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Last Updated: 19/1/2007
All consultation documents should be written in clear, plain English and should avoid acronyms, abbreviations and jargon wherever possible.
For some stakeholder groups, language will be a significant barrier to effective consultation.
If you are consulting with non-English speaking communities, ensure that you produce a translated version of the consultation document and have an interpreter available for informal consultation exercises.
If you are consulting with a group where there are low levels of literacy, it may not be appropriate to produce a written consultation at all. Focus groups, seminars or public meetings are likely to be far more effective in obtaining a comprehensive range of views.
If your policy proposal is likely to affect Wales, you should consider publishing your consultation document in Welsh. Ask your Department if they have a Welsh language scheme and follow their advice. You may be obliged to produce the consultation document in Welsh if it is requested by one of your stakeholders.
If you are consulting with sight-disabled stakeholders, you should produce consultation documents in Braille, large print, or Audio-Visual formats where appropriate.
When consulting with learning disabled people your consultation document should be concise and clearly written in specifically targeted language.
Informal and e-consultation methods are likely to be most useful to obtain the views of children and young people. However, a well-targeted consultation document can also be effective. Documents targeted at young people should be concise and very clearly written in language specifically targeted at a younger age group. Think about the design of your document too: break up the text with colourful pictures and relevant examples.
If you think you may have to translate consultation documents into another language or format, remember to factor enough time for this into your project planning.
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