Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March to Question 33256 on Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services, (a) what steps her department is taking to decrease the average wait time for calls to be answered by HMRC and (b) what plans she has to prevent customers being directed to digital services and the HMRC app when their case requires an over-the-phone conversation.

HMRC received additional funding last year to recruit more customer service advisers to help improve telephony performance. HMRC recognise the real difficulties that delays on phones cause customers. At the end of last year, performance on helplines had improved and HMRC met their telephony service standard in Quarter Three of 2024-25. They continue to aim to answer calls as quickly as possible but wait times may be longer than usual during busy periods. HMRC publish monthly performance data, including information on their telephony service, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports.

HMRC’s online services and the HMRC app consistently receive high customer satisfaction ratings. However, HMRC know that not all tasks can currently be completed online. The HMRC transformation roadmap, which will be published later this year, will include details about additional digital services that will mean a better experience for taxpayers, agents, and businesses.

In the meantime, HMRC’s helplines remain available to support taxpayers with any queries which cannot be resolved online. HMRC are committed to providing efficient and accessible services to all their customers.