§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 5 June 2003,Official Report, column 538W, on veterinary medicines, what period will be allowed for public consultation; when it will commence; what methods of public consultation will be undertaken; and whether the consultation will be undertaken before the publication of the Government response to the Office of Fair Trading report. [121004]
§ Mr. Sutcliffe[holding answer 23 June 2003]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked the Office of Fair Trading to consult informally with relevant parties on the appropriate terms of orders to implement the Competition Commission's remedies under the Fair Trading Act 1973. After the OFT have reported back in July, the public consultation will begin.
The public consultation will last for 13 weeks. A consultation document will be placed on the DTI website and we will write out to interested parties.
The Government response to the regulatory recommendations addressed to it in the Commission's report will be published before the Department consults publicly on the terms of the order to implement the Commission's proposed remedies under the Fair Trading Act 1973.