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SAC Report No. 4

Public Consultation, Communication and Engagement (November 2004)

Summary

The purpose of this report is to set out the process, conclusions and recommendations of the fourth investigation by the Scrutiny and Audit Committee into Public Consultation, Communication and Engagement.

In September 2003, Aberdeenshire's Scrutiny and Audit Committee decided to undertake a review of Public Consultation, Communication and Engagement as part of the 2003/04 programme of investigations. The purpose was to (1) establish whether the Council is succeeding in effectively engaging with the citizens of Aberdeenshire, and (2) recommend improvements that can be made for better communication and engagement with the public.

The investigation began in March 2004 and the Committee heard evidence from 38 witnesses during 10 evidence gathering sessions. The Committee was assisted in the investigation by an independent external expert, Dr Peter McLaverty, Reader in Public Policy at the Robert Gordon University. A series of focus groups and a telephone survey were held to assess what the public thought about consultation and engagement. A questionnaire was circulated to Council Services to build up a picture of the approach taken to consultation, communication and engagement. The Committee also attended a Tenant Participation Promotion Team meeting and a presentation on the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership's Citizens' Panel. The final conclusions and recommendations were drawn up by Committee members at a workshop in June 2004.

The Committee learnt about the implications of the changing societal and political environment for public consultation, communication and engagement. Considerable evidence was presented which indicated that there is a significant level of dissatisfaction and indeed scepticism about the workings of representative democracy, amongst members of the public. Consultation and engagement is seen by some as a way of counterbalancing growing public apathy towards the electoral process. The government is committed to greater involvement of the public in decision-making. A statutory responsibility has been placed on local authorities to consult with service users and residents about service delivery and community issues.

The focus groups and telephone survey results suggested that public participation could be increased if improvements were made. The Committee also believes that the Council could foster a climate for greater participation by minimising the barriers to involvement. The Committee recommends that a consultation culture should be embedded in all aspects of the Council's activities. The Council needs to communicate the importance of this internally and also work out how to demonstrate its commitment to a consultation culture to Aberdeenshire residents.

The Committee found it impossible to benchmark the Council's performance in the developing area of public consultation, communication and engagement, because relevant comparisons were not available. However, the Committee was impressed by the range and breadth of consultation, communication and engagement activity in which the Council was involved and the commitment of the responsible officers. The Committee believes this provides a valuable resource for the future development of a consultation-based approach across the Council. The appointment of a dedicated central public consultation co-ordinator, in the Communications Section, would assist this work by encouraging the spread of best practice and the sharing of experience across the Council.

Communication of information is an essential building block for successful consultation and engagement. The Committee believes that good communications with the public must be in place if the Council is to increase public engagement and participation. It appreciates the extensive work undertaken by the Council's small Communications Section but recognises that limited resources hamper its ability to be more proactive. Other public bodies give a higher profile to the communications area. It is therefore recommended that the profile of the Communications Section should be raised and its role enhanced, with additional resources provided to support the development of a Communications Strategy for the Council.

If the Council is to be ingrained with a consultation culture it needs to be aware why it consults and engages with the public. The Committee identified 5 reasons, viz:

  • The Council needs to collect user views on service delivery in order to make improvements and to tailor service delivery to meet changing needs
  • The Council wants to be inclusive and empower people by increasing the involvement of the population in decision making
  • The Council wants to govern by consent (ie if there has been a full and fair consultation about a policy, with careful consideration of all views, then those who are not in favour of the final decision may be more willing to accept the legitimacy of the prevailing view)
  • The Council wants to access new information, ideas and suggestions (ie the two heads are better than one argument)
  • The Council has to consult to comply with various statutory requirements.

Not all consultations are carried out for all the above reasons, but for each exercise the Committee believes that it should be clear to all involved which of the five reasons do apply.

Having heard about the barriers to public participation, steps that have been taken to overcome them and examples of good practice both internal and external, the Committee considers that it is essential that public consultation and engagement should be seen as a process which involves all the following elements:

  • Deciding why consultation or engagement is needed, or if it is appropriate at all
  • Deciding who should be consulted or engaged with, and their role ie as a citizen, as a service user, or as a member of an interest group concerned about the impact of the proposals on their personal interests
  • Deciding on appropriate methods, knowledge raising and communication
  • Conducting the exercise including providing the necessary information to the participants
  • Analysing and interpreting the results, and giving them appropriate weight in the decision making process
  • Feeding back the outcomes of the exercise to those who participated and if appropriate, the general public

A series of recommendations which address shortcomings identified through the service questionnaire are put forward, including arrangements for monitoring performance, training of staff and /councillors/index.asp, awareness of equalities issues, and assessment of consultation activities for value for money.

Good community based channels for communication and consultation are essential if the Council is to be effective in collecting the views of the public on local services and plans. Various measures are proposed by the Committee to build on current work in this area with Area/Rural Partnerships and community councils.

The Committee heard that the days of relying on the media as the main channel of communication with the public were numbered. It believes that consideration needs to be given to using innovative methods including a range of interactive electronic methods and, in particular, webcasting should be investigated as a future communications tool. These new methods have the advantage of making direct contact with the public and have the potential to facilitate greater public participation.

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