Consumer Direct Mr. Hoban To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) hits the Consumer Direct website received and (b) consumer complaints were submitted to the website in each quarter since it became available. Mr. McCartney The Consumer Direct website has received 1,234,832 hits to date. A breakdown of the use of the website is listed in the table (annex a). The number of complaints submitted through the Consumer Direct website for each quarter is listed in the table (annex b). The Government established Consumer Direct to offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |Quarter 1|Quarter 2|Quarter 3|Quarter 4| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |English language1 | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Page views | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |1,015,946|1,049,485|1,084,412|— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |373,689 |472,270 |735,661 |664,767 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |—- |— |— |309,388 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Visits | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |213,784 |221,872 |232,206 |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |76,174 |105,412 |166,277 |152,901 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |— |— |— |62,254 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Visitors | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |200,394 |208,166 |217,487 |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |71,027 |96,712 |156,224 |143,533 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |— |— |— |58,640 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Welsh language2 | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Page views | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |1,276 |1,160 |1,189 |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |— |1,507 |1,061 |955 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |— |— |— |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Visits | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |658 |575 |1,189 |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |— |534 |493 |503 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |— |— |— |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Visitors | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |644 |564 |582 |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |— |510 |475 |494 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |— |— |— |— | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Statistics start on 30 September 20042 Statistics start on 31 March 2005Note:Q3 is not finished| | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |The regions| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |EE1 |EM2|LR3|NE4|NW5|SC6|SE7|SW8|WA9|WM10|YH11|Total| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004-05 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q1 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q2 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |03 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q4 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |||||||||||| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005-06 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q1 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q2 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q3 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q4 |188 |278|566|50|306|192|735|307|93|166|226|3,107| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006-07 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Ql |420 |631|1270|292|856|578|1,791|1,038|253|597|607|8,333| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q2 |462 |644|1444|361|878|508|1,935|1,259|280|379|766|8,916| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q3 |188 |229|473|127|315|243|705|420|113|204|239|3,256| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q4 |— |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|0| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |||||||||||23,612| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 East of England2 East Midlands3 London4 North-East5 North-West6 Scotland7 South-East8 South-West9 Wales10 West Midlands11 Yorkshire and the HumberSource:Secure Post Office Message Tracking Report March-October 2006| | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Hoban To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of setting up and running the Consumer Direct helpline has been in each quarter since it became available. Mr. McCartney The Office of Fair Trading became responsible for Consumer Direct on 1 April 2006. From historical information provided by DTI and OFT's own records, the cost of setting up and running the Consumer Direct helpline was: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |Amount (£)| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Year ended | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |31 March 20041 |3,000,000 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |31 March 20052 |12,500,000| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |31 March 20062 |18,500,000| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Quarter ended | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |30 June 2006 |4,276,552 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |30 September 2006 |3,929,618 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 This data has been provided by DTI from page 11 of their Consumer Direct Programme Closure Report, June 2006 (D06/538302).2 Data was not provided broken down by quarter.| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million. Mr. Hoban To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of the public used the Consumer Direct helpline in each quarter since it became available, broken down by region. Mr. McCartney The breakdown of the use of the Consumer Direct helpline is listed in the following table. The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |EE1 |EM1 |LR1 |NE1 |NW1 |SC1 |SE1 |SW1 |WA1 |WM1 |YH1 |Total | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004-05 | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q1 |— |— |— |— |— |778 |— |— |— |— |— |778 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q2 |— |— |— |— |— |24,029|— |15,251|13,320|— |23,864|76,464 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q3 |— |— |— |— |— |21,175|— |31,438|26,037|— |34,697|113,347 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q4 |1,326 |— |1,728 |— |— |25,454|5,549 |30,153|23,325|— |36,131|123,666 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005-06 | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q1 |17,393|8,393 |24,193|— |— |22,354|35,890|29,025|21,744|— |35,150|194,142 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q2 |29,707|21,761|44,159|— |— |22,062|50,175|36,379|22,541|— |38,822|265,606 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q3 |26,724|25,738|40,275|— |2,717 |24,226|43,904|32,657|21,719|130 |35,664|253,754 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q4 |34,767|30,184|48,551|4,251 |34,850|23,772|58,178|35,113|22,974|16,769|36,769|346,178 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006-07 | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q1 |35,242|29,113|43,702|14,459|42,970|25,614|60,087|34,747|23,598|24,696|34,917|369,145 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q2 |38,846|32,679|51,061|17,855|50,696|26,658|65,390|37,522|22,877|37,493|38,628|419,705 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q3 |23,497|17,578|26,343|9,344 |31,830|15,897|36,191|26,573|15,112|19,426|24,690|246,481 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Q4 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total | | | | | | | | | | | |2,409,266| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 The regions:EE = East of EnglandEM = East MidlandsLR = LondonNE = North-EastNW = North-WestSC = ScotlandSE = South EastSW = South WestWA = WalesWM = West MidlandsYH = Yorkshire and the HumberSource:ACD Daily Stats submitted by each Consumer Direct Regional Centre from inception to latest available data (week commencing20 November 2006).| | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Hoban To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost to date has been of the Consumer Direct initiative. Mr. McCartney The OFT became responsible for Consumer Direct on 1 April 2006. From historical information provided by DTI and OFT's own records, the cost of the Consumer Direct initiative to30 September 2006 has been £42,206,170. The Government established Consumer Direct to offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million. Mr. Hoban To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget of Consumer Direct is for each year until 2010; and whether he plans to continue to fund this service beyond this date. Mr. McCartney The budget for Consumer Direct for each year until 2010 currently stands at £19,000,000. We are unable to confirm funding of this service beyond March 2010 until this is agreed between the OFT and Treasury. The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.