Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle hoax calls to the emergency services.

Making hoax and / or nuisance calls to the emergency services is a criminal offence that carries a fine or even a jail sentence. Additional measures are in place, for example Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) proactively monitor hoax/nuisance emergency calls and have processes in place to contact customers to educate them about the impact their behaviour has and to insist that the customer stop making hoax calls. All calls to the emergency services are recorded and the number can be traced, even if withheld, and an emergency authority can contact the MNO to request they contact their customer with this educational approach. Emergency services may also request an MNO to disconnect the account of the hoax/nuisance caller. However, any decision is for the emergency authority to take.