Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to encourage collaboration between (a) Ofcom, (b) the Telecommunications sector and (c) the National Crime Agency on reducing fraud; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is exploring a range of different measures aimed at tackling the criminal abuse of mobile telecommunications across a range of different crime types including fraud.

As set out in our Economic Crime Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-crime-plan-2019-to-2022), we are clear that a public- private partnership is essential in tackling fraud. Government, telecommunications providers, law enforcement, regulators, including Ofcom, and consumer groups are in regular conversation with the aim of protecting the public from these crimes. This includes developing a voluntary charter of the actions that telecoms companies will take to prevent fraud.

The Government will build on this work through our Fraud Action Plan, an ambitious approach grounded in prevention, education, effective enforcement and regulatory reforms that will be published after the Spending Review.