We have seen many written answers from government ministers covering use of 08xx numbers by public bodies reported in this thread.

Such answers are only one part of the process of generating the necessary action to end this practice. Where use of a non-geographic telephone number is of benefit when providing any public service, it must now be from the 03xx range.

I have today written to those asking many of the questions for written answer reported above, asking them what follow up action they are planning, or see as appropriate.

I suggest the following channels:

1. Ofcom. Ofcom has made the 03xx range available. It cannot however demand that it be used, although could promote its availability more strongly.

2. The Contact Council. This organ of the Cabinet Office, covering all public sector call centres in the implementation of the Varney recommendations, has so far failed to show strong support for the idea of 03xx being used.

3. The Public Accounts or Public Administration Select Committees. Either of these committees would be well placed to investigate the detail behind the information revealed by written answers and to report with recommendations covering all departments. The matter could also be covered by relevant departmental Select Committees; however the issues are the same for all.

4. General Media. There has been sufficient information brought out by many written answers to provide briefings to the media. Releases from public representatives are likely to receive moiré attention than those from individual citizens.

5. Members of Parliament. Many channels are open to individual MPs to draw public attention to the issue and perhaps stimulate action in response. Oral questions, EDMs, adjournment debates and Westminster Hall debates are the most obvious.

N.B. The agenda for Oral Questions includes Health on Tuesday 18th March and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Cabinet Office – Contact Council) on Wednesday 19th March.

I refer them to this posting. I will be interested to see what response there may be.

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 07 Mar 2008 (pt 0008)

Pensions Service: Telephone Services

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why the arrangement for free calls to the 0800 Pension Service number from mobile telephones was ended. [187712]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It has always been the case that customers making a call to a 0800 or 0845 Pension Service number from a mobile phone, non BT phone network or from abroad, will be charged at the specific operators' call rate.

This is a part of a broader policy, implemented by Ofcom who are the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.

Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Wednesday 12 March 2008
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Wednesday 12 March 2008

317

Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28th January 2008, Official Report, columns 43-4W, on departmental telephone services, how much money (a) her Department and (b) its agencies raised from 0845 and similar cost telephone lines in each of the last 10 years.
(193990)

House of Commons - Public Administration - Written Evidence

Memorandum from Catherine McGrath

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST: CHOICE AND EFFICIENCY

Telephone Services and Contact Channels

COST OF CALLING

The Central Office of Information (COI) recommend that "free services [are] appropriate if you are targeting those who may be deterred by the cost of a call (for example, the elderly, young people or those on low incomes or where the nature of the call is confidential) and is particularly applicable if your objective is to encourage as many people as possible to call".[150] Where this is not possible they recommend local rate numbers or geographic numbers (those starting with 02- or 01-). They advise against national rate numbers, such as 0870 and 0871, as they may be prohibitively expensive for the caller. [151]

Most government run telephone lines heed this advice and choose to run low costs services, demonstrating awareness that citizens should not have to pay disproportionately for contacting public service providers. A majority of government services operate non-geographical numbers and among the 121 lines examined 53% were non-geographical, 92% of which charged the caller nothing or a local rate.

Very few numbers are free. They are usually provided in cases where the consumer can provide the department with information about those exploit the service such as the Anti-Benefit Fraud Helpline and Customs Confidential.


Table 1


PERCENTAGE OF TYPES OF NUMBER USED BY EACH DEPARTMENT

Free
(0800)
Local
(0845)
National
(0870)
Normal Used to call
from abroad

DWP (52) 8% 21%  0 58% 13%  
HMRC (55) 4% 67%  0 13% 16%  
Home Office (14) 0 36%  36% 29% 0  
Percentage of total lines 5%  44% 4% 34%  13%

DWP

Seventy-nine percent of the DWPs telephone lines charge a local or normal rate. They offer more lines than the Home Office or HMRC free of charge, but this is still only 8% of their total. It could be argued that those who could be claiming DLA, Attendance Allowance or a Carers Allowance should be encouraged to call. There may also be a case for offering Debt Management services free of charge, as the people calling these lines are likely to be financially vulnerable.

Home Office

The Home Office does not offer any lines free of change, but 72% of their lines are offered at local or normal rate. Twenty-nine percent charge a national rate. The national rate numbers include the Immigration and Passport Service Advice Line and IND Complaints. Both of these lines could fall under the COI definition. People should not be discouraged by the cost of obtaining and tracking their application for identity documents or a passport, or from providing feedback on the service.

