§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps her Department has taken to co-ordinate the development of protocols for providing content for Government websites. [159097]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyIn 1999 my Department published a Framework for Information Age Government Websites. Included within these guidelines is information on the type of content to be expected on Government sites.
The websites are subject to the conventions on Government publicity. Basically they require that information should:
702Wbe relevant to Government responsibilities; be objective and explanatory;not be, or be liable to misrepresentation as being, party political; andbe conducted in an economic and appropriate way, having regard to the need to be able to justify the costs as expenditure of public funds.These guidelines are available on the Cabinet Office website.