This report provides the board with an overview of community engagement within a public sector context, including setting out the statutory duties of a local authority to consult and to clarify the difference between engagement and consultation.

CORRECTION: Please note, Appendix 1 was updated and republished on 31/10/23 to reflect that the Budget Consultation Engagement table contains data from 2023/24 and not 2024/25 as was originally published.

The Head of Strategic Finance (deputy S151) introduced the item and gave an overview of the report on the 2024-25 Proposed Budget Consultation Approach.

It was explained that appendix 1 provided a timeline and details of proposed community-based budget consultation and engagement activity for 2024/25 and appendix 2 provided an overview of community engagement within a public sector context, including setting out the statutory duties of a local authority to consult and to clarify the difference between engagement and consultation. The paper set out the proposed approach for the budget consultation 2024/25. The paper also included information on the role of scrutiny in the consultation process and different types of engagement activity and when they should be used.

The Head of Strategic Finance (deputy S151) introduced Sarah Fishbourne and Maxine Bassett of Impact Consultancy & Research, who were present in person.

It was explained that the proposed budget consultation approach would include the delivery of:

· Seven locality-based pop-up consultation events mid-October to early December in Hereford High Town and one in each of the other market towns. Using a range of interactive methods to gauge public opinion on the key issues relating to the 24/25 budget. The final approach and focus of consultation would be developed in conjunction with the Director of Resources & Assurance.

· Two consultation sessions with specific hard-to-reach groups, e.g. young people, families in hardship.

· An online consultation session with businesses via the Economic Development Teams quarterly business briefings.

· A consultation session with the Community Partnership (22 November).

· A consultation session with Parish & Town Councils.

· An online feedback session sharing the results of the consultation. The output from the consultation would be a report and a PowerPoint presentation summarising the consultation findings.

The chair thanked the Head of Strategic Finance (deputy S151) and the attendees from Impact Consultancy and Research for the report and update, and then opened the item up to the board for lines of enquiry and questions.

The scrutiny management board debated the report raising principal points relating to:

·       The need to review lead times and marketing to enable greater engagement of parish councils and other seldom-heard, hard-to-reach groups, and those with protected characteristics.

·       The consideration of the viability of targeted sample groups and enabling people to self-select for future surveys as a way of building up a pool of consultees. 

·       The importance of structuring engagement with high-level themes early on, with more detailed engagement to follow later in the year.

·       Learning lessons from the previous successful consultation exercises such as the medium term financial strategy consultation of 2015.

·       Investigating the increased use of meaningful graphical representations/videos to swiftly and easily communicate complex budgetary information at a glance.

At the end of the debate, the board voted unanimously in favour of the following recommendations to be considered in relation to the proposed budget consultation approach, with a view to feedback being provided by the Head of Strategic Finance (deputy S151) at an appropriate future board meeting:

Resolved:

That:

a)    The scrutiny management board be provided with the question framework to be used for the budget consultation, and

b)    a web-based public consultation questionnaire be put in place for a sufficient amount of time for people/parishes to be able to engage with it as part of the consultation process, and

c)    a plan be provided outlining the approach that will be taken to engage with hard-to-reach and equality impacted groups, and

d)    targeting questionnaires and random sampling be used in future consultations, along with a longitudinal mechanism for allowing people to self-select by giving permission to be contacted in future, and

e)    contextual information on the budget be provided, which is not solely restricted to Herefordshire, and

f)      meaningful graphical representations of the budget be included.