§ Ms WalleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of schemes proposing a bar on outgoing calls from telephone boxes to numbers displayed on advertisements for prostitute services; and if she will make a statement.[14040]
§ Mr. BattleThe Government are very concerned about the problem of prostitutes' advertising cards and support BT in its action unilaterally to bar incoming calls to the BT customers who repeatedly advertise in BT Call boxes. Since February 1997, BT has issued a total of 733 warning letters and has barred incoming calls to 104 lines. In addition, 94 customers ceased renting a BT line during the process.
286WBT has requested a licence amendment which would allow BT to extend its barring rights to calls from BT's kiosks to any advertised number, regardless of whether it belongs to a BT or a non-BT customer. Oftel will consult on this licence amendment very shortly as part of a more general consultation on Public Call Boxes. Such an amendment should strengthen the impact of BT's present scheme.