Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the migration of analogue phone lines to digital voice over internet protocol on elderly people in Gosport.

The Government recognises that some customers may face heightened risks during the migration from the analogue landline network to voice over internet protocol and my officials and I have worked hard since the election on mitigating risks to vulnerable people across the country. On 18 November 2024, the Department published guidance for communication providers on how to identify and support these customers when their landline migrates.

The Department also published a checklist of activities that communication providers must take before migrating customers to voice over internet protocol without their active consent. We expect providers to meet the safeguards set out in this checklist to keep customers safe throughout the migration.