£50,000 nuisance call fund unveiled

A £50,000 fund has been announced to provide callblockers to those most at risk from nuisance calls.

Trading Standards Scotland will install 500 call-blockers for vulnerable people over the next year with the help of the Scottish Government cash.

The fund is part of an action plan announced by Economy Secretary Keith Brown.

Analysis of nine million calls received over a three-year period found that Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were in the top five UK cities receiving the highest percentages of nuisance calls.

Mr Brown said: “Nuisance calls disproportionately affect people in Scotland. They often target the elderly and the vulnerable and have the potential to be very harmful.

“Although there is no easy solution to this problem, our action plan contains a range of measures to raise awareness of nuisance calls, make it easier for people to identify them and take action to protect themselves.

“Our fund to install callblocking technology for our most vulnerable citizens is one such measure.

“The power to regulate in this area lies with the UK Government. I have written to the secretary of state for culture to call for greater action to reduce the volume of nuisance calls, including exploring a model which automatically opts people out of unwanted calls.”