HMRC

Eighty percent of HMRC lines are offered at local or normal rate. Only 4% are free of charge. As Tax and Benefits Confidential was established as "an advice line that offers people operating in the hidden economy confidential help and information to help them put their affairs in order", more people may be inclined to call if the service was offered without charge. [152]Similarly some people may be more inclined to call one of the minimum wage helplines if there was no charge. Furthermore, it is incongruous that the Tax Credits Helpline is offered at a local rate, whereas the Pension Credits Helpline operated by the DWP is offered without charge.

MOBILE PHONES

Many people now use a mobile phone as their primary form of telecommunication and may not have a landline. Those on low incomes are more likely to choose a pay-as-you-go mobile over a landline or monthly billing mobile contract in order to regulate the amount spent on telephone calls.

Mobile phone operators often levy high charges against non-geographical numbers, such as those used by government departments. This high cost means that calls to these helplines will be disproportionately expensive for mobile-phone users and defeating the object of running low cost telephone lines, and often placing the greatest financial burden on the most vulnerable groups.

Table 2

COST OF CALLS TO NON GEOGRAPHICAL NUMBERS ON A PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONTRACT

Cost per minute  
O2 Orange  Vodafone
0800 15p  25p  30p for first 3 minutes,
0845 (minimum charge)  (minimum charge)  10p thereafter  
0870    

The problem of non-geographical numbers for mobile phone users has been noted and is beginning to be addressed. Since April 2005 Orange, Virgin and 3 customers have been able to call the Pension Credit Application Line for free. [153]Furthermore, in recognition of the prohibitive costs for mobile users Ofcom has introduced the 0808 range of numbers which are free to call. The mobile network O2 recently announced that calls to these numbers will be free. [154]

Dave wrote on Mar 26^th, 2008 at 12:23am:

The points about various exceptions for mobiles are indeed interesting.

A brief search has failed to identify who Ms McGrath represents. This mistaken information surely needs to be corrected. Ms McGrath should be invited to submit a correction to the Committee. As well as the meaningless reference to "local rate" there is no reference to those on inclusive landline packages and none to 03xx.

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 18 Mar 2008 (pt 0030)

Jobcentres: Telephone Services

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many incidents of Jobcentre 0845 telephone system failure have occurred in the last 12 months; [188523]

(2) what mechanisms his Department has in place to inform callers of contact alternatives when a Jobcentre's telephony service fails to connect to an operator. [188524]

Mrs. McGuire: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 18 March 2008:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many incidents of Jobcentre 0845 telephone system failure have occurred in the last 12 months and what mechanisms are in place to inform callers of contact alternatives when a jobcentre's telephony service fails to connect to an operator. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

There have been no failures of the 0845 telephone system in the last 12 months. On limited occasions we have experienced minor technical problems causing telephony difficulties. These are problems that impact on one site and not the whole network.

Jobcentre Plus Contact Centres are currently answering over 94% of calls offered and are consistently delivering a good level of service to customers.

Customers calling a standalone Contact Centre (i.e. not operating within a virtual environment) whose call can not be connected would hear an emergency message which informs them that there is a problem, and asks them to call back later. Our Network Management Team is immediately notified and they ensure that calls are re-routed from the Contact Centre with the temporary problem to other Contact Centres. When the customer calls again the call would be answered.

From June 2008 all Contact Centre sites will be operating within a Virtual Environment. In the event of any telephony problems calls are automatically diverted and answered by another site.

Customers who need to call a Benefit Delivery Centre, instead of a Contact Centre, and are not connected to an operator will receive a message advising them that all our lines are busy and asking them to call back later. The message goes on to give the switchboard opening times.

Quote:

(See previous answer from Revenue and Customs)

That's really interesting. I thought that one of the most stated reasons given for using NGNs by government departments was that 'using 0845 meant that everyone paid the same, regardless of location'.

The dumb clucks can't even get that right! 

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 Mar 2008 (pt 0026)

Departmental Hearing Impaired

Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by her Department through call centres. [194948]

Mr. Byrne: The Home Office provides textphone facilities in all of its contact centres. The numbers are:

Central Home Office: Textphone 020 7035 4742.

Border Immigration Agency: Textphone 0800 389 8289.

Identity and Passport Service: Textphone 0870 240 8090. Typetalk is also available through the 24-hour Passport Adviceline 0870 521 0410

Criminal Records Bureau: Textphone 0870 909 0811.