Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a call back system when individuals have spent a significant period of time waiting on hold with her Department's helplines.

DWP has considered the merits of a call-back service for customers. We concluded that it would not support the current operating models of the department. DWP moved all telephony services for customers to a free phone operation nearly three years ago and therefore any delay in answering calls will not be at the expense of customers.