Written question asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 9 January 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 January 2001. It was answered by Jack Straw (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 January 2001 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his assessment is of the annual cost to police forces of charges levied by telecommunications companies for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the payment of such charges is cost effective; what discussions he has had with telecommunications companies over the variation in charges made for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence; what representations he has received about the level of charges made by telecommunications companies for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence for law enforcement agencies; what assessment he has made of the effect on policing in Gloucestershire of the cost to the constabulary of charges levied by telecommunications companies for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence; and if he will make a statement. - Inc fact that info not collected centrally.

Answer: Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what his assessment is of the annual cost to police forces of charges levied by telecommunications companies for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the payment of such charges is cost effective; [145181] (2) what discussions he has had with telecommunications companies over the variation in charges made for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence; [145185] (3) what representations he has received about the level of charges made by telecommunications companies for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence for law enforcement agencies; [145184] (4) what assessment he has made of the effect on policing in Gloucestershire of the cost to the constabulary of charges levied by telecommunications companies for tracking telephone calls and e-mail correspondence; and if he will make a statement. [145180] Mr. Straw: Information on the charges mentioned is not collected centrally. Agreements are in place between communication service providers (CSPs) and law enforcement agencies which take account of the fact that a requirement to provide communication data places operational and financial burdens on the CSPs. The Government have received representations from one hon. Member about charges made to the police by CSPs for supplying data.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 361 c210-1W; 145181;145185;145184;145180
Session: 2000-01
Subjects: Costs Fees and charges Electronic surveillance Internet Email Police Telecommunications Telephone tapping Gloucestershire
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk