To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what use (a) his Department and (b) service providers under contract to his Department make of (i) 0844 and 0845 telephone numbers and (ii) revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public; for which services such numbers are used; what prefixes are used for revenue-sharing numbers; how much revenue has accrued from revenue-sharing numbers in each of the last five years; what consideration his Department has given to introducing 03-prefixed telephone numbers for calls to all such services; and if he will make a statement. (247335)

From the central records that are available, (i) there are seven 0845 telephone numbers services administered by the Department for public use. These are

0845 015 0010: BERR Publications Orderline

0845 015 0020: BERR Publications Orderline (Fax)

0845 015 0030: BERR Publications Orderline (Minicom)

0845 019 0001: Personnel Training Services Consortium

0845 600 0678: National Minimum Wage

0845 600 9006: Business Link Helpline

0845 955 5105: Employment Agency Standards.

The Department does not operate any revenue-sharing numbers. No records are held to show if the Department has ever used or benefited financially from revenue-sharing numbers in the past five years.

No telephone information is available from BERR's central records on the use of 0844/5 and revenue-sharing numbers by its contracted service providers

The Department has no immediate plans to use 03 prefixed numbers.