Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department are taking to reduce phone-line waits for those making an application for Pension Credit.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans resourcing according to forecasted telephony demand in an effort to keep wait times down. Wait time performance and forecasted demand is frequently reviewed and we are continually working to improve our telephony service.

In response to significantly increased demand, we have increased the resource in Pension Credit claims by over 500 additional staff through a combination of internal redeployments, use of external providers and external recruitment.

We are investing in a new technology that aims to better route customers to the right service at the right time. Once deployed, this technology will reduce the time callers spend listening to a menu of choices and instead invite claimants to say why they are calling, at the start of the call.