Written question asked by Archie Norman (Conservative) on Tuesday, 11 May 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 May 1999. It was answered by Mike O'Brien (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 May 1999 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many telephone lines there are for the public switchboard at Lunar House; how many telephone calls were received on average each day in the last 12 months; and how many staff man the telephone lines between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. - Includes figures.

Answer: Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone lines there are for the public switchboard at Lunar House; how many telephone calls were received on average each day in the last 12 months; and how many staff man the telephone lines between 9 am and 5 pm. [84102] Mr. Mike O'Brien: There are currently 30 lines open into the Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau (INEB). The average number of calls into the INEB each day for the five months from 7 December (the date on which the new system went live) was 41,462. Figures are not available for the seven preceding months, when the old system operated. During the month of April, an average of 35 staff each day were logged in to the telephone system and were available to answer telephone calls. The average number of staff in post in the INEB as a whole during April was 73. This figure includes managers and staff engaged in answering written inquiries.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 84102; 331 c369-70W
Session: 1998-99
Subjects: Staff Telephone services Immigration and Nationality Directorate Lunar House
Contains statistics: Yes