Involvement in policy consultation leaves public feeling engaged but lacking influence

The government achieved a high level of public engagement in its pre-consultation on the health and social care white paper, but failed in its objective of drafting the policy in partnership with the public.

That was the verdict of an evaluation published today, on Your Health, Your Care, Your Say, the consultation exercise last year involving over 40,000 people, including a summit attended by 1,000 people.

Participants in the process felt more engaged in the issues of the white paper and were more positive about public involvement in political decision-making than the wider public.

However, just 14 per cent of those interviewed after the white paper felt the event they had attended had influenced the content of the paper.