Consultations

Create, update and conclude a consultation on GOV.UK.

Consultation lifecycle

Consultations stay on the same page of GOV.UK throughout their lifecycle. The status starts as ‘Open’ and changes automatically:

  • from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’ on the closing date you specify, and the contact details disappear
  • from ‘Closed’ to ‘Concluded’ when you upload the government response or enter text about the outcome in the detail box

Government responses should be published within 12 weeks of the consultation closing. Update the consultation page to explain the delay if it takes longer than that. Give an estimate about when the response will be ready if you can.

Create and start a consultation

  1. Select the ‘New document’ tab and click on ‘Consultation’.

  2. If using a foreign language, select the ‘Create a foreign language only consultation’ tick box and choose your language from the list (this will automatically translate some parts of the page).

  3. Add a title and summary and enter some body copy of no more than 100 words which summarises the call for responses.

  4. Enter the opening and closing dates.

  5. Under ‘Ways to respond’, add the contact details for public responses. If you’re providing a downloadable response form, add it here rather than uploading it with other attachments.

  6. The consultation will automatically be tagged to your organisation. If more organisations are involved you can tag them under ‘Lead organisations’ and ‘Supporting organisations’.

  7. Schedule the publication for the opening date (you do not want the consultation to appear until it is open). Tick the box next to ‘Schedule for publication’ and enter the date in the boxes that appear.

  8. Select ‘Save and go to document summary’ to add topic tagging.

  9. Select ‘Edit draft’ to edit the document and add attachments.

Upload the consultation document

  1. Select the ‘Attachments’ tab.

  2. Attach the main consultation document, plus any supporting documents that are part of the consultation, for example, technical papers, by clicking on ‘Upload new file attachment’.

  3. Add links to supporting documents such as impact assessments in the body copy (impact assessments should be separate publications).

  4. Select the ‘Document’ tab, scroll down to the end of the page and click ‘Save and go to document summary’.

  5. Click on ‘Submit for 2nd eyes’. The editor reviewing the page will need to click ‘Schedule’ in order for the consultation to go live at the scheduled time.

When the consultation reaches its closing date the status changes to ‘Closed’, with the message ‘We are analysing your feedback’.

Update a consultation

After the consultation has closed, you can create an update to:

  • add public feedback or other documents to the page before the consultation process is fully concluded
  • explain why the government response is later than expected and say when the response will be ready

Do not change the original text, this will move to the bottom with the sub heading ‘Original consultation’.

  1. Open the document for editing and go to the ‘Public feedback’ tab

  2. Add a publication date and text to summarise the update (maximum 100 words) in the ‘Summary’ field.

  3. Click ‘Save’.

  4. You can now upload any attachments about the public feedback by clicking on ‘Upload new file attachment’. This is an optional field.

  5. Select the ‘Document’ tab, scroll down to the end of the page and click ‘Save and go to document summary’.

  6. Click on ‘Submit for 2nd eyes’. The editor reviewing the page will need to publish the consultation again for the ‘Detail of feedback received’ section to appear on the consultation.

When the consultation is updated, the status remains as ‘Closed’. The new content shows at the top of the page under the title ‘Detail of feedback received’.

Conclude a consultation

When the government response is ready, you should conclude the consultation.

Do not change the original text, this will move to the bottom with the sub heading ‘Original consultation’.

  1. Open the document for editing and click on the ‘Final outcome’ tab.

  2. Add a publication date and text in the ‘Summary’ field to summarise the government’s response (maximum 100 words).

  3. Click on ‘Save’.

  4. Upload documents that are part of the consultation as attachments, for example, the official government response and final impact assessment, by clicking on ‘Upload new file attachment’.

  5. Documents produced as a result of the response should be published as separate publications and linked to, for example, implementation plans, command papers and new guidelines. 

  6. Select the ‘Document’ tab, scroll down to the end of the page and click ‘Save and go to document summary’.

  7. Click on ‘Submit for 2nd eyes’. The editor doing the review will need to publish the consultation for the the status changes to ‘Outcome’. The new content will show at the top of the page under the title ‘Detail of outcome’.

Do not add more information or attachments to the page after the government response has been published.