9 Missing children hotline
| (32306)
17296/10
COM(10) 674
| Commission Communication: Dial 116 000: The European hotline for missing children
|
| Legal base | —
|
| Document originated | 17 November 2010
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 3 December 2010
|
| Department | Business, Innovation and Skills
|
| Basis of consideration | EM of 22 December 2010
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | No date set
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared; further information requested
|
Background
9.1 In 2007, the Commission adopted a Decision requiring Member
States to reserve a six-digit number range starting with 116 for
services of social value which contribute to the well-being or
safety of citizens or help those in difficulty.[41]
The Decision also specified that Member States had to reserve
the number 116 000 for the operation of a hotline to report missing
children and ensure that, by the end of August 2007, the competent
regulatory authorities — Ofcom in the UK — were in
a position to make the number available to potential operators
of the hotline.
9.2 A Commission survey in June 2008 revealed that
Member States had done little to advertise the availability of
the number to potential operators. In 2009, the European Parliament
and Council adopted changes to the EU regulatory framework for
telecommunications which, amongst other things, required Member
States to:
- encourage the provision within
their territories of services of social value using the 116 prefix;
- ensure that disabled end-users are able to access
116 services;
- ensure that citizens are adequately informed
of 116 services and how to use them, especially when travelling
in other Member States; and
- make every effort to provide citizens with access,
via 116 000, to a hotline to report missing children, at the latest
by 25 May 2011.[42]
The Commission Communication
9.3 The Commission says that the purpose of reserving
the number 116 000 for a hotline to report missing children is
to "ensure that the same service is always associated with
the same number across the entire European Union. Having the same
hotline number will help children and parents in distress to find
help when outside their Member State of origin, for example if
a child goes missing during a family holiday."[43]
It wants the hotline to be fully operational, and to provide the
same high quality of service, in all EU Member States. According
to the Commission, so far it is only operational in 13 Member
States (including the UK, where the Commission says that the hotline
is "partially operational").[44]
9.4 The Communication considers the obstacles which
have prevented the hotline from becoming operational in all Member
States, highlights possible solutions and best practice, and suggests
minimum standards needed to guarantee a high quality of service.
Obstacles to implementation of the hotline
9.5 The Commission identifies two key issues which
have delayed the implementation of the 116 000 hotline in all
Member States. First, studies indicate that there is a general
lack of awareness about the hotline and insufficient information
in some Member States to enable potential hotline operators to
apply for assignation of the number. Second, difficulties in financing
the hotline have deterred potential operators. The hotline has
to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by suitably qualified
individuals who are able to respond in more than one language.
Staff training costs are therefore likely to be substantial. Moreover,
as the hotline is required to be a freephone number, potential
operators may not be willing or able to cover the costs of calls.
At a practical level, it seems that 116 000 number may not be
available to all users of mobile phones or to those making international
calls.
Examples of best practice
9.6 The Commission highlights examples of good practice
which have helped some Member States to overcome the problems
associated with costs and lack of awareness of the hotline number.
These include information campaigns; close cooperation between
Member State governments and their national regulatory authorities
to identify suitable hotline operators; and various funding options
to cover the running costs of the hotline. Some hotlines are financed
wholly or partly from public funds; from national lottery grants;
or by telecoms operators as part of a corporate social responsibility
programme. In one Member State, mobile phone operators have agreed
to cover the telephone costs of calls to the hotline.
Common minimum standards
9.7 The Commission says that it is important for
parents and children to receive the same quality of service and
assistance when they call a 116 000 hotline, regardless of where
they call from. It identifies a number of best practices established
in Member States where the hotline is already operational which
include:
- ensuring that the service is
available in the language of the Member State in which it is provided
and also (at a minimum) in English;
- providing specific staff training and a follow-up
service, where appropriate, after the closure of a case;
- ensuring that transnational cases are re-directed
to the relevant authority; and
- encouraging cooperation agreements between hotline
service providers and the relevant national enforcement or judicial
authorities.
9.8 The Commission says that it will continue to
monitor progress by Member States in implementing measures to
make the hotline fully operational, including through an annual
stakeholders meeting, and may propose legislation if it considers
that insufficient progress has been made within a reasonable timeframe.
The Government's view
9.9 The Minister for Culture, Communications and
Creative Industries (Mr Edward Vaizey) welcomes the Communication
which serves as "a timely reminder to all Member States that
116 000 should be implemented as soon as possible" so as
to ensure "that all EU citizens, wherever they are in the
27 Member States, have access to this important pan-European service."
9.10 The Minister explains that Ofcom is responsible
for the reservation and assignment of the 116 000 number in the
UK. The number was allocated to the charity "Missing People"
and its chosen telecommunications provider (British Telecommunications)
in May 2010. 116 000 operates alongside the charity's existing
helpline numbers and will replace them from April 2012. The Minister
says that low-key promotion of the 116 000 number will start in
January 2011 at selected UK entry points, based on pan-European
marketing material provided by Missing Children Europe, followed
by a high profile launch of the number in April 2012.
9.11 The Communication states that the 116 000 hotline
is only "partially operational" in the UK because one
(un-named) communications provider in the UK does not currently
provide access to the 116 000 number. The Minister continues:
"In the UK,
only British Telecom has
an obligation to provide access to all telephone numbers.
However one operator has taken the commercial decision not to
provide access to 116 000. This decision has been taken as it
is their view that the wholesale charging structure was unacceptable
for a 'free to caller' number originating on a mobile network
and therefore would not cover their costs of efficient call origination.
(Note: the UK has gone further than the Decision and requires
calls to some 116 numbers to always be 'free to caller' rather
than 'freephone', where charges can apply provided the caller
is informed).
"Ofcom are currently in negotiations with
the operator on this matter and are considering whether access
obligations for 116 000 could or should be strengthened.
"It is worth noting that there is a new
requirement in the amended telecommunications package (Article
27a of the Universal Service and Users' Rights relating to Electronic
Communications Networks & Services directive — 2002/22/EC)
for Member States to promote all 116 numbers. This should include
measures to encourage the provision of those services and to ensure
that disabled end-users have access to these numbers whilst travelling.
"Work on implementing this is being taken
forward by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
as part of the larger project to implement the Revised European
Communications Framework package of directives. The Department
will work closely with all interested Government Departments and
agencies in the implementation of these provisions."[45]
Conclusion
9.12 While it is clear that implementation of
the hotline is further advanced in the UK than in many other Member
States, we note with concern that it is still not considered to
be fully operational because one telecommunications provider does
not provide access to the 116 000 number. We think that this is
not only highly regrettable, but that it is also likely to be
highly counter-productive if, as the Commission suggests, further
EU legislation may be proposed to ensure that the hotline is fully
operational in all Member States. While we are content to clear
the Communication from scrutiny, we ask the Minister to inform
us of the outcome of negotiations currently being conducted by
Ofcom to ensure universal access to the 116 000 number in the
UK.
41 See Commission Decision 2007/116/EC of 15 February
2007, OJ L 49, 17.2.2007, pp 30-33. Back
42
See Article 27a of the Universal Service Directive (Directive
2009/136/EC, amending Directive 2002/22/EC); HC 19-xviii (2008-09),
chapter 13 (3 June 2009) and HC 19-xiv (2008-09), chapter 1 (22
April 2009). Back
43
See paragraph 2, page 3 of the Commission's Communication. Back
44
The hotline is operational in Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Spain and the UK. Back
45
See paragraphs 38-41 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum.
Back
| 
