Consultations

• About Consultations
• Responding to consultations
• Consultations on Consultation Watch

About Consultations 

Most Acts of Parliament and Government policies begin their life as consultations. This is the first stage in the process of policy development, and allows members of the public and organisations to give their opinion on the Government's proposals.

The Government's six consultation criteria are listed below:

• Consult widely throughout the process, allowing a minimum of 12 weeks for written consultation at least once during the development of the policy;
• Be clear about who may be affected, what questions are being asked, and the timescale for responses;
• Ensure that your consultation is clear, concise and widely accessible;
• Give feedback regarding the responses received and how the consultation process influenced the policy;
• Monitor your department's effectiveness at consultation, including through the use of a designated Consultation Co-ordinator; and
• Ensure your consultation follows better regulation best practice; including carrying out a Regulatory Impact Assessment if appropriate.

These criteria can be viewed in more detail on the Cabinet Office website.

Following a consultation, the Government publishes its response, and then may publish a Bill to be debated through the Houses of Parliament. At the end of this process the proposals may then become law.

Responding to Government consultations 

To respond to a Government consultation, you will first need to read the consultation document, which is published online on each Government department's website. You can find out what each government department is currently consulting about by clicking on the appropriate department below.

Alternatively, log on through the central consultations site tellthemwhatyouthink.org where you can search all for consultations that interest you.

All external links open in new windows. ConsultationWatch is not responsible for the content of external websites.

• Attorney General's Office
• Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
• Cabinet Office
• Department for Children, Schools and Families
• Department for Communities and Local Government
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• Ministry of Defence
• Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Department of Health
• Home Office
• Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
• Department for International Development
• Ministry of Justice
• Northern Ireland Office
• Scotland Office
• Department for Transport
• HM Treasury
• Wales Office
• Department for Work and Pensions

Consultations on Consultation Watch 

Consultation Watch posts frequent updates on the website, highlighting important consultations, publishing responses from other organisations and reporting on the status of active consultations.

You can search for updates on consultations in the areas that matter to you via the Consultation Watch A to Z on the right.

You can can also view all Consultation Watch posts via the Consultation Watch Archive, also on the right.