<p>No recent discussions have been held as callers from within the UK, or those based overseas making international calls on behalf of UK companies, are legally required not to call a number that is registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). Although,</p><p><?notus-xml column=321?></p><p>international calls not made on behalf of UK companies fall outside of the UK's jurisdiction. The TPS is a free service and is provided under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003; consumers are also protected if they have previously notified the caller that they do not wish to receive such calls. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) enforces the TPS and can issue a fine of up to £500,000 for the most serious breaches of the PECR.</p><p>I met with ICO, Ofcom and TPS in July to press for further improvements in enforcement. Consequently, the ICO has increased the resources devoted to enforcement of PECR and on 28 November 2012 served monetary penalties totalling £440,000 to two illegal marketers responsible for distributing millions of spam texts. The ICO has also published on its website, a list of the most complained about companies that make calls to TPS registered consumers. If the companies fail to remedy their actions, then they could face further enforcement action. The ICO is also currently considering issuing penalties to three other companies for breaching the PECR.</p>