§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how long her Department allowed for consultation on each consultation document it published in 2001 in(a) electronic and (b) printed form; [70467]
(2) whether consultation documents published by her Department in 2001 carried the consultation criteria as recommended in the cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations;
592W(3) in what format her Department has published the results of its 2001 written consultations; [70469]
(4) how many consultation documents published in 2001 in (a) electronic and (b) printed form her Department has monitered and evaluated in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations; [70470]
(5) how many complaints her Department has received about its 2001 consultations in (a) electronic and (b) printed form; [70471]
(6) which consultation documents published by her Department in 2001 were not made available as paper copies; [70472]
(7) whether her Department has a designated consultation co-ordinator in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations. [70473]
§ Clare ShortWe attach considerable importance to engaging with a wide range of groups across society on our international development work, for example through our Development Policy Forums, publications and briefing notes on major international meetings. However, the nature of the issues for which my department is responsible mean that formal consultation processes are likely to be of interest only to a limited range of people. So while we take account of the principles set out in the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations, and have appointed a designated consultation co-ordinator in accordance with the Code, we do not regard our consultation activities as generally falling within the full provisions of the Code.
In 2001 we carried out limited consultations on one DFID Target Strategy Paper:
(a) "Meeting the Challenge of Urban Poverty" which was made available for public consultation from November 2000 until 12 January 2001. The final document was published in April 2001.The consultation document was made available in print, and in electronic form via the DFID website. It is DFID practice to make consultation documents available in print and on line until the publication of the finished document. No complaints were received in 2001 regarding this document. At the close of the consultation period the results were published as a final DFID Target Strategy Paper.