Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Eric Illsley (Labour). It was answered on Monday, 1 February 2010 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Jobcentre Plus

Question: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that response, and particularly for her reference to the anniversary of labour exchanges. My constituents and my local citizens advice bureau have complained to me about the use of 0845 numbers in jobcentres. Claimants seem to wait a very long time before their query is dealt with. Although jobcentres offer to call claimants back, by that time they have spent a considerable amount of money dealing with that telephone inquiry. Can the Government move away from 0845 numbers altogether?

Answer: My hon. Friend raises an important point. I have asked for all the phone lines to be reviewed now that we have made important progress. I think he would agree that the first step was to get the deal with mobile phone companies so that people were not being charged for the important calls setting up their benefit claims, which can be the longest calls that people make. The 0845 numbers have traditionally been used for shorter calls, and as my hon. Friend rightly says, Jobcentre Plus will call back any customer who is concerned about the cost of calls, but I have asked the Department to look at what further we can do to support all our customers. He will appreciate that cost always has to be taken into account, but we want to make it as easy as possible for people to get the help that they need, particularly to get back into employment.

Secondary information