Written question asked by John Barrett (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 3 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 December 2004. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 December 2004 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average length of time taken to answer calls made to the customer telephone number of the Tax Credit Office Customer Relations Team in Preston is.

Answer: John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of time taken to answer calls made to the customer telephone number of the Tax Credit Office customer relations team in Preston is. [203379] Dawn Primarolo: Tax credit customers phoning with a query or problem about their tax credits should ring the main Tax Credits Helpline on 0845 300 3900 (Great Britain) or 0845 603 2000 (Northern Ireland). These helplines are open seven days a week from 08:00 to 20:00. The Tax Credit Office's customer relations team deals with formal customer complaints and has a phone number that its customers can ring if they have a query. There are five lines, which are staffed throughout normal office hours and handle around 100 calls a day. The Tax Credit Office does not have information about the average length of time taken to answer calls to the customer relations team's phone number.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 203379; 428 c537-8W
Session: 2004-05
Subjects: Welfare tax credits Standards Telephone services Telephones Preston
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk