Foreword and introduction
Foreword
As your council, we’re committed to working with you to shape the future of our communities. This strategy marks a fresh chapter in how we engage – one that puts your voice at the centre of our decision-making.
As the Executive Councillor for Community Engagement, I’m proud to introduce this strategy as part of our wider ambition to improve how we listen, respond, and work together across Lincolnshire.
Councillors, as your local representatives, play a key role in understanding the issues that matter most to you. Alongside council officers, we’re committed to using a range of ways to keep conversations going and ensure your views are heard and acted on.
While some aspects of our work are guided by legislation, there is also space for us to shape how we do things in a way that reflects Lincolnshire’s unique character and priorities.
We are already listening and look forward to hearing more of your feedback, learning from your experiences, and working together to deliver the best outcomes for families, communities and the county.
Please take a moment to read through the commitments we’re making in this document – and hold us to them. We’re here to serve you and to help make Lincolnshire an even better place to live, work, visit and bring up a family.
Councillor Rob Gibson
Executive Councillor for Community Engagement
Introduction
Engagement is a vital part in supporting our ambition to be a council that continually strives to improve our services for local people, businesses, organisations and communities across the county.
It helps us show strong, local leadership and speak up proudly for Lincolnshire.
Across the council, teams and councillors use a host of methods to ensure we get and listen to your views including conversations, hosting events, and other activities.
The strategy builds on our past achievements and renews our focus on making sure your voices inform our services and policies.
To support that aim, we follow an engagement process that reflects the strategy principles. It’s backed by tools and templates that help us plan, document, and review engagement ensuring it is fair, effective, and leads to better results.
At the heart of this is Let’s talk Lincolnshire – our central hub for engagement and consultation. It’s where you can share ideas, have your say on important topics, give feedback on policies and plans, and find out about upcoming face-to-face events.
Our engagement team work closely with council services to make sure every engagement activity is meaningful and available to everyone who wants to take part. The team review and support engagement before it proceeds, to help council staff run effective, fair and lawful engagement that leads to better-informed decisions.
Links to the Council Plan 2026 to 2031
This strategy will help us deliver Council Plan commitments by:
- supporting you to shape decisions and design and evaluate services that reflect diverse local needs and deliver value for money
- connecting you and fostering a sense of belonging in safe, strong, and thriving communities
- empowering and strengthening local voices to shape future service improvements by working closely with you, and building meaningful relationships with town and parish councils and other local, regional and national partners
- being open and transparent, sharing what we’re doing on your behalf and the difference your feedback makes
What is engagement and consultation
Engagement and consultation help us understand what people think and make sure their views are considered in our decisions. Both are important, and we will use the right approach depending on the situation.
Engagement is a broad term that includes many activities, from sharing information to working together on projects. It means having ongoing conversations with people to hear their ideas and views when planning or changing services. It helps us understand different needs and make better informed decisions.
What we will engage and consult about
We’ll engage when we:
- are legally required to consult (statutory requirement or expectation)
- review services to gather feedback on how effective they are and ensure people who use them are at the heart of their redesign
- propose a policy or service change that could impact you
- test new proposals and ideas
- are strategic planning to check our plans meet needs
- assess and address service gaps and unmet needs
- seek ongoing customer feedback to improve services and address issues
Who we will engage and consult
We’ll identify and involve those who are affected by the decisions we make. This will include, but not be limited to:
- residents
- people who use our services
- groups with shared interests, geography or personal characteristics and those who represent them
- town and parish councils and their urban equivalents
- community and voluntary groups
- councillors
- council staff and people employed in the county
- local businesses and partner organisations
- other public bodies and authorities
What we will do: aims and objectives
Involve residents and stakeholders to play an active role in shaping policies and services
Engage early when proposals are at a formative stage
- involve people while proposals and plans are still being shaped
- allow sufficient time for responses, considering urgency, timing and impact
Offer real opportunities to influence decisions
- provide a range of options, wherever possible, and explain preferred choices
- provide balanced, accessible information so you can give informed responses
- make clear what can and cannot be influenced
- share decision-making timelines and who is responsible
Ensure engagement is accessible and encourages meaningful involvement from all parts of the community
Make sure everyone knows when and how they can get involved
- promote opportunities widely using different methods and community networks
- make sure people affected by the plans know about them
Make participation easy and inclusive
- use different ways to collect and understand your views
- provide formats that suit different needs, like easy-read or other languages when needed
- design engagement methods with regard for inclusivity
- choose accessible engagement event venues
Expand reach and depth of engagement
- target underrepresented groups and diverse communities
- work with local councils and community organisations to reach diverse voices
- monitor participation to identify gaps and improve representation
Build trust and accountability by working with communities in open and transparent ways
Communicate purpose, process and impact clearly
- explain why engagement is happening and what can be influenced
- share relevant information without distortion or omission
- show how feedback shapes decisions
Provide timely feedback and learning
