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1020727

registered interest
date	06/12/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of her Department’s call centres.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Dan Carden
uin	199909
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>The Department continuously monitors the efficiency and effectiveness of our telephony centres. We monitor a range of performance areas on a weekly, daily and real-time basis, as well as seeking customers’ feedback of the service and use this for continuous improvement. We also conduct trials and tests to ensure we understand the most optimal model of service delivery, learning iteratively and applying that learning to all parts of our service, including Pensions, Child Maintenance, Disability Services and Universal Credit.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/12/2018 13:21:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4651 label Biography information for Dan Carden

1020729

registered interest
date	06/12/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve the performance of customer-facing services provided by her Department in terms of (a) time taken to answer a telephone call and (b) assistance provided.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Dan Carden
uin	199910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/12/2018 answer text <p>The Department regularly reviews the numbers of people working at key points during our operating hours to ensure we have the right number of people available to answer customer calls. Services and staff training are continually monitored and assessed, both in real time to meet any short term peaks in demand and also reviewed for longer term improvements to ensure the service continues to meet customer service expectation. For example, a recent improvement is the new routed telephony service for Universal Credit Full Service claims, introduced this summer, in which claimants with an existing claim are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with their case.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is taking a range of steps to improve assistance and accessibility of our services.</p><p> </p><p>- On telephony, the Department is currently reviewing all call scripts and instructions for DWP telephony agents to identify necessary improvements in the assistance given to claimants requesting communications in alternative formats, such as large print, braille and audio. We have also, over the past year, extended the provision of British Sign Language to deaf claimants calling the Department through the Video Relay Service, which connects them to telephony agents via a third party translator.</p><p>- On digital, for example with Universal Credit, in addition to being a 24 hour, seven day a week, digital service, claimants are able to check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes via an online journal facility at a time that suits them. For those requiring help, assistance to access digital service help is available through Universal Support. Assisted Digital Support, which is a component of Universal Support, provides help, support and skills claimants need to make and maintain their digital account online. Further support is offered via training courses which claimants are referred to by their work coaches. Additionally, all Jobcentres across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet and in exceptional circumstances, a home visit can be arranged to support a claimant in making and maintaining their claim.</p><p> </p><p>- The Department has an ongoing programme of improvement in place to ensure that written communications to our customers are as clear and accessible as possible. Additional information and resources are available on all DWP services via the Gov.uk website.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 12/12/2018 15:43:44 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4651 label Biography information for Dan Carden

1020013

registered interest
date	04/12/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has contracts with external companies to provide call centre staff to advise social security claimants who contact DWP helplines.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	198860
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>The department has several contracts with external companies to answer calls from social security claimants across a range of DWP helplines.</p><p> </p><p>Details as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Supplier</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Contract</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Brief Description</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Serco</p></td><td><p>PIP</p></td><td><p>For customers wishing to make a claim for PIP</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4"><p> </p></td><td><p>UC</p></td><td><p>For customers requiring an appointment for their UC claim</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warm Home Discount</p></td><td><p>For Pension Credit customers requiring help with fuel bills</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Package B</p></td><td><p><ul><li>Carers Allowance – for customers wanting a claim pack</li><li>DLA/AA – for customers wanting a claim pack</li><li>National Benefit Fraud Helpline – taking details from citizens wanting to report suspected fraud activity</li><li>NINO appointments - making an appointment for NINO applicants</li><li>Jobcentre Enquiry Line – for customers wishing to contact a Jobcentre</li></ul></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Support for Mortgage Interest</p></td><td><p>For customers requiring an Informed Discussion about help with mortgage interest</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>G4S</p></td><td rowspan="2"><p>CMG Options</p></td><td rowspan="2"><p>For separating parents requiring advice about maintenance options</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Package A</p></td><td><p><ul><li>Pension Credit claims – for customers wishing to claim Pension Credit</li><li>Pension Credit Enquiries – for customers enquiring about their Pension Credit claim</li><li>State Pension Enquiries – for customers enquiring about their State Pension claim</li><li>Winter Fuel Enquiry Line – for customers enquiring about Winter Fuel payments</li><li>Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) New Claims – for customers wishing to claim JSA</li><li>Jobseekers Allowance Online (JSAOL) – appointment booking for customers applying for JSA online</li></ul></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Teleperformance</p></td><td><p>Pension Wise</p></td><td><p>First point of contact for customers requiring a Pension Wise appointment</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/12/2018 14:24:01 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

982484

registered interest
date	08/10/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134635 on the Department for Work and Pensions: telephone services, how many times her Department has made a referral to the National Trading Standards Board about a website that has failed to publicise the cost of a call to her Department since the introduction of freephone numbers in 2017.
tabling member constituency	Stockton South
tabling member printed	Dr Paul Williams
uin	176702
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2018 answer text <p>Since the introduction of freephone numbers at the end of 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions has referred 6 websites to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau following concerns about the how the information relating to the cost of calls is displayed.</p><p> </p><p>The referrals were made to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau rather than the National Trading Standards Board due to the nature of the concerns relating to the information on the cost of calls.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/10/2018 16:07:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4666 label Biography information for Dr Paul Williams

