Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 9 July (HL896, HL897) and 30 July (HL1654), why according to recent press reports HMRC are still failing to answer telephoned inquiries and complaints from the public within an acceptable time frame.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recognise that their customer service has not been good enough, and have taken major steps to improve, including recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles, available outside normal office hours when many of their customers choose to call them. The process of recruiting and training the new staff is now complete. These improvements have started to make a difference. This month, HMRC have answered more than 80 per cent of calls, and average queue times are now around 10 minutes.

HMRC also recognise that some customers have been waiting too long for a response to their complaint. HMRC have recovery plans in place and their performance is improving week on week.