Why I'm publishing my consultation responses
From today I’m publishing a selection of my responses to public consultations on a new Consultation responses page under Public sector. The first is my response to the Department for Communities on a Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland, which closed last night.
Why publish them
A consultation response is a public argument. It goes to officials, it may be published by the department, and it can be released under Freedom of Information. Putting it on my own site as well does three things.
- It shows the work. Anyone thinking of asking me to help with a response can see what I write, how I use evidence and how I handle devolution and the Windsor Framework.
- It keeps the argument alive. Most responses disappear into a summary months later. Published, they can be read by MLAs, councillors and others making the same points.
- It holds the process to account. Each entry records when the consultation closed and whether the consulting body has published its outcome. Across Northern Ireland, too many consultations close with no published response at all.
I publish only after a consultation has closed, and only my own responses, made as an individual. Nothing here is written for a client.
The first one: the historic environment
The Historic Environment Policy response argues that most of Northern Ireland’s heritage is not a castle or a country house. It is land: linen mills and flax dams, shipyards and quarries, forests and bogs, harbours, farms, pitches and halls. Much of it carries contamination from its former use, much of it has no public right of way, and almost none of it is designated. I ask DfC to plan for that working heritage, to link heritage to land remediation, and to treat streets, parks and the foreshore as part of the historic environment.
What’s next
I track public consultations across Northern Ireland’s councils, Stormont departments and the UK Government. Upcoming responses include local development plans, open space and pitch strategies, and the use of surplus council land. If a consultation affects your business or organisation and you want help responding, get in touch.