Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) enforce compliance with the checklist for communication providers; and how customers will be informed of their rights and the safeguards in place during the migration to Voice over Internet Protocol.

The PSTN switch-off is an industry-led process. As per the checklist the Government is meeting with communications providers before they restart non-voluntary migrations to ensure they are meeting the checklist commitments. The Government is engaging regularly with the signatories of the PSTN Charter to monitor their PSTN switch-off plans and progress and compliance with the checklist.

The Government and Ofcom are engaging regularly with the industry to monitor their plans for raising awareness on the PSTN switch-off. Ofcom has placed an obligation on communications providers to engage in effective communication with customers about any change to their service.