The Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 requires at least one designated universal service provider to meet all reasonable requests by end-users for connection at a fixed location to the public electronic communications network and for access to publicly available telephone services over that communications network. The connection must be capable of allowing end-users to make and receive local, national and international telephone calls and facsimile.<\/p>
These connections are available to residential premises, businesses and public sector organisations where a reasonable request is made.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4728", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-07-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-07-27T14:50:34.96Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-07-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Telephone Services: Universal Service Obligation"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 20 July (HL1533), whether the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 requires the provision of landlines to all (1) homes, (2) businesses, and (3) public sector organisations, in the UK.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} ], "uin" : "HL2034"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1491767", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1491767/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The requirements set out in the Schedule to the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 mean certain providers (currently BT and KCOM) must continue to meet reasonable requests to provide a connection capable of allowing end-users to make and receive local, national and international telephone calls and facsimile.<\/p>
Accordingly, landline-only connections will remain available for customers who wish to retain them.<\/p>
Increasingly, telecommunications providers are moving customers away from the traditional telephone network to a digital alternative, which means it is likely these customers will increasingly be provided with their landline services over a fixed voice-over-IP connection.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4728", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-07-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-07-27T14:50:10.65Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-07-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Telephone Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 20 July (HL1533), whether existing landline connections will remain available to all those that wish to retain them.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} ], "uin" : "HL2035"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489796", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489796/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In 2020 the Government published a paper on the characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation, setting out the best available evidence on offender characteristics. We know that child sexual exploitation is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion. However, political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of uncovering and tackling these devastating crimes, and understanding local community and cultural factors is clearly an important part of this.<\/p>
That is why the Government is working with policing to drive up the quality of police data on child sexual exploitation. As part of this, the Home Secretary has made it mandatory from March 2022 for police forces to record the ethnicity of those held on suspicion of group-based child sexual exploitation. We are also funding dedicated child sexual abuse and exploitation analysts in every policing region, and we will shortly publish an updated version of our Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit, supporting police and local agencies in working together to better understand and disrupt offending in their areas.<\/p>
In addition, the Home Secretary has recently commissioned the policing inspectorate to conduct an inspection into how the police respond to group-based child sexual exploitation. This will ensure policing is learning from past mistakes including those highlighted in the local inquiries in Rotherham and Telford, and that the very best practice is now being put in place by forces across the country.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4311", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Williams of Trafford"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-07-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "HL1809"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-07-27T10:03:41.197Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-07-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Offences against Children: Rotherham and Telford"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will direct (1) the Home Office, and (2) other government departments, to stop using the terms \"Asian men\" and \"men of Pakistani origin\" to describe the members of the child sexual exploitation gangs in Rotherham and Telford.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} ], "uin" : "HL1808"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489797", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489797/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In 2020 the Government published a paper on the characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation, setting out the best available evidence on offender characteristics. We know that child sexual exploitation is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion. However, political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of uncovering and tackling these devastating crimes, and understanding local community and cultural factors is clearly an important part of this.<\/p>
That is why the Government is working with policing to drive up the quality of police data on child sexual exploitation. As part of this, the Home Secretary has made it mandatory from March 2022 for police forces to record the ethnicity of those held on suspicion of group-based child sexual exploitation. We are also funding dedicated child sexual abuse and exploitation analysts in every policing region, and we will shortly publish an updated version of our Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit, supporting police and local agencies in working together to better understand and disrupt offending in their areas.<\/p>
In addition, the Home Secretary has recently commissioned the policing inspectorate to conduct an inspection into how the police respond to group-based child sexual exploitation. This will ensure policing is learning from past mistakes including those highlighted in the local inquiries in Rotherham and Telford, and that the very best practice is now being put in place by forces across the country.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4311", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Williams of Trafford"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-07-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "HL1808"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-07-27T10:03:41.147Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-07-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Offences against Children: Rotherham and Telford"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will initiate an inquiry into the factors that inspired the members of the child sexual exploitation gangs in Rotherham and Telford; and in particular, the extent to which Islamic teachings were a determining factor.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} ], "uin" : "HL1809"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489798", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Attorney General"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489798/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Following the Alexis Jay report in 2014 and identification of the problems that existed in responding to investigations of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) gangs in Rotherham, the National Crime Agency (NCA) launched Operation Stovewood, a dedicated team investigating similar offending which had occurred within Rotherham. As outlined in the Telford Inquiry report, a number of other forces across the country have successfully investigated similar offending in their force areas.<\/p>
<\/p>
The CPS has a national response to these types of investigations. Each area has formerly dealt with large CSE cases within their Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) units. Since its inception, Operation Stovewood has been handled by a team of lawyers within the former Organised Crime Division. On 1 April 2022, the CPS created a new unit in direct response to the number and scale of these investigations being undertaken across England and Wales. The Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit (OCSAU) is a dedicated team of lawyers, which in addition to the casework generated by NCA Op Stovewood and Child Exploitation and Online Protection teams, will undertake all similar casework generated by police forces nationwide.<\/p>
<\/p>
The unit currently has casework involving approximately 255 suspects and defendants. The lawyers within the unit work closely with investigators from the earliest stage of the commencement of investigations to ensure that the strongest possible cases can be built, so that those committing these offences are prosecuted. Where the CPS\u2019s legal test is met, they will always prosecute these offenders for the offences they have committed.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4899", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Stewart of Dirleton"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-08-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-08-01T11:42:51.387Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "88"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-07-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Offences against Children: Rotherham and Telford"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that prosecutions are brought against (1) the members of the child sexual exploitation gangs in Rotherham and Telford, and (2) the responsible authorities that failed to prevent the abuse from taking place.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Pearson of Rannoch"} ], "uin" : "HL1810"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489057", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1489057/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Ministers are unable to intervene in individual cases and complaints against the police.<\/p>
If an individual is unhappy with the decisions made by the police, they have the option of submitting a complaint to the relevant police force. Police force websites include information about how to complain. A complaint can also be made via an online form available on the website of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) at: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/complaints-and-appeals/make-complaint<\/a>.<\/p>