On the back of the Traveline/LCC thread "Tax payers foot £32,000 sign bill "
http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1186701484I made a request to LCC for the number behind their 0845 053 000, the one they have supplied is different to the one in the database re the same 0845 number and has come straight from the horses mouth so to speak.
Dear Mr ******
Further to your recent request for information and our previous correspondence regarding this matter, with the exception of part (c), in relation to which we anticipate that we should be able to provide you with an answer by the end of this week, we are now in a position to respond to your enquiry insofar as it relates to Lancashire County Council's use of 0845 numbers. Each aspect is dealt with in turn below.
[b]a) Why do you use 0845 numbers?
[/b]
The main reasons behind Lancashire County Council's decision to use an 0845 contact number were to establish a single memorable number and to implement a non-geographic number that would cost the same when called from any location in Lancashire.
b) What is the equivalent geographical numbers?The equivalent geographical contact number for Lancashire County Council is 01772 254868.
c) What revenue do you receive per minute and in total from the use of 0845 numbers? d) Are you aware of the revenue collected by your telecom provider, from your callers?Lancashire County Council does not hold any information regarding the amount of revenue collected by our telecommunications provider from our callers.
e) Have you considered the revised COI guidelines?As the implementation of Lancashire County Council's '0845' service predated the publication of the guidelines to which you refer, they were not considered as part of the procurement process and consequently Lancashire County Council does not hold any information relevant to this aspect of your enquiry.
f) If so, what conclusions did you come to?Not applicable.
g) Are you aware of ASA/CAP rules on the use of these numbers?As the use of 0845 numbers by Lancashire County Council falls outside the scope of The CAP Code, Lancashire County Council does not hold any information relevant to this aspect of your enquiry.
h) If so, what conclusions did you come to?Not applicable.
i) Do you realise that all calls (local/national) cost the same?The Freedom of Information Act provides for the general right of access to recorded information held by public authorities and specifies the conditions which need to be fulfilled before an authority is obliged to comply with a request. Although Lancashire County Council does not hold any information relevant to this aspect of your enquiry, it is generally recognised that some service providers now charge the same rate for national and local calls. However, this depends on the particular service provider and the tariff chosen by the individual customer.
j) Do you realise that 0845 numbers now offer no cost advantage to callers, irrespective of their location, only disadvantages?As this part of your enquiry does not, in its present form, relate to recorded information held by Lancashire Council, we are unable to comply with this aspect of your request. However, in the event that you are able to rephrase this appropriately as a request for recorded information held by the Authority, we would be more than happy to deal with your enquiry in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
k) Are you aware of the cost implications to your callers, when using 0845 numbers?As above.
l) Please supply the geographical number for LCC.As specified in our response to point (b) the geographical general contact telephone number for Lancashire County Council is 01772 245868.
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Lancshire County Council 0845 (Read 7,944 times)
