he period allowed by the Government for the drafting, consultation and
implementation of the code was ambitious, and with hindsight, more extensive
consultation with key stakeholders and more time for all to consider the issues properly
would have enabled some of the provisions to be better refined to make certain matters
clearer. It would also have ensured that all public authorities were aware fully of the
changes and had time to consider the operational implications. As a consequence we
have had to publish additional guidance to clarify elements of the code, our inspectors
are finding that they are having to address knowledge gaps during inspections and, a
number of public authorities are still working on implementing some of the required
changes to their procedures.