From Colette Bowe, Chairman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel

Ofcomwatch’s postings on the on-going development of Ofcom’s consultation procedures have been read with great interest by the Consumer Panel.

Panel members have a keen interest in the processes Ofcom employs to seek the views and involvement of its many and varied stakeholders. We are especially concerned to ensure that those whose interests lie in furthering and protecting the interests of consumers are able effectively to engage with Ofcom.

It was this latter point that led the Panel to make strong representations to Ofcom about the time at which consultation responses are published. The Panel feels strongly that early publication of responses adds to the integrity of a consultation - allowing assessment and reflection by other stakeholders - whilst also stimulating debate.

The Panel also has several members with experience of working with small organisations. The challenges facing such groups, of limited resources and/or expertise, often inhibit the contribution that can be made to debates of critical importance to their constituencies. For these groups, who are often the hardest to reach or solicit opinions from, there is a real benefit in seeing responses from others; allowing small groups to signal agreement, disagreement or context to other submissions, without having to go the full mile unaware of what others have said.

Ofcom accepted these arguments and agreed to adjust its consultation process to allow for the earliest publication of responses. The fact that many submissions are not received until the closing date, or that businesses can quite properly claim commercial confidentiality are separate issues. We think the Ofcomwatch proposals on how to handle these are very interesting and will be seeing how Ofcom follows them up. But they are not the only issues; and we think you are somewhat missing the point of what we are trying to achieve for small consumer groups.