‘Box-ticking’ consultations scrapped to speed up delivery

The government will strip away needless 'box-ticking' consultations as part of a drive to accelerate decision-making and deliver real change at pace.

The government will strip away needless ‘box-ticking’ consultations as part of a drive to accelerate decision-making and deliver real change at pace.

On Monday, the First Secretary of State, Chancellor and Attorney General wrote to departments to tell Ministers to help them to be “bold and ambitious”, the government will “pare back counterproductive administrative burdens” and implement further robust changes to support delivery.

For too long, the system has outsourced accountability to external stakeholders through consultations, arm’s-length bodies, or regulators, costing the public years of progress. A bespoke AI tool identified around 7,000 consultation duties in the statute book.

For example, despite overwhelmingly positive responses, vital public health measures such as the introduction of folic acid to flour were delayed for seven years as the government became trapped in duplicate consultations. Similarly, between 2019 and 2023, the Government asked the public three times for views on introducing legislation to microchip cats, including gathering views on the legal definition of a cat.

These examples are symptomatic of a culture that has prioritised process over outcomes. The government is committed to doing things differently: making clear decisions, standing by them, and working with Parliament and local leaders to execute them.

First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh said: