Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to investigate the level of customer complaints received by the NS&I in respect of attempting to withdraw funds in the financial year 2020-2021.

NS&I has seen exceptionally high customer demand since the Covid-19 outbreak, and this was amplified by a requirement for NS&I to raise additional funding from savers to support the Government’s response to the pandemic.

In order to return customer service levels to the high standards NS&I is accustomed to, they have put a number of measures in place to improve its operational performance. These include expanding its UK contact centres by opening additional sites and recruiting additional staff to process customer enquiries. NS&I is working hard to return to delivering its usual high standard of customer service.

In January 2021, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (EST), as the Minister responsible for NS&I, met with NS&I senior managers and its outsourced provider, to discuss their operational recovery plans and progress against their targets. The Treasury continues to support NS&I’s recovery programme.