Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of the universal credit helpline for people who work between 8am and 6pm.

The Universal Credit Full Service is expanding with 235 Jobcentres and 25 Service Centres live by the end of December 2017. All customers have an on-line account, on-line statement and journal for interacting with their dedicated Case Manager and Work Coach. New claims and changes of circumstance are reported on-line in the vast majority of all cases.

As previously announced, Universal Credit freephone numbers were implemented from the end of November 2017.

We are keen to resolve all enquiries from our customers at the point of contact, whether that be face-to-face, on-line, or on the phone. The Freephone lines are available 50 hours a week, which should mean Universal Credit claimants in full-time work have the scope to make a call. The percentage of calls being received as a proportion of our total caseload has been steadily falling this year, as customers interact more on-line.

Every week we match the required capacity and resources to our telephony forecast to ensure we meet demand and deliver a good service across our channels. This capacity is organised to scale up in line with new claims as the service expands further to ensure good customer service and experience.