Ground Breaking Judgement about public consultations

This is a recent extract from our national association’s weekly news, which may have implications for our sector…

This week Irwin Mitchell LLP published the ground breaking judgement of a Supreme Court hearing that is likely to have implications for the voluntary and community sector in regard to consultations.

We have known for many years that some consultations carried out by public authorities may be less than fair, particularly when a limited level of information is provided regarding the options available. This limiting of information can prevent those being consulted being able to make fully reasoned responses to the questions.

Alex Rook, a partner at Irwin Mitchell, said  “This judgement will make a real difference in future to the way in which ordinary people are involved in decisions which affect their lives. Today’s ruling will send a very clear message to all local authorities that they cannot hide away from the true reasoning behind their decisions, and will be required to give the public more information about the possible options and the reason why they favour their proposal.”