The DWP has come in for criticism about its phone lines
People trying to contact the Department for Work and Pensions were left hanging on the line for a collective 753 years before getting through in 2023/24, a spending watchdog has revealed.
The NAO emphasised the importance of the DWP's service quality highlighting that many beneficiaries depend on this income to avoid or lessen financial difficulties, reports Wales Online. The NAO commented on the issue, stating: "Poor service can have a range of detrimental impacts, including frustration, distress and disruption for customers, and additional cost for DWP."
The report suggested that the department could utilise survey data more effectively to gain deeper insights into how customer characteristics, experiences and perceptions affect satisfaction, and to investigate common reasons for dissatisfaction. It also noted that the likelihood of processing new claims on time varied between benefits, with only 72% of new claims processed on time in 2023/24.
The report went on to say: "DWP has published little information on the standard of service that customers can expect, increasing the likelihood of customer queries and greater pressure on its services." The National Audit Office has commented on the Department of Work and Pensions' "limited transparency about service standards" which results in customers frequently calling for updates and reassurance. The report found that calls to DWP telephone lines for eight different benefits resulted in 31.6 million minutes of avoidable customer call time during 2022/23.
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