§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 25 June 2002,Official Report, column 820W, on the draft local government Bill, if councils have been informed of (a) the consultation and (b) the availability of paper copies. [66086]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe have ensured that the launch of the Local Government Bill was widely publicised. Individual councils were informed of the consultation via local government association bulletins and "Info4Local". "Info4Local" is a one-stop portal for local authorities to get quick and easy access to information on the websites of Government Departments, and we used its e-mail service to send out information on the draft Bill as soon as it was published. Paper copies were also sent to key representative organisations and have been made available to others on request. The consultation document itself contains details on how to obtain paper copies.