PATRICIA Gibson, MP for North Ayrshire & Arran, has brought forward a Bill at Westminster seeking a change in the law to tackle nuisance calls.

The Unsolicited Marketing Communications (Company Directors) Bill, proposes to hold company bosses personally responsible for nuisance calls, by giving the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) the power to take action against directors of companies found to have made unsolicited marketing calls.

Currently the ICO only has the power to impose fines on companies rather than named company directors, enabling directors to escape paying the fines by closing down the company and setting up a new one – a practice known as “phoenixing”.

Of the 22 companies that have had fines imposed by the ICO since 2015, only six have paid or partially paid the fine, while the remaining sixteen have not paid the fines at all or have gone into liquidation.

The SNP Government will continue to take action using the consumer powers now available and will establish a taskforce focusing on practical ways of empowering and protecting consumers.

Patricia Gibson MP said: “Nuisance calls plague millions of people every single day and it is wrong that rogue companies are able to avoid paying the penalty for their unlawful actions.

“At best, nuisance calls can be an irritant; at worst they can blight the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“If passed, my Bill would hold named company bosses personally liable for fines imposed for unsolicited marketing calls – elevating the issue of nuisance calls to the boardroom and ensuring that company directors cannot escape responsibility by liquidating their companies.”

“If the UK government is serious about tackling the practice of cold-calling it should back my Bill and give the ICO the powers needed to pursue those whose companies are responsible for breaching guidelines on cold calling. This would benefit the consumer, require no funding from the taxpayer and act as a strong deterrent to firms engaging in this practice.”