Press Release

SMITH STANDS UP FOR TELEPHONE CALL BOXES IN EDINBURGH WEST

19/01/05

Margaret Smith, MSP for Edinburgh West, has expressed her concern over the future of call boxes across the country.

Ofcom, the UK 's independent regulatory authority for the communications industry, last week launched a public consultation on the future of the Universal Service Obligations (USOs) which safeguard the right of all UK citizens to access to telephone services of some kind. It also gives local people a veto on plans to remove telephone call boxes.

Responding to the consultation Margaret Smith said:

“With the recent report by Sir William Stewart suggesting that mobile phones may be unsafe for young children, it is of crucial importance that parents can choose not to buy their child a mobile phone, and still feel secure that their child could contact them in an emergency by using a call box.

“The local veto is critical to ensuring that Public Call Boxes continue to provide a safety net to children and the more vulnerable citizens in my constituency.

“BT claims the local veto has become ‘unduly restrictive'. I feel that further losses of our public call boxes would unduly restrict the rights of parents to choose what is safe and appropriate for their children.”

ENDS