Protecting children, delivery charges, nuisance calls and better comms support for deaf people - Lib Dem MPs' private members bills

Stephen Tall told us all about the private members' bills brought in by Tory MPs in their "alternative Queen's Speech" - everything from burka banning to reintroducing the death penalty to naming the August Bank Holiday after Margaret Thatcher.

I thought I'd look into the measures the Liberal Democrats who were successful in the Great Parliamentary Raffle are hoping to bring into law. As you might expect, they're a bit more practical and relevant.

Sir Malcolm Bruce's Bill is all about improving communications support for deaf people. Signature has more details:

Sir Malcolm is a tireless advocate for the deaf community and is keen to use this opportunity to improve the everyday communication experiences of deaf and hard of hearing people...
The main aims of the bill are to establish a body that oversees British Sign Language (BSL) training, BSL teaching and supports deaf and hard of hearing children in schools.

The full title is "a Bill to establish a body to assess provision of communication support for deaf people and to make recommendations; and for connected purposes". The short title of the bill has been confirmed as Communication Support (Deafness) Bill.

It would have been surprising if Mike Crockart hadn't produced a bill aimed at tackling nuisance calls. His campaign on the subject continues to gather support.  Which? magazine is supporting his bill:

Backing Mike Crockart MP’s Private Members’ Bill which aims to change the laws around how personal data is used and to give regulators more powers to tackle companies which breaks the rules, Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said:

“People are sick and tired of being bombarded with nuisance calls and texts. The current system is failing the public and given the scale of this problem, it’s time for the Government to step in.

“We urgently need to see a new approach, new laws and new technology to tackle this scourge on people’s lives. We hope MPs get behind this bill to strengthen the law on consent and put people back in control of their personal data.”

Last Christmas, Tavish Scott highlighted that Christmas would be cancelled if Santa had to pay the extortionate delivery charges often levied on parts of rural Scotland.  Robert Smith agrees and his bill aims to force retailers to be  more upfront about these charges. He said:

Some of the extra charges made by online couriers to deliver to parts of Scotland are just outrageous. Retailers need to think about finding more reasonable ways to deliver their products to rural areas. One option is to deliver goods by Royal Mail which charges one price to deliver anywhere in the UK. Alternatively retailers need to think about using couriers that charge more reasonable amounts for delivery in Scotland.

People in rural Scotland and on the Islands understand that products may take a little longer to arrive, but the additional cost charged by some companies just seems out of all proportion.

Finally, Mark Williams concentrates on child protection and updating the definition of what constitutes cruelty.  I will warn you that his explanation makes heartbreaking reading:

As a result, the 1868 Act stated that ‘wilful neglect’ was a criminal offence if the health of the child was or was likely to be ‘seriously injured’. The 1868 Act’s replacement in 1933 refers to the same requirement for neglect to be ‘wilful’, and for the child to be subjected to ‘unnecessary suffering’, and this only on a physical level, in order for that neglect to be criminal.

In my view there is no ‘acceptable’ level of suffering for children, and yet our laws in the United Kingdom currently assume that there is.

That needs to change – it cannot be the case that the ‘accidental’ neglect of children (that is to say there is nothing ‘wilful’ in the neglect) is not considered a criminal offence, and that no sanctions exist to tackle psychological and emotional child neglect – this is despite expert opinions suggesting that psychological neglect is the most destructive form of abuse.

I have encountered a number of harrowing tales since choosing to become involved in Action for Children’s campaign on Child Neglect. In one case, an individual child was openly told by his stepfather that he was hated; he was forced to go to bed before his siblings, at 6.30pm, and regularly wet his bed because his room was not lit, to the extent that maggots were found in the mattress. The child was persistently criticised, refused affection and told he wasn’t wanted; was socially isolated, prevented from playing with his siblings, and was used as a scapegoat for the family’s problems.

Yet, this is not considered criminal neglect by our laws and the police are, as such, powerless to intervene. When the child was finally removed to live with his grandmother, the hatred passed on to one of his younger siblings, who was only removed two years later.

All in all, a much more sensible package of measures.  If you want these to have any chance of success, it'll be down to lobbying MPs and government ministers to give them support and time, so get to it.

