Not wishing to put any negative slant on this as it is a good start , but I am a realist . The Scottish Government does not have the legal ability to enforce BT et al to change its exchange equipment programming to employ filters to block this kind of thing , that is reserved to Westminster . I honestly don’t see any real difference UNLESS Government Scotland are allowed to trace these calls to source and if they originate from Scottish/English soil then criminal charges could be raised . As WEstminster wont allow this how possibly can Holyrood ? Lets be honest this type of calling is used by all types of businesses and I cannot see regulations being drawn up by Westminster which has gone to enormous trouble to DE-regulate and remove Big Business from any “restrictions” of a legal nature under the UK- “Open for Business ” policy where this country is more “open ” now than the home of capitalism -the USA -at the expense of its citizens . Its a good public advertising campaign but this “old dog ” will just “bark ” at it.-woof-woof !

The shortish report in the conclusion says:
“The actions outlined in this plan, from partnerships between members to deliver a concerted week of campaigning, to interagency cooperation to identify people most in need of call blocking technology, are proof of what can be achieved when that collective energy is harnessed. We will play our part by implementing and building on the actions we’ve committed to here. We now urge the UK Government to show similar commitment and ensure that people all across the UK are protected from a nuisance calls epidemic that has already gone on too long.”

Really, raising awareness and providing call blockers to the vulnerable seem to be the main recommendations. On the whole, together with telecoms providers also giving a call blocking function, is this perhaps all that can realistically be done?

One matter it does not appear to provide a solution to is providing a central organisation to which you can report the telephone number of an “unwanted” caller. However the problem of undisclosed or false numbers will persist, I imagine.

I’m sorry to here that many in Scotland are still suffering from nuisance calls because after years of torment I now receive very few. (I’m a Scot living in England.)

I would be interested to know why call blockers are seen as a solution now that BT Call Protect is in operation and is a free service.

Attitudes towards nuisance calls:
○ 86% people agreed that cold calls are an annoying interruption to their daily life

One wonders if this also was the percentage of Ordinary Members of the Consumers’ Association contacted by Which? staff on how to vote on the Resolutions for change.

I bought a BT Call-blocking phone last year after being pestered many times a week. Brilliant. I can see a list of the calls that didn’t get through and there are lots, They didn’t disturb me. All the calls that are legitimate still get through. Really pleased with my purchase.

I have read the Scottish Government document, & even so am still not clear how they are planning to identify/prioritise their 500 vulnerable people.
I am already a member of TPS (having learnt of it through Which?) but receive at least 7-10 nuisance calls per week. I pay for caller display so am aware that these do not have numbers I can report, with the majority coming through as international.
I suffer from PTSD following an 8-9 year bullying campaign some of which was by phone (as well as face-to-face, by walkie-talkie across an organisation, post, online and doorstepping). As such I only answer unidentified calls when I have someone with me (which has enabled me to reduce some of them, as if you listen to recorded message one of options tends to be ‘press x to be removed from our calling list’). Would somehow the SG pick me up as vulnerable?
I do support their plan to start displaying call numbers from government bodies:
“3. Displaying a number for outbound calls
The Scottish Government does not display its number when making outbound calls,
which makes it difficult for members of the public to know who we are when we call.
In the coming months, we will be working to change this practice so that our number
is displayed, except where there are compelling reasons, such as security, not to do
so. We will work with public agencies across Scotland to do likewise” (Ref: A Response to
Scotland’s Nuisance Calls Commission –An Action Plan , Scottish Government Sept 2017)
Will DWP (nationwide, not just those benefits soon to be devolved)/NHS/Social Services follow suit?

When we retired we never knew how many calls were coming each day. Nuisance. Horrendous. We bought a BT blocker compatible phone set. Silence is golden. Problem is we both started getting them on our mobiles! Scream…….

For the last few days I’ve been receiving telemarketing calls that show as Private numbers. Now, I’m just going to have to block all calls that aren’t on my contacts list.
It’s sad to have to do this because it hurts proper businesses. I wrote to MPs and MSPs months ago. As yet no answer. Telemarketers currently have all the power but face none of the consequences.