Government consultations

A consultation is a process of inviting people to share their views on an issue to help inform decision-making. This research briefing describes how government departments and other public bodies consult and what rules apply to government consultations.

Consultations can be carried out by public bodies in any part of the United Kingdom, though some legal requirements differ between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. This briefing applies primarily to the rules on consultation in England.

What does government consult on?

Governments can consult on almost any element of policy. The open consultations listed on gov.uk show the range of topics that can be subject to consultation by the UK Government. Consultations can also be carried out by other public bodies, such as local authorities consulting on planning applications and NHS bodies consulting on changes to health services.

In some cases, public bodies have a legal duty to carry out a consultation. There will be legal duty to consult where:

• there is legislation which requires a consultation
• a government department or public body has promised to consult
• there is an established practice of consultation in similar cases
• not consulting would lead to obvious unfairness (in exceptional cases)

The consultation principles published by the Cabinet Office provide guidance on when and how government departments should carry out consultations.

Who responds to consultations?

Government consultations are generally open to the public. They are designed to seek views from people who have a particular interest in the policy under consideration.

Interested parties can respond to a consultation either individually or as part of a group, such as a charity or campaign group. Respondents might be:

• directly affected by a policy, such as a local resident responding to proposals for a neighbourhood plan
• someone with knowledge of the subject area, such as a business leader responding to a consultation on industrial strategy
• both, such as a healthcare professional responding to an NHS consultation

How can the public respond to a consultation?

There is no set format for responding to consultations. Consultations vary in the methods they use to collect responses, although government consultations are generally published online with instructions and specific questions to guide respondents.

Consultations will be open for responses for a set period of time: planning consultations generally last for 21 days, for example, while UK Government consultations have traditionally lasted for 12 weeks.

What happens after a consultation?

Generally, government departments and other public bodies should be able to demonstrate how the responses they have gathered during a consultation have impacted their decision-making process.

According to guidance from the Cabinet Office, government departments should aim to publish a response within 12 weeks of the end of the consultation period. Government responses should be published on gov.uk alongside information about the views gathered from consultees.

However, what exactly happens at the end of a consultation period will vary depending on the public body that is carrying out the consultation and the issue that they are consulting on.