HC Deb 18 June 2002 vol 387 cc319-20W
Mr. Swayne

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the budget of the Portsmouth Inland Revenue Contact Centre was in each of the last five financial years. [62622]

Dawn Primarolo

Portsmouth Contact Centre was opened on 6 November 2001, therefore the 2001–02 budget allocated to the site was for the period November 2001 to March 2002. The budgets for the two years to date are as follows:

£ million
2001–02 2002–03
Paybill 0.8 3.14
Other running costs 0.15 0.3

Mr. Swayne

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what performance measures there are at Inland Revenue call centres; if they are being met; and if he will make a statement. [62621]

Dawn Primarolo

The IRCC target to have no more than 5 per cent. of calls engaged and no more than 5 per cent. abandoned, with 90 per cent. of the balance answered in 20 seconds. Some of the new taxpayer sites have faced call volumes well above those predicted.

For the year ended March 2002, including the new sites, the overall achievement for all lines of business covered by contact centres and helplines was:

  • 41 per cent. engaged
  • 6 per cent. abandoned
  • 59 per cent. answered within 20 seconds.

A number of issues are being addressed in particular: ensuring that there are the right number of advisers to match call volumes; working with service offices to see if other changes can be made to reduce call volumes and sharing best practice from larger established sites where service level targets are being met.

This, together with greater staff experience, has allowed substantial improvements in performance. For example, the Longbenton Contact Centre (which offers a national insurance service) has reduced engaged tones to a sixth of the level 12 months ago, while answering 90 per cent. of calls in 20 seconds.

The experimental call centre, which opened in East Kilbride, suffered similar variable service levels. The centre has since demonstrated that the processes are sound, achieving for example, a service level for the year ended March 2002 of:

  • 4 per cent. engaged
  • 2 per cent. abandoned
  • 91 per cent. answered within 20 seconds.