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Written question asked by Paul Blomfield (Labour) on Monday, 12 March 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 14 March 2018. It was answered by Andrew Griffiths (Conservative) on Monday, 19 March 2018 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

ACAS: Telephone Services

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding has been provided from the public purse to Acas for its helpline in each of the last five years; and how many workers were assisted by Acas in that same period.

Answer

The funding for the Acas Helpline over the last 5 financial years is:

  • 2016/17 £14,162,000
  • 2015/16 £13,748,000
  • 2014/15 £13,191,000
  • 2013/14 £13,697,000
  • 2012/13 £14,512,000

The table below outlines the number of calls, pre-recorded advice sessions, webchats and Helpline Online advice sessions made over the past 5 years. Due to the confidential nature of the Acas Helpline advice is provided anonymously and no records are retained to identify customers who call more than once.

Current data shows 82% of calls to the Acas Helpline were made by employees or workers.

The number of contacts with Helpline Services during the same 5 years is as follows:

Helpline Service

2016-17

2015-16

2014-15

2013-14

2012-13

Helpline advice is available over the telephone or online via acas.org.uk/helpline

Voice calls answered

Helpline advice delivered over the telephone.

886,929

943,610

903,679

895,748

928,995

Pre-recorded advice sessions

Helpline callers can select pre-recorded advice regarding Minimum Wage, Holidays or Wage Deductions before being connected to an adviser.

27,000

25,487

22,527

25,550

25,664

Helpline Online sessions

Helpline Online is an interactive database of frequently asked questions written by Helpline advisers.

508,318

509,103

531,712

313,415

810

Webchat Sessions

Webchat allows real time text-based conversation with Helpline advisers.

2,688

4,099

2,672

n/a

n/a

Total Contacts

1,424,935

1,482,299

1,460,590

1,234,713

955,469

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
132146
Session
2017-19
Subjects
ACAS Telephone services
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk