HC Deb 10 January 2002 vol 377 cc998-9W
Jeremy Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what were the staffing levels for each of the last five years in the Benefits Agency offices at(a) Elthorne road, London N19, and (b) Seven Sisters road, London N7, the number of callers per day for the equivalent period and the average waiting time. [23637]

Malcolm Wicks

This is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Jeremy Corbyn, dated 9 January 2002: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your recent Parliamentary Question asking, if he will state the staffing levels for each of the last five years in the Benefits Agency offices at (a) Elthorne Road London N19 and (b) Seven Sisters Road London N7, the number of callers per day for the equivalent period and the average waiting time. The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is in the attached table.

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Seven Sisters road, Finsbury Park office
Average staff days per month (number) 443 377 348 379 369
Average number of callers per month (number) 5,912 5,631 5,217 5,695 5,039
Initial waiting time 10 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 57 57 43 34 41
Initial waiting time 30 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 82 94 91 87 85
Elthorne road, Highgate office
Average staff days per month (number) 315 329 304 402 427
Average number of callers per month (number) 5,340 4,936 4,602 5,050 4,553
Initial waiting time 10 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 72 43 68 70 63
Initial waiting time 30 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 98 85 100 100 97

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