§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Prime Minister with what frequency he examines the comments posted by members of the public on the No. 10 interactive website he established in February; and what criteria he uses to judge whether comments should be deleted. [116265]
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§ The Prime MinisterThe No. 10 Downing Street Internet Site was relaunched on 11 February 2000. The public can post comments in the "Your Say" section. There have been more than 17,000 postings since the site's launch. "Your Say" is divided into two parts:
- (a) Policy Forum: the public are invited to respond to specific questions posed by the Government. I see a synopsis of the responses, and a selection of individual postings, which are sent to the relevant Government Department for a ministerial reply. I also receive a copy of the reply.
- (b) Speakers' Corner: this is an open forum where people can submit postings on any issue. A monthly report is sent to me and I see a selection of individual postings.
Postings are deleted in the following circumstances:
- (a) They are irrelevant (i.e. have no relation to the discussion stream into which they are posted);
- (b) They are dormant (i.e. have not provoked any discussion for five or more days). This only applies to the Speakers' Corner section;
- (c) They are inappropriate (including those containing offensive, defamatory or libellous comments).
Irrelevant and dormant postings are removed to ensure the site operates as quickly as possible, and users can enjoy a focused discussion on the issues they are interested in. Inappropriate postings are deleted so that everyone (including young children) can use the discussion forums.