Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for calls to HM Revenue and Customs.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) accepts that its performance was inconsistent during 2014-15 and has recently outlined actions taken to improve customer service. These include recruitment of additional staff and investment in new technology.
The department has allocated £45 million, supporting the recruitment of an additional 3,000 customer service staff to answer calls and deal with customer correspondence. HMRC is also temporarily moving around 2,000 additional people from other parts of HMRC into customer service roles to support the tax credits peak.