Government is creating a 'faceless Britain' with remote and inhuman call centres - Clegg

3.08.54pm GMT Fri 7th Mar 2008

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has today launched a campaign against 'Faceless Britain': the Government's increasing reliance on remote call centres to provide essential services.

Research by the party shows that the increasing use of call centres has resulted in the cost being shunted to the user, especially the poorest who have no choice but to call from a mobile phone. The research shows:

· Nearly a quarter of people earning under £11,500 don't have access to a landline, that amounts to over 2 million people

· Call centres for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are costing mobile phone customers up to £400 million a year

· The cost of an average call to Jobcentre Plus Benefits (40-50 mins) on a mobile can be equal to half a week's Jobseeker's Allowance for someone aged over 25.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg yesterday met with mobile phone companies, Ofcom and the Citizens Advice Bureau to discuss how the Government could make certain helplines free, regardless of the type of phone used to make the call.

Commenting on the start of the 'Faceless Britain' campaign, Nick Clegg said:

"More and more services that used to offer face-to-face contact are being replaced by remote and inhuman call centres leaving consumers paying the price.

"We are witnessing the progression of an unaccountable state, creating increasingly remote services divorced from the people they are supposed to serve.

"So-called 'freephone' or local numbers are a prohibitively expensive option for the millions of callers who are reliant on mobile phones.

"Amid soaring tariffs and restrictive call packages, people who can't afford a landline often find themselves being charged more than a week's Jobseeker's Allowance just to make a claim for the benefits owed to them.

"Forcing people to phone up distant call centres is leaving vulnerable people with an annual mobile phone bill of £400 million. I have met with mobile phone companies and the telecomms regulator as a first step in a campaign to make sure the state remains accountable to its citizens."