Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeSupplementary written evidence submitted by the Direct Marketing Association
Briefing Note to Members of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in response to a question as to how the rules on cold calling apply to MPs in their constituency casework and political campaigning asked during John Mitchison’s evidence session on 3 September 2013.
1. Distinction Between Customer Service Calls and Direct Marketing Calls
The Information Commissioner’s Office’s definition of direct marketing includes the promotion of a political party’s aims and ideals. The Information Tribunal accepted this definition in the Scottish National Party case in 2006. The judgement is available at
http://foiwiki.com/foiwiki/info_tribunal/DBFiles/Decision/i111/SNP.pdf
Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, confirmed this when he spoke at the DMA Data Protection Conference in 2010.
Link below to ICO press release:
http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/pressreleases/2010/DMA_GUIDANCE_04032010.ashx
In the specific case of an MP cold-calling a constituent outside the timespan of an election campaign to ask whether or not they had any problems, this would be considered a customer service call provided there was no mention of the political party or any invitation to a local party event of fundraising activity.
During an election campaign it is impossible to split up the customer service call from a marketing call as by implication during an election period, the MP would also be promoting the political party they represented.
2. ICO Guidance
The ICO has a guidance page on its website specifically for MPs and political parties: see link below:
http://www.ico.org.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/political
The ICO Guidance for political parties for campaigning or promotional purposes is particularly relevant. See link below:
Question 9 in the document” What do I need to do when contacting individuals by telephone” deals with the issue of telemarketing:
“You must treat individuals fairly. If you are collecting telephone numbers from individuals in order to use them for direct marketing you will need to inform them that their information will be used in that way. If you obtain numbers from third parties you will need to be sure that the individual has been informed and has a reasonable expectation that their number will be used for promotional purposes by a third party such as a political party or the information has been obtained from publicly available directories.
“If a person has agreed to you telephoning them, then you may do so even if they have registered their number with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). Otherwise, however, you cannot make phone calls to anyone, including an existing supporter, who has registered with TPS or who has objected to you directly about the use of their information for direct marketing purposes. For more information, please visit the TPS website. When you are permitted to telephone an individual, you must identify yourself at the start of the call and if requested provide an address or number where you can be reached free of charge to object to marketing. You should also record and respect any objection to marketing made by the individual at the time of the call.
“If you want to use automated calling where a recorded message is played to the person who answers the phone you will need the prior consent of the individual. Obtaining consent to make ‘voice calls is not sufficient and the automated nature of the calls must be clear in the information given to individuals to inform their decision. You must identify yourself in the message and provide an address or number where you can be reached free of charge. It is worth noting that many individuals have told us that they consider automated calls to be extremely intrusive and even disturbing.”
3. Latest guidance from ICO—September 2013
We understand that the Information Commissioner’s Office will be publishing, in the week beginning 9th September, more detailed guidance on direct marketing which explains the relevant rules in the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
September 2013