Consultations on local public services :Cross Stitch – Government, citizens and rights

Councils and other organisations providing local public services, such as the NHS and the police, must get the public’s views on any significant changes they wish to make to the way they provide these services.

Public consultations cover important and often local issues, from changing school catchment areas to consulting on long term changes in the future of hospital services in the region. Your local council website should provide information about current consultation exercises for its services, and will often provide links to other local public services as well.

Each year councils produce documents describing their plans. They are required to produce a community strategy and an annual best value performance plan.

They also produce plans covering specific services including:

• a school organisation plan
• community care strategy
• a libraries development plan

As well as changes to the way services are provided councils are also responsible for drawing up local land use plans for their areas.

At the moment county councils are responsible for preparing strategic structure plans and district councils prepare local plans. Councils will consult on the contents of these plans and any big changes to them as well as specific proposals relating to particular sites or properties. You have a right to make comments on these proposals during the consultation period.

You may also want to contact your councillor. Council websites have the names and contact addresses of your local councillors, and others, such as the leader of the council, who are involved in making decisions for your local area.