In April a motion was referred to the Finance and Resources Committee:


Quote:

“With the ever increasing number of Aberdeen citizens who use a mobile telephone as against a land line, officers be instructed to bring forward a report as a matter of urgency, to the next appropriate committee, identifying ways in which 0845 numbers used by our services can be replaced with a local number, which will reduce the cost to our citizens.”

The report (PDF) was published at the end of last month.

It presents four options:

1. Continue using 0845 non-geographic numbers for major services as per current practice.

2. Retain 0845 numbers but offer an alternative local (01224) number for callers using mobile phones.

3. Introduce the 03 (non-geographic) number series for use by government organisations. Callers pay no more for calling 03 numbers than they do for calling a geographic number (01 or 02) according to the call package they have and the line they are calling from.

4. Switch from 0845 numbers to 01224 numbers for all main services.


The Recommendation to the Committee is that it approves option 2, pending the outcome of Ofcom's review of non-geographic numbers and an ongoing Council project.