By Polly Raymond, 4 February 1999 00:25
NEWS Time is running out for the UK government in its struggle to pull together a coherent ecommerce strategy, according to Roger Till, director of e centre uk. The ecommerce association has been giving evidence to the Parliamentary Trade & Industry Select Committee, set up to monitor the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) progress in drawing up a universal ecommerce bill. Till is concerned that the bill won't be ready in time for Easter when it is expected to be presented to parliament. "If we don't hear anything within the next few weeks, then it's clear the schedule will slip", he warned. On Tuesday e centre gave a public briefing on its concerns following the Select Committee meetings. Till warned: "If Britain is not perceived as having a trustworthy trade environment, we will loose business." Alan Boxer, managing director of e centre, echoed these sentiments: "It is essential that we are not lagging behind in Europe, and at the moment there is a risk of this." The association believes the main cause of delay is the DTI's inability to organise its policy internally. "We don't know if they're still following the same draft document of the ecommerce bill," said Till.
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