§ Dr. MarekTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made towards the establishment of a register to combat the problem of unsolicited telephone selling; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 26 November 1992]: The telecommunication services licence and the self-provision licence, both issued under the terms of the Telecommunications Act 1984, provide for the establishment of a register on which people who do not wish to receive unsolicited telephone sales calls can place their numbers. Once this register is in place, anyone who makes such a call to a number on the list will be in breach of the licence and, ultimately, the Director General of Telecommunications can remove the right to operate under the licences from persistent offenders, making them unable to use their telephone systems. Oftel is discussing the arrangements for the register with interested parties. These discussions have proved more difficult than at first expected. Oftel will, however, announce its conclusions as soon as it is able to do so.