Received the following today from Ministry of Justice,( Appeals Tribunal),

Ministry of Justice                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                        Access Rights Unit
                                                                                                          5th Floor, Boulton House
                                                                                                        17-21 Chorlton Street
                                                                                                        Manchester M1 3HY
                                                                                                        T 0161 238 6191
                                                                                                        F 0161 238 6161
                                                                                  E-mail   Stephen.hunt@iustice.qsi.gov.uk

                                                                                                         www.justice.gov.uk
Mr
Our Ref: 53250      17 September 2007
Your Ref:

Dear Mr

Subject: Freedom of Information Request

I am writing regarding your e-mail dated 18 August 2007, in which you requested information relating to the use of 0845 telephone numbers by the Tribunals Service, from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

For ease of reference, I will list your questions and answer each in turn.

Why do you use 0845 numbers?

This is a local business decision for the portability of the telephone number.

What is the equivalent geographical number?

I can confirm that the Department does not hold the information you are seeking, as there is not an equivalent geographical telephone number for the Customer Service Centre.


[b]What revenue do you receive per minute and in total from the use of 0845 numbers?[/b]

I can confirm that the Department does not hold the information you are seeking, as there is no revenue generated by the use of the 0845 telephone numbers at Leicester.

Are you aware of the revenue collected by your telecom provider from your callers?

I can confirm that this Department does not hold the information you are seeking. The 0845 telephone numbers are provided by COLT and as such, any details of revenue collected from callers would be held by them.


Have you considered the revised COI guidelines and if so what conclusions did you come to?

The COI guidelines have been considered, however the guidance is not mandatory and it is a matter for individual departments to decide whether they follow it.

Are you aware of the ASA/CAP rules on the use of these numbers? If so what conclusions did you come to?

We have been made aware of the rules on the use of 0845 telephone numbers and the necessary amendments will be made to the websites that mention local call numbers as soon as possible.

Do you realise that all calls (local/national) cost the same?

Calls to local geographic and national geographic numbers will vary depending on which telephone provider the caller uses and therefore not the same.

Do you realise that 0845 numbers now offer no cost advantage to callers irrespective of their location, only disadvantages?

When 0845 telephone numbers were first introduced, the costs associated with making calls to these numbers were cheaper due to them being pegged to BT's local rate. However, as the cost of calls have fallen, you are correct in that they no longer offer any cost advantage.

Are you aware of the cost implications to your callers, when using 0845 numbers?

The cost implications will depend on the telephone provider that the caller is using.

Please supply the geographical number for Information Tribunal contact details.

I can provide two telephone numbers for the Information Tribunal, however I would advise that these numbers can change. The telephone numbers are 0116 249 4322 and 0116 249 4378. For your information, once an appeal is made to the Information Tribunal, all parties are provided with the direct telephone number of the caseworker assigned to that appeal.



If you are unhappy with the result of your request for information, you may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter.

If you wish to request an internal review, please contact:

Access Rights Unit
Ministry of Justice
Post Point 6.17
Selborne House
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E6QW

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.



Information Tribunal ( Tribunals Service), website  http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/

Contact number still 0845 !!

derrick wrote on Mar 8^th, 2008 at 11:42am:

I have amended the entry which was title "Asylum and Immigration Tribunal" and renamed it "Tribunals Service" as the 0845 number is a general switchboard (some contact pages make this point) and appears on the contact page for several Tribunals, not just Asylum and Immigration one.

I suspect that the direct alternative for 0845 6000877 is as we have it; 0116 2494100. This is because (at present) both answer with the same network announcement; "This service is not compatible with this call."

The two 0116 geographicals given in the response are presumably for the Information Tribunal. This is provided because you specifically referred to its contact page. I have added these as a separate entry for "Tribunals Service - Information Tribunal".