DTI report to breakdown ecommerce barriers

NEWS The DTI's ecommerce taskforce springs into life today with the release of its first report aimed at breaking down the barriers to UK Web commerce. The Performance & Innovation Unit (PIU) report will be presented by minister for small business and ecommerce, Patricia Hewitt, and is the result of five months of research and development headed up by Jim Norton, formerly chief executive of the Cabinet Office's Radiocommunications Agency. A cabinet spokeswoman told Silicon.com the report will contain 60 recommendations, one of which is the review of the telecoms industry to be carried out by Oftel and the Office of Fair Trading. "The PIU is responsible for tackling particularly tricky problems that run across departments... the report is likely to be endorsed by the government which will use it to set targets for individual departments," explained the spokeswoman. Also expected is the eagerly awaited appointment of the e-minister, which is rumoured to be a two-horse race between DTI minister, Patricia Hewitt, and former DTI chief Peter Mandelson Full details about the report's contents will follow.