The IPA's newsletter reports that its own info and consultation toolkit, piloted through Business Link, produced very little take-up, and that law firms say there is nothing happening on the ground.

More importantly, it says, those staff councils that are in place are running into difficulties of their own.

"Some are crumbling because they cannot get people to take an active part. Some limping along in the foothills of complaints and charity events. Few have captured the imagination of the senior management team enough to make that group feel that they are bringing real value."

The IPA blames "credibility deficit". Much of what they do achieve is rubbished by colleagues, and few are perceived as independence – which is hardly surprising since corporate communications teams often take over their relationship with staff.

"Until staff councils are able to decide without interference what they say to colleagues and how they say it this problem will not go away," the IPA warns.

The problem is most obvious when redundancies are planned, and staff councils are not perceived as being sufficiently on the side of employees. As the IPA puts it:

"Until a council can openly oppose a course of action when it feels it needs to, even if the employer does not like it doing so, the credibility of staff councils will always be suspect."