Direct Selling

(asked on 17th June 2015) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on the Nuisance Call Action Plan.


Answered by
Lord Vaizey of Didcot Portrait
Lord Vaizey of Didcot
This question was answered on 26th June 2015

Substantial progress has been made by the Department on measures that were outlined in our Nuisance Calls Action Plan of 30 March 2014. Measures already implemented include, for example, ensuring improved information and signposting are available for consumers wishing to report nuisance calls and empowering Ofcom to share relevant information about companies breaching the regulations with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Additionally, we have changed the law so that the ICO no longer needs demonstrate, before taking enforcement action, that a company has caused ‘substantial damage or distress’ to consumers through nuisance calls. These measures have made it easier for the ICO and Ofcom to take enforcement action, including issuing monetary penalties. Ofcom has agreed with industry a new standardised approach to call tracing, which has been implemented and is in routine use by the ICO and Ofcom. In the longer term, Ofcom and other bodies are working in order to make it more difficult for callers to use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) to facilitate misleading caller line identification.

We are progressing other measures from the Nuisance Calls Action Plan on an ongoing basis.

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