Mobile Phones: Pay-as-you-go

House of Lords written question – answered at on 16 July 2007.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Viscount Waverley Viscount Waverley Crossbench

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will make it compulsory for proof of identity to be produced when individuals apply for a pay-as-you-go mobile telephone SIM card.

Photo of Lord West of Spithead Lord West of Spithead Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office) (Security and Counter-terrorism)

This issue was considered in detail by an expert group comprising representatives of law enforcement, the security and intelligence agencies and communications service providers following the terrorist attack on London in July 2005. The experts' findings remain valid. They concluded that the compulsory registration of ownership of mobile telephones would not deliver any significant new benefits to the investigatory process and would dilute the effectiveness of current self-registration schemes.

Does this answer the above question?

Yes10 people think so

No4 people think not

Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.

House of Lords

The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.

The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.