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WESSEX TOURIST BOARD REFERENCE List of Interesting Sites Berkshire(BRK) Cheshire(CHS) Cornwall(CON)  Derbyshire(DBY) Devon(DEV) Dorset(DOR) Essex(ESS) Gloucestershire(GLS) Hampshire(HAM) Herefordshire(HEF)  Kent(KEN) Leicestershire(LEI) London Tourist Guide Middlesex(MDX) Nottinghamshire(NTT) Oxfordshire(OXF) Shropshire(SAL) Somerset(SOM) Staffordshire(STS) Surrey(SRY) Sussex(SSX) Wiltshire(WIL) Worcestershire(WOR) Bridgwater Tourist Guide Chard Tourist Guide Taunton Tourist Guide Kosher Tourism Slide Show UK Information Wessex Index Advertising Camping Fireworks Gardens of Wessex Great British Diary Guest Houses Hotels On The Beach Pantomimes Pubs & Restaurants Theatre Wessex Films Wessex Hall of Fame Wessex Roots Streakers Hall of Shame  Boxing Cricket Equestrian Football Golf Horseracing Ice Skating Rowing Rugby Tennis  Click on to the exact word Arts Automotive Business UK Computers Discovery Games Home Kids Legal News People/Chat Recreation Reference / Education Regional Shopping UK Sports  Society Travel website: http:www.wessextouristboard.org.uk          e-mail : info@wessextouristboard.org.uk   Welcome to the Wessex Tourist Board  . Press Control+B to Bookmark this site for later reference.   Government

Details Written up In Computer Active's Excellant Webguide If you wish your website to be added to this list call 0870 199 3871 or email : info@wessextouristboard.org.uk  CAMPAIGNS   Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) www.oecd.org The OECD consists of 29 member countries and exists to provide governments with a forum for them to discuss, develop and perfect economic policy. They compare experiences, seek answers to common problems and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies that increasingly in today's globalised world must form a web of even practice across nations. Their discussion makes for better-informed work within their own governments on the spectrum of public policy and clarifies the impact of national policies on the international community. Amnesty International www.amnesty.org.uk Amnesty and its symbol of a candle wrapped in barbed wire is recognised and respected worldwide as a leader in the field of human rights and an exposer of abusive regimes. This site is a very good introduction to the myriad of activities that the organisation undertakes and often a real eye-opener to what goes on in the world. The site itself is attractive but can be difficult to move around leaving you feeling a little overwhelmed. One for those with a global conscience. The Better Payment Practice Campaign www.payontime.co.uk For anyone running a business or trying to get hold of payment, this will be a site worth visiting. The Government released a law in 1998 that said companies could charge interest if their invoices weren't paid within 30 days. However, the law will be difficult to implement and so in steps the BPP campaign. The site is not very sophisticated and not very pretty either but it does contain a large amount of useful and practical information. Global Internet Liberty Campaign www.gilc.org No website review on campaign groups would be complete without mention of an Internet liberty campaign. The big debate on how open the Internet should be has still to arrive (and probably never will), but while many seek to constrain the Web, others sit on the other side advocating total freedom. This French site (most of it is in English though) does a good job of keeping you up to date and can prove an interesting read. Greenpeace www.greenpeace.org.uk A very professional site from the group famous for obstructing oil tankers and blocking up sewage ducts. Greenpeace's policy of non-violent direct action and shaming large corporations has proved very successful in the past and now the organisation has turned to the cause of genetically modified food, something it rightly says has been raised only by consumer distaste rather than government intervention. The serious message is put across simply with games and animation. Stonewall www.stonewall.org.uk Stonewall is a campaign group working for gay and lesbian equality in Britain - a topic that has become headline news recently with the Conservative Party taken to task by its own MPs. The last decade has seen a huge change in the way gay men and women are perceived by society and Stonewall is pushing for further acceptance. The site is very simple and quite small but it does cover most of the issues as well as provide regular news updates.   FORCES British Army www.army.mod.uk Police Federation of England and Wales www.polfed.org.uk Royal Air Force www.raf.mod.uk Royal Navy www.royal-navy.mod.uk Territorial Army www.army.mod.uk/ta GOVERNMENT OFFICES Cabinet Office www.cabinet-office.gov.uk HM Treasury www.hm-treasury.gov.uk Home Office www.homeoffice.gov.uk/index.htm House of Commons www.parliament.uk/commons/hsecom.htm House of Lords www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk Ministry of Defence www.mod.uk   GOVERNMANT AGENCIES Office of Fair Trading www.oft.gov.uk Office of the Rail Regulator www.rail-reg.gov.uk Ofgem - The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets www.ofgas.gov.uk Ofsted www.ofsted.gov.uk Oftel www.oftel.gov.uk Directory of Ombudsmen www.intervid.co.uk/bioa National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux www.nacab.org.uk Which Online www.which.com Trading Standards www.tradingstandards.gov.uk   GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS DVLA www.open.gov.uk/dvla HM Customs and Excise www.hmce.gov.uk HM Prison Service www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk Local Government Association www.lga.gov.uk Northern Ireland Local Government Index www.oultwood.com/localgov/northernireland.htm The Post Office www.postoffice.co.uk Post Office Counters www.postoffice-counters.co.uk Royal Mail www.royalmail.co.uk/default.htm Scottish Local Government Index www.oultwood.com/localgov/scotland.htm Scottish Prison Service www.sps.gov.uk UK Passport Agency www.ukpa.gov.uk/ukpass.htm Welsh Local Government Index www.oultwood.com/localgov/wales.htm   POLITICAL PARTIES The