§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the public information telephone inquiry lines operated by his Department, in each case indicating the costs of establishing, operating and publicising these lines and the number of calls made to them up until this point; when they were established; and what assessment his Department has made of their effectiveness. [17454]
§ Mr. JackMAFF has set up two public telephone helpline services with local call rate charging facilities. The general MAFF helpline, launched in May 1993, provides a one-stop point of contact for individuals or organisations seeking information about or advice from the Ministry. The more specialist consumer helpline was set up in April 1990 to act as a focal point for enquirers needing information from the food safety directorate. Both units also handle written and faxed public enquiries, and in the case of the MAFF helpline, those received by e-mail. The start-up costs for these services were approximately £21,000, and annual running costs are estimated at £90,000. Since the introduction of both services, over 62,000 calls have been received. The effectiveness of the helpline services are measured by regular annual increases in the volume of calls dealt with, by the high proportion of calls handled directly without onward referral and by their success in meeting citizens charter targets on the way in which they deal with inquirers and the time limits for response.