The Consultation & Policy Appraisal Code

This Code was published in May 2000 and it promotes effective discussion, encouraging the government and the voluntary and community sector to communicate and work together more effectively.

Consultation & Policy Appraisal Code [PDF 211KB, 20 pages]

Consultation & Policy Appraisal Code Summary [PDF 32KB, 2 pages]

 

Consultation is an important part of partnership working. Ensuring the government listens to and engages with the voluntary and community sector gives the sector the opportunity to convey its knowledge, experience and expertise and add value to government policy. It also leads to better planning and delivery of services.`

This Code promotes effective consultation, enabling the voluntary and community sector to be part of the development and implementation of government policies. It sets out how consultation can be conducted in a positive way and recommends, wherever possible, a 12 week consultation timescale. When this isn’t possible, consultation documents should specify why a shorter time has been set.

In addition, the Code encourages all consultation documents to be produced in clear and simple language. Consultations should be built in from the start and have a clear purpose, together with guidelines explaining where decisions have already been made, what can be changed and what can’t. The Code also stresses the importance of fully publicising consultations to target audiences and carefully analysing the results and findings as well as reporting back on views from the voluntary and community sector. The Code also calls for voluntary and community organisations to work together to ensure there is an effective and representative response to government consultations.

 

For more information , please contact:

 

Ruth Fennemore, Policy Adviser
Commission for the Compact
Tel: 0121 237 5912
Email: ruth.fennemore@thecompact.org.uk