Conservative Party www.conservative-party.org.uk Green Party of England and Wales www.greenparty.org.uk The Labour Party www.labour.org.uk Liberal Democrat Party www.libdems.org.uk Scottish Green Party www.scottishgreens.org.uk Scottish National Party www.snp.org.uk Sinn Fein www.sinnfein.ie UK Independence Party www.independenceuk.org.uk/cgi-bin/ukip.pl Ulster Democratic Party www.udp.org Ulster Democratic Unionist Party www.dup.org.uk Ulster Unionist Party www.uup.org   POLITICS 10 Downing Street www.number-10.gov.uk The official Number 10 Downing Street website is the ultimate Blair mouthpiece. This fairly extensive project has a news centre where new government initiatives are announced, together with discussion forums and occasional opportunities to quiz the PM himself on the issues of the day. There is also an interesting tour of Downing Street complete with pictures. The site is designed utilising all the latest bells and whistles that the Internet allows, with a scrolling up to date news section on the opening screen. Politics UK - Business Donors users.powernet.co.uk/hack/sleaze This site has a very simple aim - to disclose what companies donate to political parties and how much they give. This intent appears in a very basic layout but then it's the content that is of interest. Since new rules have been introduced to party political funding, this information has been made publicly available but fortunately this site has collated it for you. Definitely worth a quick look to see what companies are up to. The British Politics Page www.ukpol.co.uk This isn't a great looking site by anyone's standards. But if you want to know about British politics - what happened when and why - this is a good place to start. A search on the site will trawl a history of Westminster, recent news and upcoming events in the current parliament. There is also an extensive list of links to other political sites, MP email addresses and a selection of books on the subject. The Conservative party www.conservative-party.org.uk The Conservative Party has been having a rough time of things recently (even disgraced ex-MP Neil Hamilton had the cheek to criticise it) but you wouldn't know it to look at its website. It's a bells and whistles affair with some great graphics and effects. However, it fails to be much more than nice packaging. Flash pics mean long downloads and don't expect to be told what the party's policies are - except the usual slamming of the opposition. The Labour Party www.labour.org.uk Not as good looking as the Conservative's site, this nevertheless is an impressive attempt to make the Labour Party more transparent. You won't find any great insights into Government but then there are a slew of other sites for that purpose. What you will get is a comprehensive and easily navigable reference to the Labour Party and its stated aims and intentions. A step in the right direction for British politics. The Liberal Democrat Party www.libdems.org.uk For a political party that was first to embrace the Internet revolution and which is dedicated to being as open as possible, this site is a bit of a letdown. When the site first went up it was leading the way, but since then nothing has changed and it looks hopelessly out of date. The design is bland and there's very little to get your teeth into. What is commendable though is the list of MP's emails so you can contact them directly. Sinn Fein www.sinnfein.ie Since the resolution of the Good Friday agreement Sinn Fein has found its position shifted by 90 degrees - and that makes this site worth viewing. Not much has changed on the site except for a few congratulatory pictures, but we suspect that will all change as the party gets around to helping govern Northern Ireland. The design is very simplistic but functional and the background to the party is well worth a read. Thinking Politica home.freeuk.net/ethos Setting itself apart from the daily wranglings of politics, this site offers a view on the sociology, economics and philosophy behind government. Very much an intellectual exercise, it can get a bit heavy-going at times but if you want to know more about politics and its history around the world this is the right place. Covering political theory, the Russian revolution and General Pinochet among its many topics, this site keeps up to date and isn't afraid to voice an opinion.   PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Association of Chartered Certified Accountants www.acca.org.uk British Medical Association www.bma.org.uk Chartered Institute of Arbitrators www.arbitrators.org Chartered Society of Physiotherapy www.csphysio.org.uk General Council of the Bar of England and Wales www.barcouncil.org.uk Institute of Chartered Accountants (Eng & Wales) www.icaew.co.uk/ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland www.icas.org.uk Law Society of England and Wales www.lawsoc.org.uk/Index.asp National Association of Estate Agents www.naea.co.uk Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh www.rcsed.ac.uk Royal College of Surgeons of England www.rcseng.ac.uk   TRADE & UNION BODIES British Chambers of Commerce www.britishchambers.org.uk British Safety Council www.britishsafetycouncil.co.uk British Standards Institute www.bsi.org.uk Central Scotland Chamber of Commerce www.central-chamber.co.uk Inland Revenue www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/home.htm Companies House www.companieshouse.gov.uk The Prince's Trust www.princes-trust.org.uk Scottish Council Development and Industry www.scdi.org.uk Scottish Council Development and Industry www.scdi.org.uk Scottish Trades Union Congress www.stuc.demon.co.uk Trades Association Forum www.martex.co.uk/taf/index.htm Trades Union Congress www.tuc.org.uk Wales TUC Cymru www.wtuc.org. Confederation of British Industry www.cbi.org.uk/home.htmluk Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.org.uk Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.org.uk Health and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk/hsehome.htm Health and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk/hsehome.htm

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