Help & FAQ

The Policy Portal carries a policy from first draft to publication: consultation with the relevant staff, review by a scrutiny panel, signature by the responsible directors, and finally publication to everyone in the Trust. This page covers the parts that apply to you.

If you want to…Go to
Put a new or revised policy through the process Submit a Policy
Find a policy that is already live Browse Policies
Move policies through the process, publish or take one down Policy Admin

Your policy, step by step

This applies to anyone submitting a policy, including administrators submitting one of their own. You will be emailed at each point where something is needed from you — you do not have to keep checking the portal.

  1. Submit. Give the policy name, whether it is new or a review of an existing policy, whether it is Trustwide or Local to one directorate, your contact details, and the document. The consultation dates default to today and three weeks' time; change them if you need to. You will get a confirmation email.
  2. Consultation runs. The Policy department releases your draft to the consultation list. Nothing is needed from you while this is open.
  3. Complete the update form. When consultation closes you are emailed all of the comments together, with a link to one combined form. It will not submit until you have supplied all of the following:
    • a written response to every consultation comment
    • the equality screening form, or a written reason it is not required
    • between two and six scrutiny panel contacts
    • at least one signatory
    • any policies this one replaces
    • your revised document
    Set aside enough time for this step — it is the longest one.
  4. Scrutiny runs. Your panel is emailed a link and a deadline, and is chased automatically. If anyone declines you will be emailed their comments and asked either to upload a revision and resend to the same panel, or to nominate a new panel.
  5. Endorse your own policy. Once the panel has endorsed it, you confirm your own endorsement. That sends the policy straight to your chosen signatories, who sign it electronically.
  6. Publication. Once signed, the Policy department publishes it and sets a renewal date. It then appears under Browse Policies for everyone.

Running a policy through the process

A policy only moves between stages when you release it. The two release gates are yours; everything between them is automatic.

  1. Review the submission. On Policy Detail you can download the document, replace it with a reformatted version, assign a category, set the code and public name, and record an internal comment that only administrators see.
  2. Release to consultation. This emails the consultation list — Trustwide, or the owning directorate's list for a local policy.
  3. Review the feedback, then send the results to the author. The author receives every comment at once and cannot respond piecemeal.
  4. Review the author's update on the Scrutiny Review screen: their response to each comment, the equality outcome, the signatories and the panel they nominated. You can correct a comment response here — but only until you release to scrutiny.
  5. Release to scrutiny with a deadline. Panel members are emailed and chased automatically; the deadline is processed overnight.
  6. Signing happens without you. After the author self-endorses, signatories are emailed directly and their name and date are stamped onto the signature page.
  7. Publish. A policy code is required. The renewal date defaults to three years out. Later you can take the policy down, or archive it when a newer version supersedes it.

Reference data and oversight

  • Manage Directorates — the list every local policy is assigned against.
  • Manage Directors — the pool of signatories offered for Trustwide policies. Assistant Directors, who sign local policies, are maintained by each Directorate Admin.
  • Manage Users — grants the Policy Admin and Directorate Admin roles. A Directorate Admin must be given a directorate; without one the role does not take effect.
  • Consultation Lists — the Trustwide list, plus any directorate's local list.
  • Manage Categories — the category and sub-category tree used to browse published policies. Shared with Directorate Admins.
  • Equality Guidance — the guidance document authors download when completing their equality screening.
  • Audit Log — every administrative action and every policy status change, most recent first, filterable to one or the other.

What the statuses mean

StatusMeaningWaiting on
SubmittedReceived, not yet released for consultationAdministrator
ConsultationOut with the consultation list for commentConsultation list
Author RevisingComments have been sent to the authorAuthor
Pending Scrutiny ReleaseAuthor's update is in, ready to go to the panelAdministrator
ScrutinyOut with the scrutiny panel against a deadlineScrutiny panel
Scrutiny Rework PendingAt least one panel member declinedAuthor
Awaiting New Scrutiny PanelToo few responses, or the resend limit was reachedAuthor
Scrutiny EndorsedThe panel has endorsed the policy—
Awaiting Self EndorsementThe author's own endorsement is outstandingAuthor
Awaiting SignatoriesSent to the signatories to signSignatories
Partly SignedSome, but not all, signatories have signedSignatories
Fully SignedAll signatures in, ready to publishAdministrator
LivePublished and visible under Browse Policies—
Not LiveTaken down; no longer visible—
ArchivedSuperseded by a newer version—

Frequently asked questions

Do scrutiny panel members and signatories need a portal account?

No. They are emailed a personal link that opens a single page with no login. The link works once: after they submit their response it expires. Consultation reviewers work the same way, except they may comment as many times as they like before the deadline.

I clicked my emailed link again and it says the link has expired.

That is expected once a response has been submitted — the links are deliberately single-use. If you submitted in error or the deadline has passed, ask the Policy department to issue a new link.

Which signatories can I choose?

It depends on the scope you chose when submitting. A Trustwide policy is signed by Directors; a Local policy is signed by the Assistant Directors of that directorate. Only the applicable list is offered.

A scrutiny panel member declined. What happens now?

You are emailed their comments. Deal with the substance directly with them outside the portal, then upload your revision and resend to the same panel. You can do that twice; after that you must nominate a completely new panel.

Can I skip the equality screening form?

Only by stating in writing why it is not required — the form will not submit if you leave both empty. Guidance on completing it is available from the update form itself.

Nobody responded to the scrutiny request before the deadline.

An overnight job settles the deadline: if everyone who responded endorsed and there were at least two endorsements, the policy is endorsed; if anyone declined it goes back for rework; if there were too few responses the author is asked to nominate a new panel.

Why was I refused when I tried to publish this policy?

Publishing follows scope, not seniority. A Trustwide policy can only be published by the central Policy department; a Local policy can only be published by an administrator of the owning directorate. The refusal appears as a red banner at the top of the screen.

Publish is refusing because there is no code.

Every published policy must carry a policy code. Set it on the Policy Detail screen and publish again.

Can I correct an author's response to a consultation comment?

Yes, from the Scrutiny Review screen — but only up until you release the policy to scrutiny. After that the responses are what the panel is reviewing and are fixed.

How do I find out who did what, and when?

The Audit Log records every administrative action and every policy status change with the person and the time. Filter it to administrative actions or to policy movements alone.