3. Talk to the right people – and ask the right questions 

Ministers often find it helpful to bring a range of views, including from more junior policy or operational officials, into the policy making process. George Eustice, the former environment secretary, suggested to us that ministers should “get the officials up, all of them, from HEO and SEO ranks [more junior policy officials] right up to the deputy directors, and really talk through the detail of things and ask the right questions”. Posing challenging and probing questions in the early stages of policy development can be an effective way of preventing problems from arising later on in the process. 

While officials within your department will provide useful insight, it is also possible to bring in expertise from outside the permanent civil service. Special advisers can be a valuable way of doing this, by providing expertise in a particular field relevant to your policy area. They can also offer a more political stance on a policy area, that can be useful for guiding decisions where evidence may be ambiguous. 

Each policy area will also have a range of stakeholders with different perspectives. Take advantage of your convening power to bring together those interested in your policy area, including from the private and third sectors, to make the most of their input and work through any issues.

"I always liked to have the stakeholders and the specialists in because they would tell you things that were very difficult to get any other way."

Lord Freud, Minister of state for welfare reform (2010–16)