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The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), held a round table meeting with telecoms providers on video relay services (VRS) in September 2011. The meeting focused on access to telecommunications services in the UK for hearing impaired users, in context of the Ofcom's review of relay services in the UK.The meeting was attended by BT, Kingston Communications, Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone, 3, Talk Talk, Virgin Media and BSkyB.Ofcom's consultation proposed significant improvements to help meet the needs of hearing impaired users, particularly through the proposals for next generation text relay (NGTR) that would provide an enhanced text relay service available 24/7, enabling support for two-way simultaneous communication and allowing mainstream equipment to be used.The Secretary of State is keen that businesses and telecommunication companies also provide VRS for their disabled customers. BT is currently running a trial for its disabled customers and the Secretary of State hopes that others will also follow suit. The Secretary of State is pleased that Ofcom will also consult on specific proposals for VRS in the summer as this will help to progress work in this area. |