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Douglas Alexander MP - Former Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness

E-forum Opening Address
Left DTI 29/5/02

DTI Conference Centre


Monday, March 18, 2002


Other speeches
(Left DTI 29/5/02)
I was delighted to be asked to open this event.

In the time available to me, I want to say a bit about what the Government is doing to get the UK online, and what we can do together, particularly by promoting best practice towards consumers, so that we can make the most of the massive opportunities e-commerce offers.

And my message to you is that best practice and self-regulation are the basis of our approach.

Government has made a clear commitment to make the UK the best place in the world to do e-business. We have already done a great deal to ensure that we meet the Prime Minister's objective:

  • the UK is one of the world's most connected economies; internet use is amongst the highest in Europe; internet prices are some of the cheapest in the world; and the UK boasts the highest levels of e-commerce outside the US.

  • we are making progress in our drive to carry this success forward for broadband; UK already has one of the most competitive broadband market places in Europe; we established the Broadband Stakeholders Group so that we establish the right market conditions for broadband.

  • there are now 1.9 million UK businesses connected to the internet; over 500,000 trading online. And the UK continues to be among the world leaders in making sophisticated use of technology to change and transform their business processes.

  • by the end of 2002 there will be at least 6000 UKOnline centres in England, including all libraries.

E-Commerce and the internet are transforming economies and societies across the world. The UK online population is growing – it has quadrupled in 3 years; 39% of households are now online. Last year, 26% of people bought online, and e-retail sales are estimated at over £1 billion. All encouraging statistics.

But surveys continue to show that there is a shortfall in consumer confidence. If we are to make a success of the retail aspect of the e-business revolution, we must address this question.

Now let me say a word about legislation. Of course, regulation should facilitate, not hinder, e-commerce. Yet we know that businesses and consumers worry about their legal position regarding online transactions. That is why last December we introduced a set of "E-Policy Principles" – guidance which obliges everyone preparing new legislation to prove that, first and foremost, it is friendly to the online environment. And, as many of you will know, DTI and the Treasury recently published draft regulations which will introduce the E-Commerce Directive into UK law. We expect this to happen early in the summer after public consultation closes on 2 May. The regulations will bring worthwhile benefits by removing obstacles to doing business online and improving the confidence of the parties. Consistent implementation across Europe will reduce many of the current restrictions to online cross-border trade. The Government is committed to building the best possible legal framework for e-commerce both in Europe and in the UK. And when we talk about confidence – business and consumer confidence – the law has its part to play.

That is one part of the e-confidence picture. We are also working to enhance consumer confidence in retail e-commerce by promoting codes of practice and easier ways of settling any disputes which arise, by ensuring that we have up to date enforcement of consumer legislation, and by making sure that we all have access to clear, accurate and up to date guidance.

Jonathan will be talking to you in more detail about his Directorate's consumer e-confidence strategy.

I would like briefly to mention our Safe Internet Shopping campaign. The Consumer Minister, Melanie Johnson, and I were pleased to be a part of the launch of the campaign last year. We were also particularly pleased with the number of businesses that lent their support to the initiative in various ways.

The campaign received a significant amount of coverage on national and local TV and radio. I am very happy to report that the new e-shopping section of DTI's Consumer Gateway website was awarded a "Gold Star Award" by "Web User" magazine, which described the information on the site as "Clear, informative and indispensable".

The campaign is an excellent example of the kind of partnership between the Government and the private sector which can help us meet our shared objectives. The Government cannot, and should not, try to do everything itself. And especially when it comes to the sharp end – businesses selling goods and supplying services – quality of service and all round good practice are crucial.

This is why self-regulation is important. And it shows how we can integrate Government's support for business with its duty to create a competitive market framework. The Government has done a lot to encourage the development of codes of practice, including codes for retail e-commerce. And we are approaching something of a crossroads in our general approach: the Enterprise Bill, which will be enacted later this year, will give the Director General of Fair Trading new powers in relation to codes.

Particularly at this stage, DTI wants to engage with its stakeholders, to ensure we have good policies. It is timely to review where we are, to look at different ideas and for us to hear your views about where priorities should lie. We have made some progress, but there is still much to be done.

I shall conclude by wishing today's debate every success. As I said at the start, best practice and self-regulation are at the basis of our approach.
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