Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the pricing of landline phone calls during the covid-19 outbreak.

In March 2020 the Government and Ofcom worked with the UK’s major broadband, landline and mobile providers to develop a package of voluntary industry measures to support consumers, especially those who are vulnerable. Providers agreed to give their customers new and generous offers on mobile and landline services. This includes some providers who gave effect to this commitment by giving free and low cost data boosts, and free calling allowances on landline packages.

Ofcom has also recently published a vulnerability guide for providers, setting out its expectations and good practice on how vulnerable telecoms consumers should be supported. This includes treating those in financial distress fairly, providing them with payment support options, such as payment holidays, and only disconnecting consumers as a last resort option. More broadly, Ofcom is reviewing affordability issues in the communications market, and intends to publish its findings later this year.