Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau

HC Deb 19 May 1999 vol 331 cc369-70W

Mr. Norman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone lines there are for the public switchboard at Lunar House; how many telephone calls were received on average each day in the last 12 months; and how many staff man the telephone lines between 9 am and 5 pm. [84102]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

There are currently 30 lines open into the Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau (INEB).

The average number of calls into the INEB each day for the five months from 7 December (the date on which the new system went live) was 41,462. Figures are not available for the seven preceding months, when the old system operated.

During the month of April, an average of 35 staff each day were logged in to the telephone system and were available to answer telephone calls. The average number of staff in post in the INEB as a whole during April was 73. This figure includes managers and staff engaged in answering written inquiries.