Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory framework governing VoIP services.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

However, while we are engaging with Ofcom and stakeholders on this issue, including with regard to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration to VoIP, the Department has not made any formal assessment of the effectiveness of the regulatory framework governing VoIP services.

VoIP uses fibre cables which are far more resilient than copper and offers consumers better quality calls, improved flexibility, and better protections against nuisance and scam calls. The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration from the PSTN to VoIP are mitigated for everyone. The Government secured additional safeguards to protect the vulnerable and landline dependent in November 2024. These include measures to identify the vulnerable and telecare users, timely and repeated communications, free engineer visits, and providing a battery back-up where appropriate.