Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 396W, on courts, how many calls were made to higher rate telephone numbers for (a) magistrates’ courts, (b) county courts and (c) the county court bulk centre in Northampton in each year since 2009; what the average duration was of calls to the higher-rate telephone numbers in each case in the most recent period for which figures are available; how much revenue was generated from such calls; which individual numbers are used for more than one court; and how many courts are covered by each of these numbers.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Information on volumes and durations for calls to higher-rate telephone numbers for magistrates’ courts, county courts and the county court bulk centre in Northampton in each year since 2009 is not systematically collected by the service providers, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Between November 2013 to March 2014 the percentage of higher rate calls dropped significantly from 41% to 30% with the increasing use of 0300 numbers. This figure is set to drop even further as 19 higher rate numbers to the county court bulk centre are currently being replaced by 0300 numbers.
During this period 137,763 calls to higher rate numbers were answered at the county court bulk centre with an average duration of 4 minutes 14 seconds. This figure represents 35% of all calls with the remainder being 0300 numbers.
The Department has received no revenue from higher rate telephone numbers for the period under review.
The following individual numbers are used for more than one court:
0844 892 4000 is used by Basildon, Bury St Edmonds, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Kings Lyn, Norwich, Peterborough, Southend County Courts, and by Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Southend Magistrates’ Courts.
0844 892 0550 is used by Bedford, Luton, Hertford, St Albans, Watford County Courts.
0845 300 4239 is used by Aylesbury, Banbury, Bicester, East Berkshire (Bracknell), East Berkshire (Maidenhead), East Berkshire (Slough), High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Oxford and South Oxfordshire, Reading, West Berkshire (Newbury) Magistrates’ Courts.
0845 200 2078 is used by Chester, South Cheshire (Crewe), Liverpool and Knowsley, Macclesfield, Runcorn (Halton), Sefton, St Helens, Warrington, Wirral Magistrates’ Courts.
0845 601 0485 is used by Harrogate, Northallerton, Shipton, York Magistrates’ Courts.
0845 310 0575 is used by Cambridge, Peterborough Magistrates’ Courts.
The following Magistrates’ Courts have higher-rate numbers which are not shared:
Leamington Spa (0845 521 2300)
Nottingham (0845 408 3500)
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014 (191689), 19 higher rate numbers to the County Court Bulk Centre in Northampton are in the process of being replaced by 0300 numbers. The higher-rate number for Central London Combined Court Centre has been discontinued. Taking into account these further reductions in higher-rate numbers, the percentage fall in higher-rate numbers since 2009 is 79% compared to the 55% previously stated.
Magistrates’ Courts’ and County Courts use a total of ten higher-rate numbers, sharing them for queries about fines, family matters, etc. Twenty-one of the Magistrates’ Courts’ using higher rate numbers offer alternative 0300 numbers.
As stated in previous answers to parliamentary questions, the Department’s approach is not to use higher rate numbers and instead, wherever possible, to assign 0300 numbers, for which the tariff is similar to calling an 01 or 02 (geographic) number, whether the caller is using a fixed line or a mobile phone —see: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131120/text/131120w0001.htm#131120113000070
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