Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

The Ministery of Defence's (MOD) customer service lines cover a number of areas in three main categories:

(1) Services for Veterans are provided through a well-publicised free help line (0808 1914 2 18);

(2) Services for existing military staff are available on the MOD network. However, on those occasions where staff or their families need to call from outside the MOD, there are free (eg Army Welfare and Service Family Accommodation), national rate or business rate lines; and

(3) Potential recruits have a choice of ways to communicate with our careers staff, with increasing emphasis on Digital tools such as Live Chat and Social Media. Careers lines for the Army are now 03, and for the RAF both 0845 and 03. Royal Navy Careers are currently business rate (0845), but 03 numbers will be imminently available.

The MOD does of course have many other numbers, which are geographic or business rate (including the number for low flying complaints).

The MOD does not use any premium rate (09) numbers.