Have your say

What is consultation?

Consultation is one way of giving Hertfordshire’s residents a better say in how their local services are run.

Hertfordshire County Council is committed to consulting local people on issues and decisions that affect their lives. By listening to your views on local topics, the council can ensure that its decisions meet the real needs of the local community.

So far, we have consulted you on roads, education, crime and disorder, health, care services for elderly people, how we spend our budget, and how satisfied you are with the services we provide.

One way we consult you is through the Herts Direct newspaper, which we send out to residents four times a year. Public meetings, discussion groups and postal questionnaires are other valuable opportunities for you to tell us how we can improve our services.

Making sure we feed these findings back to you is another important step in the consultation process. As well as listening to your views, it is essential we keep you informed of how your opinions influence the council’s decisions.

Because Hertfordshire is committed to equal opportunities, we want to involve as many people as possible when we take decisions. To ensure that we do this, Hertfordshire funds a number of local advocacy groups, such as POhWER (People of Herts Want Equal Rights), for people who have difficulty getting their voice heard.

Hertfordshire now also wants to consult local people online, as well as face-to-face and through our newspaper. In coming months, you’ll be able to have your say on local issues electronically, through our pages on www.hertsdirect.org.

In addition to telling us what you think about local issues, you’ll also be able to access the results of recent consultations through our website. This way we can continue to involve you in the decision-making process.

Our Consultation Standards outline the good practice the council aims to follow when it consults the public, and the quality of service residents can expect in return.