Thank you for your email of 23 February regarding the use of non-geographic
telephone numbers (i.e. those that begin with 0870 and 0845) and in particular the
0870 number used by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Public Enquiry Office. This has
been considered to be a request for information in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

A non- geographic 0870 number is a National rate telephone number and is normally
provided free from Service Providers to assist businesses in improving customer
service through increased call handling thereby creating a professional ‘look’. There
are normally no set up, licence or maintenance fees but the cost of calling a National
Rate number varies depending on the time of day a nd from Service Provider to
Service Provider.

The use of non-geographic numbers in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is determined
at a local level in accordance with individual business requirements and individual
budget holders can order a 0870 (or other non-geographic) number if they believe
their use is justified and it is in line with their business requirements. 0870 numbers
are normally provided by BT, however, there are other providers who operate
competitively within the market place to whom budget holders could approach.

Information concerning non-geographic numbers, details of services accessed and
revenue is not held centrally. To gather and collate this information would involve
disproportionate costs and would exceed the upper limit of £600 set by the Fees
Regulations made under the Freedom of Information Act: these regulations can be
found on the internet at http://www.foi.gov.uk .

The MOD Public Enquiries Office non-geographic National Rate number was created
in June 2000 to provide a number for public enquiries chargeable at the same rate
from any fixed telephone in the United Kingdom, in accordance with Cabinet Office
guidelines – Better Practice Guidance for Government Contact Centres. The better
practice guidance is constantly being evaluated and is currently being updated for a
second edition. The geographic equivalent for the MOD Public Enquiries Office is 020
7218 6645 and +44 207 218 6645 from outside the UK.

It is recognised that some overseas callers may have difficulty using non-geographic
telephone numbers and the telephone contact information for general public
enquiries on the MOD website will be updated to include the geographic number so
that non-UK callers are not excluded.

If this information does not address your requirements or wish to complain about any
aspect of the handling of this request then you should contact the undersigned in the
first instance. Should you still be dissatisfied then you may apply for an internal
review by contacting the Director of Information Exploitation, 6th Floor, MOD Main
Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB.

If you remain unhappy following an internal review, you may take your complaint to
the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate
the case until the internal review process has been completed. Further details of the
role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the
Commissioner’s website, http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk .