What is Policy?

If government and its Statutory Agencies want to achieve an outcome and effect change, it will issue a ‘policy’ to notify the public of its intentions and begin the process of consulting the public on its intentions.
In Short
• Policy will decide what is needed in a borough and what services are delivered
• Policy is any proposal (which includes, Papers, Reports, Bills, Reports, Strategies, Consultations and Policy documents) coming out of government and statutory agencies (like your Local Authority and Primary Care Trust), which the community can engage with (during consultation) to shape and steer towards favorable outcomes for each community.

Let’s say for an instance, in Enfield the number of pupils attaining 5 GCSEs stands below the national average. Children and Young People’s Department might issue a policy statement like:
‘The Education, Children’s Services & Leisure Department is committed to ensuring that the percentage of children attaining 5 GCSE’s in 2010 is 70%.’

This policy statement tells of the intentions of the department, regarding GCSE performances in Enfield. It will go on to spell out how it proposes to achieve this outcome in a many paged document. It might talk about its intentions to fund supplementary classes and
after school coaching.