Liam McArthur tells Holyrood: Governments must work to protect people from nuisance calls

Quite often, MSPs at Holyrood debate things in a mature fashion. We don't often see it because it happens after hours or doesn't get the coverage because it's too civilised.

One of these moments happened on Tuesday night when MSPs debated a motion from Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney Liam McArthur on the subject of nuisance calls. This did get some coverage on the BBC, too. Liam told how nuisance calls are more than just inconvenient. They have a sinister side. A constituent of his, who has Dementia, was pressured into buying a broadband package despite not even  having a computer.

MSPs from all parties spoke in the debate, commending Liam for bringing it. Particularly alarming (sorry) was an account of how a constituent of Labour's Mark Griffin was subject to aggressive sales tactics during a call and was pressured into signing up for a burglar alarm with an expensive annual maintenance fee. He was able to advise her how to stop it but she should never have been treated that way.

There was a bit of a comedy moment when Tory Mary Scanlon spoke of being robo-called by Sean Connery asking her to join the SNP. "Did you?" said Nationalist Graeme Dey.

You can read the whole debate here and sign up to Mike Crockart's No to Nuisance Calls Campaign here.

Liam McArthur's speech is copied below in full.

In bringing this debate to the Chamber this evening, I’m painfully aware that it will strike many as a bit rich: politicians complaining about those who make nuisance calls.   Like most MSPs, I imagine, I have played my part in interrupting the odd family mealtime over the years – and not just in the McArthur household.

But the issues underlying this campaign are serious and deserve proper recognition, and so I warmly congratulate the Sunday Post for the leading role it has played in highlighting the problem of nuisance calls and texts.

My colleague, Mike Crockart has spearheaded the campaign at Westminster, but I felt it was important for this Parliament to make its voice heard in saying no to nuisance calls. 

I am therefore grateful to all those colleagues who have signed my motion and who will participate this evening: a show of support that demonstrates the cross-party nature of the campaign and nationwide extent of the problems created by nuisance calls and texts.

The aim of the campaign must be to bring an end, or at the very least significantly reduce the number of these calls and texts that are made.  I am hopeful this can be achieved.

In just over a month, more than 11,000 people have signed up to the campaign: testament to the strength of feeling about this issue. Many of my constituents in Orkney have got in touch to tell me how fed up they are of nuisance calls to their mobiles, home phones and to family members.  Not to mention the deluge of unsolicited texts.

Cold calling has been an issue raised at constituency surgeries for years. In the past, the energy companies were guilty of over-stepping the mark in a bid to persuade customers to shift supplier.  

Thanks to many local campaigns, most of the big six energy companies have now stopped doorstep selling.

But progress elsewhere has been slow.  I recently met a constituent, whose elderly mother, a dementia sufferer, was repeatedly called by one company and badgered to take out a broadband package.  She finally relented and signed up for the expensive offer - despite not even having a computer!

It took months to rectify the situation and get the money reimbursed.  But this case at least ended positively.  Many thousands more do not.

The bottom line is that people shouldn’t have to put up with this menace which puts many vulnerable and elderly people at risk of fraud. The calls and texts can seem threatening and intimidating; to many they are just as worrying as it would be were someone to appear on their doorstep unannounced and uninvited.

Astonishingly, there were 650 million silent calls made in the UK last year alone. This works out at around 50 nuisance calls a year for each Scot.  Across the UK, 3 million people will be scammed out of an average of £800 this year, as a result of obtrusive calls.

Something must be done about this and it seems clear that the measures currently in place to shield people from nuisance calls are not up to the job.

Like many, I know that I haven’t had a fall in the last 5 years; that I’m not entitled to PPI compensation and I certainly don’t want a pay-day loan.

But that doesn’t stop the offers coming thick and fast.  Even for those who have signed up to the Telephone Preference Service, it seems there is no escape.

According to Ofcom, complaints to the TPS about unwanted marketing calls jumped to almost 10,000 for the month of July. This compares to 3,212 in December 2011.

In an online poll of over 4000 individuals for Which? 76% of respondents said that despite signing up to the TPS they still receive lots of nuisance calls. Only 1% rated the service as excellent, most said that it made no difference.

The Sunday Post said recently:

“It’s clear from the overwhelming response we have had from our readers this problem plagues our daily lives. And yet regardless of asking for the companies to stop – and sometimes taking steps to halt them – the onslaught continues.

