Government consultation practice inquiry

• Call for evidence - Government consultation inquiry

Background

The inquiry will look into the way in which Government Departments have handled consultation relating to three different sets of Regulations. The three sets of Regulations the Committee will look at were previously subject to reports from the Committee, when it raised questions about the consultation that had been undertaken around them. The Committee is keen to hear what interested parties think about the consultation, now that the Regulations have come into force.

Areas of interest

The Committee will examine how the consultation exercise operated for the following statutory instruments (SIs):

• the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1403) laid by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on 6 June 2013
• the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1943) – laid by the Department for Education (DfE) on 30 July 2012
• the Draft Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2013, laid by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on 20 June 2013; and the Working Time (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/2228), laid by Defra on 6 September 2013.

Areas the committee invites evidence on include:

• Were the consultations fit for purpose?
• Were the right people and groups invited to give their views?
• Were the responses restricted by closed questions or was there scope to add other viewpoints?
• Now that the Regulations are in force how do respondents to the consultation view the Department’s handling of the process and the outcome?
• Do respondents feel the Government provided an accurate summary of the views expressed in both its summary and Explanatory Memorandum to the statutory instrument?
  

Timeline

Any interested parties are invited to submit written evidence by 30 September.

Photo: iStockphoto