Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Quirk (Crossbench) on Tuesday, 17 November 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 December 2015. It was answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 1 December 2015 on behalf of the Treasury.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the press release by HMRC on 25 June, what initiatives HMRC have put in place to improve performance in respect of relieving public frustration at being able to make contact by telephone.

Answer

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recognise that their customer service has not been good enough, and have taken major steps to improve, including recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles, available outside normal office hours when many of their customers choose to call them. The process of recruiting and training the new staff is now complete. These improvements have started to make a difference. This month, HMRC have answered more than 80 per cent of calls, and average queue times are now around 10 minutes.


HMRC also recognise that some customers have been waiting too long for a response to their complaint. HMRC have recovery plans in place and their performance is improving week on week.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL3650
Session
2015-16
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Standards Telephone services Revenue and Customs
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk