As a Department we regularly review the resource required to meet the demand on our telephony channels. Our aim is to provide our customers with the prompt service they deserve but at times high call volumes can have an impact on the service we provide - which may result in some of our customers experiencing extended wait times.<\/p>
<\/p>
Following a recent review, plans are in place for additional staffing to be deployed to handle Employment and Support Allowance calls and following this, we anticipate wait times to reduce.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4105", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Justin Tomlinson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Swindon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Justin Tomlinson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-11-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-11-05T13:51:15.267Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment and Support Allowance: Telephone Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 198, what steps she is taking to improve telephone waiting times for the employment and support allowance telephone helpline.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Damian Hinds"} ], "uin" : "7707"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1150690", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1150690/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Department is committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. This support extends to those who are in prison, with dedicated Prison Work Coaches, who are available to support prisoners to complete their benefit claims and proceed to payment as quickly as possible, and to help them to understand what early work search activities might be helpful for them.<\/p>
<\/p>
DWP and MoJ have been working together to understand the potential barriers to a smooth transition from prison leaving to Universal Credit for those who wish to claim it. This includes, for example, exploring the use of prison documentation as proof of identity for Universal Credit claims where that would help speed the claim. Initial work to test different approaches to supporting prison leavers showed few additional results and low take-up of the support on offer, although the support of a work coach, where it was taken up, was shown to be beneficial in terms of making a claim quickly.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-28T15:23:46.733Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit: Prisoners' Release"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the (a) ease and (b) effectiveness of mechanisms for prisoners applying for universal credit prior to release from custody.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Damian Hinds"} ], "uin" : "1901"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1148867", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1148867/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The average wait time for calls to the Employment Support Allowance helpline in each month from October 2018 to September 2019 is shown in the table below in the format of hours:minutes:seconds.<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> <\/p><\/td> Average Wait Time<\/p><\/td><\/tr> October 2018<\/p><\/td> 00:11:30<\/p><\/td><\/tr> November 2018<\/p><\/td> 00:12:44<\/p><\/td><\/tr> December 2018<\/p><\/td> 00:21:36<\/p><\/td><\/tr> January 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:20:06<\/p><\/td><\/tr> February 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:20:47<\/p><\/td><\/tr> March 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:18:31<\/p><\/td><\/tr> April 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:29:56<\/p><\/td><\/tr> May 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:23:15<\/p><\/td><\/tr> June 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:17:29<\/p><\/td><\/tr> July 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:26:51<\/p><\/td><\/tr> August 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:26:17<\/p><\/td><\/tr> September 2019<\/p><\/td> 00:24:42<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/strong><\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4513", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mims Davies"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eastleigh"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mims Davies"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-21T15:49:30.943Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment and Support Allowance: Telephone Services"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time has been for calls to the Employment Support Allowance helpline in each month since October 2018.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Damian Hinds"}
], "uin" : "198"}
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