More than a third of calls to DWP’s attendance allowance and PIP telephone lines went unanswered in October 2020

New figures also show that percentage of calls answered in the whole of the period from August to December 2020 remained well below ‘acceptable’ service level target of 80 per cent

More than a third of calls to the attendance allowance and personal independence payment (PIP) telephone service lines went unanswered in October 2020, according to new DWP figures.

Seeking further information to explain the below-target service levels for DWP telephone lines - as reported in a letter of 15 January 2021 from the DWP's Permanent Secretary Peter Schofield - the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee Stephen Timms tabled a written parliamentary question on 21 January 2021 asking for the DWP's definition of an acceptable service level for telephone lines and how service had been impacted between August and December 2020.

Responding yesterday for the DWP, Pensions Minister Guy Opperman said that -

‘An acceptable level of service for all of the department’s telephony lines is defined as 80 per cent of calls answered (a common industry standard). This service level indicates that customers are being quickly connected to team members and getting their problems resolved in a timely manner.’

However, Mr Opperman said that a reduced service may be necessary due to the ‘balancing of resource’ as experienced during the Covid-19 crisis, before providing details of the percentage of calls answered over the period August to December 2020 -

NB - Mr Opperman also provided call answer rate figures for the state pension service line between August and December 2020, that range between 52.1 per cent and 60.6 per cent, and figures for the Child Maintenance Service line that range between 68.4 per cent and 78.9 per cent over the same period.

Mr Opperman’s written answer is available from parliament.uk