DEVOLUTION CONSULTATION: QUALITY ASSURANCE AND EVALUATION

East Riding of Yorkshire Council, in conjunction with Hull City Council, wishes to procure services in relation to the Quality Assurance and Evaluation of a forthcoming consultation in respect of our Devolution draft deal agreed with the Government. Dates are to be confirmed, however an indicative timeline that covers the expected contract is below:

• Pre-Consultation (preparations and quality assurance): December 2023 • Consultation: January-February 2024 • Duration of Consultation: 6-8 weeks • Production of Consultation Analysis Report: mid/late March 2024

We wish to appoint a service provider who will work with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to ensure that planning and activities are in line with the standards expected under best practice in adherence to the Gunning Principles in producing a quality assurance framework.

We require that each stage of the process be formally reviewed by an independent QA Verifier, who will certify our process as meeting at least the minimum standards if not best practice. It is envisaged that the service provider support will:

• Reduce the risk of a legal challenge by identifying vulnerabilities such as gaps and non-compliances • Reduce the risk of legal challenge at the design consideration stage using known risk mitigation techniques • Offer assurances to stakeholders, knowing that consultations have been conducted in a fair and meaningful way • Inform the consultation design based on previous experience (preferably with devolution consultations) • Harmonise thinking by deploying tools for ensuring there is consistency, such as the use of an agreed consultation mandate in the framing and scoping of a consultation

The service provider will support preparations for each stage of the process, ensuring that standards are understood and, where required, providing practical advice on how to prepare for both initial Quality Assurance and later Analysis.

An initial scoping meeting between the devolution working group and the service provider would be expected to agree on the parameters for the inclusion in the Quality Assurance. Formal stages of the process are to be agreed at this time.