Robert Bond
81a6276f44
docs: document representation participation availability model Related work items: #23754
230 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
230 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
# Representation Participation Rules – Business Review
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## Purpose
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This document describes the portal’s current observed behaviour when deciding whether someone can take part in a representation or consultation process.
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It is intended for:
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- product owners
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- business analysts
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- subject matter experts
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- service owners
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This is **not** a technical design document.
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It does not describe how the system is implemented.
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Its purpose is to help the business confirm whether the portal currently behaves as intended.
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---
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## Plain English Summary
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The portal appears to be making one broad decision:
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> Can this participant take part in this case at this point in the process?
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Current observed behaviour suggests that the answer depends on:
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- case type
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- process type
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- participant type
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- whether the participation period is open
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- whether the case is being treated as a consultation
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The portal mostly follows a general pattern, but some case types appear to have special exceptions.
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Some differences in current behaviour may also be historical rather than intentional.
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---
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## General Cases
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Current observed behaviour suggests:
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- participation is generally available for most case types
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- participation is only available while the relevant participation period is open
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- once that period ends, participation is no longer available
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### Business validation questions
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1. Is this still the correct general rule?
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2. Should participation normally depend on an open participation period?
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---
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## Householder Cases
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Current observed behaviour suggests:
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- Local Planning Authorities can participate
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- other participant types cannot participate
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- where participation is unavailable, users may not always be shown an explanatory message
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### Business validation questions
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1. Should Householder participation remain restricted to Local Planning Authorities only?
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2. If participation is unavailable, should users be shown an explanation?
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---
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## Compulsory Purchase Order Cases
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Current observed behaviour suggests:
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- participation is controlled by a specific participation period
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- this case type appears to use a different participation deadline from most other cases
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- participation messages may not always use that deadline consistently
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### Business validation questions
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1. Is a separate participation deadline expected for these cases?
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2. Should all participation messages for these cases use the same deadline consistently?
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---
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## Rights of Way Cases
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Current observed behaviour suggests:
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### Hearing cases
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- participation is only available during a defined participation period
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### Non-hearing cases
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- participation is generally available
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### Where process information is missing or unclear
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- participation may still be treated as available
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### Business validation questions
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1. Should hearing cases be restricted to a participation period?
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2. Should non-hearing cases remain generally available?
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3. What should happen if process information is missing or unclear?
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4. Should missing or unclear process information ever prevent participation?
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---
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## Advertisement Cases
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Current observed behaviour suggests:
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### Written representation cases
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- Local Planning Authorities may participate
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- other participant types may not participate
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### Hearing cases
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- participation is available to all participant types
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### Other process types
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- participation is not available
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### Business validation questions
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1. Is this behaviour correct?
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2. Should written representation cases remain restricted to Local Planning Authorities?
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3. Should hearing cases remain open to all participant types?
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4. Should other process types remain blocked?
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---
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## Consultation Cases
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Current observed behaviour suggests:
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- some participation routes are treated as consultations rather than representations
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- consultation participation is controlled by consultation dates
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- consultation participation appears to be handled separately from general representation participation
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### Business validation questions
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1. Is consultation participation intentionally separate from representation participation?
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2. Should consultation dates control availability?
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---
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## Missing or Conflicting Information
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Current observed behaviour suggests that participation can depend on how process information is available.
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In some cases:
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- missing information may still allow participation
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- incomplete information may block participation
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- different portal areas may interpret the same situation differently
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### Business validation questions
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1. If process information is missing, should participation be:
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- allowed
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- blocked
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- decided another way
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2. If process information is conflicting, how should the portal decide?
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3. Are there cases where missing information should always prevent participation?
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---
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## Current Known Differences Between Portal Areas
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Current observed behaviour suggests that some portal areas may interpret the same case information differently.
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Examples of this include situations where:
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- one area treats process information as sufficient to allow participation
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- another area treats the same case as needing further restriction
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- unavailable messages may not always be shown in the same way
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These differences may be historical rather than intentional.
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### Business validation questions
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1. Should all portal areas interpret the same participation information in the same way?
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2. Are any current differences intentional?
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3. If differences are not intentional, which behaviour should be treated as correct?
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---
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## Business Review Checklist
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Use this table to record whether the current observed behaviour matches business expectation.
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| Area | Current Behaviour | Agree? | Notes |
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| ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ----- |
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| General cases | Participation generally available while the participation period is open | | |
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| Householder | Only Local Planning Authorities can participate | | |
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| CPO | Participation controlled by a separate participation deadline | | |
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| ROW hearing | Participation available only during the relevant participation period | | |
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| ROW non-hearing | Participation generally available | | |
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| Advert written reps | Only Local Planning Authorities can participate | | |
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| Advert hearing | All participant types can participate | | |
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| Advert other process types | Participation not available | | |
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| Consultation | Participation controlled separately by consultation dates | | |
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| Missing process information | Participation may still be allowed in some cases | | |
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| Conflicting process information | Different portal areas may currently interpret this differently | | |
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| Ended participation messages | Participation becomes unavailable, but explanation/messages may not always be fully consistent | | |
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---
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## Important Notes
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- This document describes **current observed behaviour**.
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- Some current behaviour may exist for historical reasons.
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- This document is intended for validation, not implementation.
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- No changes should be made on the basis of this document alone.
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- Any future change should be confirmed through business decision-making and protected by characterization before implementation.
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---
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## Related Technical Documentation
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For the technical characterization and compatibility details, see:
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- `docs/representation-participation-availability.md`
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