Response received earlier today. The reply is from the GTC's lawyer.

<<
I refer to your email dated 22 August 2005 and the attached email dated 19 July 2005.

May I apologise for you not having had a response to your email of 19 July 2005. this was caused by an administrator error on our part.

I have noted the points raised by you in your initial email and, adopting the same paragraph numbering as per your email, respond to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as follows:

1.
In the event that you are experiencing difficulties in accessing the GTC’s usual contact number (0870 001 0308), the equivalent geographic number which you may use from overseas is 00 44 121 345 0110. This is a direct line to the GTC’s teacher enquiry service and, unlike the national 0870 number, has no facility for the caller to hear a pre-recorded message which may speed up the enquiry or give the caller the option to leave a message, particularly if calling out of hours. For this reason, if you intend to use this number, you may wish to do so during our normal office hours, ie. 9.00am to 5.00pm.

2.
The decision to use an 0870 telephone number was taken by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) project group which was responsible for planning and founding the GTC. The decision was taken and arrangements made to use the number prior to the GTC coming into being in September 2000 and was not the subject of any decision making process by the Council or any of its Committees. Accordingly we do not have in our possession any supporting information, for example meeting notes relating to the decision to use the 0870 telephone number. At the time the decision was taken, the DfES would have taken account of good practice and the technological options at their disposal. Members of staff involved in the set-up of the GTC were also well informed in their own areas of responsibility.

If there is any initial paperwork or documentation relating to the telephone number decision still in existence, they may be held by the DfES.

continued...

...

3.
The GTC does not receive any revenue/rebate from its use of the 0870 telephone number. This is because the GTC does not use an agent but instead purchases the telephone number direct from the supplier. As a result the GTC does not make any per call gain and there is no usage charge for the 0870 number.

4.
The managed telephone service is supplied to the GTC by the following company:

Global Crossing
Chineham Gate
Crockford Lane
Basingstoke
RG24 8NA

Telephone: 01256 732250
Fax: 01256 732 606
http://globalcrossing.com

5.
I have spoken to colleagues who respond to enquiries and they inform me that they are not aware of overseas callers experiencing difficulty contacting the GTC through the 0870 number. On the contrary, I have been informed that they have received enquiries from many overseas callers without difficulty.

6.
I am advised by colleagues that the GTC is aware of the guidance from the Central Office of Information. However, any discussions which may have arisen regarding the guidance were not held in a formal meeting environment and consequently no minutes of meeting or other supporting information exists in relation to the conclusions reached by GTC staff. The GTC does, however, see benefits in using an 0870 number. These include, in the event of circumstances such as the organisation moving offices (which occurred less than twelve months ago) or should the GTC choose to switch telephone service provider. In both instances the GTC is able to retain the existing telephone number, a factor which not only provides a financial saving for the GTC but also avoids significant disruption and inconvenience to the organisation’s users.

General Teaching Council for England is now moving to 03 numbers:

http://www.gtce.org.uk/teachers/features/new_tes_number/

However, this message does still contain some nonsense right at the end:  ::)


Quote:

Using an 0870 number also ensured that all teachers who called us were charged at the same rate.  Using a geographical number (e.g. 0121 or 0207) would have resulted in some teachers paying more than others, depending on their geographical location. As stated above, some businesses used 0870 numbers to generate revenue. The GTC never did this.  We purchased the telephone number direct from the supplier and as a result, there was no per call gain and no usage charge for the 0870 number.

Dave wrote on May 31^st, 2009 at 2:21pm:

General Teaching Council for England is now moving to 03 numbers: http://www.gtce.org.uk/teachers/features/new_tes_number/ However, this message does still contain some nonsense right at the end:  ::)

Yes, the second paragraph is utter nonsense but the first is too if it refers to calls made after 1 July 2004 (the date on which BT abolished 'local' and 'long distance' charge differentiation).