§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates her Department has made of(a) the number of spam e-mails sent to UK companies and (b) the cost to business associated with tackling spam e-mails in 2002–03. [157804]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Government do not have an estimate of the number of spam e-mails sent to UK companies or the cost to businesses here in tackling spam e-mails in 2002–03, although business recipients of spam point to the impact of time spent in deleting spam messages and paying for anti-spam and anti-virus protection. The UK is actively involved in a current exercise by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which aims to develop better techniques for measuring spam and estimating its impact.