The Environment Council welcomes consultation to give people greater say over local spending
The Environment Council today welcomed the government's new draft strategy for consultation which aims to give people in every local authority area a greater say on how public money is spent by 2012.
In a major speech on empowering communities Communities Secretary Hazel Blears called on local authorities, community groups and the public to give their views on expanding plans for participatory budgeting across Whitehall including policing, health and youth services giving people a greater say over the issues they most care about. Ideas will be developed through the forthcoming community empowerment white paper in the summer.
When the Planning White Paper was released in August 2007, The Environment Council noted in its response that:
| 4 | When considering decisions on infrastructure developments of national importance, robust engagement throughout the process is vital to ensure that local and community priorities are taken into account. |
| 4 | The bespoke nature of engagement means that the most effective way to conduct consultation is to tailor each engagement process to meet the needs of the project, and those being engaged. |
| 4 | It is absolutely imperative to provide support, for instance in the form of training and guidelines, for those that will be required by law to consult. This will provide people with the skills and understanding to be able to conduct engagement effectively and at the right time. |
| 4 | It is imperative that people being consulted are clear on what impact they can have in the decision-making process and ‘what’s up for grabs’. |
Today's draft strategy is to be a postive step by government towards robust community engagment.
For more information about the consultation please click here