37.A full public consultation was carried out in two stages. In March 2001 the Department published “Partners in Protection”, a review document setting out 20 key issues pertaining to ASSIs and sought comment to inform the Department’s development of proposals.
38.As a result of this consultation exercise a total of 35 comments were received with strong support for the introduction of measures from the majority of respondents. On the basis of comments received, the Department devised a number of proposals which were subject to a further round of public consultation. The second consultation produced 31 responses with the vast majority in favour of the proposals detailed.