HC Deb 22 January 2002 vol 378 c811W
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 the hon. Member.

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. I hope this is helpful.

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