Leigh lambasts DWP call centres

2 Nov 06
MPs have urged the Department for Work and Pensions to improve its 'unresponsive, overcomplicated and unreliable' telephone service.

03 November 2006

MPs have urged the Department for Work and Pensions to improve its 'unresponsive, overcomplicated and unreliable' telephone service.

The Public Accounts Committee said that, in 2004/05, millions of calls from benefit claimants were not answered promptly, with 21 million not answered at all. 'This has got to change,' said committee chair Edward Leigh.

Although the general move away from face-to-face services in local benefits offices to telephone-based contact was hailed by the MPs as a welcome advance in how the DWP interacts with citizens, there was criticism of service accessibility.

Leigh said: 'Calling contact centres can be very frustrating. There are at least 55 different telephone numbers for contacting the DWP and, quite incredibly, if you contact the wrong service, the department's technology will not enable your call to be transferred to the right service.'

He added that the efficient running of centres was compromised by the fact that staff were often drafted in from other parts of the DWP, and by complex and unreliable IT systems.

The PAC's November 2 report examined the cost-effectiveness and quality of service provided by 62 contact centres operated by Jobcentre Plus, the Pension Service and the Disability and Carers Service.

Between them, during 2004/05 the centres answered more than 33 million incoming calls, made 7 million outgoing calls, and handled 300,000 e-mails, 300,000 faxes and 4 million letters.

But only 56% of calls were answered, although this rate had improved to 84% in the first half of 2005/06. However, the committee said there was still scope for improvement and doubt over whether such increases could be sustained in the long term.

The report also noted that the telephone was not a convenient means of contact for everyone and should not be the only option available to DWP customers.

Although pensioners are able to arrange face-to-face interviews if they prefer, this option is not available for disabled customers.

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