967938

registered interest
date	04/09/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) Ofcom and (b) the Phone-paid Services Authority on call connection service access to the helplines her Department provides; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	170372
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2018 answer text <p>Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), have met with both Ofcom and the Phone-paid Services Authority. Officials from DWP have provided evidence that informed the recently announced Ofcom consultation on the review of the Premium Rate Services Condition.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/09/2018 14:56:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

900513

registered interest
date	09/05/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the maximum target holding time is for calls to the Tell Us Once phone line.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
tabling member printed	Ruth Smeeth
uin	142493
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2018 answer text <p>There is no maximum target holding time for calls to the Tell Us Once phone line.</p><p>The average speed to answer from 2<sup>nd</sup> April 2018 to date is forty-five seconds.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 17/05/2018 12:37:37 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4508 label Biography information for Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent

900075

registered interest
date	08/05/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) shortest, (b) average, and (c) longest waiting times for each of her Department's public telephone lines in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	141701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2018 answer text <p>Data to indicate the average waiting times for each of the Department’s telephone lines is presented in the table below. This reflects the overall performance during the period from April 2017 to March 2018, representing the most recent 12 months for which data is currently available.</p><p> </p><p>The Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measures the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers prior to answer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Average Speed of Answer </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National DLA Adult</p></td><td><p>00:03:15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>DWP Online Helpdesk</p></td><td><p>00:00:57</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Employment and Support Allowance Enquiry</p></td><td><p>00:11:43</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jobseekers Allowance Enquiry English</p></td><td><p>00:09:48</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Income Support Enquiry</p></td><td><p>00:04:15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jobcentre Enquiry Line</p></td><td><p>00:06:29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td><td><p>00:04:44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universal Credit Live Service</p></td><td><p>00:05:35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universal Credit Full Service</p></td><td><p>00:03:58</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The information requested regarding the shortest and longest waiting times could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Please note:</p><p> </p><p>Data source is: HMI 5A report - GI2 telephony data</p><p> </p><p>The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 11/05/2018 14:13:09 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

894770

registered interest
date	30/04/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the procedures her Department has in place to ensure that pension enquiries from members of the public are resolved in a reasonable time period; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Ross, Skye and Lochaber
tabling member printed	Ian Blackford
uin	139514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2018 answer text <p>For customers wishing to enquire about future pension provision they can request an on-line State Pension forecast. The majority of forecasts are through ‘Check Your State Pension’ or issued the same day, with any follow up enquiries resolved at the point of enquiry.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has a dedicated telephone line for citizens wishing to enquire about any aspect of State Pension. 95% of all incoming calls are answered in real time, with the remaining 5% withdrawing from call waiting queue without being answered. This may be due to demand or customer choice.</p><p> </p><p>The most recent published survey for period 2016/2017 states that 86% of customers are satisfied with the service offered by DWP. Satisfaction amongst State Pension customers had an overall satisfaction rate of 93%, with 62% stating they are “very satisfied” with the service provided.</p><p> </p><p>Services are continually monitored and assessed both in real time to meet any short term peaks in demand and also reviewed for longer term improvements to ensure the service continues to meet customer service expectation.</p><p> </p><p>There are of course other resources for citizens to enquire about future pension entitlement, for example Pension-wise and Gov.uk.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 03/05/2018 08:47:52 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4390 label Biography information for Ian Blackford

872821

registered interest
date	27/03/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) Ofcom and (b) the Phone-paid Services Authority on call connection service access to the helplines her Department provides; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	134634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2018 answer text <p>Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have met a number of times and discussed call connection services. DCMS have held follow up discussions with Ofcom and the Phone-paid Services Authority (the regulator of Premium Rate Services) and will be bringing together all parties on this issue.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/04/2018 11:11:21 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

872822

registered interest
date	27/03/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that (a) the gov.uk website and (b) internet providers advertise the correct information on the cost of calls to her Department's helplines; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	134635
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2018 answer text <p>a) All information is controlled centrally and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regularly reviews and updates the data on the cost of calls held on gov.uk to ensure it remains accurate. The Department has updated all relevant DWP pages on gov.uk with the freephone numbers that were introduced by the end of 2017.</p><p> </p><p>b) Where the Department identifies that a website fails to publicise, or advertises incorrect call costs, we will make a referral to the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) to investigate and prosecute if appropriate following investigation. The Department is also working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to maximise the use of regulatory powers for Premium Rate Telephony services.</p><p> </p><p>c) The Department also attends the cross government working party on misleading websites, sharing knowledge and best practices in dealing with those websites who seek to make profit from misleading citizens.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/04/2018 11:07:52 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens