§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will discuss with the chairman of British Telecom the possibility of ensuring that all 999 emergency calls have an immediate play back facility; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Giles ShawAll 999 calls are recorded by British Telecom; most are recorded also by the emergency service concerned.
British Telecom records these calls to enable it to monitor the quality of the service and to deal with allegations of mishandling. The recordings are retained for three months during which period access to them is granted only on the authority of a BT district manager following a request from a chief constable or other chief officer.