It is worth noting the Cabinet Office general election guidance for civil servants which outlines (in Section J) what happens to consultations during a general election period.
According to the guidance, new public consultations should not be launched during the election period (unless there are exceptional circumstances, which seems unlikely for tax policy consultations).
Ongoing consultations ‘should continue as normal’, but ‘departments should not take any steps during an election period that will compete with parliamentary candidates for the public’s attention. This effectively means a ban on publicity for those consultations that are still in process.’
Lack of visibility creates an obvious problem for consultations, and the guidance suggests that other steps should be taken to ensure the consultation is effective while also ‘strictly observing’ the guidelines; for example, extending the consultation period and publicising the consultation after the election.
It is worth noting the Cabinet Office general election guidance for civil servants which outlines (in Section J) what happens to consultations during a general election period.
According to the guidance, new public consultations should not be launched during the election period (unless there are exceptional circumstances, which seems unlikely for tax policy consultations).
Ongoing consultations ‘should continue as normal’, but ‘departments should not take any steps during an election period that will compete with parliamentary candidates for the public’s attention. This effectively means a ban on publicity for those consultations that are still in process.’
Lack of visibility creates an obvious problem for consultations, and the guidance suggests that other steps should be taken to ensure the consultation is effective while also ‘strictly observing’ the guidelines; for example, extending the consultation period and publicising the consultation after the election.
