Getting involved!

Public Engagement and Consultations 

Public engagement and consultations may not always sound very exciting but they are a vital part of our work and something we obviously can’t do with you!

We want to make sure your voice is heard when we are making important decisions and deciding what work to prioritise.

We have made the following promise.

We will:

• Ensure you have the opportunity to influence our strategic and tactical plans
  
• Increase the quality of engagement with you  
  
• Ensure equality and inclusion is a prime consideration when delivering engagement and consultation to ensure no group or individual is disadvantaged  

What sorts of things do we ask you about?

• Our Integrated Risk Management Plan – this is when we look at the risks in our communities and how we match our resources, such as fire stations and different types of fire appliances, to these. We do this every two to three years.
  
• Our strategies – these set out what priorities we are going to concentrate on over two or three years on a particular topic, such as fire safety in the home.
  
• Our finances – we will ask for opinions from the business community about Business Rates and also find out whether our Council Tax payers think they are getting a good deal.  

We follow Government Consultation Principles

• Consultations should be clear and concise
  
• Consultations should have a purpose
  
• Consultations should be informative
  
• Consultations are only part of a process of engagement
  
• Consultations should last for a proportionate amount of time
  
• Consultations should be targeted
  
• Consultations should take account of the groups being consulted
  
• Consultations should be agreed before publication
  
• Consultation should facilitate scrutiny
  
• Government responses to consultations should be published in a timely fashion
  
• Consultation exercises should not generally be launched during local or national election periods. 

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