“The will is there from people to put an end to this once and for all. Now is the time for the Government to act on that will and strengthen existing legislation.”

The readers of the Sunday Post and the thousands who have backed the No 2 Nuisance Calls campaign want their voice to be heard. People feel under siege and it is time that we gave them the tools to fight back.

I believe it is time for the Information Commissioner’s powers be strengthened to take in all forms of unsolicited contact and for there to be single point of contact for any individual wishing to protect their privacy from unwanted calls, texts, fax or emails.

Yesterday’s announcement by the Information Commissioner’s Office that it was issuing fines of over £250,000 to two illegal marketeers who distributed millions of spam texts is evidence that, where it can, it will act.  But from the figures I have already quoted, it is clear that the ICO still lacks the tools it needs for the job.

Joint working between Scotland’s two governments can see progress made and I hope the Minister will now agree to work with his counterpart at Westminster in putting in place measures that will protect millions of Scots from nuisance calls.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I simply do not understand why we continue to allow this to happen, why we are so permissive about our telecoms contact.

If this was happening face-to-face; if pay day loan sharks or PPI insurance litigators were knocking on the doors of the elderly and vulnerable in our communities, then either running away or bullying them into making claims we’d be up in arms.

Just because the constant barracking, intimidation and hectoring happens after pushing buttons on a phone rather than pushing a door bell does not make it ok, or any less frightening to vulnerable people across Scotland.

And yet that is the everyday reality for too many of them. It cannot continue. It must stop.

I thank all those who have shown their support for this campaign, and my motion, and look forward to hearing what colleagues – and particularly the Minister – have to say.

Lib Dems take No to Nuisance Calls campaign to Holyrood

I've written recently about Liberal Democrat MP Mike Crockart's campaign to free us from the pain in the backside that is nuisance calls, emails and texts. These contacts aren't just a nuisance - they can be dangerous with vulnerable people being conned out of money.

Today, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur will propose the following motion at Holyrood. 

S4M-04204 ♦ Liam McArthur () (Scottish Liberal Democrats): That the Parliament understands that nuisance calls blight the lives of many people in Orkney and across Scotland; believes that these calls are particularly distressful for older, vulnerable people; is concerned that a quarter of a billion nuisance calls are made to Scots each year and that complaints about silent or abandoned calls in the UK have trebled in 2012; believes that poor regulation is failing to address the problem and that the rise in companies offering redress for missold payment protection insurance and a lack of consumer knowledge are exacerbating the situation; considers that more must be done to tackle nuisance calls and other forms of unsolicited contact, and would welcome a single, simple point of contact for any individual wishing to protect their privacy from unwanted calls, texts, faxes and emails.

 This motion has attracted support from Labour, Tory, SNP and Green MSPs. The debate takes place at 5pm tonight. Ahead of his speech, Liam said:

Astonishingly, there were 650 million silent calls made in the UK and 45 million spam texts sent in Europe last year alone. Every Scot is bombarded with 50 nuisance calls each year and, largely as a result of the obtrusive calls, 3 million people across the UK will be scammed out of £800 this year.

Even after joining the Telephone Preference Service, some people continue to receive nuisance calls relating to PPI compensation, accident claims or pay-day loan companies.

Measures currently in place to shield people from nuisance calls are not doing the job. The Liberal Democrats are calling for both of Scotland’s governments to work together to bring about measures that will protect millions of Scots from nuisance calls.
This could be done through the creation of a single point of contact for anyone wishing to protect their privacy from unwanted calls, texts or e-mails. Many of my constituents in Orkney have been in touch to tell me how fed up they are of nuisance calls and texts to their mobiles and home phones. I would urge people from across Scotland to sign our petition and make their voice heard in the fight against nuisance calls.

Edinburgh West's Lib Dem MP Mike Crockart started this campaign which has been backed by the Sunday Post. If you agree, you can sign up here.

Mike had a similar debate in Westminster two weeks ago. This is his speech from Hansard:

I wish to tackle the important issue of nuisance calls. Like many Members, I am fed up with receiving nuisance calls on my mobile and home telephone, and unsolicited texts sent to my mobile. It is a real problem for many of my constituents, much as cold-calling in person was many years ago. It was mainly energy companies who indulged in cold-calling in person, but thanks to many local campaigns across the country, most of the big six energy companies have stopped the practice. It is time to turn our attention to the issue of nuisance calls and texts.

