Producing a summary of responses
This is a vital part of the consultation process – providing a summary of the responses submitted and stating how the responses received will affect policy development is key to the integrity of the whole exercise. When done well it is really appreciated by those who took the time to submit responses. When done badly or not at all it undermines the whole process and risks losing goodwill that might be required in future consultation exercises.
A good summary of responses enables respondents to track the progress of the proposal and allow them to see how they have influenced the policy-making process. Keeping respondents informed in this way demonstrates openness and transparency and increases stakeholder trust in the policy-making process. Where possible, those who submitted responses to the consultation exercise or who participated in the consultation exercise in another way should be informed as to the publication of the summary document.
Criterion 6 of the Code of Practice on Consultation is relevant here. It states that you should publish, before or alongside the next significant action in the policymaking process, a report summarising the responses you have received which sets out how the consultation has influenced policy development. Sometimes, this is better done in two separate documents, especially if the responses are being analysed independently.
Even if there is no significant action in the months following the close of the consultation exercise or the policy becomes dormant, it is important to communicate this to those who participated in the consultation exercise, to publish a summary of the responses and to alert people to this publication. In such circumstances it is good practice to do this within three months of the close of the consultation exercise.
The summary of responses should give a précis of who responded to the consultation exercise (usually listing all respondents in annex) and through what means (i.e. don’t just refer to formal responses but also to views expressed through other channels such as meetings and online discussion forums), and provide a synopsis of the range of responses to each question. Either this same document, or, if there has been independent analysis of the consultation responses, a separate document should set out clearly what has been learnt from the exercise and how policy development has been/will be influenced by the lessons learned from the consultation exercise.
Some organisations regularly publish the individual responses received to consultation exercises and many consider this to be best practice given the transparency that this brings; enabling people to see the other points of view and to compare the Government’s summary of responses with the actual responses received.
Alongside the advantages there are, however, some disadvantages and also legal requirements (see below) to consider. A disadvantage of routinely publishing all the responses can be that certain consultees might become less frank in their responses or less likely to include useful but sensitive data that they do not want to go into the public domain. It is worth exploring this issue with your stakeholders. Also, when many responses are received it can prove extremely unwieldy to publish them all.
All information and responses provided should be dealt with in accordance with the relevant regimes for handling information, primarily the Freedom of Information Act, the Data Protection Act and any subject-specific legislation. Your own organisation may provide guidance on such issues. Alternatively, the Information Commissioner’s Office is a good source of information on FoI and DPA matters.
Organisations regularly running consultation exercises may wish to consider providing a standard format/template for summaries of responses. An example layout could be the following:
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Introduction – a summary of what the consultation exercise was about/its purpose
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Conducting the consultation exercise – a brief description of what the consulting body did during the consultation period (any events, online discussion forums, promotional activity, etc.), and a summary of the responses received (how many, breakdown by sector, etc.).
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Key findings and future actions – a summary of the key themes from the consultation exercise and a Government response to these (from why they cannot be taken on board, through to them being considered or adopted)
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Summary of responses and Government responses to these – a summary of the range of responses received to each question and a Government response to these main points saying how the main points made will or will not be taken on board in taking the policy forward
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Annexes – e.g. a list of those people/organisations who submitted written responses, a list of the meetings held, updated Impact Assessments, etc.
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