To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many public consultations his Department undertook in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each consultation. (145282)

Over the past 12 months to the end of May 2007, the Department of Trade and Industry launched 57 formal public consultations in order to inform the Department’s policy development. Information on the cost of each consultation, and the total cost of all consultations, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.