance across Government. The information which you collate for your Cabinet Office return will also be useful to assist you in providing information for your departmental report.

• The number of national and public consultations your department/agency has published
  
• The number of consultations which ran for a period of less than 12 weeks. Of those that were less than twelve weeks you should also provide a figure for those which ran for a period of less than 8 weeks. Reasons for this should also be given. This will allow us to differentiate between those consultations which were a little under 12 weeks and those which were significantly shorter, and will allow us to gain a more representative picture of a department’s performance.
  
• Information regarding any other departures from the Code of Practice. (Including, where possible, the number of consultations where there were departures.)
  
• The number of comments and complaints received about the consultation process itself. Only include complaints that were specifically focussing on breaches of the Code. (Please provide details, including what action was taken.)
  
• Details of lesson learned. This may relate to evaluation of specific consultations or any general review of consultation practice within the department.
  
• You may also want to highlight any further information regarding consultations which are examples of best practice. These may include consultations that were longer than 12 weeks, or used different methods.