Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Advertising Standards Authority on the print size of the costs of phone lines on advertising in relation to the main body of the advertisement.

My Department meets regularly with representatives of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on a range of matters.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator for advertising in the UK and enforces the ‘CAP Code’ and ‘BCAP Code’, which set the standards for non-broadcast and broadcast advertising, respectively. These codes include specific rules intended to protect consumers from misleading marketing communications. If advertising includes the omission, exaggeration, or ambiguous presentation of information, for example in relation to prices, it can be considered misleading.

Further, Ofcom has overall responsibility for the regulation of non-geographic service numbers and premium rate services. Organisations using these numbers in broadcast and non-broadcast advertising must ensure that the service charge is displayed prominently and in close proximity to the number itself.