https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuisance-calls-action-plan-unveiled<\/a><\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wantage"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Edward Vaizey"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-07-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-07-07T15:44:35.9174467Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-07-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Direct Selling"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to limit the number of nuisance telephone calls being received by members of the public.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/474", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Nigel Evans"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ribble Valley"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Nigel Evans"}
], "uin" : "203497"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62864", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62864/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "Further legislation is not necessary, as both the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) can issue substantive monetary penalties of up to £500,000 and £2 million respectively to any organisation that deliberately continues to contravene the regulations.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wantage"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Edward Vaizey"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-07-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-07-03T15:55:47.487412Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-06-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Direct Selling"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the penalties available for repeat offenders against the law relating to nuisance calls.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3953", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jason McCartney"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colne Valley"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jason McCartney"}
], "uin" : "201465"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62861", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62861/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Since the start of regulation in 2007, the MoJ's Claims Management Regulation (CMR) Unit has closed down over 1,100 CMCs.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Claims Management Regulator (CMR) has not closed down a claims management company (CMC) for persistent nuisance calls. It has taken other enforcement action in relation to non-compliant marketing practices including calls by CMCs. During 2013/14, for example, the CMR's specialist marketing compliance team carried out 45 audits, commenced 5 investigations, issued warnings to five CMCs in respect of their marketing practices, and restricted the marketing activity of one CMC. The CMR is working closely with the Information Commissioner's Office and Ofcom to support the delivery of the Government's Nuisance Call Action Plan, and has joined a taskforce led by consumer group, Which? to review issues concerning consent and lead generation. The taskforce is due to report back to the Government in late 2014.<\/p>
<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1496", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Shailesh Vara"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North West Cambridgeshire"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Shailesh Vara"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-07-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-07-01T15:51:51.3507992Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-06-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Direct Selling"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many companies have been closed down by the Claims Management Regulator as a result of persistent nuisance calls to date.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3953", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jason McCartney"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colne Valley"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jason McCartney"}
], "uin" : "201424"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62859", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62859/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Unsolicited marketing calls originating from outside the United Kingdom (UK) made by or on behalf of UK companies are legally required not to call a number that is registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which is provided under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003. Protection is also provided under the PECR if consumers have previously notified the caller that they do not wish to receive such calls and for automated recorded messages calls, which require prior consent. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) considers complaints and can issue a monetary penalty of up to £500,000. Calls made from abroad by overseas companies fall outside the jurisdiction of the UK.<\/p>
Also, there are various steps that consumers can take to block nuisance calls from getting through to them. Most telecom service providers offer a range of services, usually for a small charge or for free, that can help to reduce the need to answer such calls. These include \u2018Calling Line Identification Display', \u2018Anonymous Call Rejection' and \u2018Choose to Refuse'. BT's \u2018Choose to Refuse' service allows consumers to block numbers by specifying numbers that they do not want to receive calls from. Also, 'Caller Display' enables a consumer to choose to ignore calls including those that withhold their number and \u2018Anonymous Call Rejection' blocks incoming calls that withhold their number; although this may include some calls that consumers may want to receive. Additionally, telephone handsets and plug in devices are commercially available from the internet and high shops that can help to block unwanted nuisance calls.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wantage"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Edward Vaizey"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-06-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-06-26T15:10:06.6887266Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-06-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Direct Selling"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to tackle unsolicited marketing telephone calls originating from outside the UK.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/411", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Huddersfield"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Barry Sheerman"}
], "uin" : "201555"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62862", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62862/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) have issued monetary penalties totalling more than £1.9 million since January 2012 for nuisance calls, however no company has been issued with a monetary penalty more than once by either ICO or Ofcom for making nuisance calls.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wantage"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Edward Vaizey"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-06-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-06-26T15:10:56.7751507Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-06-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Direct Selling"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many companies were fined more than once for making nuisance calls by (a) the Information Commissioner's Office and (b) Ofcom in each of the last three years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3953", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jason McCartney"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colne Valley"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jason McCartney"}
], "uin" : "201463"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62863", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62863/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The number of monetary penalties issued for making nuisance calls by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) in each of the last three years is set out in the table below. Also, both the ICO and Ofcom take informal enforcement action to ensure that companies about whom they have concerns are brought into compliance more quickly. From January 2013 - June 2014, ICO engaged with over 20 organisations, which were responsible for making nuisance calls and as a result recorded substantial reductions in complaints for five of these organisations. Ofcom's informal action against 25 organisations making silent and abandoned phone calls has resulted in complaints linked to the telephone numbers used by 22 of those organisations stopping or reducing significantly, while three cases are ongoing. The power to issue monetary penalties of £500,000 for ICO came into force in January 2012, whilst Ofcom's power to issue a monetary penalty of £2 million became effective in October 2010.<\/p>
<\/p>