Agenda item

The Head of Improvement and HR for the Council, presented a report which outlines the different approaches used by the Council when undertaking Public Consultations and highlights the steps being taken to build on the effectiveness of consultation exercises following a request received from the Mid Argyll Partnership.

The Head of Improvement and HR, Ms Fowler advised the partnership that the Council has undertaken a number of different approaches when conducting consultation and this can often depend on the type of consultation. She advised that there are statutory consultations that are required to be carried out in a specific way as well as best practice guidelines which the Council adheres to where possible. Ms Fowler advised the partnership that the Council try and use online methods for consultation as much as possible as research has showed that this is the best method to gain feedback from the public as they are able to do it themselves at a time which is suitable to them, however the Council does recognise that we do have an aging population within Argyll and Bute and not everyone within Argyll and Bute has access to or is able to use the internet. In order to address this, Ms Fowler advised that the Council uses Local Media and places hard copies of the consultations in buildings which are easily accessible to the public, such as libraries.  The Head of Improvement and HR also advised that the Council has in place a Citizens Panel, they are used for feedback on general issues as well as specific issues.

The Head of Improvement and HR provided the Partnership with some examples of how public consultation can be used to change proposals and strategies to take into consideration the feedback received.

The Chair advised that as a Council, we view Community Councils as a major partner and advised that they play a major part in feeding back the views of the community to the Council, however noted that some public consultations are complex and hard to understand. The Chair advised it had been brought to his attention that Community Councils occasionally find the consultations complex and confusing and are therefore not always able to provide the feedback in which they would like.

Edward Laughton advised that often emails are missed and it can be difficult to find the consultation on the Council website, he advised that face to face contact with officers is always a preferred method and asked Ms Fowler if it would be possible to have Officers of the Council to attend Community Council meetings and explain the consultations. Mr Laughton also highlighted that it may be beneficial if Elected Members could come to Community Council meetings with items that they are looking for feedback on from the Community not just attend in order to solve the problems of the Community Council. Ms Fowler advised that ideally this would happen and Officers would visit Community Councils she advised that unfortunately this is not logistically possible due to the size of Argyll and Bute as well as the number of consultations that are run. Ms Fowler emphasised that although the Council is unable to provide Officers to attend Community Council meetings, the Council does have an obligation through best practice guidelines to ensure that consultations are accessible to the community. Ms Fowler advised that the Council could provide briefings for Elected Members on the public consultations that are ongoing, and then the Elected Member would be able to provide some information regarding the Consultation on behalf of the Council, they would also be able to provide the contact details of an Officer which the Community Council could contact if they were to require some further information. The Chair advised that this would be useful to Elected Members.

Betty Rhodick suggested that a “pop up” could be added onto the Council Website in order to draw the general publics attention to Public Consultations. The Partnership undertook a discussion on this and the accessibility of the Public Consultations page on the Council’s website in general.

Jim Malcolm asked Ms Fowler if a demographic imbalance was an issue when gaining feedback from public consultations. Mr Malcolm highlighted an issue with young people who may not be adequately represented when a large amount of consultation is done through community groups. Ms Fowler advised that the Council do take this into consideration. She advised that the demographic is a major factor in considering the method to use in terms of public consultation. Ms Fowler advised that the Citizens Panel mirrors the population of Argyll and Bute Council, which does have an aging population therefore can be used as a check. Ms Fowler advised that when feedback on a consultation does require input specifically from young people they use the youth service and education to engage specifically with a younger demographic.

Lynda Syed advised that as a community group, when you provide a contribution to a consultation, you never learn what happens to this feedback or find out the views of others. The Partnership held a discussion on benefits of gaining feedback following public consultations. Ms Fowler noted the views of the Partnership.

Councillor Horn asked Ms Fowler if the process they use to engage with third sector partnerships given their lack of resources and other constraints in which they face. Ms Fowler advised that the Council relies on the Third Sector Partnership to engage with Third sector groups within Argyll and Bute.

Rod Buchanan asked Ms Fowler how the Council recruits Young People onto the Citizens Panel as he advised that ACHA often has trouble gaining the views of young people. Ms Fowler advised that the Citizens Panel is outsourced to an external company however the Youth Service and Education Service are used to help engage with Young People, Ms Fowler advised  Mr Buchanan that she could provide him with contact details for the Youth Service and Education departments of the Council which would be able to assist ACHA in engaging with young people.

The Area Governance Manager advised that the Area Governance Officer in her role as Community Council Liaison Officer forwards on to Community Councils any consultations she is made aware of. The Area Governance Manager agreed to discuss with the Head of Improvement and HR a more effective method of flagging public consultations to Community Councils.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director – Customer Services, dated 29 July 2015,submitted)