Introduction to consultation

Getting your voice heard in Tower Hamlets

Not everyone can get involved in everything. No matter how little time you have, you can help make a difference to your borough:

• ten minutes to answer a survey
• 1.5 hours to attend a focus group
• a day for an information event or workshop
• an ongoing commitment to committees and forums.

See how you can influence the decisions that affect you and your community:

• Residents’ panel
• Local area partnerships (LAPs)
• Tenants associations
• User forums (include youth forum, OP ref group)

Consultation calendar

All consultations, customer satisfaction surveys, and forums are listed on this calendar. You can find information about how all the key organisations in Tower Hamlets (health, police, fire, council and community organisations) seek your views on services and policies affecting local people.

If you are interested in learning more about developments in education, health, housing, social services, community planning etc then explore our calendar and have your say. Guidance on how to use the consultation calendar is provided here (Word 729k).

If you know about a consultation that is taking place and it is not on this calendar please contact consultation@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Residents’ panel

What is a residents’ panel?

The Tower Hamlets panel consists of 2,400 local people, who are asked their opinions on a range of issues/services affecting the borough (open spaces, cleaner/safer neighbourhoods, the budget etc).

The panel is a representative sample of the borough profile that reflects the many communities who live here. They are recruited according to their background characteristics e.g. age, gender, ethnicity and area of residency (LAP).

More questions answered on residents' panels.

E-panel

In addition to the standing residents’ panel, we are exploring the use of an e-panel. An e-panel is a way of bringing the council and the people together, electronically.

If you would like to join, complete this form.

Is an e-panel representative of the wider community?

Unlike our standing resident panel, this will not be a representative sample of the community at this stage. It is a new development so we are keen to attract anyone who is happy to participate through their computer, the only condition being that you live or work in the borough.

Asking the right questions

How do we know the right questions to ask?

Our consultations are designed to build on past consultations e.g. the community plan, satisfaction surveys, budget consultation, and involvement activities. We learn from what you tell us and want to maintain contact to ensure we meet your needs.

What do we do with the results of our consultations?

Once the data from surveys, focus groups and events has been received, we feed your views into our planning and decision making process. Where possible we also inform you of the results through East End Life.

When you get involved in a consultation exercise, the contact person will tell you when results will be available and how you can access them.