§ Mr. TrimbleTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the initial public response to the consumer line recently launched by Trading Standards. [153836]
§ Mr. PearsonI am very pleased with the success to date of Consumerline, which went live on 3 November 2003. In the period from its commencement to 31 January 2004 it has dealt with more than 7,000 inquiries from the general public. This compares with 2,950 inquiries for the same period in 2002–03 under the previous advice service to consumers.