Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, whether the Government plans to place the commitments in the Telecoms Consumer Charter on a statutory footing.

Ofcom’s January 2025 transparency rules prohibit the use of inflation‑linked in‑contract price rises. Providers must set out any increases clearly in pounds and pence before customers sign up, and specify when those rises will occur. These rules apply to all new contracts which include a price increase, including those offered by providers that have signed the Telecoms Consumer Charter. Ofcom will be conducting an interim review of the 2025 reforms by Spring 2026 and a full review in 2027.

The Telecoms Consumer Charter strengthens these measures by ensuring that the price customers sign up to is the price they will pay, and that this must be the case in all but genuinely exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances.

The Government has no plans to place the commitments in the Charter on a statutory footing. The Charter is a voluntary set of commitments made by providers, building on Ofcom’s requirements to ensure consumers receive clear and easily understandable information. By securing these agreements voluntarily and without regulation, the Government has been able to act quickly to ensure consumers will not face unexpected price rises like those seen in October 2025.

While it is not our current intention to regulate, we do expect this voluntary approach to deliver for consumers. If it does not, government will reflect on what further action may be appropriate.