Speaking at an event hosted by the Direct Marketing Association last night (31 October), Vaizey said he’s “keen on seeing if we are able to change the regulations to lead them to more realistic”. Lowering the load of proof the data Commissioner’s Office must act against suspected offenders is one measure he cited with consensus support.

The minister’s comments came shortly after the publication of a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Nuisance Calls, chaired by backbench MPs Mike Crockart and Alun Cairns, which Vaizey said has done “an amazing amount of labor at the issue”, making 16 recommendations including those above.

Changing rules around consumers’ consent for direct marketing is, however, a “thorny issue” that may be difficult to implement, Vaizey admitted. 

The APPG’s report, backed by consumer association Which?, argues consent should expire after 12 months, however the DMA says this might hamper direct marketing for purposes equivalent to contract renewals and desires an extended closing date.

Any new regulations usually are made using ‘statutory instruments’ that don’t require a vote, Crockart and Cairns said on the launch of the APPG’s report earlier on Thursday. These could take effect early in 2014. Vaizey confirmed: “We don’t want heavy-handed regulations that take months to get through Parliament.”

The consultations and rule changes will follow publication of an action plan by the dept for Culture, Media and Sport, authored by Vaizey, which was originally because of be released yesterday (31 October). It has now been delayed to take into consideration the findings of a separate Parliamentary Select Committee report, and could pop out “in the following couple of weeks”, Vaizey said.

Other measures he’s believed to be considering include enabling data sharing between regulators Ofcom and the ICO, new standards around tracing and displaying caller IDs and a shopper awareness campaign using messages printed on phone bills.