Ideas: Duty to involve citizens

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Ideas: Duty to involve citizens

27.11.2009 // by Guest

This idea comes from Stephen Whitehead at the New Economics Foundation:

What's the big idea?:

The "duty to involve" for local authorities was introduced as part of the new performance framework (the system by which local authorities are judged). It was billed as encouraging all local authorities to give people in their areas the opportunity to contribute to decisions about how public services are designed and delivered.

However, in practice, the duty to involve permits local authorities to avoid engaging with citizens entirely, by working with third sector organisations (like local charities or non-profit organisations which deliver public services) which can be said represent the people living in the area. In practice, while third sector organisations can have a valuable input into local decision making, they are not a substitute for direct involvement by citizens.

The way that the duty to involve is assessed should be to make direct engagement with the public the gold standard for involvement.

Why is this change important to you?:

Involving the public in local decision making is about more than simply ensuring that decisions meet their needs. It is a tool to change the relationship between the citizens and local government, by making citizens more aware and engaged and the state more aware of the knowledge, values and experiences which citizens can bring to bear on decision making. These vital benefits are lost when local authorities work with through organisations which are seen as representing the people in their area, rather than the people themselves.

It's particularly worrying that authorities are particularly encouraged to rely on third sector organisations when trying to access the views of disadvantaged people. Although working with these people is challenging, they are precisely the people who have the most to gain from the skills and confidence that can be gained by successfully taking part in a democratic process.