The UK's most authoritative champion of public
& stakeholder consultation
Rhion Jones was a Founder Director of The Consultation Institute and has written extensively on all aspects of public consultation. His entertaining presentations and stimulating training courses have assisted thousands of public engagement professionals and enhanced their career prospects.
Recent Blogs
27 June
After the event – the subsequent role of consultation and engagement
23 June
High Court allowed Ministers to exclude discarded options in the consultation on net-zero aviation
29 May
NHS Patient & Public involvement in England – the confusion continues
23 May
West Dulwich Action v LB Lambeth: disregarding submissions from LTN opponents
16 May
So much more to say …. the 100th Blog!
28 April
Infrastructure consultations curbed: can less mean more?
23 April
Will statutory fan consultation in football affect local authorities?
13 April
What if Americans were consulted on tariffs?
2 April
Dear Wes Streeting, I’m worried about patient and public involvement.
28 March
Rachel Reeves and the push for Regulators to back economic growth
16 March
21 February
Care homes Judicial Review highlights consultation risks for
Councils struggling with under-funded services
10 February
The next Archbishop; is the Church of England consulting meaningfully?
27 January
Will consultees respond well to community benefits?
17 January
Another bad day in Court for Government lawyers defending an unlawful consultation
31 December
When consultee misgivings are well-founded. The burning issue of waste incineration
20 December
Happy Christmas, Councillor! Your role may be abolished!
6 December
27 November
Assisted dying: should there be a public cconsultation?
23 November
Will the ‘Gunning Principles’ apply to Football clubs’ consultations?
17 November
The Rule of Law and the right to be consulted
30 October
Not yet a listening Government:
Consultations arising from the Reeves Budget
22 October
The NHS Big Conversation - is it any good?
17 October
When a ‘statutory consultee’ makes a mistake, and it leads to a judicial review
27 September
What exactly do your stakeholders think?
16 September
What’s Missing from the Darzi Report? The failure of patient and public involvement?
25 August
19 August
The Surrey Oil Well case – the Supreme Court considers the Impact Assessment.
2 August
A degree of deja-vu: Angela Rayner’s planning reforms may worry many consultees
19 July
Is there now a case for faster public consultations?
11 July
When new Ministers know exactly what they want. Is there still a case for consultation?
2 July
Why a new Government should reform public consultations?
And how it might do so.
30 June
Consultation GuRU’s Election Quiz: Whose manifesto commitment is this?
18 June
12 June
25 May
General Election 2024:
Doorstep Dialogues as a form of consultation?
21 May
If a Minister promises a ‘consultation’, is it okay just to launch a ‘call for evidence’?
27 April
The retreat from Gunning? The riddle of the ‘Question Seven’ case
19 April
Football’s new era of consultation kicks off with an Own Goal!
8 April
Will football fans really be consulted?
27 March
Satisfaction with NHS & Social Care: Focus on service users
21 March
‘Hostile Takeover’ of Police & Crime Commissioner’s role was unlawful due to a flawed consultation
12 March
You WILL increase your productivity … or else!
The case for consulting the staff.
29 February
Martyn’s law, consultation and the perception of risk
18 February
Politics, consultation and the ‘propensity to participate’.
How much does it matter who
participates in our democratic processes?
2 February
Councils in financial distress demand different dialogues; here comes co-prevention!
19 January
Changing the NHS: Will new Regulations make it harder?
16 January
Gove’s Street Votes: brilliant innovation or irrelevant gimmick?
11 January
Anger-based policy-making: implications for consultation
4 January
Consultation law: the key cases of 2023
29 December
27 December
Consultation Law latest: six new Court judgments to consider
13 December
Policy-making criteria for a challenging world: Latest thinking from Carnegie UK and from Wales
29 November
Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) survives legal challenge:
consultation held to be lawful
23 November
Autumn Statement triggers a dozen consultations – including a planning BOGOF
17 November
Government by Announcement:
Suddenly, an extra item of legislation!
9 November
How the King's Speech might have been ... if consultation mattered more!
5 November
Accounting for engagement activities: Lessons from recent FOIA requests
28 October
Non-selective badger-culling through ‘controlled shooting’. Consultation declared unlawful
13 October
Consultation and the ‘Plan for Drivers’ - High on rhetoric; hesitant on content
Running Commentary
11 June.
Listened to Rachel Reeves' Spending Review and reflected that changes to the GREEN BOOK affects many consultations. Just posted on Linked in - see here
3 June
For the first time, Consultation Catch-up has been sent to 500 people! Month-on-month the number of (free) subscribers increases. There are now 30 monthly issues - and the back-catalogue can be accessed at the bottom right of this page. Thanks to everyone for supporting this newsletter.
14 May
Today, together with Kevin Rye of Think Fan Engagement, I ran the first-ever Seminar on the forthcoming Football Governance Bill and its provisions re fan consultation. Great, clued-up audience and valuable insights. I am sure we'll run another before long. If interested, please let me know.
