Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:16 pm on 7 February 2002.
My Lords, I shall certainly take on board the useful suggestion that there should be full consultation. However, if the consultation is lengthy, the difficulty is that at least three-quarters of your Lordships will complain that it has gone on for too long. This process with the PIU has been very full and open. Virtually every submission—400 in all—has already been published on the website. I do not believe it could be said that the Government are not genuinely interested in having all informed views; and also uninformed views.