What is a public consultation? It is a request from a public body for views on a proposal that is still at a formative stage, with the responses conscientiously taken into account before the final decision is made.
Consultations are one of the main routes by which people shape policy, alongside the wider range of public policy events that bring officials and the public together. This guide explains what a consultation is, why governments run them, how one moves from launch to outcome report, and what the law does and does not require.
What a public consultation is
A public consultation is a formal opportunity for people affected by a proposal to comment on it before it is finalised. A commentary on the Gunning principles, the long-standing legal test for fair consultation, sets the first condition plainly: consultation must take place when proposals are still at a formative stage. Asking for views after the decision is effectively made does not meet that test.
The same commentary says the proposer must give sufficient reasons for any proposal to allow intelligent consideration and response. In practice, that is the job of the consultation paper and any accompanying policy briefing. If the reasoning is thin, respondents cannot engage with it in a meaningful way.
Open and tightly defined consultations
Consultations differ in how much they leave open. LSE research on improving consultations notes that they vary from open and general to tightly defined and more specific. An open exercise suits an early stage when the issue itself is still being framed. A tightly defined one suits a point where a government department has a specific option or draft to test.
The organiser also chooses which options to put forward. The Gunning commentary says that range of proposals can be set by the consulting body, as long as stakeholders can see how it got there. The test is that the reasoning is visible, not that every conceivable alternative is listed.
Why governments hold consultations
Governments consult to test proposals against the knowledge and interests of the people they affect, and because the law expects fair process before certain decisions. LSE’s research found consultation recognised as valuable at all stages of the policy process, from initiation through implementation and evaluation.
Timing changes what a consultation can achieve. The LSE material says open consultation is especially useful at the beginning of a process, where there is an opportunity to influence how an issue is understood. Later rounds are better suited to checking details. The advice is not to consult only at the start, but to consult as the policy is being developed as well.
Widening who takes part
Stakeholder engagement is the practical aim behind many exercises. The LSE project argues for including and engaging a wider range of stakeholders than the usual rights holders. It states that consumers, who are directly affected by copyright legislation, should have a voice. That example is drawn from copyright policy, but the point carries across: a civil society organisation, a business body and an individual resident can each see a proposal differently.
Participation depends on awareness. According to the same LSE work, good promotion is critical to achieving participation, and a lack of public understanding can be a barrier to wider engagement. A consultation that is technically open but poorly publicised or hard to follow will hear from a narrow group.
Stages from launch to outcome report
The official lifecycle runs from planning through an open response period to a published account of what was decided. The stages below combine the LSE research on good practice with the legal principles in the Gunning commentary.
- Plan the exercise. LSE stresses a clear and considered plan at the start of the consultation process. That plan fixes the questions, the audience and how the results will feed into policy.
- Launch with reasons. The consultation paper must give sufficient reasons for the proposal to allow intelligent consideration and response. This is where a policy briefing or explanatory document does its work.
- Publicise and open the response period. Promotion drives participation, and adequate time must be given for consideration and response.
- Analyse the responses. The product of consultation must be conscientiously taken into account in finalising any statutory proposals.
- Publish the outcome. LSE recommends clear links between consultations and policy outcomes, so readers can see what happened as a result.
Consultation need not end when the first round closes. LSE advises consulting as the policy is being developed, and its research sees value in consultation through implementation and evaluation. A single paper and deadline is only one point in a longer process.
People who want to take part in a live exercise can follow how to respond to a government consultation. The sections here concentrate on what the process is and what it can change.
How long a consultation runs
The general standard is adequate time for consideration and response, rather than a single fixed number. The Gunning commentary states this requirement without attaching a universal figure to it.
A concrete range is given for one sector. The same commentary notes that most public consultations on NHS service change proposals last between 6 and 12 weeks. That range describes health service change in practice and should not be read as a rule for every department. The better question for any exercise is whether the length matches the complexity of the proposal and the effort needed to understand it. A technical paper with many options needs longer than a narrow, clearly explained change.
Is a consultation legally binding?
A consultation is a legal process that must be done fairly, but the duty concerns how the decision is reached, not which outcome follows. The Gunning commentary explains that public bodies’ common law duty of procedural fairness applies to public consultation.
Where the duty comes from
The criteria take their name from R v Brent London Borough Council, ex p Gunning, (1985) 84 LGR 168, a decision from 1985. The UK Supreme Court restated the duty in Mosely v London Borough of Haringey [2014] UKSC 56, decided in 2014. The commentary treats these as the working framework for challenging unfair consultation.
What the duty does and does not require
The framework asks four kinds of question, though they are really about conduct:
- Timing. Were the proposals still formative when views were sought?
- Information. Were sufficient reasons given for intelligent consideration?
- Time. Was adequate time allowed for responses?
- Consideration. Were the responses conscientiously taken into account when finalising the proposals?
None of these requires a department to adopt the majority view. A consultation can therefore change a proposal, delay it or leave it unchanged, and the test is whether the process was fair and the responses were genuinely weighed. That is why a visible account of the outcome matters.
Consultation outcome reports
A consultation outcome report is the published record of what was received and how it influenced the decision. It is where the final stage of the lifecycle becomes visible, and it answers the question of what happened to the responses.
LSE’s research calls for clear links between consultations and policy outcomes. A good report lets a reader trace a theme in the responses to a change, or to a reasoned decision not to change. The Gunning commentary adds that where an evidence base informs the decision, consulting organisations should publish it for stakeholders to review and add to.
Reading a report critically
A report is most useful when it shows how the department moved from responses to decision. Three things are worth looking for:
- Link to the decision. Whether the changes, or the reasons for keeping the proposal, follow from the points raised.
- Published evidence. Whether the evidence base behind the final position is available for review.
- Range of voices. Whether the account reflects the wider set of stakeholders, including a civil society organisation or members of the public, rather than only the usual rights holders.
Reports are also one part of a wider set of engagement activities. Readers interested in the other formats can see how do public policy events work for the broader picture.
Frequently asked questions
Who should a consultation include?
LSE’s research argues for engaging a wider range of stakeholders than the established interest groups, with the public and consumers given a voice where they are directly affected.
Can organisers limit the options put to respondents?
Yes, within limits. The Gunning commentary says organisers may choose the range of proposals, provided stakeholders can see how that range was reached.
Does a consultation happen only once?
No. LSE’s research recommends consulting at the start and as policy develops, and it sees value in consultation through implementation and evaluation.
Why does public understanding matter for a consultation?
LSE identifies lack of public understanding as a barrier to wider engagement, so a proposal that is hard to follow tends to draw responses from a narrower group.