Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport was asked—

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

1. What recent steps her Department has taken to tackle nuisance calls.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Karen Bradley)]

May I start by welcoming all Opposition Front-Bench Members? It is good to see a full complement of shadow Ministers and I look forward to working with everyone in the foreseeable future. [Interruption.] My side is slightly depleted. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Digital and Culture currently has Her Majesty visiting his constituency, and sends his apologies.

The Government are taking forward a range of measures to tackle nuisance calls. This includes the recent announcement to consult on making company directors liable for breaches of the direct marketing rules.

[Martin Vickers]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the update and the moves the Government have made so far. In the last Parliament I was vice-chairman of the all-party group on nuisance calls and we produced a report containing many recommendations. What other work is being done to implement them?

[Karen Bradley]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work of the all-party group. A number of its recommendations have been taken forward, including the new requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide caller-line identification, and I have just mentioned our intention to hold company directors to account. More needs to be done and I stand ready to make sure we do what we need to do to stamp out the dreadful nuisance that is nuisance calls.