Judgement Test Question 92 – A policy lead dismisses lived experience
Read the scenario and rate every action independently. Several actions can receive the same rating.
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Scenario
You are chairing a consultation with bereaved families about a proposed change to a public service. A senior policy lead responds to criticism by explaining the legal framework in technical language and says some requests are outside scope. Several participants become frustrated and one says the department has invited them only to defend a decision that has already been made. The policy lead looks to you to confirm that their explanation was correct. You need to keep the discussion respectful, understand the concerns and make clear what can still be influenced.
Rate the actions
For each action, choose Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective.
Action A
After the meeting, ask the policy lead to send participants a plain English explanation of the legal constraints and the areas still open for comment.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action B
Allow the exchange to continue because interrupting the policy lead could suggest that the department is unwilling to defend its position.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action C
Tell participants that the policy lead is technically correct and ask them to focus on suggestions that are clearly within scope.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action D
Acknowledge the concern, invite specific examples, summarise what you have heard and explain clearly which parts of the proposal can still change.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Click to reveal the answer
- Action A: Fairly Effective
- Action B: Ineffective
- Action C: Counterproductive
- Action D: Effective
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