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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of nuisance calls made by companies in (a) the UK and (b) abroad; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of such calls to (i) older and more vulnerable customers and (ii) others.

No estimate has been made about the level of nuisance calls made by companies in the UK or abroad, as this type of information is not readily available. However, tackling nuisance calls is a priority for the Department, including those that are made to the elderly, vulnerable and other consumers. We published the first ever Nuisance Calls Action Plan on 30 March 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuisance-calls-action-plan-unveiled. This set out our achievements to date, work underway and proposed actions for the future, which included both legislative and non-legislative measures. We are currently pursuing these measures, which as a combination are beginning to make a significant difference for the benefit of all consumers.