Ofcom's responsibilities are wide-ranging, covering all manner of industries and processes. It has a statutory duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting consumers from harmful or offensive material. Some of the main areas over which Ofcom presides are licensing, undertaking research, creating codes and policies, addressing complaints and looking into competition. Ofcom has developed a reputation for its tendency to issue a large number of consultations. Ofcom considers consultations to be a vital way of helping it to make the right decisions based upon the right evidence. Consultation starts with their publishing a document (all of which are published on their website), asking for views and responses. If the document is perceived to be long and complicated, a plain English summary is usually published. They then allow a period of around ten weeks for interested persons, companies or organizations to read the document and send in their responses.