CALL FOR EVIDENCE

I understand that a government body is currently collecting evidence on use of revenue sharing numbers by public sector contact centres. This includes government departments and agencies, non-departmental quangos and devolved authorities at all levels, from the Scottish and Welsh governments down to English Parish Councils.

All such contact centres should by now be at an advanced stage of preparing (if not completing) migration to the 03xx range.

It may be useful for members to post information and links to sources of such information in this thread, so that it may be brought to the attention of that body by this forum. I suggest that any comments on this process be posted in another thread where this could be discussed without interfering with the data.

The Department of Health uses the revenue sharing number 0845 4647 for the health advice and information service provided by NHS Direct.

0345 4647 has been made available for use, however this has not been adopted due to some alleged connection with a proposed service for access to urgent health and social care.

The connection between non-urgent health advice and information and a focussed service for access to urgent care has not been explained.

Further information on use of revenue sharing numbers in the NHS is available here

The use of revenue sharing numbers by government departments, agencies and local authorities are being closely scrutinised.    Let us hope that eventually this will lead to such numbers being banned from such use and replacement by 01, 02 or 03 numbers.

"This week the Contact Council issued a “clarification statement” setting out the ..... implications of revenue-sharing telephone numbers. It said revenue-sharing numbers worked either by making a direct payment to the department receiving the call or as a discount on the overall cost of the bill from the telephone provider. It said all departments were required to know who retained the additional revenue and to achieve transparency with the public."

"Central government departments now have to provide the Council with information about how any revenue-sharing arrangements work and to outline which number range “best meets their needs” by the end of June.

The statement said 03 numbers offered an alternative to 084 and 087 "



http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/4856/call_centres_face_084_number_inq

Mysteriously, EHI Primary Care gets the scoop on this type of story again ......  how long before it appears in the national press?

The Contact Council has now published guidance "Clarification Statement on Telephone Number Ranges":

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/218872/numbering_clarification.pdf


Quote:

A key feature of NTS is that the regulatory framework makes revenue sharing possible between the Terminating Communication Provider (TCP) and the department or organisation receiving the call. For 0845 and 0870 numbers, the charge made to the caller is either retained by the TCP or shared with the department receiving the call. The latter is commonly called “revenue sharing”. Where revenue sharing, takes place the department should agree with the TCP how that payment is received. This could be either a direct payment to the department or as a discount on the overall communications charge paid to the TCP. All departments are required to know who retains this additional revenue and to ensure transparency to the public. These are both significant factors in deciding the most appropriate number range for their callers.