Consultations

A consultation is a government request for opinions on various issues, be they proposed internal guidelines, draft legislation, or simply the route the government wants to take in a particular area.

Our list of current, open consultations explains what we are working on at the moment.

Consultations are usually distributed in the form of a draft document, and a list of questions about what people want out of the document, or what they think of it. Members of the public and organisations are invited to submit their take on the draft during a set period, and these opinions are then considered when looking at what the final version of the document is going to be. Replying to government consultations is of particular importance to the Open Rights Group and other advocacy organisations; it means we can get involved with shaping legislation without the need to contact all 650 MPs, and pre-emptively change (or seek to change) government policy. Consultations include topics of great importance; prior government requests we've responded to include subjects such as the Data Protection Act, RIPA and the current Freedom of Information legislation.

One of the areas volunteers can work on is drafting our responses to consultations - ensuring that the opinions we put forward are the ones our volunteers and donors share.

Current Consultations

Name Department/Body Subject Date Status
Communications Bill Consultation 2011 Working on

Past Consultations

Name Department/Body Subject Date Status
APIG DRM Inquiry All Party Internet Group Digital Rights Management 2006 Submitted
BBC.co.uk Public Consultation BBC Copyright, Digital Rights Management 2007
BBC On Demand Services Consultation British Broadcasting Corporation Digital Rights Management 2007 Submitted
Consumer Confidence in the Digital Environment European Parliament Digital Rights Management
Content Online in the Single Market European Commission Digital Rights Management, Anti-Piracy, Copyright licensing 2006 Submitted
Content Online in the Single Market European Commission Digital Rights Management, Anti-Piracy, Copyright licensing 2008 Submitted
Copyright in the Knowledge Economy Copyright Submitted
Data Protection Act Consultation Department for Constitutional Affairs Data Protection Act 2006
Data Protection Strategy Information Commissioner's Office Data Protection Act 2007 Submitted
Data Retention legislation Home Office Privacy, Data Retention, Data Protection 2007 Not submitted
Data Sharing Review Consultation Independent Data Sharing Review Privacy, Data Protection Act 2008 Submitted
Developing a copyright agenda for the 21st century Copyright 2009 Submitted
Effective Consultation Cabinet Office Consultations 2007 Submitted
Framework Code of Practise for Sharing Personal Information Information Commissioner's Office Data Protection, Privacy 2007 Not submitted
Freedom of Information Consultation Ministry of Justice Freedom of Information 2007 Submitted
Freedom of Information Supplementary Consultation Ministry of Justice Freedom of Information 2007
Forensic Use of Bioinformation: Ethical Issues Nuffield Council on Bioethics DNA database 2007 Submitted
Gowers Review Consultation Intellectual Property Office Copyright 2006 Submitted
Impact of Surveillance and Data Collection upon the Privacy of Citizens and their Relationship with the State Parliamentary Constitution Committee Privacy, Data Retention, Data Protection 2007 Submitted
Legislative Options to Address Illicit Peer-to-Peer (p2p) File-sharing Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Anti-Piracy 2008 Submitted
Personal Internet Security Consultation Select Committee on Science and Technology Internet Security 2006
Police and Criminal Evidence Act Review Home Office Biometrics, Privacy 2007 Not Submitted
Proposed Changes to Copyright Exceptions Intellectual Property Office Copyright 2008 Submitted
Public Service Broadcaster Consultation Ofcom Open Knowledge, Copyright, Digital Rights Management 2008 Not Submitted
Public Service Provider Consultation Ofcom Open Knowledge 2007 Submitted
RIPA Consultation Home Office Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2006 Submitted
RFID Consultation European Commission RFID 2006
Staying Safe Department for Children, Schools and Families Cyber-Bullying, online safety 2007
Towards a European Infrastructure for e-Science Digital Repositories European Commission Open Data, Copyright 2007
Transposition of Directive 2006/24/EC Home Office Data Retention, Privacy 2008 submitted