There were 650 million silent calls made in the UK last year, and 45 million spam texts sent in Europe last year and every year. Some 3 million UK adults will be scammed out of £800 each this year by fraudulent marketing calls. It is clear that we have an industry in crisis and a country under siege. People should not have to put up with this menace, which puts many vulnerable and elderly people at just as much risk of fraud as if the crook or pushy salesman turned up at their door unannounced. Yet the two Departments responsible for various aspects of the industry—the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Ministry of Justice—do not seem to think that there is a need for any change in legislation.

In response to a letter that I sent him, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey) said that although the Government do not believe that sweeping changes are necessary to the regulatory framework, the Ministry of Justice continues to keep the Information Commissioner’s Office powers under review. Thousands of people disagree and are backing my campaign to restrict this nuisance. They say that their experience shows that the current situation is simply not good enough. Many people have shared their horror stories with me. I would welcome the chance to meet Ministers from DCMS and the Ministry of Justice to discuss the issue.

The Sunday Post in Scotland has helped to promote my campaign nationally, and a spokesman for the newspaper recently told me:

“It's clear from the overwhelming response we have had from our readers this problem plagues our daily lives.

And yet regardless of asking for them to stop—and sometimes taking steps to halt them—the onslaught continues.

The will is there from people to put on an end to this once and for all. Now is the time for the Government to act on that will and strengthen existing legislation.”

I could not agree more.

Since launching my campaign only four weeks ago, over 10,500 people have signed the campaign petition at no2nuisancecalls.net—sorry for the plug. Like many others, I know that I have not had a fall in the last five years and am not entitled to any more payment protection insurance compensation, and I certainly do not want a payday loan. Nevertheless, I am continually contacted by text and phone by companies offering me those things.

I am registered with the Telephone Preference Service for both home and mobile numbers, but even that does not stop the onslaught. According to Ofcom figures, complaints to the TPS about unwanted marketing calls jumped to almost 10,000 for the month of July. That compares with just over 3,000 in December last year. In an online poll of 4,000 individuals for Which?magazine, 76% of respondents said that despite signing up to the TPS, they still receive many nuisance calls. Only 1% rated the service as excellent and said that they no longer received nuisance calls. Once again, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Wantage, seemed to miss that point; he said that the TPS was generally successful in reducing the number of unsolicited marketing calls received. That is not the experience of the majority of people registering with it.

Ofcom suggests that increased activity by PPI and accident claims companies is partly to blame for the rise. The problem is partly the result of the fact that PPI calls are not classed as sales calls but as a service or marketing calls. On texts, the law says that there must be an unsubscribe option such as “Reply STOP to this number”. However, there are two problems with that. First, there are serious worries about how much it would cost to send such a text. Secondly, such a reply tells the sender that the number is genuine and in use, which might merely engender further contact from that company and from others.

Recent research by the Association of British Insurers has found that more than three quarters of people—78%—have been contacted by a claims management company asking if they have been involved in an accident or mis-sold payment protection insurance. The ABI found that 92% of those who received such a message from a claims management company said that it was not relevant to them.

Complaints about abandoned or silent calls trebled in 2012, rising from 957 in December 2011 to 3,390 in July 2012. That is probably only the tip of the iceberg. In May 2011, the Information Commissioner’s Office was given powers to fine companies up to £500,000 if they broke the rules on unsolicited texts and phone calls. To date, however, the ICO has failed to prosecute any company for breaking the rules, in spite of the fact that it has received more than 7,000 complaints this year—a 43% increase on last year, when fewer than 5,000 complaints were received for the entire year.

I understand better than most the difficulties involved in carrying out complex police investigations, but we must understand what prevents those investigations from leading to prosecutions and fines. Until an example is made, those companies will carry on unfazed. The ICO has done great work on fining companies that fail to look after their data properly, but the strongest action so far on breaking of the legislation governing unsolicited calls and texts was a strongly worded statement in July this year which talked of the ICO “baring its teeth”.

