Citizen Space isn’t a stranger to news coverage, having been the digital platform for several major national consultations, like the Scottish referendum, across the last two decades. However, it’s not often we hear from someone like Martin Lewis on why it’s essential a hot button consultation like council tax reform uses a Govtech platform like Citizen Space.
We’ve been featured: Martin Lewis talks about Citizen Space
Financial expert, journalist and broadcaster Martin Lewis recently appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the ongoing council tax reform consultation currently taking place on Citizen Space. Lewis, who has long campaigned for citizens to have more say in day-to-day governance, particularly as it relates to public finances, had this to say on the consultation:
What is the consultation about?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are currently consulting citizens across the country on how it can improve the administration of council tax in England. The intent of the consultation is to “deliver a fairer and more efficient system for taxpayers and local government.”
This consultation specifically focuses on pragmatic changes to the operational aspects of council tax reform, such as how it is billed, paid, and enforced. It aims to modernise the process, addressing some long-term issues and aspects that haven’t been updated despite a changing economic context.
Examples of issues that are addressed within the scope of this consultation are:
- How council tax debt is collected, including the period of time before councils move to enforcement measures.
- The time period in which council tax bands can be challenged.
- Changing the way council tax exemptions are managed, including for those on low-wages and due to mental impairment.
- Shifting the default period of council tax, which is currently set at 10 months.
- Improving transparency of council tax information.
The consultation is also running a call for evidence. The call for evidence will gather insights from stakeholders, experts and relevant organisations in all areas within the scope of the consultation in order to help better inform the consultation process.
The consultation is open now, and will close on 12 September 2025. We strongly encourage you to take part in the consultation.
Why is it important to participate in consultations like this?
Participation in public consultations are an important way for citizens to have a real say in governance. In representative democracies like ours, sometimes it can feel as though the only power individuals can have over political decisions is by going to the polls every five years. However, by becoming active citizens and taking part in more participatory forms of democracy, the public can have a real voice in the policies, plans and projects that shape their lives.
Public consultations in particular have become a common way for both local and national governments to both inform the public of plans through the dissemination of detailed information, and to get a fuller picture of public perceptions of policy proposals.
For many policy decisions, consulting the public is a legal requirement. However, consultations should be more than simple box ticking. Done correctly, they can have a real impact on policy and the way policy is enacted. Effective consultations serve to improve the relationships between citizens and the public bodies and governments running them.
Why should Government and Public Bodies use Govtech?
Govtech – short for “government technology” – refers to the digital tools and platforms specifically designed to support the work of local, regional, and national governments.
The benefits of govtech are increasingly clear. Access to these platforms enables public bodies and government services to engage wider audiences, gather more meaningful and representative data, and significantly lightens the administrative burden once tied to public engagement. It is setting a new standard for how governments connect with citizens and address challenges in the public sector.
Govtech allows public consultations to be run in a manner that is flexible and responsive. Over time, the ability to provide ongoing feedback in a way that is easy to access and understand serves to demonstrate transparency and therefore build trust. Citizens that can see that the government is listening to them and taking action based on their views have a more positive relationship with it. They are also more likely to stay involved in civic life.
Accessibility and inclusivity have also improved as technology has advanced. Before govtech became widespread, public engagement often skewed toward certain groups; typically older, middle-class professionals familiar with government processes. As a result, the views collected frequently reflected a narrow segment of the community.
Today, the growing use of engagement platforms, combined with a stronger focus on inclusivity, is helping to change that. Many platforms now include demographic tracking for example which can flag imbalances in participation. This allows organisers to identify underrepresented groups and adjust their outreach accordingly.
Why use Citizen Space?
Citizen Space is a Govtech platform created by Delib. It is used by central and local governments around the world. It’s designed to support public consultations, community engagement, spatial planning, calls for evidence, and more.
As a platform, Citizen Space’s strength is the innovative manner digital tools have been used to give participants different ways of understanding, contextualising and communicating. For example:
- Citizen Space can be used to create surveys that take citizens on “tailored” journeys depending on their answers, reducing bounce rate.
- The platform is able to receive images, and upload different file types.
- Citizen Space can be a place to give information, context, receive answers and provide feedback, all in one place.
- Geospatial data can be used to express information geographically in a way that is accessible and easy to visualise.
Citizen Space also has a number of built-in analysis tools, making it quick and simple for facilitators to understand the data and create meaningful reports. It is also able to export data for analysis through external programmes, giving a great deal of flexibility to analysts.
All this and more is why the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said:
“Citizen Space is the department’s preferred route for receiving responses. We strongly encourage responses to be made via Citizen Space, particularly from organisations with access to online facilities such as representative bodies. Using Citizen Space greatly assists our analysis of responses, enabling more efficient and effective consideration of the issues raised.”
Citizen Space is the go-to platform for connecting governments, developers, and citizens. If you’d like to learn more about how our software can be used for public consultations, book a free demo and we’ll walk you through it.
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