Public consultations and petitions

The live consultations, surveys and petitions below are listed in date order. Please see click the blue bar above to see recently closed consultations, surveys and petitions.

Kent Bus Service Improvement Plan Consultation: Kent County Council is consulting on its Kent Bus Service Improvement Plan. KCC want to ensure that their Improvement Plan reflects the views of Kent residents and want to hear from users and residents about what would make bus travel more attractive. For further details please see https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/busfuture

Ends 29th August 2021.

Lower Thames Crossing Community Impacts Consultation: Highways England is holding a further round of public consultation to seek views on:

Our plans to build and operate the Lower Thames Crossing and how we will mitigate its impact

Changes to the project since the design refinement consultation in 2020

How responses received at each of our previous consultations have informed the development of the project For further details please see Lower Thames Crossing consultation

Ends 23.59 8th September 2021

Ashford Borough Council is seeking views on its draft Corporate Plan 2022-2024, in particular if you think there are any gaps in the main document or the action plan. Email your reply to policy.team@ashford.gov.uk by

Friday 17th September 2021

Kent County Council 2022/2023 Budget Consultation: KCC is currently consulting on its draft 2022/2023 Budget. See Budget Consultation 2022-2023

' The financial outlook for Kent County Council (KCC) is currently highly uncertain and in all probability, we will like last year, have a budget gap to close. The lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic recession on council spending and income remains unclear. This means that forecasting future years' spending, income levels from service users and from residents and businesses is less reliable than we have been used to in previous years. Added to this uncertainty we do not yet have any indication from government on what our grant funding will be next year or their expectations regarding council tax increases.'

Ends 19th September 2021.

Local Audit Framework consultation: Government is currently consulting on the Local Audit Framework - Section 8 of the consultation – paras. 120 to 131 (Questions 22, 23 and 24 cover smaller authorities) Local audit framework: technical consultation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Ends 23.45 22nd September 2021

Kent County Council Household Waste Recycling Centres consultation: KCC has launched a six-week consultation 'Booking to visit a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)'. The consultation seeks views on the continuation of a booking system to visit KCC Household Waste Recycling Centres. The consultation questionnaire and supporting documents can be found at www.kent.gov.uk/wasteconsultation

Ends Thursday 30th September 2021.

Improving Standards and Embedding Good Governance: Petition on the UK Government and Parliament website calling for Government to legislate to enable councillors to be disqualified or suspended for poor conduct

See Legislate to enable Councillors to be disqualified or suspended for poor conduct - Petitions (parliament.uk).

Ends 25th November 2021

Local Nature Recovery Strategies: how to prepare and what to include

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new system of spatial strategies for nature, which will cover the whole of England. They are established by clauses 100 to 104 of the Environment Bill and are designed as tools to drive more coordinated, practical and focussed action to help nature. The strategies are a new system of maps and proposed actions for nature's recovery. The Environment Bill will create a legal requirement for these to be created across England. This Defra open consultation seeks views on the implementation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies, an important new policy contained in the Environment Bill. Measures to reverse nature's decline will underpin the Nature Recovery Network. Environmental Improvement Plans and legally-binding targets, including the additional target for species abundance for 2030, will establish long-term policy direction and ambition.

To take part in this consultation follow Local Nature Recovery Strategies

Ends 23.45pm on 2nd November 2021

National Transport and Highways Survey 2021/2022: Councils across the UK are asking residents to tell them what they think of transport and highways services in their area, and we're one of those councils. There are six independent surveys in total - feel free to take one or all of them. Apparently, each survey will only take a few minutes of your time. They are asking for your views on: accessibility; highways maintenance; public transport; road safety; tackling congestion; walking and cycling. For further details see - National Highways and Transport Survey 2021/22 | Let's talk Kent.

Ends 28th February 2022