|

Consultations - frequently asked questions

What is consultation?

Consultation is about listening to and respecting the views of people when making decisions that affect their lives. It is about asking questions, acting on responses and feeding back outcomes. We want to improve the efficiency, transparency and public involvement of the work we do.

We are committed to improving consultation and have established a set of standards and a quality assurance process to guide the various consultation activities across the council.

What is research?

Research is the term we use to refer to statistics and data. Research may not come from surveys or consultations, for example the number of affordable homes or the proportion of businesses that are run by ethnic minorities.

One of our key research outputs is the partnership State of the Borough Report, which provides key statistics about Lambeth's economy, environment, health and social wellbeing and as is a key data source underpinning the Sustainable Community Strategy.

We can provide numerical information about population, demographics, customer profiling, deprivation and ethnicity, as well as knowing what information is available on other topics.

How do I find particular research?

There are many publicly available sources of statistics. The Data for Neighbourhood Renewal website is a good place to start.

The Office for National Statistics website has a lot of official data including at a ward and local authority level, but can be difficult to navigate.

If you are unsure of where to start, contact Georges Sengupta in our Research and Consultation team on email: gsengupta@lambeth.gov.uk.

How can I find out what consultation is currently taking place?

We consult with users of council services and the wider community both through regular dialogue and in one-off exercises.

Regular dialogue between us and local people takes place through a range of formal and informal mechanisms like our resident surveys.

One-off or time limited consultation exercises are undertaken for a specific reason or around a specific issue. Details of the consultations that are taking place can be found in the Lambeth First onsultation tracker.

Where can I find out what consultation has taken place in the past?

The Lambeth First consultation tracker contains details of planned, current and past consultations.

From time to time we have undertaken consultation at a borough-wide level with a sample of residents. See results of these major surveys and other consultation exercises.