2 May
I've just received a copy of the Court of Appeal judgment in the LIBERTY case - confirmig that Suella Braverman's attempted toughening up of the law on protests had been unlawful. Part of the original decision was because of selective consultation, but this aspect has been overturned. Will explain in a Blog soon.
16 April
Details announced of the Seminar I'm (jointly) organising on 14 May in London on the forthcoming statutory duty to consult football fans etc. Details as shown above.
Full programme here. Booking here
25 January
I have written an article for TRACTIVITY - called 'Shielding your stakeholders from surprises". It is accopanies by a video on this website. Click here
23 January
The Government is implementing Charles Banner's report on judicial reviews re infrastructure projects. I've just posted on LinkedIn to the effect that it has no real effect on public consultations, and poor/dishonest exercises will still justify legal challenges in the High Court.
10 Jan
The Government has just published its consultation on the resale of live event tickets. Will be looking at this with interest.
7 January
Apologies everyone. It looks as if the January Consultation Catch-up I distributed Sunday evening did not include links to the recent Blogs. If you click here, you can have the version with fully functional links.
24 December
Somewhat surprised to see a major Government consultation on EVs announced today - on Christmas Eve! See my Linkedin posting here
17 December
Looking at the detail of the Devolution white paper. Full of implications for public dialogue and for consultation. A Blog needed soon!
12 December
Just recorded a podcast on football fan engagement and consultation with Kevin Rye of Think fan engagement . Watch it on my articles/videos page, or click here
11 December
Concerned to see yet another not-quite consultation from MHCLG. See my LinkedIn posting here
23 November
After some hesitation, I've now opeed up a Bluesky account, which I can use for succinct 'newsy' messages, viewpoints and signposting. Follow me on @consultationguru.bsky.social ?
3rd November
Kevin Rye of Think Fan Engagement and I have written to Government Ministers about the Football Governance Bill. We believe they have confused 'fan engagement' with 'fan consultation', and applying the threshold for the more demanding statutory requirement for the less onerous concept of 'engagemen'. To read the letter, click HERE
31st October
Delivered a law of consultation course for Westco yesterday, and spent the evening pgathering my thughts on the Budget - now Blog 82.
23 October
I've just met with WestCo today re the Law training course on Oct 30th and they have confirmed that there 2 spare places if anyone is interested (see above) Booking link is HERE
12 September
The Darzi Report on the NHS has been published and seems destined to be the key text for anyone pondering the future of health & social care. I'm hoping to digest it in the coming days and circulate a blog before long.
4 September
Re Grenfell Tower Report and its conclusion that successive Governments are at fault for mishandling building regulations, I have uncovered the paper I wrote in 2019 about Ministers' refusal to publish details of consultee responses on the relevant consultation. Read my account of this scandalous maladministration here
19 August
I have now taken my Book Reviews, published in each of my monthly Catch-up and put them all together in a new Book Reviews page on this website.
9 August
In the Consultation Catch-up I have published today, I express my total devastation at the news that the Consultation Institute has ceased to trade. Complete tragedy. Read my short statement here
10 July
So sorry to hear today of the untimely death of Simon Burall who ran Involve fpr many years. He was a respected and gifted fellow-traveller in the cause of public participation, and will be sadly missed. More here
5 July
Just returned from watching the peaceful transfer of power - just outside Downing Street. This is still one of the most important characteristics of our country.
10 June
Manifesto week. Starting with the LibDems on Monday, I look forward (?) to reading the case put forward by the main parties and forming my view as to the likely implications for public and stakeholder consultation. Watch this space.
25 May
The rushed Rishi elction means abandoning key legislation. Among them is the Football Governance Bill and its provisions for 'fan consultation'. I've agreed to speak at a Seminar/ Workshop to brief the football industry on Sept 10th, and as Labour says it will re-introduce the Bill if elected, I really want to go ahead with this. If interested, put the date in your diary and contact me for details - which will be confirmed after 4 July.
17 May
I have spent this morning attending an NHS event organisated by the ISB for Bedford/Luton/Milton Keynes on the subject of asddressing Health Inequalities - clearly a priority issue. One of the take-aways was the need for primry care consultative machinery to be more representative of disadvantaged communities. A subject requiring further analysis ....
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Alongside Elizabeth Gammell he wrote The Art of Consultation in 2008 and The Politics of Consultation in 2018. Both books are available at AMAZON.
His thought-leadership pieces, particlarly on Consultation Law are universally regarded as the most authoritative anywhere.
With thousands of significant consultations launched every year in the UK, and even more in other countries, Rhion applies his forensic skills and extensive knowledge to specific exercises. There is no-one better to advise on the quality of a consultation. Just ask.st ask
Now, post-COVID, he is able to travel to meet those who share his passion for public engagement. Alternatively, he uses zoom, though confesses to be frustrated by some aspects of an online presence!
His focus is on spreading the word, and inspiring individuals and organisations with the message that consultation and engagement matters more than ever - and must be done to the best possible standards.
The Monthly Consultation Catch-up
