6.8.4.4 Transparency in Consultations
Transparency in consultations can show the public that their views have been considered while plans and policies are being developed.
There have been many public consultations in which the government explains what is planned and people are given the opportunity to comment. Walk-in consultation meetings and websites are both used. What is much rarer is any visible evidence of what happens to those comments or the decision-making process.
There is the right to appeal against an unfavourable decision in the example quoted earlier (6.8.4), of a statutory consultation in town and country planning. The applicant will be informed of the legal reason for the rejection, but this falls far short of a full explanation. And it only applies to the appeals process. There is no legal requirement to communicate with the other people affected by the decision.
People need to be able to see that their views have been taken into account, with descriptions of how decisions are being made. Transparency in consultations should be an integral part of meaningful negotiation. Formal records of decision-making could be made available to the public: showing the data and calculations which were taken into account; listing who has been consulted and what they said; and showing the basis upon which the decision was reached. The Internet has made it much easier to give people access to such data, and the use of artificial intelligence might make it much cheaper to provide such a service in future. It is something that governments should aim for.
When decisions have been made, and a project is underway, a different form of transparency is needed. Performance reporting should be available, as described below (6.8.5.1), to ensure that the project is delivered within the cost and time that were promised. It should still be possible for the public to interact meaningfully with those in charge, though, so the need for transparency in consultations continues.
This page is intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. An archived copy of it is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition04/6844a.htm.