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<p>As the Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, I have considered the possibility of allocating responsibility for nuisance calls, texts and e-mails, to either Ofcom or to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). However, this is unlikely to make much difference unless enforcement of the existing regulations is carried out effectively.</p><p>The Government is working closely with both regulators to deliver significant improvements in terms of taking robust action where necessary. For example, the ICO issued its first monetary penalty of £90,000 to a company on 18 March 2013 and has also published on its website a list of the most complained about companies that make calls to Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered consumers:</p><p>http://www.ico.gov.uk/enforcement/action/calls.aspx</p><p>If the companies fail to remedy their actions, then they could face further enforcement action and the ICO is also currently considering issuing penalties to two other companies for breaching the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003.</p><p>Improvements have been made to website pages of both organisations, including whom to contact when making a complaint. Also, Ofcom has in the last year issued monetary penalties totalling £810,000 and improved and clarified information that is provided to consumers online at:</p><p>http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/privacy</p><p>and their Consumer Guide signposts the correct place to make a complaint about a range of nuisance calls:</p><p>http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2012/10/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages</p> |