- publish results within 12 weeks or explain delays
- share findings with participants and the wider public
- use lessons learned to improve future engagement practice
Ensure engagement is consistently high-quality and legally compliant
Support staff with expert guidance and coordinated planning
- provide templates, training and advice for effective engagement
- review plans before launch to ensure fairness and compliance
- approve engagement activities before publishing on letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk
- coordinate activity across departments and partners
Handle data responsibly and lawfully
- process personal data in line with legal requirements
- analyse responses carefully and without bias
- consider all findings before making decisions
- be clear if we have used AI to analyse any part of the feedback received
What success looks like
When we implement the strategy:
- we work with communities and their representatives to make decisions that deliver for families, communities and the county
- communities and their representatives know how to get involved and how their involvement influences decisions
- we reach diverse voices and encourage interested parties to get involved
- we co-ordinate and plan community engagement, leading to better results
- we use Let’s talk Lincolnshire as the central hub for residents, community groups, staff and stakeholders to find the latest information and get involved
- we support our services to ensure every engagement and consultation is fair, effective and lawful, helping us make better-informed decisions together
National and local context
Legal duties and principles
There is no general legal duty under common law for councils to consult when changing services or policies. However, a duty may arise if:
- legislation specifically requires it
- fairness requires it — for example, if there’s a promise to consult or a past practice of doing so
When consultation is carried out, it must be fair and lawful. If not, decisions may be challenged in court, leading to delays, costs, and reputational damage. To reduce this risk, we aim to:
- clearly explain proposals
- keep records of what we share and what people tell us
- show how feedback has been considered in decisions
Consultation can focus on a preferred option, if other options are also explained with reasons for not choosing them.
The courts have established a set of principles known as the Gunning Principles, which form the legal framework for ensuring that consultations are fair and effective. These principles state that:
- consultation must take place when proposals are still being developed
- enough information must be provided to allow for informed responses
- sufficient time must be given for people to respond
- responses must be properly considered before a final decision is made
Some laws, like Section 5D of the Childcare Act 2006, require consultation in specific cases. If there’s any uncertainty, the engagement team will advise whether further guidance should be sought from LCC Legal Services.
The Brown Principles and Bracking Principles ensure that engagement and consultation processes consider equality impacts. These principles require decision-makers to be aware of their equality duties, analyse the potential impacts on protected groups, and integrate equality considerations into their decisions. By adhering to these principles, public bodies can ensure their engagement and consultation activities are inclusive and legitimate.
Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination. It requires public authorities to consider the needs of individuals with protected characteristics, such as disability, age, gender, and race. By following the Equality Act, public bodies can ensure their engagement, policies and services reflect diverse community perspectives.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ensures the protection of personal data collected during the engagement and consultation process. Any personal data must be processed lawfully, transparently, and securely, with clear consent from individuals.
National guidance
Cabinet Office Consultation Principles provide a framework for government departments and public bodies to ensure effective engagement and consultation. These principles emphasise the importance of proportionality, transparency, and inclusivity, ensuring they are conducted in a meaningful and targeted manner.
Best Value Guidance sets out reasonable expectations on the way we and other councils should work with voluntary and community groups and small businesses. It specifically references engaging the sector and people who use services in proposed changes to those services.
Local Government Act 1999 Best Value Duty mandates that local authorities must deliver ‘Best Value’ by ensuring continuous improvement in their services. This includes a duty to consult with a variety of stakeholders, such as people who use our services, to gather their views and ensure that services are efficient and effective.
The Localism Act 2011 aims to decentralise power, giving local communities more control. This act mandates that public bodies listen to and involve local people in decision-making processes, particularly when they express a desire to manage local resources or services, as highlighted in the council’s corporate plan.
Local context
Neighbourhood planning empowers local communities to shape the development and use of land in their areas. Enabled by the Localism Act 2011, it involves extensive consultation and engagement with residents, businesses, and stakeholders to ensure that their views and priorities are captured and integrated into the Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) and Neighbourhood Development Orders (NDOs). We (and particularly housing planning authorities, like district councils) must take account of them when making certain decisions.
Commissioning strategies set out how services will be planned, designed, delivered, and reviewed. These strategies will be shaped by feedback from service users, potential users, and their representatives to ensure services meet local needs. Continuous engagement throughout the commissioning process promotes inclusion and improved outcomes for residents.
The customer charter outlines our commitment to putting our customers at the heart of what we do.
Our complaints policy sets out how we deal with something that the public tell us has gone well or gone wrong.
The petitions scheme outlines how someone can prepare a petition and what we will do with a petition if they decide it is the best course of action. Petition submissions in response to a public consultation being run by the council will be acknowledged as part of the consultation process and will be considered along with other consultation responses.