Emergency Telephone Calls (Hansard, 24 March 2003)

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, no 999 telephone calls are answered by a call centre in New Delhi. They are all directed to the appropriate emergency service by a network of call centres in the UK.

Baroness Sharpies
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. However, a while ago I was by driven by a very charming Indian who on a previous occasion had witnessed a bad accident. When he dialled 999 and informed the operator that he was on Western Avenue, the operator said that he did not know where that was. When asked where he was situated, the operator replied, "New Delhi".

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, that could have been an Indian in another part of the country, and it could have been a joke. I am assured categorically that no calls are handled otherwise than in the UK. Two centres have been put out by BT, one in Bangalore and one in New Delhi, but they are to deal with the company's directory inquiries and conferencing work.

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, would the Minister care to have a bet with me that practically no one in this Chamber knows what to dial instead of 999 in Europe?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, I would be happy to take that bet because I am well briefed to answer the question, but the noble Baroness may be right about the rest of the House.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, what arrangements are being made, if any, to combine the 460 call centres for the ambulance service, the fire service and police, as has been suggested? Is that proposal going forward?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, I do not know the answer, but the matter does not have anything to do with call centres for BT. It is to do with the emergency services—

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, it is to do with 999.

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
Yes, my Lords, but it is not to do with the BT part of the matter, which is handling calls to the emergency services.

§ Lord Addington
My Lords, will the Minister give us the assurance that the person one speaks to when one phones 999 will have a good knowledge of the locality from which one is phoning, and of the local accent? Someone from South Wales might struggle with a Northumbrian accent, for instance.

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, there is a code of practice between the PTOs and the emergency services on how such calls should be handled. I do not believe that they are handled on a local basis. The call is routed to the first free operator, and that operator may be in another part of the country, so calls do not necessarily go to the locality. That is judged to be the best and speediest way to handle them. There is a forum for such issues, but that is believed to be the best route.

§ Lord McNally
My Lords, although the idea of dialling 999 is deeply embedded in our culture and history, does the service keep track of modern technologies? For example, has there been any study of being able to text, e-mail or use other new technologies to summon assistance?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, I do not know whether any research of that kind is being done. I will make inquiries and let the noble Lord know what is in train.

§ Baroness Greengross
My Lords, is the Minister aware that lots of people, including several whom I know, have phoned 999 for the police when someone has been in their home and been told that they are in a queue? Will he give that the attention that it needs?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, does the noble Baroness's question relate to the police or to the telephone operating service? If it is to the latter, then clearly I would appreciate examples being given so that the matter can be investigated. If it concerns the police, then obviously it is an issue that the police themselves need to investigate.

§ Viscount Astor
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that what matters is not necessarily where the call is answered but the response times of the 461 emergency service? Can he say what tracking is done to ensure that those who dial 999, for whatever reason, receive the attention that they require?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, I have not done any tracking but, as I said, there is a code which covers the matter. Presumably, if people have any sense that the system is not operating correctly, they should make the appropriate complaint.

§ Lord Bradshaw
My Lords, is the Minister aware that huge numbers of calls are made following accidents? For example, 1,000 calls can be made in connection with one accident. More than anything else, the police would be assisted if calls were divided between the urgent and the less urgent. Is progress being made on the realisation of a 555 number for less urgent calls so that the public divide their calls between the two?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, as I understand it, the Question concerns whether calls are being dealt with in New Delhi. I believe that I have answered that. Further questions on the exact way that calls are handled in all situations are outside the scope of the Question.