§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many and what percentage of telephone calls to Inland Revenue contact centres which were not classed as engaged or abandoned were answered within 20 seconds in each of the last 12 months; [126382]
(2) how many and what percentage of attempted telephone calls to Inland Revenue contact centres reached an engaged tone in each of the last 12 months; [126383]
(3) how many and what percentage of telephone calls to Inland Revenue contact centres were abandoned in each of the last 12 months. [126384]
Table 2 Number of calls (thousands) Received1 Handled within 20 seconds2 Handled in more than 20 seconds Reaching engaged tone Abandoned3 August 2002 1,801 1,167 545 3,873 90 September 2002 1,935 1,117 727 3,928 90 October 2002 1,893 1,271 550 2,494 71 November 2002 2,068 1,509 464 1,762 95 December 2002 1,355 949 342 1,689 64 January 2003 3,041 1,742 1,047 3,900 252 February 2003 2,785 1,570 862 1,557 352 1Where the caller selected an option for the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser. 2Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu, was put in a queue to speak to an adviser, and spoke to an adviser within 20 seconds of being put in that queue. Estimated for calls on the disabled person's tax credits helplines. 3 Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser but the call was terminated before the caller spoke to an adviser. Tables 3 and 4, which cover March to August 2003, reflect a period where the Inland Revenue's contact centres dealing with new tax credits inquiries experienced call volumes so large that no call centre could have coped, notwithstanding the measures taken to increase capacity to deal with demand. Comparing the number of calls attempted each month with the number of callers, shows, particularly in April-June, a clear pattern of many callers making multiple calls, often using automatic redial equipment. During the same period, due to slow running of the IT system, there were times when calls took longer to handle, thus making it more difficult for other callers to get through.
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§ Dawn PrimaroloThe tables give figures for the 12 months to August 2003, for calls attempted, received, handled, abandoned and receiving the engaged tone for all Inland Revenue contact centres in Great Britain, including those dealing with calls concerning the child and working tax credits, WFTC, DPTC, taxes and national insurance. They also give figures for the estimated number of callers attempting those calls. They do not include the many hundreds of thousands of calls handled by the Northern Ireland contact centres, the child benefit centre and the Inland Revenue's network of local offices, using a range of telephony services.
Tables 1 and 2 cover the period August 2002-February 2003 and describes what is one of the country's top 10 call centre operations in broadly steady state, handling around 2 million calls per month. The number of attempted calls not being handled is in line with industry standards when related to the number of callers attempting to make those calls and the sharp peaks of activity which underlie those numbers.
Table 1 Thousands Number of call attempts Number of Callers1 August 2002 5,683 1,639 September 2002 5,881 1,816 October 2002 4,413 1,793 November 2002 3,858 1,922 December 2002 3,064 1,316 January 2003 7,017 2,780 February 2003 4,812 2,408 1The number of separate telephone numbers from which call attempts were received on each day, summed over the month. 655W
Table 3 Thousands Number of call attempts Number of callers1 March 2003 10,007 4,005 April 2003 22,600 5,465 May 2003 16,220 4,468 June 2003 16,398 3,465 July 2003 9,195 2,526 August 2003 5,215 2,099 1The number of separate telephone numbers from which call attempts were received on each day, summed over the month.
Table 4 Number of calls (thousands) Received1 Handled within 20 seconds2 Handled in more than 20 seconds Reaching engaged tone Abandoned3 March 2003 4,308 1,600 1,702 1,435 1,005 April 2003 4,043 1,286 1,827 5,666 930 May 2003 2,969 1,138 1,386 3,525 445 June 2003 1,652 716 834 1,493 101 July 2003 2,192 1,135 915 2,880 143 August 2003 2,192 1,373 692 2,710 126 1Where the caller selected an option for the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser. 2Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu, was put in a queue to speak to an adviser, and spoke to an adviser within 20 seconds of being put in that queue. Estimated for calls on the disabled person's tax credits helplines. 3Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser but the call was terminated before the caller spoke to an adviser. The figures for July and particularly August—when the number of calls handled only falls just short of the number of callers attempting to get in touch with the Revenue—show a steady return towards steady state with the Revenue's call centre operations much better supported by the IT system.