To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent guidance the Cabinet Office has issued on the manner in which public consultations should be conducted by Government Departments and their agencies; and whether an insistence on the use of designated response forms is compliant with that guidance. (224244)

[holding answer 17 September 2008]: I have been asked to reply.

The Government have recently revised their Code of Practice on Consultation. The new code, which will be supported by practical guidance, takes effect from November 2008. The current code and the new code set out good practice principles that Departments should adhere to when running formal, written consultation exercises and as such, they do not prescribe the approach that Departments should take with regard to submitting their responses.