DSS and LAs to trawl internet traffic

[Jeremy Barker]

David_Biggins@usermgmt.com wrote:

> Roland - thank you for an open and good humoured response to my outburst
> of irritation...
>
> I do still feel that the current setup is increasingly creating a
> two-tier system of those who can afford government research and those
> who cannot...

There has always been a two-tier system but at least these days many more
people have ready access to the basic information.  In the past you had to
subscribe (or have ready access to a library that subscribed) to various
parlimentary publications to have any chance of knowing what was really
happening.  Almost all material of interest is now easily accessible on the
net.  The secondary problem - that of finding items of interest among a much
greater volume of irrelevant information - has always existed but again
technology has the potential to help as it allows rapid searching through
large volumes of information.

As Roland suggested small businesses needing to know what is going on should
club together.  As well as business organisations like the BCC and IoD (and
CBI - but it's aimed at larger companies) there are commercial organisations
that provide business support services such as parlimentary intelligence at
relatively modest cost.  The business organisations have the advantage that
they often lobby parliament in support of their members' interests.

jb