§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the benefits and disbenefits to the consumer of BT's monopoly of directory inquiries. [23380]
§ Mrs. RocheThe regulation of directory inquiries is a matter for OFTEL. OFTEL is currently carrying out a review of telecoms directory services and products. In September, OFTEL issued a consultative document which assesses customers' needs and privacy concerns, whether468W these needs are met by current arrangements, whether they would be better met by introducing competition into this market, and what the barriers to competition are. The document sets out proposed remedies to address these barriers so that competitors can enter the market. OFTEL is due to issue a Statement on directory information services and products this year and the Department will consider it at that time.