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1644172

registered interest
date	13/06/2023
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that vulnerable customers are not negatively impacted by the public switched telephone network switch off.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	189333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2023 answer text <p>The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately-owned telecommunications network. Communications providers are in the process of upgrading the old PSTN to new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. Consumers can expect to be upgraded by 2025. The migration is industry-led and does not result from any government decision or form part of any government programme.</p><p>Ofcom is responsible for ensuring telecoms providers adhere to their regulatory obligations throughout the migration process, such as ensuring uninterrupted access to the emergency services and protecting vulnerable consumers. Ofcom has published <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/123118/guidance-emergency-access-power-cut.pdf" target="_blank">guidance </a>which states that providers must take steps to identify and protect at-risk consumers who are dependent on their landline. Providers have a range of solutions to ensure vulnerable consumers receive additional support. These options include, among others, free battery back-up units to engineer supported installations or hybrid landline phones.</p><p>We are working together with Ofcom to ensure customers receive appropriate levels of communication and vulnerable consumers are protected. Ofcom requires that providers must engage in effective communications. In January 2023, we published a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines" target="_blank">webpage</a> on GOV.UK to provide information to consumers about the PSTN migration.</p><p>As this is an industry-led migration, Communications Providers will contact their customers with information ahead of their line being upgraded. The exact migration process will depend on the provider and the type of equipment the customer has at their premises.</p><p>The Department meets regularly with Communications Providers to discuss the progress they have made in migrating their customers, and to ensure they have adequate plans in place to inform their customers and protect vulnerable consumers. This includes, but is not limited to, quarterly progress meetings with individual providers, quarterly meetings with Communications Providers and all government departments, and quarterly meetings with Ofcom. The Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure also convened a roundtable with the largest providers in January 2023 to discuss their communications plans.</p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Sir John Whittingdale grouped question UIN 189332 189334 189335 189336 question first answered 19/06/2023 08:47:58 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

40057

registered interest
date	25/02/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many warrants to undertake surveillance on British nationals were issued by her Department between 1989 and 1992.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Steve Rotheram
uin	189333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>As indicated in the debate on 12th February 2014, Official Report, column 858, both the <br>Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Investigatory Powers Tribunal <br>provide an avenue for investigating concerns in this area. <br><br>As a matter of long-standing practice, we do not routinely comment on the <br>detailed use of interception and surveillance, or provide a breakdown of the <br>number of warrants signed in relation to specific circumstances or <br>nationalities.<br><br>Figures for the overall number of interception warrants authorised by the Home <br>Secretary during the period 1989-1992 were published in the Annual Report to <br>the Prime Minister by the Interception Commissioner under the legislation then <br>in force (the Interception of Communications Act 1985). The published figures <br>are as follows:</p><p>Figures for the overall number of interception warrants authorised by the Home Secretary under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 during the period 1989-1992 are shown in the tables below. They provide separate figures for warrants covering telecommunications (which exclude letters), warrants covering letters (letters were relatively more important as a mode of communication than they would be today), and a total for both categories of these warrants.</p><p> </p><p>Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1988 and b) issued during the course of 1988:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p>Telecommunications</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Letters</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warrants</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>225</p></td><td><p>412</p></td><td><p>75</p></td><td><p>48</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>460</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1989 and b) issued during the course of 1989:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p>Telecommunications</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Letters</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warrants</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>232</p></td><td><p>427</p></td><td><p>59</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>291</p></td><td><p>485</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1990 and b) issued during the course of 1990:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p>Telecommunications</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Letters</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warrants</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>225</p></td><td><p>473</p></td><td><p>52</p></td><td><p>42</p></td><td><p>227</p></td><td><p>515</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1991 and b) issued during the course of 1991:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p>Telecommunications</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Letters</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warrants</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>239</p></td><td><p>670</p></td><td><p>50</p></td><td><p>62</p></td><td><p>289</p></td><td><p>732</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1992 and b) issued during the course of 1992:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p>Telecommunications</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Letters</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warrants</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td><td><p>(a)</p></td><td><p>(b)</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>265</p></td><td><p>756</p></td><td><p>72</p></td><td><p>118</p></td><td><p>337</p></td><td><p>847</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4035 label Biography information for Steve Rotheram