Time was when the local authority associations (Association of County Councils, Association of District Councils, Association of Metropolitan Authorities) were the normal channel for central government consultation with local authorities. Then local government reorganisation happened in the 1990s and the associations merged and rationalised (= downsized their staff). The LGA is not resourced to obtain views from members generally, and there is a problem getting views from elected members (as opposed to officials) within the consultation timescales. These days, at least as far as DTLR consultations are concerned, central government consultation papers have to be sent to the hundreds of individual local authorities.