Local Democracy Taskforce: Stakeholder Consultation Submissions

The Local Democracy Taskforce undertook a targeted stakeholder consultation with the key organisations/ individuals which were likely to have a clear interest in the issues being considered by the Taskforce.

The purpose of the consultation process was to seek the views of key stakeholders and to gather diverse perspectives and information to inform the work of the Taskforce and any recommendations emerging, ensuring that policies are well-informed, effective, and reflect the needs of those they will impact. The consultation process was structured to align with the four key Pillars of the Taskforce, namely Finance, Function, Structure and Governance and the Taskforce included a list of questions designed to specifically elicit information from stakeholder in these areas, while also providing stakeholders with an opportunity to provide other inputs, within the confines of the Taskforce Terms of Reference.

The consultation process was open from Tuesday 8th July until Friday 22nd August 2025. In a limited number of cases the Secretariat accepted submissions received outside of this timeline.

The Taskforce had identified 88 organisations and the Chair wrote to each to invite them to participate. Responses were received from 56 of these organisations. The Taskforce accepted submissions from an additional 4 organisations during the consultation window. A full list of the consultees is available here:

List of Stakeholder Consultees including response details

In total, there were 78 submissions received. It should be noted that 8 PPNs responded to the consultation, but they are counted and presented as one below. It should also be noted that 11 LCDCs responded to the consultation, and they are also counted and presented as one below.

As part of the Taskforce’s work to study the submissions received to the stakeholder consultation, the responses have been presented below in five documents, which correspond to the five sections of the consultation paper (Structures, Funding, Functions and Governance and Accountability, and General and Conclusion), reflecting the four pillars of the Taskforce. Within each document, the responses have been aggregated under the each question and grouped by organisation type. This was part of the analysis methodology to see if there were similarities or differences regarding topics and likewise within organisation types. In addition, a summary document has been produced to bring together the key issues/topics/themes presented in the submissions received by the Taskforce.

Inclusion in any of these papers does not mean that the views expressed are shared or supported by the Taskforce. In addition, some of the responses to this consultation have included material that is outside of the Terms of Reference of the Taskforce. Inclusion of those issues in these papers does not in any way suggest a broadening of the Taskforce’s scope or Terms of Reference.