§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 25 March (WA 170)"that eight weeks should generally be the minimum response time for all consultation exercises, but whenever possible more should be allowed", on what grounds only four weeks were allowed for responses to the Department of Trade and Industry's consultation document Building Confidence in Electronic Commerce; and[HL1983]
Whether the subject matter contained within the Department of Trade and Industry's consultation document Building Confidence in Electronic Commerce falls within the description of Lord Falconer of Thoroton as being of interest to "clearly defined or specialist groups" (WA 170, 25 March) thereby justifying a shorter consultation period than that promoted by Cabinet Office guidelines. [HL1984]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)The Government have set a deadline of 2002 for their ambitious goal of developing the UK as the world's best environment for electronic trading. We are committed to introducing legislation in this parliamentary session and therefore need to be in a position to introduce the legislation soon. The deadline was set in view of this and to allow enough time for a careful analysis of responses.
The overall thrust of government policy in this area is relatively well known, and DTI Ministers and officials had numerous informal discussions with interested parties about the likely content of the document in the months leading up to its publication. There has also been considerable media interest and public debate over the last year or so. In effect, the formal consultation has been the culmination of a continuing informal consultation process. I am pleased to say that we have received over 240 responses from industry and other interested parties.
These factors, rather than being of interest to "clearly defined or specialist groups", have justified a consultation period which is less than the minimum recommended in the Cabinet Office guidelines. These guidelines themselves make it clear that departments have flexibility:
Following the best practice principles contained in this guide will be the responsibility of individual departments, agencies and other relevant bodies. Where they do not follow the best practice for a particular consultation exercise, they must satisfy themselves that, if asked, they have good reasons for not doing so".