§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make the running of pseudo-competitions using telephone premium rate lines illegal. [9899]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorPremium rate telephone services are regulated by the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services, ICSTIS. The ICSTIS code of practice contains a number of detailed regulations regarding these competitions and their promotion. In the light of current concerns, ICSTIS has instigated a review of competitions; the findings are expected by the end of March 1996. In the event of breaches of its code, ICSTIS has a number of sanctions—including fines and barring service providers from providing premium rate services—which are regularly invoked. I understand that a copy of the current ICSTIS code is already available in the Library of the House.