How UK local authorities can ensure that every voice is included in community consultation

Inclusive community consultation is a deliberate process of engaging all community members to ensure that local decisions reflect diverse perspectives and address the unique needs of every resident.

Ensuring that every voice is included enables councils to address challenges more effectively, allocate resources wisely, and foster a sense of shared pride and belonging within their communities.

Identifying and understanding local communities for inclusive engagement

A truly inclusive community consultation begins with a clear understanding of who makes up the local area. Councils can only reach every voice if they identify, map, and analyse the diverse groups living, working, and participating within their district boundaries. This approach ensures that consultation efforts are evidence-informed and tailored to local realities, rather than relying on assumptions.

Mapping demographics and communities

To create a comprehensive picture of their area, councils should map communities based on shared characteristics and functions. They can do it in the following ways:

• Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS): GIS is a digital mapping technology that helps councils better understand their communities. With GIS, councils can combine maps of their area with data about who lives there and how people use local services. For example, they can examine postcodes to identify where different age groups, ethnicities, or family types are concentrated, and then overlay information such as the number of people who use a particular park or library. This allows councils to clearly see patterns, such as which neighbourhoods are using certain services more or less, and helps them plan consultations or improve services based on actual community needs and behaviours.
• Defining community layers: A community is made up of several overlapping layers. The first layer is geography, which includes people living within the project area's physical boundaries, such as a neighbourhood or ward. The second layer is function, encompassing individuals who may not reside in the area but who work there, attend school, own businesses, or regularly travel through it. The third layer is identity, referring to groups that connect through shared backgrounds, beliefs, or interests, such as cultural or faith-based groups, sports clubs, or cycling enthusiasts. Recognising these layers can help councils reach all groups affected by their decisions and ensure consultations are truly inclusive.
• Mapping community assets: Identifying "civic assets" such as libraries, pubs, and community centres helps councils understand where residents naturally congregate and where "pop-up" consultation events will be most effective.

How to ensure the inclusion of all voices in community consultation

The following are ways UK councils can ensure the inclusion of all voices in community consultation:

1. Diversify engagement channels

To avoid excluding those without digital access or those who prefer in-person contact, councils can use a hybrid approach:

• Offline methods: Host pop-up events at local shopping centres, libraries, or community centres. Councils can even conduct "estate walkabouts" and door-to-door visits to meet residents in their own homes.
• Digital platforms: Use accessible, screen-reader-friendly websites to promote inclusivity, and incorporate social media into your engagement strategies to target younger demographics.
• Accessible formats: Provide information in "easy to read" versions, Braille, audio formats, and multiple languages to reach non-native speakers.

2. Target underrepresented groups

Councils should move away from relying on "the usual suspects" by proactively seeking out underrepresented and marginalised voices:

• Community intermediaries: Employ "community amplifiers" or "peer navigators", these are residents who can act as liaisons to build trust within their own networks.
• Check for gaps: Monitor all responses to identify underrepresented demographic groups, then launch hyper-local promotion to boost participation among them.

3. Remove practical barriers

Consultations should be designed to be convenient and welcoming to encourage participation from everyone:

• Timing and location: Hold events at various times of day to accommodate both working people and seniors, and choose familiar, local venues.
• Support services: Provide childcare, travel reimbursements, and refreshments for in-person meetings.
• Incentives: Offer small rewards, such as vouchers for local businesses or raffle entries, to encourage engagement in harder-to-reach areas.

4. Move toward collaboration

Shift from simply informing residents to including them:

• Citizen assemblies: Establish community panels with regularly refreshed pools of residents to deliberate on complex issues.
• Participatory budgeting: Allow residents to vote directly on how local funds are spent, as seen in recent council initiatives in early 2026.
• Early involvement: Engage groups from the outset of a project rather than at the final decision stage to ensure their expertise shapes draft proposals.

5. Abide by legal and ethical frameworks

Councils must adhere to strict legal standards to ensure fairness and trust. Some of these standards include:

• Gunning Principles: This is a legal framework that requires consultations when proposals are still at a formative stage, with sufficient information and time for residents to respond, and that their views be conscientiously considered.
• Public Sector Equality Duty: This is a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity across nine protected characteristics.

How Jambo supports inclusive community consultation for UK local councils

Jambo is stakeholder consultation software designed to consolidate consultation and engagement data, making it easy for teams to review, analyse, and report on the information. Jambo helps ensure that every voice is captured, documented, and considered during a consultation.

Some key elements of Jambo that support inclusivity include:

• A centralised single source of truth: Jambo consolidates feedback from multiple channels, including emails, phone calls, in-person meetings, and digital surveys, into one secure database. This prevents information silos and ensures that feedback from consultations is not omitted from analysis or lost competently when staff leave.
• Ability to close the feedback loop: Jambo's reporting tools allow councils to generate reports like "You Said, We Did" reports quickly. These help demonstrate how resident input influenced decisions, which is essential for building long-term trust in local governance.
• Built-in issue and commitment tracking: The software includes dedicated modules to log specific grievances and promises made to the community. This helps councils remain accountable and responsive, ensuring that follow-up actions are never forgotten.

The benefits of using Jambo for UK local authorities

By using Jambo SRM software, UK local authorities can realise many benefits, including:

• Statutory compliance: Jambo assists councils in meeting their legal consultation requirements, such as the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Gunning Principles, by providing a clear, auditable trail of all consultation activities.
• Team efficiency: Easy data entry and fast report generation (often in seconds rather than days) free up council staff to focus on high-value strategic consultation tasks rather than manual administration.
• Data sovereignty: To meet strict UK government data standards, Jambo offers secure data hosting in EEA data centres, ensuring compliance with UK GDPR and local privacy requirements.