Memorandum by England's Regional Development
Agencies (LGC 15)
1. Local government have an important role
as key deliverers of many regional policies and strategies. They
are a democratically elected tier of the governance structure
and have a statutory role to provide leadership and stewardship
of their local communities. Consulting with, and listening to,
their customers and residents within their areas is essential
to deliver that role in an effective manner. We believe that current
partnership arrangements that exist between local government and
the Regional Development Agency could be strengthened through
their consultation processes. In particular, it is important that,
where possible, the results of local authority consultations are
also fed into regional decision making processes and strategies
and that regional bodies have an opportunity to consult in partnership
with local authorities through existing sub-regional and local
channels.
2. Generally, the level and effectiveness
of local authority public consultation varies across the country.
The availability of resources, political susceptibility and the
complexity of consultation (eg the technical depth of Local Transport
Plans often disengages people from contributing to the consultation
process) remain key challenges faced by local government. Local
authorities may also need to effectively prioritise both the issues
and subjects on which they consult and the methods by which consultation
is carried out. This will help aid consumer clarity and avoid
any element of consultation overload or fatigue.
3. Whilst many authorities actively seek
to engage "hard to reach" groups, it is often people
who are unhappy with a proposed policy or proposal who are much
more inclined to respond than those who support it.
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