§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what actions she has taken to limit unsolicited telephone calls for the purpose of selling goods and services. [148822]
§ Mr. SutcliffeIndividual subscribers are offered protection from unsolicited direct marketing calls under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
The regulations state that direct marketing calls may not be made to individuals who have:
(a) previously notified the caller that they do not want to receive such calls, or(b) been registered on the Telephone Preference Service for 28 days or longer.The Telephone Preference Service is an opt-out scheme run on Ofcom's behalf by the Direct Marketing Association.
The Government have also committed to allowing corporate subscribers to register on the Telephone Preference Service from spring 2004.