Any major pieces of policy produced by local or national government are typically consulted on - i.e. they must engage with stakeholders in its development. These can take many different forms, such as meeting with interested stakeholder groups, workshops or, as a minimum, they do a formal public consultation. 

The public consultation is the primary way in which policy makers gather the opinions of the public and stakeholders on a policy.Consultations are usually 4-12 weeks long. They consist of a paper outlining proposals to introduce or change policy, and have questions to gather views on the changes. They can be found on national and local government's websites as well as local councils’. 

Responding to consultations

It can seem quite overwhelming to respond to a consultation. Often the policy is long, and there are many questions. It can sometimes feel like you aren’t qualified enough to give an opinion. But that is not the case!

Top tips for responding: