As inevitable as rain in July and August is the onslaught of regulations, consultations and tenders with deadlines for a response set in the first two weeks after September's back-to-school rush. Every year ministers and civil servants clear their desks before the parliamentary recess and this year the Olympics has exacerbated the annual paper chase.
On top of the major threads of public sector reform – open public services, the Health Act and the Localism Act – we have new guidance and regulations on how to implement change, as well as this summer's tender specifications. This may cause something of a problem for potential employee mutuals looking to tender this year, or next for public services.
It will be necessary to discuss the projects together as a team and do lots of preparation, but the holiday season makes this more difficult than usual.
The explanation that this "quiet time" gives local authorities the space to respond to government consultations fails to accept that, like the consultation drafters, respondents also have school holidays to deal with.
The community right to challenge is a case in point. Introduced at the end of June, councils only had a couple of weeks to get to grips with this vital piece of legislation before the holiday season began in earnest. In practice it has been trailed for some time, and so the introduction should have come as no surprise – yet it still places unrealistic expectations on staff.
Local authorities will be expected to get everything in order for the start of business in September, interrupted also by the rigmarole of the conference season.
For those working in the public sector, a restorative holiday can be an impossible dream, with a pile of white papers instead replacing the latest John Grisham novel on the beach. There is, unfortunately, little way to avoid the issue other than to keep your ear to the ground and consider regulations when they come out in draft rather than waiting for them to be passed in full.
Ultimately, the only sensible response is to issue a plea to those issuing consultations and tenders that they consider the practical implications of timing on the quality and comprehensiveness of feedback. Only then can we be sure to get the best work from the best people – something that is essential to the future of our public services.
Ross Griffiths is a partner at Cobbetts LLP
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