The Royal Society agrees with the four principles that RC UK outlines in its document: accessibility to publicly-funded research; rigorous quality assurance through peer review; efficient and cost-effective mechanisms for publication and access to research results; and long-term preservation and accessibility of research outputs. However we do not believe that RC UK's proposals are the best way of achieving these objectives.
Since submitting its response, the Royal Society has written to RC UK proposing that a study be commissioned to assess the relative merits of the various models that have been proposed under the rather broad banner of open access, including that outlined by RC UK in its consultation document.