Whether or not a sub-committee is appointed to deal with a particular topic, the Commission always ensures that there is extensive public consultation on any of its projects before it reaches its conclusions. This will normally be by way of a consultation paper which sets out the Commission's or the sub-committee's preliminary conclusions and recommendations. Relevant interest groups and the general public are invited to submit their views to the Commission on the proposed recommendations. The usual consultation period is three months. Members of the relevant sub-committee or the Secretariat will often be asked to provide a briefing on the proposals to district bodies, the relevant panel of the Legislative Council, or to organisations with a particular interest in the subject. The responses to the consultation paper play an important part in assisting the sub-committee to finalise its proposals.