All of that points to a huge problem that is on the increase—indeed, it is out of control. Some companies offer a service to help protect people from unwanted calls, but it can be costly—anything from £35 to £100—and often those companies are not up front about the charges. To be frank, why should we have to pay for such a service anyway? I believe, as do the 10,000-plus people who have signed up to my online campaign, that we have the right to be free from such calls without having to pay for the privilege.

As I have said, the problem is out of control, and requires urgent action. The Information Commissioner desperately needs to have the power to end this menace. I am therefore calling for the Information Commissioner’s powers to be strengthened to take in all forms of unsolicited contact, and for a single point of contact for any individual wishing to protect their privacy and block unwanted calls, texts, faxes and e-mails. That express wish should be taken seriously and acted upon.

I simply do not understand why we continue to allow this to happen, and why we are so permissive about our telecoms contact. If Barclays or HomeServe—two companies that, between them, were fined £5 million for silent calls—were knocking on our vulnerable granny’s door every day, then running away before she answered, we would be appalled. Instead, we tell those companies that they can do that only one day in 20: 5% of their calls are allowed to be silent. If claims management companies were knocking on her door, then bullying her into making PPI claims or taking payday loans, we would be up in arms. Instead, we hide behind the claim that those are merely surveys. If, because of all of that, we had to hire a doorman at significant expense to filter all the unwanted people at the door and only allow real visitors in, that would be completely unacceptable, yet that is the awful, frightening telecoms reality for many older, vulnerable members of society. It simply cannot continue. It simply must stop.

Mike Crockart MP: Say no to nuisance calls

You know the feeling. You've just come in from work, you're rushing around trying to feed the cat, empty the bin, deal with your post, make the dinner and listen to the evening news. The phone rings. You have no way of knowing whether it's your partner wanting a lift from the station, your mum ringing for a chat, a work call or your friend ringing to bitch about the latest internal Liberal Democrat shenanigans. Not that the last would ever happen of course...

So, you turn down the cooker, drop the cat or its food and go and pick up the phone, missing that one 30 second snippet of Jo Swinson or Angela Constance you've been waiting to see all day, only to discover it's someone trying to flog you double glazing you don't need, insurance you don't want or a kitchen you'd love if only you could afford it. What makes the red mist descend with me is these recorded messages where there's not even a person at the other end.

That's just inconvenient. But there's a more sinister side. It's not just nice people who can get hold of your phone number. Look how this poor old man in North Yorkshire was conned out of £750 by a phone scammer.

Well, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West Mike Crockart has decided enough is enough. He's launched a campaign, backed by Scottish newspaper the Sunday Post, to do two things:

• for the Information Commissioner's powers to be strengthened to take in all unsolicited contact
• for there to be a single point of contact to opt out of the lot. Fax, email, mail, phone, the works.

Mike has a debate on the subject in the House of Commons today. He says:

I‘m fed up of nuisance calls to my mobile and to my home phone as well as unsolicited texts sent to my mobile. I know that it’s a real problem for many of my constituents and others across the UK. The bottom line is that people shouldn’t have to put up with this menace which puts many vulnerable and elderly people at risk of fraud just as much as if the crook or pushy salesman was turning up at their door unannounced.
There were 650 million silent calls made in the UK last year; 45 million spam texts sent in Europe last and every year and 3 million UK adults will be scammed out of £800 this year by fraudulent marketing calls. It is clear we now have an industry in crisis and a country under siege. Since launching the campaign only four weeks ago, over 10,500 people have signed the campaign petition. I hope that good old people power will demonstrate to the Government that the legislation in this area needs to be tightened and enforced vigorously.
 The problem is out of control and needs urgent action. We desperately need an Information Commissioner with the power to put an end to this menace.

 If you are similarly annoyed by nuisance calls from people trying to sell you stuff, sign the Say No to Nuisance Calls petition here.

Let's hope that this is another of these issues where the actions of a backbench MP can change things to remove what at best is a minor irritation, but can lead to catastrophic criminal consequences.

Mike has also written to the Culture Secretary and the Liberal Democrat minister Lord McNally to ask them to take action.

This issue clearly affects people way beyond the confines of Mike's lovely west Edinburgh constituency, so please feel free to share this widely, use on your Focus leaflets or local party websites or on any social networks you use.