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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to monitor the effectiveness of the provisions of the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 on the number of cold calls and text messages received for personal injury claims.

We have included in the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 provision to ban cold calls relating to claims management services except where the receiver has consented to such calls being made to them.

This measure will be implemented through the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (the framework underpinning electronic communications) and regulated by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who provide monthly statistics on its website (www.ico.org.uk) on the number of reported nuisance calls. DCMS will continue to work closely with the ICO to monitor the number of cold calls and text messages received for personal injury claims, in light of the new measure.

We have also recently published a consultation on providing the ICO with the powers it needs to hold company directors directly responsible for direct marketing breaches. If preferred, this measure would fine rogue directors up to £500,000, raising this national nuisance at boardroom level.