National Insurance

(asked on 9th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the processing time for National Insurance number applications is 16 weeks; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce that processing time.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 16th November 2021

The National Insurance Number (NINo) interviewing service was suspended from 17th of March 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Since fully re-opening on 28th April 2021, we have been experiencing high demand for the NINo Service.

Additional staff have been recruited and trained in the NINo process to reduce backlogs.

Whilst we are advising applicants it may take up to 16 weeks to process their application, the majority are being dealt with in around 4-6 weeks, however some may take longer if additional checks are required.

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