Electronic Communications Act 2000

4. The Government’s general policy towards electronic communications and information technology is set out in:

• the Cabinet Office’s Paper on “E-Government – A strategic framework for public services in the Information Age” – April 2000 (www.iagchampions.gov.uk/strategy.htm)

• the Performance and Innovation Report “[e-mail]” published in September 1999 (available on the Cabinet Office website at: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/innovation/1999/ecommerce);

• the Modernising Government White Paper (Cm 4310) published in March 1999 (available on the Cabinet Office website: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/ moderngov/1999/whitepaper/index.htm);

• the Competitiveness White Paper (Cm 4176) published in December 1998 (available on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/com/competitive); and

• the Government’s policy statement “Our Information Age: The Government’s Vision” (URN 98/677; 4-98) (a summary can be found on the Number 10 website: www.number-10.gov.uk/public/info/index.html).

Electronic commerce is developing quickly, as is Government policy on it.  Useful sources of up to date information include the websites of the e-envoy (www.e-envoy.gov.uk), which includes a monthly progress report to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Office Central IT Unit (www.citu.gov.uk) and the DTI (www.dti.gov.uk).